Anthony Balaam

Overview

Anthony Balaam was a crack addict from Trenton, New Jersey. He confessed to sodomizing and strangling four prostitutes during sex-for-drugs exchanges. He was also linked to a fifth rape victim who escaped after being raped and led police to him, ending his 22-month deadly rampage.

Timeline

• October 24, 1994 — Karen Denise Patterson, 41, was killed.
• March 19, 1995 — Valentina Cuyler, 29, was killed.
• April 10, 1995 — Concetta Hayward, 27, was killed.
• July 29, 1996 — Debra Ann Walker, 37, was killed.
• March 19, 1995 to July 29, 1996 — The killings occurred within two miles of Balaam’s home.
• July 1995 to last January — Balaam lived in Detroit.
• August 8, 1996 — Balaam was arrested without incident at about 2:30 P.M.
• February 16, 1996 — A woman who was raped escaped and led police to conclude Balaam was the attacker.
• June 1, 1996 — Balaam was convicted of killing the four women.
• June 17, 1996 — Jurors ruled against the death penalty for the convicted killer.
• January 26, 2001 — Balaam was sentenced to life in prison.

The offence

Balaam encountered women in predawn hours while cruising neighborhoods where women regularly exchanged sex for crack cocaine. Police said the women offered sex for drugs and that because of that the encounters ended with murder.

Investigators said Balaam would strike bargains with the women and threaten them with a knife during the sexual encounter before strangling them. Police said three victims were found in vacant lots and the fourth victim was found in a rundown hotel. Police also said DNA from semen taken from the victims and other laboratory results linked two killings, and further testing was expected to tie him to all four killings and the rape on February 16.

Victims

• Karen Denise Patterson, 41 — killed on October 24, 1994.
• Valentina Cuyler, 29 — killed on March 19, 1995.
• Concetta Hayward, 27 — killed on April 10, 1995.
• Debra Ann Walker, 37 — killed on July 29, 1996.
• Police said one victim, Ms. Hayward, was found dead in the hotel.

Investigation

Police became convinced from details of the February 16 attack and the weapon used that the rapist was also the strangler they were seeking. After Balaam’s arrest, DNA testing linked him to crimes involving two bodies, and police hoped further tests would tie him to all four killings and the rape.

Investigators also said they thought that at least one other woman had fled after having encountered Balaam, and they hoped she would come forward. Investigators were also conferring with police in Detroit to determine whether Balaam might have committed crimes there.

Arrest

Police said Balaam was arrested on August 8, 1996, without incident. One report described him as 30 at the time of arrest; another described him as 31. He was arrested at 421 Stuyvesant Avenue at about 2:30 P.M., and he had a roommate.

Police said Balaam had been born in Trenton, was unemployed, and lived at 421 Stuyvesant Avenue. Police said the crimes charged occurred within two miles of his home.

A detective who arrested Balaam, Anthony Manzo, described Balaam as unassuming and polite:

"a 'Yes, Sir, No Sir' kind of person."

Deputy Police Chief Joe Constance, who had been on the force for 27 years, called Balaam:

"one of the calmest and coolest murderers I've encountered."

After his arrest, Chief Constance said Balaam talked to detectives in polite, measured tones, including about rage and power:

"He talked about rage," "He talked about power, about his power over the women."

Another neighbor, Catherine Emerson, of 415 Stuyvesant Avenue, described her reaction after learning that a murder suspect lived nearby:

"Oh, my God," "I thought it was a little child," "Go look out the back door."

Police said Balaam’s neighbor body discovery involved the morning of July 29 and a body in a nearby lot.

Interactions with victims

Police said Balaam raped another woman on February 16 but that she escaped before he could strangle her. The woman provided a description of the attacker, and police concluded Balaam was the man killing women on the streets in the predawn hours.

Legal proceedings

Balaam was convicted on June 1 of killing the four women. On June 17, jurors ruled against the death penalty for the convicted killer.

In addition to murder, Balaam had been charged with robbery and the possession of illegal weapons. Police said he had convictions on minor burglary and drug charges and had refused offers of counsel. He was held without bail.

Sentencing

Balaam was sentenced to life in prison on January 26, 2001.

Aftermath

Police said Balaam confessed to the four killings and that he might be implicated in similar cases.