Other names South Dade Killer Country United States Date apprehended Never apprehended | Victims 5-30 State(s) Florida | |
Span of killings February 1975–July 1975 | ||
The Flat-Tire murders refer to five connected, unsolved murders that happened in the United States, in the southern state of Florida in 1975. Investigators theorized that the killer deflated the tires of the victims' vehicles and offered them assistance before killing them. The suspect was given the name "South Dade Killer" because the killings were only in the vicinity of Cutler Bay (known at the time of the killings, and until 2005, as Cutler Ridge) and the Palmetto area of South Miami-Dade County.
Victims
The possible victims of the killer include five women from South Florida: Ronnie Gorlin (27), Elyse Napp (21), Barbara Stephens (23), Barbara Schreiber (14) and Belinda Zeterower (14). The cases remain unsolved.
Ronnie Gorlin and Elyse Napp were murdered in July, and the homicide detectives were convinced of a connection between the two killings. The assistant medical examiner of Dade County connected the other three cases to the same killer on August 29, 2011. Barbara Stephens was murdered in her home in Palmetto in February. Barbara Schreiber and Belinda Zeterower were high school classmates, and were killed at Cutler Bay in June.
Sgt. Erwin Carlstedt of Sonoma County, California theorized that the suspect was a single killer, who moved from coast-to-coast, and was responsible for more than 30 unsolved homicides. The Florida investigators did not comment on this theory: their suspect was someone who deflated the victims tires, and then offered them assistance.
According to police, the killer is likely very intelligent, with an above average IQ, and above average strength and prowess. The method of killing has been a combination of shooting, penetrating stab wounds inflicted with an ice pick, and blunt-force trauma from hammer blows. Three of the four victims could not immediately be identified due to severe disfiguration. The modus operandi has yet to be determined, but it is presumed he has remained in the Miami area.