Neal Falls, an Oregon man killed in West Virginia during an escort site hookup, is believed by authorities to have been a serial killer involved in other murders around the country.
Falls, 45, was killed July 19 by a woman he attacked in Charleston after the two connected online through Backpage.com, a website frequented to find escorts,
authorities told the Charleston Gazette-Mail. The woman told police she shot Falls with his own gun after he choked and beat her.
Police found handcuffs and a pistol in Falls' pocket,
according to KPTV, and authorities are calling the shooting death self-defense.
Police said they also found knives, axes and a shovel, among other items, in Falls' vehicle that may connect him with several unsolved murders in southern Ohio, said the Gazette-Mail.
Authorities have said some of the deaths and disappearances in Ohio had been connected to prostitution, said KPTV.
"We are releasing Mr. Falls' name and photograph, as well as details about the incident. Our hope in doing so is that if there are any other victims of Mr. Falls between here and Oregon that the information may be valuable to law enforcement," Charleston Police Department chief of detectives Lt. Steve Cooper told the Gazette-Mail.
In the Charleston incident, authorities told the
Huffington Post they believe Falls got into an altercation after arriving at an apartment where he met the woman.
"Nearly immediately after he stepped into her apartment, he said 'live or die' and a struggle ensued," said Cooper. "[Falls] laid his gun on a counter so that he could get a firmer grip around the victim's throat with both his hands and she was able to scoop that weapon up and fire one round, killing Mr. Falls."
Charleston Police said the woman they didn't identify was hospitalized with multiple injuries, including broken vertebrae.
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