Decatur Police say they've solved two murder cases from the 1980's that were linked to the recently closed Halloween murders.
Police say the same man is responsible for the 1985 murder of Sandra Hopson, and the 1988 murder of John Woods. Monday, they named Melvin Johnson as their killer. Recently, police said he was also responsible for killing nine-year-old Theresa Hall and 12-year-old Sherry Gordon on Halloween in 1984. Johnson died from stomach cancer in 2003.
John Woods is the only victim police say Johnson had a relationship with. It wasn't until recently that new DNA technology could link Johnson to all of these cases. Police classify a serial killer as someone who has killed two or more people in separate incidents. Police say the three women Johnson killed lived near him in Longview.
Police put out Johnson's information nationwide, and say an Indiana agency is currently investigating a possible link. Police are also looking again at a case involving a Millikin student in 1980, but won't say more about that right now.
We'll have much more on this Monday night on StormCenter 17 at 5:00 and 6:00.
