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Hurkos Begins Slaying Probe

Hurkos Begins Slaying Probe image
Parent Issue
Day
22
Month
July
Year
1969
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Police Chief Krasny Confers With Peter Hurkos (Center), Ed Silver

Hurkos Begins Slayings Probe

By Dennis Chase

(News Staff Reporter)

At 10:45 a.m. today, Peter
Hurkos walked out of an Ann
Arbor motel anri began his
search for r or killers
of six area girls cidring the past
two years.

The Los Angeles nightclub
entertainer and lecturer who
claims psychic powers, hobbled
into Ann Arbor yesterday on
crutches (he suffered a leg
injury while working on a
previous case in Lake Tahoe,
Nov.), set up shop in a $35-per-
day execn+'vr wt" "+ +1'" motel,
and toli' he
is not afraid ol the killer or
killers.

"After I explain what he looks
like, he may go after me," Hur-
kos said, with a thick, Dutch
accent. "I am not afraid."

Hurkos described the killer
as a "sick" homosexual, who
gets satisfaction from killing
females. He said the killer
takes the girls to a barn, per-
haps the Superior Township
Barn where police suspect 13-
year-old Dawn Basom was
murdered on April 16, and he
"makes love" to the girls. The
psychic said he had not been to
the barn but had "feelings."

Hurkos was brought to Ann
Arbor for expenses, $1,000, by
Archie Alien, a local real estate
man. Mr. and Mrs. Alien were
in Hurkos' suite today taking
notes. Also, Ed Silver, one of
two personal aides, answered
many questions for Hurkos.

Hurkos claims he fell off a
ladder in 1941 while house
painting and suddenly had
pyschic powers. He said he has
helped solve a number of mur-
ders, including the "Boston
Strangler."

"I will stay here until I find
the key," Hurkos said. "I'm
certain I •-1' Had it." Silver
said Huri not find the
killer, but wuiuu provide "key"
information.

Washtenaw County Prosecu-
tor William F. Delhey has

assigned three police officers to
Hurkos and provided him with
information about the six area
murders in the last two years.
The officers are from three
agencies: Washtenaw County
Sheriff's Department, Ann
A) i'!»r Police Department, and
Eastern Michigan University
Campus Police. Ann Arbor

Police Chief Walter Krasny was
present and said Hurkos was
"sincere," and would be pro-
vided only with information that
has already been released to
the news media. "There are
certain things that we are sav-
ing for court that have never
been discussed," Krasny said.

Krasny said he talked to Hur-
kos last night and that Hurkos
knew things that Krasny is
"reasonably certain he couldn't
have read about in the newspa-
pers." The chief ' ' • il:

close this informal LL.

Hurkos will go to the murder
sites with three police officers
following him. He will go to the
barn and "other places" where
the girls are known to have
been. Silver said Hurkos would
have no planned itinerary. "It
depends on the visions he
gets," Silver said. Both men
asked that newsmen not follow
Hurkos and agreed to schedule
regular press conferences.

Silver claimed Hurkos' gift
has been scientifically proven
in a Maine hospital. Hurkos bris-
tled when asked n1""^ u:?; invol-
vement and sub police
criticism in the " .Boston Stran-
gler" case. "I found the man"
he said, and Silver said criti-
cism of Hurkos was politically
motivated.

Krasny was asked about
possibly wasting nnnr-wer by
having thrpi follow
Hurkos. "If they weren I check-
ing this out, they'd just be
checking out other leads,"
Krasny said. \

Silver said Hurkos would
work continually on the case
during his stay in Ann Arbor.