DALLAS – Law enforcement authorities in Dallas have taken a suspect into custody and say he is connected to three murders involving women, two of whom are believed to be sex workers while one homicide victim is yet to be identified. All three bodies were discovered near the Trinity River over a period of four months.
Oscar Sanchez Garcia was identified as the homicide suspect after he was arrested Wednesday. The Dallas Police Department said he will be charged with three counts of murder, NBC 5 reported.
Sanchez Garcia is accused of killing three women, two of whom were reportedly sex workers. The victims have been identified as Cherish Gibson, 25, Kimberly Robinson, 60, and an unidentified woman. The victim’s bodies were located near the Trinity River between April to July.
Earlier in the investigation, police indicated two of the women had ties to prostitution. The purpose was to warn others who might be victimized.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in the interest of public safety, the department wants to inform this population of this trend,” Dallas Police said earlier in the week before the suspect was arrested.
Police did not reveal how detectives linked Sanchez Garcia to the slayings, nor did they indicate a motive or whether he is suspected of more killings.
Robinson’s body was discovered on April 22 in a grassy area beneath a DART train bridge in the 200 block of Sante Fe Avenue. Gibson’s body was located on June 24, in the same general area near the DART 8th and Corinth Street Station. The unidentified victim was discovered Saturday about a mile away, in the 800 block of Brazos Street.
Each general location is southwest of downtown, along the western side of the Trinity River floodplain.
Bianca Davis is the CEO of New Friends New Life. It is an organization fighting human trafficking and sexual exploitation. She said the outreach service immediately checked their database when news of the murders surfaced, according to NBC 5.
“Undoubtedly, we serve women there. So, we were so concerned and looked at the names to see if it was one of our women,” she said.
Davis noted that stories of violence on the streets are never ending.
“They talk about being strangled, being assaulted, being abused and wondering if this is the night that will be my last night,” said Davis. “The danger is still out there. But at least in this case, that’s one less woman who will suffer this fate.”
Sanchez Garcia has at least one prior arrest. It occurred in March when he was accused of domestic violence resulting in bodily injury, NBC 5 reported, citing jail records.
