Blunt to ask for killer's extradition on Monday

Alleged serial killer Timothy W. Krajcir may soon return to Cape Girardeau County, the region police say he previously used only as a hunting ground for his victims.

At a Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents meeting at the Show Me Center, Gov. Matt Blunt said he plans to sign an extradition order Monday to move Krajcir, 63, to Cape Girardeau to stand trial for the 1977 murders of Brenda and Mary Parsh and Sheila Cole, the 1982 rapes and murders of Margie Call and Mildred Wallace, and the rape of an unidentified 34-year-old woman.

Krajcir is in Tamms Correctional Center in Tamms, Ill., serving the start of a 40-year sentence he received Dec. 10 after pleading guilty to the 1982 murder of Deborah Sheppard, a Southern Illinois University student.

The extradition process could take up to 30 days, Blunt said.

Given the nature of the cases involved, there was a desire to speed up the process, he said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the process requires an original, nonfaxed copy of the petition requesting extradition to be served, so Steve Strong, interim investigator for Swingle's office, drove to Blunt's office in Jefferson City to hand-deliver the 24-page document.

Swingle announced the charges of five counts of murder and three counts of rape against Krajcir on Monday after Krajcir confessed in detail to the crimes. DNA evidence linked him to the Wallace and Call killings. Bond was set at $10 million.

Krajcir allegedly confessed to nine total killings, and has been named as a person of interest in the unsolved 1979 homicide of Myrtle Rupp, 51, in South Temple, Pa., and the 1978 killing of Virginia Lee Witte of Marion, Ill.

Muhlenberg Township, Pa. police said they are continuing to gather information and will announce the results of their interviews with Krajcir soon.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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