MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A second murdered girl is buried at a wooded site where the remains of a teen were uncovered 10 years ago — "no question" — said the head of the police department where the preteen was reported missing nearly 40 years ago.
Authorities, who have been digging since Monday in the area about 15 miles northeast of Warren, Mich., think they have a serial killer on their hands, Bill Dwyer, Warren's police commissioner, said Wednesday. If true, suspect Arthur Ream, 69, who flunked a polygraph test on the topic of several missing girls from the 1970s and 1980s, is already in prison.
“The suspect in this case also did brag about murdering four to six people to inmates where he is being housed,” Dwyer said.
“You want to be a man about it?” the police commissioner said in an appeal to Ream. “Let’s help the families out. Give them some closure. That’s what it’s all about.”
The 24-acre search area, about 25 miles north of Detroit, is believed to be the scene of a crime involving Kimberly King, 12, of Warren, who was staying at her grandmother's home when she went missing, Warren Mayor James Fouts said in a news release.
The remains of 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki — whose disappearance April 19, 1986, initially was treated as a runaway case — were discovered there July 9, 2008, after Ream was persuaded to lead authorities to her burial site.
Three weeks before, Ream had been convicted of first-degree murder in Zarzycki's death but had not yet been sentenced.
Now Ream is serving a life sentence for killing Zarzycki of Eastpointe, Mich. His former defense lawyer, Tim Kohler, said his client never hinted about other victims.
Kohler said Wednesday that he had no reason to believe there was "any relevance or any indicators that I sensed there was something else out there."
Ream's 2008 conviction was not his first, Dwyer said. He went to prison in 1974 for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old hitchhiker and was released in February 1978.
Other cases potentially tied to Ream:
• Kellie Brownlee, 17, last seen in 1982 at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Mich.
• Cynthia Coon, 13, who went missing in 1970 from Washtenaw County, Mich.
• Kim Larrow, 15, who disappeared in 1981 in Canton, Mich.
• Nadine O'Dell, 16, of Inkster, Mich., missing since 1974
Dwyer said he believes that Ream killed all of the girls whose remains might be found in what authorities are calling a grave site.
King last was seen Sept. 16, 1979, walking in her neighborhood.
The last time anyone heard from her was at 11 p.m. that same night when she called her sister, Konnie Beyma, from a pay phone down the street. Beyma told her sister either to return home or head to her friend's house nearby where she had planned to spend the night.
Through the years, King's case has had several possible leads but none have panned out. Ream is now the primary suspect in King's case, in part because he was out on parole at the time of her disappearance.
Contributing: Christina Hall and Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press; The Associated Press. Follow Aleanna Siacon and Hasan Dudar on Twitter: @AleannaSiaconand @h_dudar
