Free The Case of the Drowning Men by Eponymous Rox Page B

without delay , and thereafter vowed never to give up investigating his son’s death until he had all the answers .
    He is still hunting for the truth , even today , and has established a website for posting updates on the case and for receiv ing anonymous tips from the public. To learn more about his late son and to view a clip of video surveillance from th at night in December of 2007 when Joshua Szostak was last seen leaving the Bayou Café in downtown Albany , visit www.JoshuaSzostak.com . All information submitted there is reviewed and considered confidential.

 
Chapter 1 1 : Prime Time f or a Killing Theory

    2008 extract t ranscripts.cnn.com
    LARRY KING , CNN ANCHOR HOST : Next, they're calling them the Smiley Faced murders now happening. But are they murders at all? It's puzzling. We'll talk about it with police, a victim's family and crime experts, right after this.
    [COMMERCIAL BREAK > RETURN TO HOST ]
    KING: Now this is puzzling . T he so-called Smiley Faced murders involve the deaths of dozens of men. But are they really homicides? The debate has torn families and law enforcement apart. Take a look.
    [VIDEO + VOICEOVER]
    KING : Thirty five suspicious deaths in 33 cities, all men under the age of 30, found dead after a night of drinking with friends. Another link, this symbol, a smiley face painted near some of the bodies. The men were all eventually discovered in lakes or rivers. Coincidence? Or the work of serial killers?
    KEVIN GANNON, FORMER NYPD SERGEANT: These young men are being abducted by individuals in the bars, taken out and, at some point, even held for a period of time before they are entered into the water.
    KING: Retired Sergeant Kevin Gannon began his investigation in 1997, when the body of 20-year-old Patrick McNeil was found floating off a pier in Brooklyn. He was last seen with friends in a bar in Manhattan. Dozens of suspicious deaths have followed along with the haunting symbols ...
    [CUT TO HOST > CONTINUE VIDEO VOICEOVER ]
    KING: Local officials ruled most of the deaths accidents. But Gannon and fellow retired detective Anthony Duarte say they have even more evidence tonight that proves these men didn't drown, that they were murdered.
    [ END VIDEO ]
    KING: The aforementioned Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte join us. Kevin is the retired New York PD detective. He's been tracking suspicious drownings of scores of young men all over the country. He's in New York. So is Anthony Duarte, the retired New York PD detective. He's working with Gannon on what some are calling the Smiley Face murder s . And in Tampa is Dr. Cyril Wecht, forensic pathologist and attorney. He's examined autopsy reports from some of the cases that Gannon and Duarte are investigating.
    Kevin, is the reason you think this is murder the smiley face nearby at all the deaths?
    GANNON: That's not the only reason. Obviously, we did a lot more work than that. Besides the specificity of the group, that is so narrowly related to age, 19 to 23, highly intelligent, all very athletic young men. But besides that, we had to do all of the evidentiary work that would try to substantiate our claims that these are homicides and not just mere coincidences with a smiley face attached to it.
    KING: Anthony, you have suggested these were perfect crimes. What was the typical cause of death listed on the death certificate?
    ANTHONY DUARTE, FORMER NYPD POLICE DETECTIVE: Many times it was listed as either accidental or possible suicide. And in many cases, it was also listed as undetermined.
    KING: What told you it was murder?
    DUARTE: Well, we think in somewhere around twelve cases, we have enough evidence now that we can point it towards murder.
    KING: Like?
    DUARTE: Like in the Patrick McNeil case that we currently are here for, we have new evidence that we just got from the autopsy report and photos, showing that unfortunately Patrick was burned, and has a ligature on him. And this suggests to us that the medical examiner's office missed this,