Trace Evidence Podcast | 212 - Who is Victim Number 5? - Available Now! @TraceEvidencePodcast | Uploaded February 2023 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Between 1990 and 1991, four unsolved homicides occurred in and around the city of St. Louis. Robyn Mihan, Brenda Pruitt, Sandy Little and Donna Reitmeyer had been murdered, kept for some period of time and then disposed of by an unknown predator referred to as the "Package Killer."
More than thirty years later, in the winter of 2022, DNA analysis of evidence found at one of the scene finally returned a hit. This led investigators to a 73 year old prison inmate serving life for a murder in 1993. After confronting the man with this evidence, Gary R. Muehlberg confessed to the four murders and gave investigators details about the crimes.
However, just when they thought they'd gotten all they needed from Muehlberg he dropped a surprise on them. He admitted to a fifth murder, one which he claimed occurred during the same time as the other. Muehlberg claimed to have murdered this woman and later to have left her body in a metal barrel at a local car wash.
Investigators were baffled, not because of the admission, but because they were not aware of any crime which fit the description. This has left many to wonder if Victim Number 5 truly exists or if the entire story is just a sick and twisted game being played by a serial killer who doesn't have much time left.
Between 1990 and 1991, four unsolved homicides occurred in and around the city of St. Louis. Robyn Mihan, Brenda Pruitt, Sandy Little and Donna Reitmeyer had been murdered, kept for some period of time and then disposed of by an unknown predator referred to as the "Package Killer."
More than thirty years later, in the winter of 2022, DNA analysis of evidence found at one of the scene finally returned a hit. This led investigators to a 73 year old prison inmate serving life for a murder in 1993. After confronting the man with this evidence, Gary R. Muehlberg confessed to the four murders and gave investigators details about the crimes.
However, just when they thought they'd gotten all they needed from Muehlberg he dropped a surprise on them. He admitted to a fifth murder, one which he claimed occurred during the same time as the other. Muehlberg claimed to have murdered this woman and later to have left her body in a metal barrel at a local car wash.
Investigators were baffled, not because of the admission, but because they were not aware of any crime which fit the description. This has left many to wonder if Victim Number 5 truly exists or if the entire story is just a sick and twisted game being played by a serial killer who doesn't have much time left.
