One of the more romantic elements of American folklore has been the criss-crossing rail system of this country steel rails carrying Americans to new territories across desert and mountain, through wheat fields and over great rivers. Carl Sandburg has flavored the mighty steam engine in elegant prose and Arlo Guthrie has made the roundhouse a sturdy emblem of Americas commerce. But, even the most colorful dreams have their dark sides. For nearly two years, a killer literally followed wheatfield Americas railroad tracks to slay unsuspecting victims before disappearing back into the pre-lit dawn.
His modus operandi was always the same he struck near the rail lines he illegally rode, then stowed away on the next freight train to come his way. Always ahead of the law. Angel Maturino Resendez, 39 years old, was apprehended early this month (July, 1999) after eluding state police for two years and slipping through a two-month FBI net until, after nine alleged murders, he was finally traced and captured by a determined Texas Ranger.
Known, for apparent reasons, as \”The Railroad Killer,\” Angel Resendez (who was known throughout much of the manhunt by the alias Rafael Ramirez) has been called \”a man with a grudge,\” \”confused,\” hostile\” and \”angry\” by the police, the news media and psychiatrists. He is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who crossed the international border at will. Most of his crimes took place in central Texas, but he is suspected of having killed as far north as Kentucky and Illinois. Mugshot of Angel Resendez
While he fits the mold of serial killers such as David Berkowitz and the Boston Strangler, Resendez killed more meditatively for something he needed: alcohol, drugs, a place to hide out, though usually money. He raped, but \”sex seemed almost secondary,\” according to former FBI profiler John Douglas. Douglas calls Resendez \”just a bungling crook very disorganized,\” but one whose own disorganization worked well for him. Because his trail was haphazard, because he himself didnt know where he was heading next, this directionless, drifting form of operation kept Resendez inadvertently ever-the-more elusive.
FBI special agent Don K. Clark says that the manhunt was complicated by the fact that Resendez had \”no permanent address\” while continuing to travel unchecked \”throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. \” While his travels might best be described as spontaneous, and his slayings as combustive, that is not to say that the Railroad Killer didnt have his own particular signature. He pretty much followed a routine. For one, the murders all occurred \”in close proximity to train track locations,\” to quote Clark.
Late last month, in the heat of the intensive manhunt for the murderer, John Douglas described what appeared to be the killers simple but deadly agenda: \”When he hitches a ride on the freight train, he doesnt necessarily know where the train is going. But when he gets off, having background as a burglar, hes able to scope out the area, do a little surveillance, make sure he breaks into the right house where there wont be anyone to give him a run for his money. He can enter a home complete with cutting glass and reaching in and undoing the locks. Hell look through the windows and see whos occupying it. The guys only 5 foot-7, very small. In factthe early weapons were primarily blunt-force trauma weapons, weapons of opportunity found at the scenes. He has to case them out, make sure he can put himself in a win-win situation. \” Where he came from, what spurred his crime spree, what kind of man was Resendez these will be examined in the succeeding chapters. For now, lets pause to examine his list of victims.