Notice: There is NO Daytona Beach Serial Killer Composite

Jerrold Ecklind looks like the sketch, yes indeed --but the sketch is not of the serial killer!

I have been noticing a mistaken assumption on various message boards and blogs around the web. My April 20, 2008 post, The Doctor's Orders - Dr. Ecklind's Agenda was quite popular among amateur crime researchers. The post was about Dr. Jerrold Ecklind's intentions on the day he drove off with a woman and allegedly made her place handcuffs on herself. The Ormond Beach doctor was arrested last month for impersonating a police officer, among other charges. At the end of the post, I attached a press release from the Volusia County sheriff's office containing a sketch of a suspect from an unrelated sexual assault (unrelated to the serial killer, as far as we know) that occurred in New Smyrna Beach. I would like to make sure that readers understand that this is not a confirmed sketch of the serial killer. Having read the post carefully, the reader would know that this case is completely unrelated, as far as we know. Because of the misunderstanding, readers will now see various posts on blogs and message boards referring to the composite as that of the serial killer. Please, I hope this post makes clear that this is not the case, and has never been presented as such on this site.

That being said, I find the two images to be very striking in their similarity. For this reason, and the strange behavior exhibited by Ecklind, I believe the doctor should be investigated thoroughly regarding unsolved crimes in the area. It is no secret that police are looking closely at Jerrold Ecklind regarding the serial murders of four area women. We are still awaiting their conclusions in that matter.

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For the convenience of readers, I have re-posted the press release of the new Smyrna Beach Incident:

SHERIFF’S OFFICE RELEASES COMPOSITE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SUSPECT

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released a composite sketch on Thursday of a man wanted for abducting a 26-year-old woman at gunpoint earlier this week and sexually assaulting her in a remote, wooded area near New Smyrna Beach. When the suspect took off after Monday’s attack, the victim walked about a half-mile before flagging down a New Smyrna Beach police officer.

The victim told Sheriff’s investigators that she was walking along U.S. 1 in Port Orange Monday afternoon when a newer model, white minivan with tinted windows drove by several times and the driver tried to convince the woman to get in the vehicle. When she refused, the victim said a white man in his late 30s got out of the van, pulled out a handgun and ordered her to get into the vehicle. Fearing for her life, the victim complied and the suspect got back into the van and drove southbound towards New Smyrna Beach. The victim said the man rolled up the windows and locked the doors to prevent her from escaping.

The suspect drove to a secluded area near New Smyrna Beach, sexually battered the victim and then left the woman in the woods while he drove off. The attack occurred off of a dirt road off of S.R. 44, west of I-95 not far from New Smyrna Beach’s municipal water treatment plant. The suspect was described as approximately 6' tall and weighing about 250 pounds, with black and gray, scruffy hair and no facial hair. The suspect has a small scar on his chin and was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Sheriff’s Investigator Cynthia Gambrell at (386)-423-3301 or Crime Stoppers of Volusia & Flagler Counties toll-free at 1-888-277-TIPS. Callers to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.