Eastbound Strangler

Four dead bodies of women identified as prostitutes were found in a drainage ditch[2] filled with shallow water on November 20, 2006[3] behind the Golden Key Motel[4] on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, situated on the outskirts of Atlantic City, New Jersey.[5] All of them were placed face down[6] in a row, facing east, about sixty feet apart from each other. They were clothed except for having their shoes and socks removed.[2] They were believed to have been strangled to death.

41-year-old repairman Terry Oleson, who was being allowed to stay for free at the Golden Key Motel in exchange for repairs when the murders took place, was implicated by his girlfriend as the killer. They were reportedly having a domestic dispute at the time. In Oleson’s room, investigators found cameras set up and images of his girlfriend's teenage daughter undressing. There have been no DNA matches to connect Oleson with the crimes and he was never named as a suspect.[4]

Eldred Raymond Burchell who had given himself the nickname of the "River Man", being a possible reference to Green River Killer Gary Ridgway, was suspected after he had confessed to another prostitute that he had killed people. However he has not been connected to any murders.[7]

There was thought to be a possible connection to the Long Island serial killer[8] but investigators later ruled it out.[9]

Charles Coles, a drug dealer and a friend of Kim Raffo, was questioned by police but released without charge,[10] as was Mark Hessee, an acquaintance of Kim Raffo and Barbara Breidor.[11]

• Barbara V. Breidor, 42 — Worked as a prostitute to support her cocaine addiction. She disappeared in October 2006 but was not reported missing for several weeks.[3] Identified through dental records,[12] her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.[7]
• Molly Jean Dilts, 20 — Originally from Black Lick, Pennsylvania,[12] she was last seen alive a few days before her disappearance. She was the only victim not to have a record for prostitution, but was believed to be working as one.[3] She was believed to have been the first to be killed and her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.[7]
• Kim Raffo, 35 — Former waitress, originally from Canarsie, Brooklyn, who left her husband and children for drugs and prostitution in Atlantic City.[5] Last seen alive a day before the bodies were discovered. She was believed to be the last of the four victims to be killed and was strangled with a rope or cord.[4]
• Tracy Ann Roberts, 23 — Former erotic dancer[13] and originally from a small town in Delaware,[14] who sold sex to support a drug habit. Last seen alive in November 2006 when she was hit in the throat and hospitalized by a man who wished to be her pimp.[3] She had been asphyxiated.[7]

Investigation Discovery's Dark Minds, hosted by M. William Phelps, aired an episode on the case. February 2, 2012.[15]

The case was featured in episodes 3 ("Danse Macabre") and 4 ("A Darkness on the Edge of Town"} of The Killing Season.[16]

• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
• List of serial killers in the United States

• Dark Minds: The Eastbound Strangler
• The Eastbound Strangler (Behind the Scenes of Investigation Discovery's "Dark Minds")
• Eastbound Strangler profile