The first body that had been found was that of a sixty five (65) to seventy (70) year old white male who has still not been identified. The body had been in a river for between ten (10) and fifteen (15) days before being found. Large sections of the skin had been removed with what appears to have been a knife - the upper right arm as well as the back, buttocks and thighs.
The second victim that was found was an asiatic - most probably Japanese or perhaps Korean - male in his mid forties (circa 45). He, likewise, has not been identified. One possible clue to his identity is that he had stainless steel teeth fillings which are only common in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Philippines and Taiwan. The examination of the remains was made most difficult due to their having been immersed in water and caught up in the sluice gate of a dam for some time before they were located. However, it has been determined that the skin had been removed from the back of the victim. As well, both the hands had been cut off just below the wrist and the victim had been shot in the back of the head with a small calibre .22 or .222 rifle or possibly a pistol of that calibre.
The third victim has been identified as Kathy Manasis. Ms. Manasis (5'5" 125lb 26 years old) had been employed by a graphic design firm on the lower east side in New York and had been holidaying in Georgia with college friends. She disappeared six days ago after having left her friend's house. It appears that four days ago her killers tried to dispose of her body in a way similar to that used to dispose of the previous two victims, i.e. by throwing it into a river. This time, however, they were observed. The witness was Robert Thomas (sixteen years old) who was in the area with his girl-friend Georgia Strickland. He observed a large, unmarked, light-coloured van pull up in the middle of the bridge. Two man got out, threw what he identified as a 'bundle' into the river and drove away. The 'bundle' caught on snags in the river and Mr. Thomas was able to reach it and found Ms. Manasis' naked body.

Consequent forensic analysis revealed that the victim died roughly twelve (12) hours before her body was thrown into the river. A patch of skin of roughly paperback-book size had been removed from her left abdomen. Due to the good condition of the corpse it was possible to determine that the skin had been removed while the victim was still alive. As well, the hair had been cut back to about five millimetres (5 mm). This had been done roughly, resulting with numerous cuts to the scalp.
There was no evidence of sexual penetration or any sort of sexual assault. However, there were various signs of physical assault. Apart from the previously mentioned injuries, the victim's left wrist was broken and the skin on both wrists as well as her ankles had been torn indicating that she had been tightly bound. There was a hairline fracture on her right temple, and three of her fingers, as well as a number of her nails, had been broken. Her buttocks and thighs had numerous abrasions and she also suffered from a number of minor bruises and cuts. Finally, she had been shot with a large calibre weapon, most probably a pistol, from a range of about two feet. The bullet had penetrated her lung as well as an adjacent blood vessel causing her to bleed into her lungs. This, together with the blood loss from the area of removed skin on her abdomen was determined to have been the cause of death.
Closer examination revealed six needle tracks in her right arm which, when examined, were found to contain traces of barbiturates and Valium.

Mr. MacKerreth, the fourth victim, is well known to our bureau due to his links with the Klu Klax Klan as well as, more recently, the Georgia Militia. His body, when it was found, was missing over ninety five percent of its skin, the only area still covered by skin being the soles of his feet. Forensic analysis revealed that Mr. MacKerreth died about eight days ago which places the date of his death before that of Ms. Manassa. For further details on the results of forensic analysis please see the report by Agent Schuster of the FBI.

In the trunk of the car were found a four inch mortar and twenty (20) mortar bombs, as well as an AR15 sniper's rifle with laser designator, light intensifier and gyrostabiliser (total value of rifle well over $14,000). In addition, a Ruger 44 revolver was found in the driver's side pocket. It is these weapons that Agent Davis and I had been primarily called in to investigate. The mortar bombs had been stored in the boot loosely which suggests that the car may not have travelled far from where the bombs had been placed in the boot. After disabling them, the mortar rounds as well as the remainder of the weapons were dusted for prints as well as being traced through their identification numbers.
The Ruger 44 revolver had belonged to Mr. MacKerreth and had only his prints on it.
The AR15 rifle had been stolen sixteen (16) months ago from Orlando, FL and had prints that belonged to Mr. MacKerreth as well as prints whose source has not yet been identified. The laser designator had been purchased six weeks prior from Owen's Gun Bazaar in Atlanta and had no prints on it. The sources of the gyrostabiliser and light intensifier have not yet been identified. Neither carried any clear prints.
The mortar and rounds had been removed some time previously from Fort Benning. Indeed, until we found them, they were logged as still being at Fort Benning. Neither carried any clear prints.

Mr. MacKerreth first came to our attention in the mid sixties when he contributed funds to Cuban contras fighting against Castro. He was first investigated in the early seventies with regard to attacks on school children that were being bussed in to desegregate school. In the eighties he was a Reagan supporter and financier. During this time his chain of hardware stores received a number of federal contracts. He sold it in '92 and attempted to get elected to the state legislature. His bid failed when his opponent, Adrian Hynes, alleged that Mr. MacKerreth had once been a member of the Klu Klux Klan. Our information corroborates this, indeed we believe that he may at one time have been the Grand Dragon of the Georgia KKK.
Mr. MacKerreth is believed to have been an end-user of illegal weaponry and has been under our investigation on several occasions. His residence is thought to be the headquarters of the Georgia Militia, a dangerous far-right paramilitary organisation with about a hundred and twenty (120) members. Although it is not known what his position in the group was it is suspected that he was its leader.
Mr. MacKerreth, who had changed his first name to Adolph by deed poll, was sixty (60) years old, was 6'1" tall, weighed 190 lb, had silver-gray hair and blue eyes. His ex-wife, Katherine Block (53), is believed to live in Hawaii. They have one daughter, Lee-Anne MacKerreth (30), whose whereabouts are not currently known.

After investigating the crime scene, Agent Davis and I, as well as Special Agent Browne of the FBI went to Jack's Steak Dinner on the nearby highway while Agent Schuster accompanied the cadaver to the forensic labs. Our dinner was interrupted by the sound of the car alarm on our rental car. It appears that someone had attempted to steal our vehicle. This would not have been noteworthy except that when the local deputies did arrive they apparently confused us with the felons and proceeded to threaten Agents Davis, Browne and myself. They drew and aimed their weapons without provocation and would not desist even once we identified ourselves as federal agents. The arrival of the local sheriff brought no respite as he chose to defend the actions of his deputies and threatened to arrest us, thus interfering with a federal investigation. Special Agent Browne, however, was able to defuse the situation.
Upon leaving Jack's Steak Dinner, Agent Davis, Special Agent Browne and I went back to our hotel.
The next morning the Atlanta PD organised a meeting for the various law-enforcement organisations involved with the investigation. At this time we were formally introduced to the Atlanta PD officers investigating this case, and took questions from the media.

After the meeting, the two FBI agents as well as Agent Davis and I went to Owen's Gun Bazaar. Apart from it being the place where the laser designator had been purchased we were also investigating a possible link with Corporal John Wayne Owen (24), United States Army. Cpl Owen disappeared from Fort Benning at about the same time as the mortar had probably been stolen, and comes from the Atlanta area. Our investigations there revealed very little as only "Dave", a sales clerk, was at the Bazaar at the time of our arrival.

Later on that morning the four of us went to investigate the residence of Mr. MacKerreth. We first obtained a warrant and contacted the local sheriff's office to ask the sheriff to accompany us to the residence. The house itself lies in a high security compound. The outer fence is electrified and over six feet in height. Inside it lies a cordon of movement detectors. Beyond it has been planted a thicket of bushes and low trees that obscures all views of the inside of the compound. The gate is automatic and is linked to a video and intercom system. Once we obtained entry and drove into the compound we were able to see that, inside the cordon of trees, has been raised a ring-shaped mound that totally surrounds the actual house and the area of the central compound. We were not able to see if the mound contains further defence measures but it seems possible that it may even contain concealed bunkers.
The central compound contains the main residence, which is a single story building, a small lake and several other small buildings. The presence of farm animals and the artificial pond indicates that the compound has been designed to provide food and water in case of a prolonged siege.
During our visit we saw roughly a dozen militia members. Although cautious they were not overtly hostile. Upon being told that Mr. MacKerreth had been found dead all the militia members seemed shocked by the news. They said that Mr. MacKerreth had left two weeks before on an 'interstate business trip' but were unwilling to further specify the nature of the business or, indeed, the location he had planned to visit. Apparently accidentally, it was revealed to us that Mr. MacKerreth had connections in 'Central America'. While walking through the house we were also able to see a photo of one of the militia posed with a heavy machine gun suspended from a strong plastic cable in the doorway of a military helicopter. Since this is a technique not used by the US military since the early 1970s this leads me to think that we may have to investigate a possible connection between Mr. MacKerreth and mercenary operations. Since Ft.Benning is the home of the 'School of the Americas' program, with its links to Central and South American military forces, there is cause to suspect a link between the Georgia Militia and these forces.
In Mr. MacKerreth's room we found a sizeable library on American history as well as copies of 'Mein Kampf' and 'The Catcher in the Rye'. We were also able to take his personal computer for further investigation.

Analysis and Further Avenues of Investigation:

• Mr. MacKerreth seems to have been involved in a number of semi-legal or illegal activities.
• I suspect that his death is not directly related with the Georgia Militia because the militia members seemed genuinely unaware of his death. None-the-less, this avenue of investigation can not be completely discounted.
• It seems unlikely that Mr. MacKerreth was the victim of a random act of violence. This is both because of his position and because he was armed when found. Also, there are inconsistencies between Mr. MacKerreth's death and those of the other victims investigated. For example, his body was completely skinned whereas those of the others were only partially skinned. This is particularly surprising since he had been skinned in what must have been a very inconvenient location for his murderer.
• Therefore, it seems most likely that Mr. MacKerreth's death is somehow linked to his activities.
• He had not simply been killed but, according to Agent Schuster, had been skinned while alive. This suggests torture.
• The most plausible scenario is that the previous deaths had been meant to make Mr. MacKerreth's death look like just another victim of a serial killer and also had been practice runs for the particular skinning torture used on Mr. MacKerreth.
• The presence of the mortar in Mr. MacKerreth's car suggests that his business trip might have been to purchase that mortar. This would suggest that he was kidnapped while returning from meeting whoever had taken the mortar from Fort Benning.
• It seems likely that he was being taken to a location pre-arranged by his kidnappers when something intervened and made that plan impracticable.

In light of these conclusions the following course of investigation is going to be pursued: • Investigate the unknown fingerprints on the rifle found in the back of MacKerath's car.
• We will seek further information on John Wayne Owen, the Corporal missing from Fort Benning. Especially possible links with Owen's Gun Bazaar, The School of the Americas, the Georgia Militia and any related organisations.
• We will liase with Fort Benning to help with the investigations at that end.
• We will try to obtain detailed information on the members of the Georgia Militia, again with a focus on possible links with The School of the Americas, other militias and Central American groups.
• We will investigate known sources of illegal weaponry in the Atlanta area especially those Mr. MacKerreth is known to have been associated with.
• Agent Schuster will investigate the theory that skinning had been used as a form of torture and the theory that the previous victims had been used to experiment with the method.
• Agents in Hawaii will try to locate and contact Katherine Block (Mr. MacKerreth's ex-wife) to obtain further information about his activities and the whereabouts of his daughter Lee-Anne MacKerreth.
• If Lee-Anne MacKerreth can be located she will also be asked about her father's activities.
• Agents in Atlanta will examine his computer for information on his activities including a list of possible contacts.
• We will contact the Georgia Militia and attempt to find out if Mr. MacKerreth had recently been followed.
• We will locate the scene of Mr. MacKerreth's death in relation to Atlanta, Fort Benning and Mr. MacKerreth's residence. The loose arrangement of the mortar shells in the boot of Mr. MacKerreth's car suggests that they had been put there only a short distance from where he was found as any long trip would have been likely to have ended with their explosion.
• We will try to pin down Mr. MacKerreth's movements over the last few days through the standard examination of his electronic financial transactions as well as a further examination of the contents of his car.
• We will pursue whatever other leads offer themselves to us over the course of our investigations.