Man killed by prostitute may be linked to Las Vegas killings

Police are investigating whether a man killed by a prostitute in Charleston, W. Va, could also be the prime suspect in four local cold cases.

Neal Falls, 45, was shot and killed July 18, according to Charleston police chief of detectives Lt. Steve Cooper.

Nearly a week later, authorities are investigating links between Falls and four Las Vegas-area prostitutes — Lindsay Harris, 21, Jodi Brewer, 19, Jessica Foster, 21 and Misty Saens, 25 — who went missing between 2003 and 2006. Three of the women were later found dead.

Saturday's incident began when Falls and the woman met on Backpage.com, an online classified site often used for men seeking prostitutes. Falls went to the woman's house with the understanding that she had offered her services as an escort, Cooper said.

As soon as Falls was in the home, he pointed a pistol at the woman's chest and threatened her life, Cooper said.

Falls then attacked the woman, forcing her onto her stomach on the floor. When he put his pistol on a counter so he could use both hands to strangle the woman, she grabbed the gun and shot Falls in the head, killing him, Cooper said.

According to the Charleston Gazette Mail, the woman told 911 dispatchers that Falls said "live or die" as soon as she opened the door. He told her she had the option of rape or murder, but either way, he would be going to prison for a long time, she told the newspaper.

According to the Gazette Mail, Falls' vehicle had Oregon plates.

Falls, who is from Springfield, Ore., had four sets of handcuffs in his pockets, Cooper said. In his car police found an ax, a machete, trash bags, a gallon of bleach, a bulletproof vest, several knives and handcuff keys.

"Based on the nature and sheer brutality of the assaults, along with all of those suspicious items, we suspect that Mr. Falls has been involved in other violent crimes," Cooper said Friday. "We've shared this case file with law enforcement across the country, hoping to assist on any open or cold murder cases."

That includes the Henderson Police Department.

Department spokeswoman Michelle French confirmed that Henderson police have been contacted by Charleston police, but she could not confirm whether Falls was a suspect in Harris' murder because the case is still open.

Harris, who had worked as a prostitute in Las Vegas, disappeared on May 4, 2005. Her rental car was found abandoned in the south Las Vegas Valley. About three weeks later, police found only her legs in a grassy field off Interstate 55 near Springfield, Ill. It took three years before DNA matches positively identified the limbs as those of Harris.

Metro police work card records from 2007 and 2012 show that a Falls lived in Henderson and worked as an unarmed security guard.

In 2008, Las Vegas police said that Harris' murder appeared to be linked to the cases of two other valley women who had been killed and a third who was missing. Like Harris, Brewer and Saens were found dead near highways; Foster has never been located.

Cooper spoke to Metro Friday afternoon about the three other cases, but he said no direct link has been established between the Charleston case and the Las Vegas cold cases.

"We are simply sharing facts in case it may be helpful to them," Cooper said.

Las Vegas police spokesman Michael Rodriguez said a connection between Falls and the Las Vegas women appears possible.

"It sounds like on this one there is a possible nexus," Rodriguez said. "We would definitely welcome any information that is out there."

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead.