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Community working to protect women from potential serial killer in Detroit

Victims' loved ones speak out

DETROIT – Police have confirmed the identities of two of the three victims linked to a possible serial killer targeting women in Detroit.

Someone close to one of the victims, Travesene Ellis, spoke with Local 4 and shared her grief.

READ'My sister didn't deserve this:' Family of woman slain by potential Detroit serial killer speak out



Those who loved Ellis are grieving. Alice opened her door to Ellis a few months ago, and she was the one to report Ellis missing in April before her body was found.

"She was nice, and she could be dedicated. She was living here with me because where she was living was unliveable," Alice said.

Community organizations like Alternatives For Girls in Southwest Detroit are getting involved.

"I am horrified at the thought that there's somebody moving around doing this to women," Celia Thomas, chief operating officer for Alternatives For Girls, said. "We firmly believe in acknowledging the humanity in every person."

"We have staff that go out two, three times a week, daytime and nighttime, and we're looking for girls and women who appear to be in difficulty," she said.

Last night, she said they spoke with women in the sex industry.

"Many of them are afraid to come forward," Amy Good, CEO of Alternatives for Girls, said.

They're encouraging the women to do so to help catch the predator. Police believe all three women have ties to the sex industry.

"We're doing everything we can to spread the word and help solve this," Good said.


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About the Authors
Koco McAboy headshot

Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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