Alexander's son chased Lee through the back of the house and was able to get a description of the car. Alexander survived because her son walked in during the commission of the crime, frightening Lee out of the back of the house. Dianne Alexander is the only known survivor of Derrick Todd Lee. Lee beat Alexander severely and attempted to rape her. Martin Parish home of Dianne Alexander on July 9, 2002. More specific analysis of the DNA evidence found under the fingernails of DeSoto linked Lee to the 21-year-old Addis, Louisiana woman's death. Police then knew they were searching for a black man for the January 2002 slaying of Geralyn Barr DeSoto. DNAPrint Genomics generated an ancestry profile indicating that the suspect was 85% African, thus changing the course of the investigation. Having no leads, police then allowed the now defunct company DNAPrint Genomics to access DNA left at the crime scenes.

Police therefore administered thousands of DNA tests to Caucasian men in and around the general area of the murders. Two of the victims' bodies were discovered at the Whiskey Bay boat launch, approximately 30 miles west of Baton Rouge, just off Interstate 10.īecause the majority of highly publicized serial killers are white and based on erroneous eyewitness accounts, police originally believed the killer to be white.

Similarities between the crimes included the removal of cell phones from the victim's belongings, and a lack of any visible signs of forced entry into the location where the victim was attacked. Lee's methods varied with nearly each murder.

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