“We have evidence to believe that this new murder, of Officer William Sikes, is related to the three others that are already linked with the woman calling herself ‘Melissa,’ ” said Detective Inspector Carl Schroder, who is leading the investigation.
In all four cases, the victims were law-enforcement figures. Two of them were security guards whose bodies were naked when discovered by members of the public, and their uniforms were missing from the scene. The body of Melissa’s first alleged victim, Detective Inspector Robert Calhoun, has never been found, but a video of a woman killing him was found at the home of cleaner Joe Middleton, whose trial for the Christchurch Carver murders is set for next month.
The trial date depends on Middleton’s continuing recovery from wounds sustained during his arrest. Witnesses told the Christchurch press that he was holding a gun to his head when an unnamed woman knocked it and he fired into his face, resulting in injuries that were serious but not life threatening.
Police have interviewed Middleton, but gained few leads in their hunt for Melissa, whose name is believed to be a pseudonym. The woman had been helping with their investigation days before Middleton’s arrest for the Christchurch Carver killings. Detective Inspector Schroder will not comment further, other than to say that she was a key witness.