Michigan police are trying to find out if a series of gruesome murders are linked to a website operated by the company that owns The Seattle Weekly.
Since Dec. 19, the bodies of four women have been found in car trunks just blocks apart in Detroit. Police Chief Ralph Godbee is not calling them serial killings, but investigators do say three of the four victims had placed escort service ads on Backpage.com.
Attorneys general for 45 states had raised concerns earlier this year about how the site polices ads for adult services.
Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna has been trying to get the site taken down for months. In an interview with CNN, McKenna said Backpage.com is dangerous and promotes child prostitution.
"As long as they tolorate ads for prostitution, which they admitted when they met with my staff, they are creating a place on the Internet that people go to for adult protstitutes and child prostitutes," said McKenna.
Investigators said it's too early to know for sure whether the killer used Backpage.com to find his victims in Detroit.
Meanwhile, Backpage.com says it's cooperating with police in the investigation. The company said in a statement Tuesday that it reached out to people with detailed information about ads that a suspect may have posted on numerous website. The company also said the investigation is expanding to involve at least 30 different ads on multiple websites.
Detroit police didn't immediately comment.
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