Internet 'Slavemaster' Linked to Five Slain Women

[Paul Howell]

Note, a local TV newscast said that one of the slain women was from 
Monroe County, MI.

At http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000606/wr/crime_murder_dc_2.html

Tuesday June 6 5:13 PM ET 

Internet 'Slavemaster' Linked to Five Slain Women

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - A Kansas man
who trolled the Internet as a ``slavemaster''
looking for sadomasochistic sex has been linked
to the slaying of five women, law officials said on
Tuesday after confirming the discovery of three
more bodies stuffed into 55-gallon drums.

Authorities said they were not sure if any more
bodies might be discovered, but they were
planning to drain a pond on land in rural Linn
County, Kansas, on Tuesday afternoon in search
of other possible victims.

All of the women were thought to have been killed
by a blow to the head. Authorities identified one
victim, whose name was not disclosed, but Cass
County Prosecutor Chris Koster said police did
not know the names or ages of the other women
or how long ago they were killed.

``This could be a possible serial killer,'' said Kris
Turnbow, the police chief Raymore, Missouri,
where the latest three bodies were discovered.
``We do suspect that there may be more victims.''

The bodies in Raymore were found in a storage
locker on Monday, authorities confirmed on
Tuesday. The barrels were sealed with tape and
wrapped in plastic. Two other bodies were
discovered in barrels on Saturday on land in Linn
County, Kansas.

The chief suspect is 56-year-old John Edward
Robinson Sr., who rented the storage locker and
owns the land where the bodies were found.

He was arrested on Friday at his home in Olathe,
Kansas, and charged with two counts of
aggravated sexual assault in connection will
allegations made by two women who said they
were attacked in separate encounters with
Robinson after corresponding with him on the
Internet.

Each woman traveled to the Kansas City area
and met Robinson at a hotel. The women
complained to police after their encounters with
Robinson turned brutal, investigators said. One
woman also alleged that Robinson stole several
hundred dollars worth of sex toys from her.

Robinson was very active in Internet chat rooms
having to do with sadomasochistic sex and was
known to some as ''slavemaster,'' officials said.

The day after Robinson was charged, authorities
found the first two bodies buried in 55-gallon
barrels on a 16.5-acre plot of land Robinson
owns in Linn County, south of the Kansas City
area.

Robinson was being held on a $5 million bond in
Johnson County Jail in Olathe. He has not been
charged in the murders, but Johnson County
District Attorney Paul Morrison said charges
were expected soon.

Morrison said there remained many unknowns in
the case, and the possibility of more victims
``obviously exists.''

``We just don't know where this thing is going to
end up,'' he said.