A group of retired detectives that operate under the name of Global Death Investigations says that at least 70 and as many as 100 young men have been murdered by a gang they refer to as the smiley face killers and are still operating today.
The FBI, local law enforcement agencies and the Center for Homicide Research have refuted the serial killer theory, but the presence of the date rape drug, ligature marks and similarities the victims share makes those denials less believable.
70 of the victims were young, white male, college students, who possessed by athletic acumen and scholastic achievements, along with a smiley face graffiti at the site of the drownings all across the country appears to be more than just coincidence.
The retired detectives, a group called Global Death Investigations, have given the alleged group of killers a name, the smiley face killers, and say they might be responsible for about 100 deaths since 1997 across the U.S. authorities officially labeled as accidental drownings.
The deceased all bear similar profiles: College-aged white males, athletic and intelligent, who never returned from a night out drinking and whose bodies were later found either in a body of water or washed up on shore.
The retired detectives assert the alleged gang of killers operate in cells across the country that communicate via the dark web to recruit, choose victims and organize the killings. Of those cases the detectives believe are connected to the group, 70 of the alleged victims were found near the graffiti of particular symbols, including a smiley face, that are specific to the alleged serial killer gang.
“The level of sophistication of the group is a lot greater than we’d imagined. Now we know they communicate with each other on the dark web. We know there’s surveillance and counter-surveillance,” he added.
Professor Lee Gilbertson, who along with Gannon and former NYPD detective Anthony Duarte first brought the smiley face killers theory to law enforcement in 2008, explained that he and his colleagues believe the gang operates in cells, with individuals alternating in and out of action, across dozens of cities.