Serial Killer of Gay Men in Brazil Maybe a Cop

A retired police sergeant is the main suspect in the murders of 13 homosexuals here in Brazil's largest city, authorities said Wednesday.

A total of 13 men were murdered between July 1997 and August of this year in Paturis Park, an extensive green area in Sao Paulo's Carapicuiba district that is frequented by gay men.

The suspect was already being investigated for two other killings in the neighboring municipality of Osasco, one of the victims being a transvestite and ballistics tests indicate that the weapon used in that crime could be the same one used in one of the Carapicuiba murders.

The press has dubbed the killer the "Rainbow Maniac," a reference to the colors of the flag of the movement to defend the rights of homosexuals.

Of the 13 victims, 11 were shot in the head, another one in the back and the last one was beaten to death.