Milwaukee man linked by police to serial killings ordered held on $1 million bond

Suspected serial killer held on $1 million bond

MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee man police have linked to the slayings of nine women since 1986 has been ordered held on $1 million bond during an initial court appearance.

Walter E. Ellis appeared Wednesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, facing two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 23. Police have said the 49-year-old’s DNA was found on women ages 16 to 41 who were killed in a three-square-mile area.

Investigators believe eight of the women were prostitutes and one was a runaway.

Ellis is charged in the deaths of Joyce Mims in 1997 and Ouithrean Stokes in 2007.

District Attorney John Chisholm says he expects to file more charges on Thursday.

Ellis’s attorney, Alejandro Lockwood, could not immediately be reached for comment.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Justice Department will investigate what happened to an alleged serial killer’s missing DNA sample.

Police arrested Walter Ellis on Saturday after they obtained DNA that they say links him to a string of cold-case homicides in Milwaukee from 1986 to 2007. Police Chief Ed Flynn has suggested that if they had Ellis’ DNA profile sooner they may have been able to prevent at least one death.

The Department of Corrections says it obtained a tissue sample from Ellis while he was in prison in 2001. The corrections department was supposed to send it to the Department of Justice’s crime lab, which would have developed a DNA profile from it. But the DOJ says it never received the sample.

Crime lab supervisor Gary Hamblin says the DOJ will talk to corrections officials.