Milwaukee police have arrested a man in connection to slayings of nine women dating back to 1986.
Police Chief Edward Flynn said Monday that 49-year-old Walter Earl Ellis of Milwaukee was arrested Saturday. Official charges have not been filed.
Police said DNA belonging to Ellis was found on the bodies of nine women found dead between 1986 and 2007. Investigators believe eight of the women were prostitutes and one was a runaway. They ranged in age from 16 to 41.
Online court records show that Ellis pleaded no contest in 1998 to a reduced charge of second-degree reckless injury. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Flynn didn't know whether Ellis had an attorney. A message left with Ellis' previous attorney was not immediately returned Monday.
