USA: 'Serial killer' disclosed murders in a series of novels

The man who killed five people before being shot dead by police in Colorado on Monday had announced the crimes and named some of his victims in a series of science fiction novels he wrote, according to police and US media.

"We are aware of the books written by the suspect, under a pseudonym, which are part of our investigation," said a Denver police spokesman.

The murderer, who according to the police is named Lyndon McLeod, had published in 2018 and 2020 a trilogy, entitled "Sanction", under the pseudonym Roman McClay. In his photos, in various accounts he maintained on social networking sites, he has a long beard, brown hair and many tattoos. One comment on its website states that his books follow the life of a "politician/billionaire who wants to use genetic technology to change the DNA of criminals, such as serial killers or violent people."

According to US media, in the first volume of the trilogy, a man named Lyndon McLeod kills another, named Michael Swingyard, in a building in Denver. Authorities confirmed that one of the real victims was named Michael Swingard and was killed in the building mentioned in the book.

In another volume, the author narrates the murder of a woman, Alicia Cardenas. The real Alicia Cardenas was also among McLeod's victims. McLeod's name appears on administrative documents related to the purchase of a property, a few years ago, by Alicia Cardenas.

On his website, "Roman McClay" wrote that he mixes imagination with "real people and facts" in order to "blur the boundaries between the real and the possible".

On Monday, the 47-year-old opened fire in a tattoo parlor in Denver, killing the owner, Alicia Cardenas. He then fatally wounded Michael Swingyard and then went to Lakewood, a suburb of Denver, where he killed a man at another tattoo parlor and a hotel receptionist.

The murderer was killed by a police officer, who was also injured in the exchange of gunfire. The suspect "appears to have targeted specific people" some of whom he "had a personal or professional relationship with," police said on Tuesday.

The motive for the attacks remains unclear.