Neal Falls, Man Allegedly Killed In Self-Defense By Escort, Suspected Of Being A Serial Killer

Neal Falls, the man allegedly killed in self-defense by an escort, is now under suspicion of being a serial killer, according to police.

Neal Falls Killed By Escort In Alleged Self-Defense

A woman, identified only as Heather, shot and killed Falls, 45, on July 18, after he allegedly attacked her in her home. Falls reportedly contacted Heather after finding an ad for her services on Backpage.com, and arranged a meeting.

Heather later told reporters that, when she answered the door, Falls was holding a gun and asked, “Live or die?” He then began to choke her. Heather claims she fought him off using a nearby rake and was able to get ahold of his gun and shoot him before he had a chance to harm her further. She then ran out of the house and got the attention of a neighbor, who called 911.

“When he strangled me, I grabbed my rake, and when he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands, I shot him. …I grabbed the gun and shot behind me,” Heather told CBS News.

Once they arrived on the scene, police discovered Falls had a car full of weapons. “He had a machete, shovel, two axes, a bunch of knives, a double-headed ax, a bulletproof vest, numerous sets of handcuffs, as well as the firearm used to kill him,” said Lt. Steve Cooper of Charleston, W.V.

Heather is not being charged with murder, as police believe she acted in self-defense. “He made a deal with the victim [Heather] to exchange money for her services as an escort. He brought no money with him. What he brought with him was a firearm, four sets of handcuffs and all of the items you have photos of from the trunk of his car. So… clearly his intentions were dark,” Cooper said.

“I knew he was there to kill me,” Heather told reporters.

Neal Falls Suspected Serial Killer

During their search, police also found a list of ten other women in Falls’ car – complete with names, ages and phone numbers. It is believed that all the women on the list were escorts who advertised on Backpage.com. Police are currently working on tracking down every woman on the list to ensure their safety.

“We have been able to locate most of them and they were all on a Web site advertising for escort services,” Lt. Cooper added.

According to Lt. Cooper, evidence found in Falls’ car matches evidence linked to the murders of multiple female escorts found in Las Vegas, where Falls once lived. Based on this evidence found at the scene, Cooper and the Charleston Police Department reached out to other states and bodies of law enforcement, though Falls had no criminal record. Falls is currently being investigated in connection with the murder or disappearance of six women in Ohio, as well as some in Illinois and Nevada.

“It’s likely that Mr. Falls is a serial killer. I believe she [Heather] saved lives by shooting Mr. Falls, based on what he did to her and based on the items found in his car,” Cooper said.

Cooper added that the Police are running Falls’ DNA through CODIS – Combined DNA Index System, a national crime DNA database. “If his DNA has been located in any other crimes and his profile was entered into CODIS, there will be a match,” Cooper stated.