When news stories appeared two weeks ago quoting a Salt Lake homicide detective as saying he's sure Paul Ezra Rhoades killed several Utah women, Rhoades' mother and sister-in-law in Idaho Falls were incensed.
The pair said they could prove that Rhoades was in Idaho during the killings, which occurred in 1985 and 1986.But the records are "of little value" and cannot substantiate Rhoades' whereabouts "one way or the other," said Salt Lake Police Lt. Norm Thompson.
Rhoades, who is on death row in Idaho for three murders in that state, has not been ruled out as a suspect in the killing of at least three Utah women. Salt Lake Police Detective Jim Bell said he is confident that Rhoades is the killer, although he has been unable to persuade prosecutors to file charges.
Earlier this week, Salt Lake homicide squad Sgt. Chuck Cockayne and Detective John Johnson traveled to Idaho Falls to meet with Rhoades' mother and sister-in-law, who provided work rec-ords they hoped would exonerate Rhoades from the Utah killings.
The records were supposed to show that Rhoades worked as a drywaller regularly in the Idaho Falls and Blackfoot area in 1985 and 1986.
But Thompson said the records cannot prove that Rhoades was somewhere else when the homicides occurred.
"We've examined some of the documents and feel they are of little value with respect to eliminating Paul as a suspect."
Rhoades was developed as a suspect after police formed a task force to investigate the deaths of Christine Gallegos, who was shot in the head and stabbed May 15, 1985; Carla Maxwell, 21, who was shot in the head in Layton April 25, 1986; and Lisa Strong, 26, who was shot in the head May 12, 1986.
Bullets recovered from the shootings were fired from the same gun.