Authorities and criminal investigators in Georgia are intensifying efforts to determine whether a convicted murderer responsible for the deaths of two young women may also be connected to additional unsolved disappearances and killings.
The unsolved disappearances and killings are raising growing suspicions of a possible serial predator operating across multiple states.
The renewed focus centers on Dennis Lane, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to murdering Mirsha Victor, 23, and Conteshia McCoy, 19.
According to investigators, the bodies of both women were discovered in wooded areas behind a shopping center in Stockbridge, Georgia, where search teams recently returned with cadaver dogs in hopes of uncovering new evidence.
The renewed investigation was captured in a report by Channel 2 Action News, which accompanied investigators as they searched the area connected to the killings.
Retired Henry County police sergeant Nick Roberts said investigators have long suspected Lane may have targeted more women than the two murders already linked to him.
“I’ve always just had a feeling that there’s more victims out there,” Roberts said.
The concern stems partly from evidence investigators reportedly discovered inside Lane’s apartment, including identification cards, photographs, women’s underwear and what investigators described as lists of names believed to belong to additional women potentially.
Crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum said the evidence reflects behavioral patterns often associated with serial offenders who keep personal items connected to victims.
“Whether it’s a necklace or a driver’s license or underwear,” McCollum said, “we know we had a driver’s license.”
Investigators also noted that Lane allegedly maintained disturbing social media content and had connections to multiple geographic areas, including Macon, Georgia, where one victim’s car was abandoned, and Chicago, where he previously lived.
Those details have fueled fears that unsolved disappearances involving women in different jurisdictions could potentially be connected.
Forensic criminologist Tracy Sargent said investigators are examining whether the wooded area in Stockbridge functioned as a repeated dumping ground.
“In this case, we’re going to theorize that if he obviously used this area as a dumping ground, are there more than two victims in this area?” Sargent said.
She explained that serial offenders frequently groom victims by appearing trustworthy before escalating violence.
“Typically, these killers groom these victims,” Sargent said. “He gains their trust.”
The renewed scrutiny comes as public concern surrounding violence against women, particularly young Black women, continues growing nationwide. Advocacy groups and criminologists have repeatedly pointed to disparities in media attention and investigative resources involving missing and murdered Black women, sometimes referred to as the “missing white woman syndrome” gap.
Victor and McCoy’s deaths shocked communities across Georgia after investigators revealed Lane had burned and buried their bodies following the killings. Prosecutors also stated Lane admitted to sexually assaulting Victor’s body after her death.
Now, years after the initial convictions, investigators say unanswered questions remain about the names, personal items, and digital evidence allegedly tied to Lane.
“I believe absolutely there’s more victims,” McCollum said.
Although investigators did not announce any new discoveries from the latest search effort, authorities and forensic experts say the investigation remains active as they continue searching for evidence that could identify additional victims and bring closure to families of missing women.
“They don’t have answers,” McCollum said. “They need answers.”
