John Gardner May Be Linked to Other Crimes, Police Say

May 17, 2010— -- In the hours after he was sentenced to life in prison for the rapes and murders of two southern California teenagers, John Gardner told authorities there are other crimes he may have been involved with.

At a news conference today, officials from several police agencies and the district attorney's office released previously withheld information about the Gardner cases, including the DNA evidence that initially led police to arrest the 31-year-old convicted sex offender in the February murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King.

The investigation into any other crimes Gardner may have committed is ongoing. Officials declined to elaborate on what specific criminal activity he may have been involved with beyond the possibility of other assaults.

Gardner didn't implicate himself in any other murders, police said, but investigators are taking a closer look at every missing persons case in the area involving women in their teens and 20s.

A task force comprised of members of nine agencies, including the FBI, was set up after King's murder to investigate any other crimes that could be tied to Gardner. It is still active even with Gardner behind bars for life.

Police declined to reveal exactly how Gardner was able to overtake King, who was last seen jogging in a park near her home. The DNA evidence that initially linked Gardner to her murder, they said, was "body fluid" on her clothes that would normally be found during the course of a sexual assault.

King's DNA was also on the clothing, they said.

Gardner was sentenced Friday to three consecutive life sentences without parole for the rape and murders of King and 14-year-old Amber DuBois, and the attempted rape of another woman.