By Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
Foul play was a factor in the death of former House staffer Walter Graham, who was found dead in his Mount Vernon apartment nearly 20 years ago.
Police have never found his killer, and at one time the FBI suspected Graham may have been a victim of a serial killer from the D.C. area who targeted gay men.
Graham, who worked for former Rep. Delbert Latta, R-Ohio, for nearly 10 years, was found strangled on Aug. 12, 1991. He was 59.
Officers found his body in this living room after friends called police saying they had not heard from him in several days.
Graham had worked on the Hill for more than 20 years.
Three years later, as the FBI started a manhunt for serial killer Gary Ray Bowles, police in Virginia suspected that Graham could have been one of his victims.
Bowles, nicknamed the “95 Killer” because his victims lived along the Interstate 95 corridor, was wanted for the slayings of six other men from Maryland to Florida that occurred over four months in 1994.
After a nationwide manhunt, Bowles was arrested on Nov. 22, 1994.
Athorities questioned Bowles in the death of Graham, but he was not been charged in the House staffer’s death.
Most of his slayings were marked by “overkill,” where the victims’ injuries go beyond what would be necessary to kill them, police said.
Police also say most of Bowles’ victims were killed at home, with no sign of forced entry. Bowles brought no weapon with him; instead he used whatever he could find at the scene, including a 40-pound rock in one case.
Bowles was sentenced to death in Florida. He has denied killing Graham.
