A Michigan man serving life in prison for killing a 13-year-old girl is a suspected serial killer, police said Wednesday as they dug up part of a forest in a search for as many as seven other girls who have been missing for decades.
In this March 6, 2017 photo released by the Michigan Department of Corrections, Arthur Ream is shown. Police are digging in woods northeast of Detroit near where the body of a 13-year-old girl who went missing in 1986 was found more than a decade ago. (Michigan Department of Corrections via AP)
Using earth-moving equipment, as well as shovels and rakes, authorities have spent two days excavating a wooded site about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Detroit in the belief that Arthur Ream buried all of his victims in the same general area.
The police commissioner in nearby Warren appealed to the inmate to help investigators find the remains.
"You want to be a man about it?" Bill Dwyer said. "Let's help the families out. Give them some closure. That's what it's all about."
Ream is no stranger to the area. Following his 2008 conviction for killing Cindy Zarzycki, he led investigators to her remains, which had been buried there for more than 20 years.
Investigators huddle before they travel across a huge field to a dig site along a rural wooded area in Macomb Township, Mich., Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (Todd McInturf/Detroit News via AP)
The current search area spans about 24 acres. Searchers are trying to narrow that down to a more manageable size, police said.
Police interviewed Ream a few months ago after fellow prisoners said he boasted about killing four to six other people. He later failed a lie-detector test, Dwyer said.
Ream, who turned 69 on Wednesday, was sentenced in 1998 to 15 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct and taking indecent liberties with a child less than two years earlier.
Attorney R. Timothy Kohler, who was appointed by a judge to represent him in his 2008 murder trial, said his former client is "not a likable guy" and not healthy.
"He smoked excessively and was overweight. I didn't want to particularly hear his story, other than my sense that he was denying any allegation of intentionally murdering" Cindy.
An excavator moves to a rural wooded area in Macomb Township, Mich., Tuesday, May 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
"He claimed his innocence. He never told me that he did anything. Frankly, I don't think I was interested in knowing that," Kohler said.
Cindy was last seen on April 20, 1986, after going to a Dairy Queen in Eastpointe, a mostly blue-collar suburb north of Detroit.
Other possible victims include 12-year-old Kimberly King, who disappeared in 1979 while visiting her grandmother in Warren; Kim Larrow, who was 15 when she was last seen in 1981 in Canton Township, west of Detroit; and Kellie Brownlee, who was 17 when she vanished in 1982 from suburban Novi.
Authorities are also searching for additional victims who have not been publicly identified.
During Ream's murder trial, prosecutors said he told Cindy that he was taking her to a surprise birthday party for his son, who was her boyfriend at the time. Scott Ream's birthday actually was months earlier.
Investigators set up their equipment under tents before beginning their work at a dig site along a rural wooded area in Macomb Township, Mich., Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (Todd McInturf/Detroit News via AP)
Even after leading police to her remains, Ream denied killing her. He told a police detective in 2008 that Cindy was with his son the day she died and claimed she fell from an open elevator at his carpet warehouse in Warren.
Her father hopes Ream tells police where other bodies might be found.
"I pray for him every day that his heart softens," Edward Zarzycki said Wednesday at the excavation site.
King's sister, Konnie Beyma, wants the same.
"Please just tell us where she is so we can move on," Beyma told reporters. "That's all. Let us take her and bury her next to my grandmother."
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy is expected to be the first of many Michigan men drafted from its national championship team.
The Wolverines had a record 18 players at the combine, giving them a chance to be the first school with at least 16 prospects picked in one NFL draft.
“We definitely have a shot because we have some great players on the team — and we won the natty,” running back Blake Corum said. “We could break the record.”
Georgia's 2022 national championship team set the standard since the draft went to seven rounds in 1994 with 15 players picked, including a record-tying five first-round selections, in the 2023 draft.
McCarthy may be Michigan's only player taken among the top 32 next Thursday night in Detroit and some expect him to be among the top five picks after teams have gotten to know him off the field.
“This process is so unique,” McCarthy said. “They put you through so many different loops and hoops.”
A handful of McCarthy's teammates are projected to be picked in the second or third round next Friday night while many more will follow in the fourth through seventh rounds.
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, linebacker Junior Colson, defensive back Mike Sainristil, receiver Roman Wilson and Corum are candidates to get drafted in the second round.
Offensive linemen Zak Zinter and defensive end Braiden McGregor may go in the next wave of maize and blue, perhaps getting picked in the fourth or fifth round.
Sixth- and seventh-round selections could include edge rusher Jaylen Harrell, receiver Cornelius Johnson, linebacker Michael Barrett, tight end AJ Barner and offensive linemen Trevor Keegan and LaDarius Henderson.
“It just goes to show how many dogs we got on this team, and how many people are willing to play the role and humble themselves,” Jenkins said. “It’s special.”
The AP's mock draft has McCarthy going at No. 8 overall. The Athletic listed 14 players from Michigan in a seven-round mock draft.
If those players are picked along with All-Big Ten center and Rimington Trophy finalist Drake Nugent, the Wolverines will tie the Bulldogs' mark.
And if at least one of three others who were invited to the combine — offensive linemen Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart along with defensive back Josh Wallace — are drafted, Michigan will set a new mark.
“Walking around, you couldn't do a 360 in Indianapolis without seeing a bunch of Michigan guys — or now that coach (Jim) Harbaugh is in the NFL — or coaches,” Nugent said. “It's definitely something to appreciate on top of the incredible season we had.”
Three of Michigan's prospects have fathers who played in the league.
Jenkins, whose dad has the same name, was a two-time All-Pro defensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. James Harrell was with the Detroit Lions and Terry Nugent played for Cleveland and Indianapolis.
A father figure of sorts, Harbaugh will likely lobby the Los Angeles Chargers to draft some of his former players.
Harbaugh attended Michigan's pro day last month and though he may not be the most objective observer and he already has a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert, the former Michigan and NFL quarterback was blown away by McCarthy's performance.
“I’ve been to a lot of pro day workouts and watched quarterbacks throw. That was the best I’ve ever seen a quarterback do at a pro day,” Harbaugh said.
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FILE - Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, March 1, 2024. McCarthy is a possible first round pick in the NFL Draft.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback J.J. McCarthy celebrate with the trophy after their win against Washington in the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Houston. J.J. McCarthy is expected to be the first of many drafted from Michigan’s national championship-winning team. The Wolverines had a record 18 players at the combine. If Jim Harbaugh’s last team has 16 or more players drafted, they will surpass another former champion, Georgia’s 2022 team, that had 15 players selected.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy sits on the field with his back against a padded goalpost on Nov. 4, 2023 in Ann Arbor, Mich. McCarthy meditates roughly two hours before games. McCarthy is a possible first round pick in the NFL Draft.(AP Photo/Larry Lage, File)
FILE - Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) rolls out during the second half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game against Alabama Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. McCarthy is a possible first round pick in the NFL Draft.(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
