from: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0413garfield13.html

Suspect held in Garfield mystery

Corey D. Morris

Kevin Pang and Susan Carroll
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 13, 2003 12:00 AM

Phoenix police late Saturday were questioning a man who they say has admitted involvement in the deaths of at least five women whose bodies were found in the Garfield neighborhood over the past 10 months.

Corey Deonn Morris, 24, was being held overnight at the Madison Street Jail, and officials said charges are pending.

"He has made statements regarding his involvement in the deaths of five of these women," Detective Tony Morales said.

The break in the case comes hours after the discovery of another body Saturday morning, the seventh in the community since July.

The body, which was found in a camper parked in a back yard in the 700 block of East Pierce Street, was decomposed and police could not determine its gender.

Before Saturday, the bodies of six women had been found in the neighborhood near Ninth and McKinley streets. Five had prior arrests for prostitution, and four women died of cocaine overdoses.

Ron Willis, who owns the property where the body was found, is Morris' uncle. Willis said he is in shock over his nephew's possible involvement.

"Right now, I don't have any reaction," Willis said. "I'm trying to piece everything together."

Willis discovered the body in his RV at 10:30 a.m.

He said he noticed a foul smell and a swarm of flies encircling the RV.

When he went inside, Willis said blankets and a sleeping bag were covering something.

Willis used a shovel to pull back the covering, saw the body and called police.

Willis said Morris had been sleeping in the RV at night but had not been there the past few nights. He last saw his nephew Saturday morning.

Police said Morris was a karaoke deejay for the past few months at Fat Cat, a bar on Ninth and Grand avenues.

Police found Morris at the bar Saturday afternoon, and they said he voluntarily went to police headquarters for questioning.

Priscilla Diaz, Willis' next-door neighbor, said her son told her something smelled dead in the back yard Friday night.

On Saturday morning, she saw an unusually large number of flies. Shortly after, she went to her front porch and saw police cordoning off the area.

"I never hear anything, except the dog barking a lot," Diaz said. "I don't go out there at night."