A retired southern Illinois investigator of a man linked to the killings of nine women in four states in the late 1970s and early 1980s is sharing his chronicle of the case in a new book.

WSIL-TV in Harrisburg reports that one-time Carbondale police Lt. Paul Echols' "In Cold Pursuit: My Hunt for Timothy Krajcir -- The Notorious Serial Killer" was due out in bookstores Tuesday.

Sixty-six-year-old Krajcir's killings include five in southeast Missouri and two in southern Illinois, and he's pleaded guilty to charges related to one killing each in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Krajcir is now imprisoned in Joliet and confessed to the murders after being assured he wouldn't face the death penalty.

Proceeds from the book go to a Southern Illinois University scholarship in memory Krajcir's victims.


and....

In Cold Pursuit

My Hunt for Timothy Krajcir —The Notorious Serial Killer

RELEASING MARCH 2011

by Lt. Paul Echols and Christine Byers


Timothy Krajcir thought he had gotten away with murder—nine times—during terror-filled years that gripped the Midwest with fear and anxiety. He drove to various towns where he singled out women he happened upon and then systematically stalked, assaulted and killed his unsuspecting victims in cold blood. He was bold, smart, stealthy and just plain lucky. As police searched in vain for the serial killer, Krajcir, in a strange twist, studied as an Administration of Justice major at Southern Illinois University. He thought nobody would ever know about the serial murders he had committed. In the end, dozens of women were sexually assaulted, including nine who were murdered, in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. And then a tenth victim, a black man who died in prison for a crime Krajcir now admits he committed.

Little did this heartless killer know, however, that a rookie cop named Paul Echols had begun to research the cold cases between his own studies and could not stop thinking about the victims. He pledged to see this savage murderer be held responsible for his unforgivable sins.

In Cold Pursuit: My Hunt for Timothy Krajcir—The Notorious Serial Killer tells the tale of the trail of blood left in the wake of Timothy Krajcir’s deadly rampage by the man who finally brought the killer to justice twenty-five years later.

Filled with exclusive interviews and never-before-revealed details, here is a compelling true crime story that delves deep into the mind of a notorious killer, taking the reader through fulfilling highs and frustrating lows as Lt. Echols ensures Krajcir remains behind bars for the rest of his life.

Lt. Paul Echols is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the former Investigations Commander for the Carbondale, Illinois, Police Department. Paul is now a Criminal Justice Instructor at Shawnee Community College near Ullin, Illinois. Paul also teaches aspiring police officers in the Southern Illinois University Administration of Justice Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Paul and his wife, Sheila, and two children live in Southern Illinois.

Christine Byers has worked for such newspapers as the Peoria Journal Star, Rockford Register Star, Daily Herald and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She got the first exclusive interview with Tim Krajcir as well as several of his surviving victims. Christine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, Tony.