Melvin Foster tore knee cartilage
First suspect Melvin Foster was ruled out partly because a knee injury in March 1982 would have made it impossible for him to carry body weights to dump sites.
Where this was said
FBI Profile and the First Suspect: Melvin Foster
At 44:01 · chapter starts 42:00
In the fall of 1982, the Green River Task Force enlisted the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit — the group immortalized in the show Mindhunter, which Alaina briefly laments was cancelled. The resulting profile pointed to a man familiar with the area who had contact with sex workers. That description fit Melvin Foster, an unemployed cab driver who had inserted himself into the investigation by offering to be an informant. He failed a polygraph and became the primary suspect. But critical details didn't add up: a March 1982 knee injury would have made carrying bodies physically impossible, and his car was broken down around the time the victims were being transported to dump sites. Within months, Foster was ruled out entirely, and the task force was right back where they started — seven victims, no suspects.
Melvin Foster: The Wrong Suspect
Melvin Foster failed a polygraph and fit the FBI's profile perfectly: familiar with the area, contact with sex workers, inserted himself into the investigation. But a knee injury and a broken car made it physically impossible for him to be the killer. Months later, the task force was back to zero.
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