Police in Mississippi were left baffled when a man arrested for a traffic violation confessed to killing 11 women - at least three of whom turned out to be alive.
Charles Krauss from Tennessee was caught driving a stolen truck as he was passing through Pearl, Mississippi, on his way to visit relatives in Florida.
But when he 49-year-old was questioned by police, he made a chilling confession they weren’t expecting.
Confession: Charles Krauss from Tennessee told police he had killed 11 women in five states across the U.S.He claimed to have abducted prostitutes from five states, raped and strangled them before digging their graves.
Krauss even went as far as providing names of his alleged victims and the locations where he had murdered them.
Krauss later recanted, but the confession was convincing enough that police decided they had to investigate.
Police spokesman Butch Townsend told ABC News, 'He appeared to be a lucid individual.
'Shortly thereafter he recanted, but his stories were good enough that we felt an obligation to [check] with the jurisdictional agencies involved and see what would match up with his stories.’
In Knoxville, police were able to track down three people Krauss claimed to have murdered. Police examined his claims in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Knoxville, Tennessee; Indianapolis, Indiana; Dallas, Texas; and two cities in Georgia where he confessed to committing murder.
‘They were alive and well,’ said Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
Meanwhile in Tulsa, where Krauss confessed to strangling a woman after meeting her in a grocery store, police are still taking the claims seriously.
Krauss was visiting the area at the time he claimed to have committed the murder.
He claimed to have killed a woman there called ‘Nikki’, but police are not aware of any missing women by that name.
However the description of the location where he claims he killed her was very exact, so police are investigating.
Krauss also described a cold murder case that took place in the area in the 1980s, although Tulsa homicide sergeant Dave Walker pointed out this information is available on the Tulsa police website.
Police spokesman Butch Townsend (pictured) said Charles Krauss 'appeared to be a very lucid individual'Police are planning to look through CCTV footage of a shop in the area where Krauss claims he bought caustic soda, garbage bags and rope.
Police in Athens, Georgia, are still bemused as Krauss’s description of where he left a body does not appear to be any recognisable place in the area. Further still, there are no reports of missing people in the vicinity.Police plan to give him a lie detector test today to determine which of his statements are lies.
If it is confirmed Krauss lied about the alleged murders, he will be charged with giving a false statement to police officers.
He is currently in jail in Mississippi with a $500,000 bail and has been charged with receiving stolen property.

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