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Abram Bynum, 35, was killed by Columbus Police officers yesterday in Ohio at the end of a high-speed chase on Interstate 70. Before moving to Columbus, Bynum lived in the Antelope Valley and is accused of five rapes that happened between 2004 and 2007, according to the LA Times.While in Ohio, detectives from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department convinced him to give DNA samples and when they matched those found at crime scenes, charges were pressed Monday and instead of arresting him, Columbus police did surveillance while LA investigators flew to Ohio. It was only when it appeared Bynum was going to leave town that Columbus police moved in to make an arrest. A chase ensued where Bynum's car crashed into a tanker. As police surrounded his vehicle, Bynum apparently reached for his gun, prompting police to shoot and kill.
When few details about the incident came out yesterday, LA Weekly thought it might be the Grim Sleeper serial murderer. They quickly got more details and found out it wasn't, but they still found it truly weird: "Two questions: Why on earth did a judge even set bail if prosecutors thought he was the horrific High Desert Rapist (believed to have raped four or five women and teens in the Antelope Valley area)? Why didn't L.A.-area cops get a DNA swab while they had this apparent creep behind bars? What on earth went down?" And how.
