No human remains found in search tied to convicted murderer and drug dealer, medical examiner not called to home
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Excavation crews again searched a Milwaukee backyard Tuesday, April 21, shining new light on a gruesome series of murders that police say may be tied to a notorious drug kingpin.
Michael Lock
Michael Lock has been in prison since 2008, but police are still looking for the bodies of victims that went missing decades ago.
The medical examiner was not called to the scene Tuesday, which means no human remains were found. Convicted murderer Michael Lock once lived at the home. Two Lock murder victims were found decades ago buried at another home.
John Diedrich is an investigative reporter who has covered Lock and his "Body Snatchers" gang for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for decades.
Diedrich told us, "Definitely this was about searching for those, at least four bodies that are unaccounted for, somewhere in the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, we're not sure where."
The drug kingpin, criminal mastermind, and convicted killer has been behind bars for years. But Milwaukee police have long believed more victims are buried somewhere in the area.
Diedrich said, "This is the playbook they saw with the two bodies that they found, and they think there are more bodies definitely out there."
Investigators proved Lock would set up drug deals with major dealers and build a rapport with them. When the deals got big enough, he'd kidnap them and torture them.
"And hold them hostage," Diedrich said. "And if things didn't work out, they'd get murdered."
Back in 2005, two bodies were dug up from under concrete slabs behind a home Lock once owned.
A few years later, Lock was convicted of drug possession, kidnapping, prostitution, and homicide.
He is currently serving two life sentences in prison.
This week, excavators were carefully searching a yard near 15th and Congress, a home Lock lived in that's currently owned and rented out by his ex-wife.
A team from the state crime lab was on scene, including an anthropologist who specializes in missing person cases.
But there are more loose ends in addition to the missing persons: during one of his trials, one of Lock's subordinates testified Lock paid a number of MPD officers to help his criminal organization.
Those officers have never been identified or charged.
"So, there are some important pieces here that remain unresolved in the case," Diedrich said.
Messages and calls to numbers for Lock's ex-wife, the homeowner, were not returned. The people currently renting the home would not answer questions Tuesday.
The excavation equipment was taken away, and all indications are that crews will not be back to continue searching.
The Milwaukee Police Department says an investigation is ongoing.