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Samuel Little, 72, was arrested for being in possession of a crack pipe and now finds himself accused of being a notorious serial killer responsible for the murders of women in Los Angeles dating back to 1989, reports ABC News.

Little, an alleged career criminal, was discovered in a Kentucky homeless shelter and was extradited to L.A. after stored DNA matched 3 similar cold case murders in California.

In each case, young women were punched and strangled in L.A. in 1989. In other unsolved cases, Little’s rap sheet showed him to be in the same places that murders occurred.

“It’s just statistically impossible for a man to keep being in a town where a body turns up,” said Det. Darren Versiga of the Pascagoula, Miss., Police Department, who believes he has linked the 1982 death of 22-year-old prostitute Melinda LaPree to Little.

ABC News report:

Versiga has re-interviewed witnesses who spoke with police following LaPree’s death. Though there is no longer any DNA that could possible link Little to the crimes that way, the victim’s murder matches Little’s MO and his rap sheet suggests he was in town at the time.

Authorities believe Little, a transient and former boxer who spent much of his life in prison, delivered a knockout punch to his victims, before strangling them, masturbating over their bodies and fleeing town.

“We see a pattern, and the pattern matches what he’s got away with in the past,” LAPD Det. Mitzi Roberts told the Associated Press.

In Florida, several police departments “feel like they might have some possible cases that could be tied to Little. Cold cases match up to dates he was in the area,” said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Little has yet to be charged with any murders outside of California.

Following his arrest in September, Little pleaded not guilty in the three L.A. killings and is awaiting trial. His lawyer, public defender Michael Pentz, did not return calls.

Read more at ABC News.