Crime Reporter Turned Murder Suspect Dies

A reporter accused of brutally murdering elderly women in cases he covered for his newspaper was found drowned in a bucket of water in a prison bathroom on Monday, police said.

Vlado Taneski, 56, died several hours after being placed in prison custody, police said. He had been charged with two murders and suspected in a third.

Police said a handwritten note was found in Taneski's prison cell, under the bed pillow, saying: "I did not commit these murders."

The victims, all elderly cleaners, were found strangled with telephone cable after being beaten and sexually abused. Their naked bodies were dumped in garbage bags.

The killings took place between 2005 and earlier this year in the town of Kicevo, where the journalist lived and worked, about 75 miles southwest of the capital, Skopje.

Police were also investigating whether Taneski may have been involved in the disappearance of a fourth elderly woman in the area.

Taneski emerged as a suspect after reporting details of the murders in the national daily Utrinski Vesnik that had not been made public, police said. Taneski's DNA was then found on the bodies of two of the victims, police said. He was arrested in Kicevo on Friday.

As a well-known reporter in the area, Taneski had visited the family homes of his alleged victims and spoken with relatives while researching for his articles.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said prison wardens found the journalist drowned in a bathroom early Monday. The wardens had been alerted by other inmates after Taneski failed to return from the bathroom.

"He was found dead with his head in a bucket of water," Kotevski told The Associated Press, adding that a preliminary inspection of his body did not suggest his head had been forced into the bucket.

His body was being transferred from the prison outside the city of Tetovo to the capital for an autopsy. The bucket and its contents were also sealed for forensic examination, Kotevski said.

Police continued Monday to search Taneski's house in Kicevo and a nearby vacation home.

His alleged victims were 65-year-old Zivana Temelkoska, whose body was found this year; 56-year-old Ljubica Licoska, found dead in 2007; and Mitra Simjanoska, 64, found in 2005.

Police are also searching for a 78-year-old woman, missing since 2003, and believe her disappearance may be linked to the other killings.

Taneski had been charged with the murders of Temelkoska and Simjanoska.