Lawyer for Man Accused in N.J. Prostitutes' Deaths Says Different Person Has Confessed

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The lawyer for a man being investigated in the killings of four Atlantic City-area prostitutes says someone else has confessed to the slayings.

James Leonard, the attorney for Terry Oleson, a Salem County man who has been jailed since April on an unrelated charge while authorities try to determine whether he was involved in the hooker deaths, said a different man contacted his office 10 days ago and admitted killing the women.

Leonard said the man called his office from the Atlantic County jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges, and said "he had some things he wanted to get off his chest."

"He talks about strangulation, and mentions one of the women by name," said Leonard, who recorded several phone conversation with the man.

"In the recording, he takes responsibility for the killings. He said one of the reasons he was coming forward was he didn't want to see an innocent man go to jail."

Leonard said he provided copies of that recording and approximately six others to prosecutors within the 10 days.

The AP is not naming the man Leonard identified because he hasn't been charged in the case.

Murray Talasnik, first assistant Atlantic County Prosecutor, would not confirm or deny that his office had received recordings from Leonard.

"As of today, no one has been charged in connection with the four women whose bodies were discovered last fall. We are not prepared to charge anyone right now. The case is still open," Talasnik said.

Prosecutors in Atlantic County have been investigating Oleson in connection with the deaths of four prostitutes whose bodies were found floating in a drainage ditch behind a motel where Oleson had stayed just before they were discovered.

Prosecutors have resisted calling Oleson a suspect in that case, but they sought DNA samples from him to compare with physical evidence taken from the bodies. In June, Oleson agreed and submitted a cheek swab and hair samples to investigators.

He has been in jail since April 6, when he was charged with invasion of privacy for allegedly secretly videotaping a naked 15-year-old girl four separate times in November 2005 in his Salem County home.