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Male murder suspect may be living in LA as a woman

US police suspect a man wanted for questioning over two brutal murders in the 80s, may now be living in Los Angeles as a woman.

Detectives released a comfit image of John Kelly Gentry Jr. who is suspected to have been involved in the murders of a man and woman in Michigan and Ohio more than 30 years ago.

Gentry, who would now be 63, has not been seen since the April 1983 killings.

Gentry, who would now be 63, has not been seen since the April 1983 killings. Photo: Police handout
Gentry, who would now be 63, has not been seen since the April 1983 killings. Photo: Police handout

Police from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Michigan believe Gentry was having relationships with his two victims the time.

Now detectives suspect he may be living in Southern California and have issued an age-progressed drawing of him, hoping that members of the public may recognise him.

"The US Marshals Service received information in the last five years that Gentry was possibly living in California as a woman, that dresses as a woman," Monroe County Sheriff's Detective Jeff Smith said.

John Gentry is seen in a 1983 booking photo released by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Michigan. Photo: Police handout/Reuters
John Gentry is seen in a 1983 booking photo released by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Michigan. Photo: Police handout/Reuters

Citing his "past history," Detective Smith said the information came as no surprise to Gentry's family.

He also said it was possible Gentry could be deceased. Fingerprints which were recorded in an FBI database due to a prior criminal record, had not been flagged anywhere since the murders.

"If he's alive he's obviously living somewhat of a law-abiding life, because otherwise the prints should come back a match," Smith said.

Gentry's 25-year-old girlfriend, Barbara Gerber, was found stabbed to death at her home in Summerfield Township, Michigan on April 12, 1983.

Her car had been stolen and later recovered in Toledo, Ohio.

Michigan State Police releases this age-progressed drawing of what he may look like today as a 63-year-old. Photo: Police handout/Reuters
Michigan State Police releases this age-progressed drawing of what he may look like today as a 63-year-old. Photo: Police handout/Reuters

Six days later, sheriff's searching for Gentry found the body of William Veith in the basement of his Toledo rare coin shop.

His car was also stolen and eventually found in South Bend, Indiana.

One month after the killings, Gentry sent postcards to a friend and to his father from California but has not been heard from since, according to Detective Smith.

Gentry served time in the Lucas County Jail in Ohio, where he met Ms Gerber while she was working in the facility's kitchen.

In releasing the new photos, authorities hope someone from the public might be able to help investigators solve this cold case.