Kelly Sue Bunting, 28, of Hollis, Queens, was found dead on December 11, 1995, in a dumpster behind a sheet metal contracting company in Melville, New York. Identified also by the name Melani Vilavencencio, she had been beaten to death with a dumbbell and her hands had been removed in an apparent effort to prevent identification. A chest tattoo reading Melani led to her identification after police published a photo of it.

Investigators connected trace evidence from the body and the sleeping bag she was wrapped in to locations and items linked to Robert Shulman, a postal worker from Hicksville; fibers, cat hairs, foam padding and jute carpet backing were among the materials tying the scenes together, and the sleeping bag was a brand sold exclusively by Sears that focused attention on a blue Cadillac registered to Shulman’s brother. Shulman was arrested on April 6, 1996, and confessed to killing Bunting and others, saying he’d picked her up on December 8, 1995, and beaten her after an argument over cocaine.

What additional details might help clarify how Bunting came to be targeted that night?