JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's known that the man accused of killing five young women drove a cab and may have met as many as three of his victims that way.
Eyewitness News investigators learned Thursday that Paul Durousseau was hired two years ago to drive a Duval County school bus.
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In court Thursday, State Attorney Harry Shorstein sought and obtained indictments from the grand jury on five counts of first-degree murder -- a prerequisite to seeking the death penalty if Durousseau is convicted.
Before his arrest in February on a parole violation, Durousseau made his living as a cab driver for Gator City Taxi. But in Aug. 2001, Durousseau got a job with First Student, one of the contractors that operates buses for Duval County schools.
Channel 4's Scott Johnson learned he was hired Aug. 15 and was terminated two weeks later. First Student Transportation confirmed that Durousseau was hired on Aug. 15, 2001, went through 40 hours of training, then began driving a bus route.
He was fired Aug. 30 after a criminal background check showed a record of aggravated battery.
The company is investigating to find out what route he drove.
It was a time when First Student and three other bus contractors took over the transportation of more than 100,000 students in Jacksonville on rather short notice. First Student and the other bus companies used dozens of uncertified drivers whose background checks were not complete during the first weeks of school that year just to get every route covered.
"He shouldn't have been hired as a bus driver," First Student vice president Mike Murray told Channel 4.
But Durousseau was terminated as soon as the company found he didn't meet their standards.
"The system did work," Murray said.
Durousseau drove a Gator City Cab from Jan. 9 to 27 of this year -- during the time some of the murders occurred.
Their cabs have cameras that snaps a picture of drivers and passengers, and a Global Positioning System tracking system installed -- information that police were very interested in.
"Any of the GPS data for his cab has been turned over to authorities," Gator City spokesman Lee Schissler said.
The cab company is now inspecting all its drivers' backgrounds more closely.
Previous Stories:
- June 19, 2003: Durousseau Indicted: 5 Counts Of First-Degree Murder
- June 18, 2003: Family Of Murder Victims Mourn June 18, 2003: Gator City Taxi President Comes To Town For Answers
- June 17, 2003: Father Of Murder Victim Knows Accused Killer
- June 17, 2003: Suspected Serial Killer Under Arrest