Police have found the bodies of seven women in northwestern Indiana, a gruesome string of killings apparently connected to the same man.

Authorities on Monday identified the suspect as 43-year-old Gary resident Darren Deon Vann, a convicted sex offender in another state. Police said Vann met at least two of the victims through a prostitution scheme facilitated by Chicago.backpage.com, a classifieds website that has been implicated in numerous other crimes across the country related to its barely-veiled sex ads. Hammond, Ind., police found the first body around 9:30 p.m. on Friday.

The woman, identified as 19-year-old Afrika Hardy, was found strangled to death in a Motel 6 in the town.