To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. On June 27, an unidentified woman is found dismembered and left in a trash container behind a pizzeria on Midland Avenue. On Aug. Medical reports said Ms. Cooper, who died two weeks before she was found, had been hit on the head with a blunt instrument.
Both Ms. Melendez and Ms. Cooper, police said, had histories of drug and prostitution arrests. Darlene Crews, 31, is in a drug-rehabilitation program now, but says she came "this close" to meeting a similar fate. Crews is a former prostitute who has seen several of her friends killed in the last two years. And of the women who continue to work the streets near Larkin Square here, an area known as Whore Stroll, she said, "If they're not dead now, they're on their way.
Social workers report that some of the women are beaten and abused by their customers, their johns. Many of the prostitutes are addicted to crack cocaine. Of those who spend time in jail -- many of whom are there for drug possession -- 80 percent, statistics show, come there infected with H. Crews said. She is a jolly, hefty woman who is quick with her words and her tears.
She said she was a prostitute for many years. And although she is no longer working, she said that sometimes she is still tempted by the money and the thrill of it.
She became a drug addict, a "garbage head," she said. She lost custody of her then 2-year-old daughter. And she was beaten, robbed and raped. Jail for her eventually became a haven from an exhausting world that came to life each night at 11 o'clock and slipped away as dawn broke. As Ms. Crews said, "It's not a glamorous business anymore. Crews -- and two other women who shared a life of drugs and sex for sale -- has agreed to embark on a new career as a volunteer counselor to the many prostitutes who fan out from Larkin Plaza each evening in search of cash and crack, and also, she said, in search of love.
