began moving between various relatives, one of whom got him a job in West Virginia, where he established a relationship which ended when his girlfriend's family confronted him about another abuse allegation. Lucas befriended Ottis Toole and settled in Jacksonville, Florida. There he lived with Toole's parents and became close to his adolescent niece, Frieda "Becky" Powell, who had a mild intellectual disability and had escaped from a juvenile detention center. A period of stability followed, with Lucas working as a roofer, fixing neighbors' cars and scavenging scrap. Arrest, confession to murders of Powell and Rich Powell was put in a state shelter by the authorities after her mother and grandmother died in 1982. Lucas convinced her to run away with him and they lived on the road, eventually traveling to California, where an employer's wife asked them to work for her infirm mother, 82-year-old Kate Rich. However, Rich's family turned the couple out, accusing them of failing to do their jobs and writing checks on Rich's account. While hitchhiking, Lucas and Powell were picked up by the minister of a Pentecostal religious commune called "The House of Prayer", located in Stoneburg, Texas. Believing Lucas and the 15-year-old Powell were a married couple, the minister found Lucas a job as a roofer while allowing the couple to stay in a small apartment on the commune where they even attended church services. Powell became argumentative and homesick for Florida; when she turned up absent, Lucas claimed that she left at a truck stop in Bowie, Texas. In June 1983, Lucas was arrested on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by Texas Ranger Phil Ryan. Later, he confessed to the murders of Powell and Rich, and led the police to their purported remains, although forensic evidence alone was inconclusive and the coroner stopped short of positively identifying either of them. Lucas' participation in the investigation would serve to boost his credibility in later confessions to other crimes. Lucas later denied involvement, but the consensus is that he did murder Powell and Rich. False confession spree In November 1983, Lucas was transferred to a jail in Williamson County, Texas. He reported that he attempted suicide after receiving rough treatment by the inmates, and claimed that police stripped him naked, denied him cigarettes and bedding, held him in a cold cell, tortured his genitalia, and did not allow him to contact an attorney.