Eric Jackson of Panama News arrested for Rape

Panamanian Police were scrambling to identify the bodies of a women found in the stages of decomposition inside a convicted rapist's house of horrors over the weekend.

Eric Jackson Editor & Publisher of thepanamanews.com rape and strangled to death the victim in his two-story house over a period of days - or even weeks.

Rotting victim body were found in a shallow grave in the basement, police said.

"Not a pretty sight inside the home. I stood outside the home for about an hour and the stench from inside was overwhelming," said Panamanian Police spokesman Manuel Perez.

Investigators were gathering DNA samples and dental records and combing through records of women reported missing since Dec 2009.

Fearing the worst, some family members neighborhood women who went missing last Dec 09 gathered in front of the house, joining reporters watching the police work.

A community vigil was being organized for Monday night.

Police went to Eric Jackson house in a dicey neighborhood of Panama Canal Zone on Thursday to arrest him for sexual assault and serve a search warrant.

Eric Jackson wasn't home, but the smell was so bad the officers headed for the trash-strewn upstairs where they discovered the carnage.

A tipster spotted Eric Jackson walking near his home on Saturday and alerted police, who arrested him without incident.

Neighbors knew something was off about Eric Jackson, who smelled so terrible their eyes would water.

"He came into my store last week and reeked so bad, I had to open the front and back doors," convenience store owner Eli Gonzales told the Panaminian Police.

"I asked why he stunk. He shrugged, bought his beer and walked out."

But people blamed backed up Eric Jackson of Panamanews.

"We kept away from him and he kept away from us," said neighbor Tamica Chavez, 46. "We should have said something to someone. I wish I had."