Definition: In this task, a passage will be given and the goal is to identify an event from the passage. An event is defined as a single word representing something that happened, is happening, or may happen. An event can be factual or hypothetical, positive or negative, certain or uncertain. While most events are based on verbs, an event can also be based on a noun (ex. storm, snow, rainfall) or a copula verb (is, was, been, etc.). The event must not be a pronoun or an adjective. For noun events with multiple words, use the last word in the phrase as event.
Input: Passage: NEWARK, N.J. _ A new Essex County task force began delving Thursday into the slayings of 14 black women over the last five years in the Newark area, as law-enforcement officials acknowledged that they needed to work harder to solve the cases of murdered women. The police and prosecutors said they had identified different suspects in six of the cases and had yet to find any pattern linking the killings or the victims, several of whom were believed to be prostitutes.

killings