I noticed the tattoo come up when she goes all psycho, but didn't notice the pendant. That link might explain why the "bad guys" left her sleeping and only took the polatician. I hadn't thought of it earlier, but it make sense that he may have already gotten to her.
Also, the black guy is not the serial killer. Sylar is a white guy with a moustache. You can just see it if you look at the still image gallery on the web site.
Gabriel