Tonight's serial killer bedtime story about Fritz Haarmann might make you think twice before riding the train.
Born in 1879, this perverted German pederast and his lover, Hans Grans, stalked the train stations of post-WWI Hannover searching for young boys. Always the enterprising killers, they would sell the flesh and clothing of their victims for fun and profit. Their deadly trade was first discovered in 1924 when bones from twenty-seven bodies were dredged out of the Leine River. A coat from one of the missing boys was traced back to the murderous love birds. Once in custody, Fritz started confessing. Haarmann enjoyed the attention he received during the trial and boasted of having killed up to forty people. He was decapitated on April 15, 1925. His lover Grans, who was not involved in the killings, received a twelve year sentence for selling stolen merchandise.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Join Me in Beautiful Sea View
I have become an enormous fan of the Satin Strangler, and am finally planning a pilgrimage to Sea View, NJ. As with any trip, I researched the location to learn about the biggest tourist attractions. It came as no surprise when I stumbled across this ad last night on the Sea View Chamber of Congress website:
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Visit the historic beach town of Sea View, selected by Time magazine as one of America’s Safest Cities. Come see:
The boardwalk where the Satin Strangler stalked her victims
The streets where the police hunt took place
The Oceanview Motel where she was captured
The boutique where she bought her stockings
The police station where she was arrested
The courtroom where she was arraigned
The most beautiful beach in New Jersey
Experience it all by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage
Ocean vista tours by day
Murder re-enactment tours at night (adults only please)
Sponsored by Mayor Winston Mayfield and the Sea View Chamber of Commerce
It pleases me to know that Sea View is embracing this tourism opportunity, rather than shunning it. Serial murder is not only a favorite pastime of numerous Crazy 4 Crazies, but it is also a successful industry, maybe the only one that can revive a dead little town like Sea View.-----
This is post #71 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Thursday, November 5, 2009
Serial Killer Fun for Kids of All Ages
Tired of buying Barbies, American Girls, and Polly Pockets? Want to give your kids something a little different for their next birthday or holiday? Here are a couple of ideas that even I think might perhaps be over the top. Well, maybe just a little. Perhaps.
The Peek-a-boo Jeffrey Dahmer Slayset
This Jeffrey Dahmer doll is made by Demented Dollz company and sold complete with dismembered victims, toothpicks, and a handy dandy hazardous waste disposal tin (never know when you’re going to need one). Zip open Jeffrey’s orange prison jump suit to reveal Cleotus, an anonymous dismembered victim who can be removed from Dahmer’s stomach and reattached. The quote on the package says “Open me up for a sure delight, and see who I ate for dinner last night.” Yum.
The hazardous waste disposable tin is loaded with body parts, some skewered with toothpicks, and others that glow in the dark. “Body parts vary from set to set depending on morgue availability.”
It’s “a 2 foot tall cannibal collector’s dream.”
Satin Strangler Seduction and Destruction Doll
Move over American Girls. Here comes a doll like no other that you’ve seen before. It’s your own actual size Destiny Blande, complete with an assortment of stockings, veils, and scarves, plus a bonus knife holster garter belt for good measure.
Pull the string in her back and she talks to you. What will she say? “Let’s go someplace where we can be alone . . . Let’s tie each other up, okay? You first . . . I’ll take your breath away.”
Other accessories are sold separately. Who wouldn’t want the Satin Strangler’s favorite traveling trunk? Wrap your other dolls in her satin stockings and put them inside. See how long it takes your police dolls to find them.
If you’re Crazy 4 Crazies, hurry and get these two dolls and add them to your Serial Killer collection. Limited production has made them a rare find and immediate collectors’ items.
-----
This is post #68 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Read the next post in TSSB.
Start TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
The Peek-a-boo Jeffrey Dahmer Slayset
This Jeffrey Dahmer doll is made by Demented Dollz company and sold complete with dismembered victims, toothpicks, and a handy dandy hazardous waste disposal tin (never know when you’re going to need one). Zip open Jeffrey’s orange prison jump suit to reveal Cleotus, an anonymous dismembered victim who can be removed from Dahmer’s stomach and reattached. The quote on the package says “Open me up for a sure delight, and see who I ate for dinner last night.” Yum.
The hazardous waste disposable tin is loaded with body parts, some skewered with toothpicks, and others that glow in the dark. “Body parts vary from set to set depending on morgue availability.”
It’s “a 2 foot tall cannibal collector’s dream.”
Satin Strangler Seduction and Destruction Doll
Move over American Girls. Here comes a doll like no other that you’ve seen before. It’s your own actual size Destiny Blande, complete with an assortment of stockings, veils, and scarves, plus a bonus knife holster garter belt for good measure.
Pull the string in her back and she talks to you. What will she say? “Let’s go someplace where we can be alone . . . Let’s tie each other up, okay? You first . . . I’ll take your breath away.”
Other accessories are sold separately. Who wouldn’t want the Satin Strangler’s favorite traveling trunk? Wrap your other dolls in her satin stockings and put them inside. See how long it takes your police dolls to find them.
If you’re Crazy 4 Crazies, hurry and get these two dolls and add them to your Serial Killer collection. Limited production has made them a rare find and immediate collectors’ items.
-----
This is post #68 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Read the next post in TSSB.
Start TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
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Sunday, November 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Wayne Williams
Tonight's bedtime story is about Wayne Williams.
Suspected of being the Atlanta Child Murderer, Wayne killed mostly young, black boys and dumped their bodies in the Chattahoochee River. He was caught when he departed from his modus operandi and smoked a couple of adults. When he was arrested Wayne was described as the "Pillsbury Doughboy." Unlike many other serial killers, he was soft-spoken, mild-mannered and friendly.
His thick glasses, soft features and delicate hands made him an unlikely candidate for comitting 28 murders. Many black leaders characterized his arrest as being racial in nature. However, as his trial progressed, Wayne emerged as a person emotionally capable of murder with an "inadequate personality" and an "obsessive need for control." Though at first he presented himself as an innocent victim of circumstance who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, when FBI agents searched the home he shared with his retired-schoolteacher parents, they found books on how to cheat polygraph tests as well as the crucial fiber evidence that eventually linked him to 12 murders.
After his arrest the killings ceased for a period, or so did police say. Some police say evidence against him was flawed and believe the case should be reopened. Williams' lawyer claimed a Klansman named Charles Sanders confessed to the police that he helped the KKK kidnap and murder 21 black children. Allegedly, this evidence was suppressed to avoid a race war.
John Douglas, the FBI agent whose profile led to Wayne's arrest, believes he was probably one of four killers active in the area. Douglas believes that evidence links Williams to at most 12 murders. According to the retired Federal agent, there are still black children being murdered in Atlanta and local authorities -- scared of what they might uncover -- are trying to keep a lid on it.
On June 5, 1998, two investigators of the widely publicized Atlanta missing and murdered children cases said again they believe convicted killer Wayne Williams is innocent. DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey and Fulton County Police Chief Louis Graham, both Atlanta police homicide investigators at the time the rash of killings occurred in the early 1980s, made the assertions on "Dateline NBC." The state has also introduced evidence of 10 other murders, for which Williams was never indicted. Police ultimately blamed him for 24 deaths.
Williams was convicted of murder in the deaths of Nathaniel Cater, 27, and Jimmy Ray Payne 21, two of 29 young Atlanta blacks murdered between 1979 and 1981. Williams was convicted of two of the homicides, but 22 others were closed after his conviction; five cases remain open.
After the conviction, authorities blamed Williams, who is black, for 22 other slayings but never charged him. Five of the 29 murders investigated by a special police task force remain officially open. The 41-year-old freelance photographer and talent scout was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to two life terms.
Williams became a suspect in the string of murders in May 1981 when police staking out a bridge over the Chattahoochee River -- where some of the victims' bodies had been found -- heard a splash and stopped Williams as he drove away. Two days later, the body of Cater was found downstream.
The main prosecution evidence against Williams was tiny fibers found on the bodies and matched to rugs and other fabrics in the home and cars of Williams' parents. His attorney said he is pushing for DNA testing to set him free after 18 years in prison. Lawyer Lynn Whatley said he is trying to raise the money to have tests--using advances in the science--conducted on hair and blood that linked Williams to two murders.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Suspected of being the Atlanta Child Murderer, Wayne killed mostly young, black boys and dumped their bodies in the Chattahoochee River. He was caught when he departed from his modus operandi and smoked a couple of adults. When he was arrested Wayne was described as the "Pillsbury Doughboy." Unlike many other serial killers, he was soft-spoken, mild-mannered and friendly.
His thick glasses, soft features and delicate hands made him an unlikely candidate for comitting 28 murders. Many black leaders characterized his arrest as being racial in nature. However, as his trial progressed, Wayne emerged as a person emotionally capable of murder with an "inadequate personality" and an "obsessive need for control." Though at first he presented himself as an innocent victim of circumstance who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, when FBI agents searched the home he shared with his retired-schoolteacher parents, they found books on how to cheat polygraph tests as well as the crucial fiber evidence that eventually linked him to 12 murders.
After his arrest the killings ceased for a period, or so did police say. Some police say evidence against him was flawed and believe the case should be reopened. Williams' lawyer claimed a Klansman named Charles Sanders confessed to the police that he helped the KKK kidnap and murder 21 black children. Allegedly, this evidence was suppressed to avoid a race war.
John Douglas, the FBI agent whose profile led to Wayne's arrest, believes he was probably one of four killers active in the area. Douglas believes that evidence links Williams to at most 12 murders. According to the retired Federal agent, there are still black children being murdered in Atlanta and local authorities -- scared of what they might uncover -- are trying to keep a lid on it.
On June 5, 1998, two investigators of the widely publicized Atlanta missing and murdered children cases said again they believe convicted killer Wayne Williams is innocent. DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey and Fulton County Police Chief Louis Graham, both Atlanta police homicide investigators at the time the rash of killings occurred in the early 1980s, made the assertions on "Dateline NBC." The state has also introduced evidence of 10 other murders, for which Williams was never indicted. Police ultimately blamed him for 24 deaths.
Williams was convicted of murder in the deaths of Nathaniel Cater, 27, and Jimmy Ray Payne 21, two of 29 young Atlanta blacks murdered between 1979 and 1981. Williams was convicted of two of the homicides, but 22 others were closed after his conviction; five cases remain open.
After the conviction, authorities blamed Williams, who is black, for 22 other slayings but never charged him. Five of the 29 murders investigated by a special police task force remain officially open. The 41-year-old freelance photographer and talent scout was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to two life terms.
Williams became a suspect in the string of murders in May 1981 when police staking out a bridge over the Chattahoochee River -- where some of the victims' bodies had been found -- heard a splash and stopped Williams as he drove away. Two days later, the body of Cater was found downstream.
The main prosecution evidence against Williams was tiny fibers found on the bodies and matched to rugs and other fabrics in the home and cars of Williams' parents. His attorney said he is pushing for DNA testing to set him free after 18 years in prison. Lawyer Lynn Whatley said he is trying to raise the money to have tests--using advances in the science--conducted on hair and blood that linked Williams to two murders.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Look-Alike Service
Okay Satin Strangler fans. We’ve got the recipe for a once-in-a-lifetime bachelor bash. Who needs to go to Las Vegas now? Just make a call to the Destiny Blande Look-Alike Service and let them take care of the rest. Here’s their ad:
Destiny Blande Look-Alike Service is searching for young, talented, beautiful women. An exact match is not necessary. Come in with what you’ve got, and we will do the rest. With our makeup, hairstyling, and costumes, you can become somebody’s Destiny.
Destiny Blande look-alikes are the highlight of any event, whether it’s a birthday, an anniversary, or a bachelor party.
Imagine the look on the groom’s face when he realizes you are his Destiny. Tie him up or tie him down. Tease him by twirling your satin stockings around his neck. With a little improvisation, you’ll take his breath away.
We provide unmatched starting salaries with full medical and dental benefits, and think of all the money you’ll make on tips. Please visit our offices in New York, Philadelphia, or Atlantic City, or our home office in Sea View to apply today.
Destiny Blande Look-Alike Service is an equal opportunity employer.
C’mon, ladies. We know that deep down you want to be Destiny Blande. There is a rising need for this service out there. I only regret that I didn’t think of starting this business. The customers are lining up. Go for it. You’ll love this one if you’re really Crazy 4 Crazies.
-------------------------
This is post #63 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Read the next post in TSSB.
Looking for a once in a lifetime job? Want to find a truly unique career opportunity? Want to make hundreds of dollars in your spare time?
Destiny Blande Look-Alike Service is searching for young, talented, beautiful women. An exact match is not necessary. Come in with what you’ve got, and we will do the rest. With our makeup, hairstyling, and costumes, you can become somebody’s Destiny.
Destiny Blande look-alikes are the highlight of any event, whether it’s a birthday, an anniversary, or a bachelor party.
Imagine the look on the groom’s face when he realizes you are his Destiny. Tie him up or tie him down. Tease him by twirling your satin stockings around his neck. With a little improvisation, you’ll take his breath away.
We provide unmatched starting salaries with full medical and dental benefits, and think of all the money you’ll make on tips. Please visit our offices in New York, Philadelphia, or Atlantic City, or our home office in Sea View to apply today.
Destiny Blande Look-Alike Service is an equal opportunity employer.
C’mon, ladies. We know that deep down you want to be Destiny Blande. There is a rising need for this service out there. I only regret that I didn’t think of starting this business. The customers are lining up. Go for it. You’ll love this one if you’re really Crazy 4 Crazies.
-------------------------
This is post #63 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Saturday, October 10, 2009
Satin Strangler Victim's Autopsy
How close do you want to get to a serial killer victim? How about right inside the autopsy room? Well, we can’t quite give you that, but today’s blog is the next best thing for you – a coroner’s report from a Satin Strangler victim, Grant Leighton. If you’re really Crazy 4 Crazies, you’ll devour this.
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION:
The autopsy is started at 8:30 A.M. on March 5, 2008. The body is received in a black travelling trunk covered with dry flecks of seaweed. Upon removal from the trunk, an odor of bleach was detected, suggesting attempts to remove DNA evidence. Areas of the body were swabbed and submitted for detection of hypochlorite.
The victim was fully clothed. The body is that of a normally developed white male measuring 70 inches and weighing 183 pounds, and appearing generally consistent with the stated age of twenty-six years. The body is cold and unembalmed. Lividity is fixed in the distal portions of the limbs. Petechial hemorrhaging is present in the conjunctival surfaces of the eyes. The irises are blue. The pupils measure 0.3 cm. The hair is dark blonde, wavy, and approximately 8 inches in length at the longest point. A healed left ear piercing scar is present.
Abrasions and adhesive residue extend laterally from each commissure of the lips, suggesting that the victim had been gagged, possibly with duct tape. Samples were collected for testing.
A ligature mark (known throughout this report as Ligature A) was observed on the victim’s neck. The mark is dark red and encircles the neck, crossing the anterior midline of the neck just below the laryngeal prominence. The width of the Ligature A is 0.6 cm consistently around the circumference, and is horizontal in orientation. The skin of the anterior neck above and below Ligature A shows petechial hemorrhaging. Abrasions are also present. The consistent width of Ligature A and the presence of abrasions suggest the use of a firm ligature such as a cord. No trace evidence was recovered from Ligature A that might assist in identification of the ligature used.
Additional dark red ligature marks 5 cm in width are present on the left wrist, right wrist, left ankle, and right ankle (known throughout this report as Ligatures B, C, D, and E, respectively). Evidence of adhesive residue at all four Ligatures B-E suggests the use of duct tape. Samples were collected for testing.
Both small fingers have been amputated at the proximal interphalangeal level, with the bone exposed. Jagged surface edges suggest the use of a dull cutting instrument. Both forearms are edemic and hemorrhagic, indicative of pre-mortem trauma. The fingernails are medium length and fingernail beds are blue.
The genitalia are that of an adult male and there is no evidence of injury or recent sexual activity. Limbs are symmetrically developed. There are no other scars, markings or tattoos on the body.
INTERNAL EXAMINATION:
Head: Subsequent autopsy shows a broken hyoid bone. Hemorrhaging from Ligature A penetrates the skin and subdermal tissues of the neck. The brain weighs 1,257 grams, with no anatomic abnormalities noted.
Skeletal System: The hyoid bone is fractured. The left and right radius and ulna are fractured. The small fingers have been amputated as noted previously.
Respiratory System: Petechial hemorrhaging is present in the mucosa of the lips and the interior of the mouth. The hyoid bone, the thyroid, and the cricoid cartilages are fractured. The lungs are unremarkable. Weight: right, 380 grams; left 392 grams.
Cardiovascular System: Heart, 270 grams. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Gastrointestinal System: Approximately 125 ml of partially digested semisolid food is found in the stomach. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Urinary System: Left kidney, 120 grams; right kidney, 124 grams. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Male Genital System: There is no evidence of recent sexual activity. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
LABORATORY FINDINGS:
Toxicologic analysis from samples of right pleural blood and bile: negative.
Cerebrospinal fluid culture and sensitivity: unremarkable gram stain, no growth
Cerebrospinal fluid bacterial antigens: routine testing all negative
Drug Screen Results:
EVIDENCE COLLECTED:
OPINION:
Time of Death: Body temperature, rigor and livor mortis, and stomach contents approximate the time of death between 3AM and 6AM on March 2, 2008.
Immediate Cause of Death: Asphyxia due to ligature strangulation (Ligature A).
Manner of Death: Homicide
Remarks: Local homicide detectives were immediately notified of these findings.
-----
This is post #61 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION:
The autopsy is started at 8:30 A.M. on March 5, 2008. The body is received in a black travelling trunk covered with dry flecks of seaweed. Upon removal from the trunk, an odor of bleach was detected, suggesting attempts to remove DNA evidence. Areas of the body were swabbed and submitted for detection of hypochlorite.
The victim was fully clothed. The body is that of a normally developed white male measuring 70 inches and weighing 183 pounds, and appearing generally consistent with the stated age of twenty-six years. The body is cold and unembalmed. Lividity is fixed in the distal portions of the limbs. Petechial hemorrhaging is present in the conjunctival surfaces of the eyes. The irises are blue. The pupils measure 0.3 cm. The hair is dark blonde, wavy, and approximately 8 inches in length at the longest point. A healed left ear piercing scar is present.
Abrasions and adhesive residue extend laterally from each commissure of the lips, suggesting that the victim had been gagged, possibly with duct tape. Samples were collected for testing.
A ligature mark (known throughout this report as Ligature A) was observed on the victim’s neck. The mark is dark red and encircles the neck, crossing the anterior midline of the neck just below the laryngeal prominence. The width of the Ligature A is 0.6 cm consistently around the circumference, and is horizontal in orientation. The skin of the anterior neck above and below Ligature A shows petechial hemorrhaging. Abrasions are also present. The consistent width of Ligature A and the presence of abrasions suggest the use of a firm ligature such as a cord. No trace evidence was recovered from Ligature A that might assist in identification of the ligature used.
Additional dark red ligature marks 5 cm in width are present on the left wrist, right wrist, left ankle, and right ankle (known throughout this report as Ligatures B, C, D, and E, respectively). Evidence of adhesive residue at all four Ligatures B-E suggests the use of duct tape. Samples were collected for testing.
Both small fingers have been amputated at the proximal interphalangeal level, with the bone exposed. Jagged surface edges suggest the use of a dull cutting instrument. Both forearms are edemic and hemorrhagic, indicative of pre-mortem trauma. The fingernails are medium length and fingernail beds are blue.
The genitalia are that of an adult male and there is no evidence of injury or recent sexual activity. Limbs are symmetrically developed. There are no other scars, markings or tattoos on the body.
INTERNAL EXAMINATION:
Head: Subsequent autopsy shows a broken hyoid bone. Hemorrhaging from Ligature A penetrates the skin and subdermal tissues of the neck. The brain weighs 1,257 grams, with no anatomic abnormalities noted.
Skeletal System: The hyoid bone is fractured. The left and right radius and ulna are fractured. The small fingers have been amputated as noted previously.
Respiratory System: Petechial hemorrhaging is present in the mucosa of the lips and the interior of the mouth. The hyoid bone, the thyroid, and the cricoid cartilages are fractured. The lungs are unremarkable. Weight: right, 380 grams; left 392 grams.
Cardiovascular System: Heart, 270 grams. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Gastrointestinal System: Approximately 125 ml of partially digested semisolid food is found in the stomach. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Urinary System: Left kidney, 120 grams; right kidney, 124 grams. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
Male Genital System: There is no evidence of recent sexual activity. No anatomic abnormalities noted.
LABORATORY FINDINGS:
Toxicologic analysis from samples of right pleural blood and bile: negative.
Cerebrospinal fluid culture and sensitivity: unremarkable gram stain, no growth
Cerebrospinal fluid bacterial antigens: routine testing all negative
Drug Screen Results:
Urine screen {Immunoassay} was negative.
Ethanol: 0.25 gm/dl, Blood (heart)
Ethanol: 0.25 gm/dl, Vitreous
EVIDENCE COLLECTED:
One (1) white long-sleeve shirt.
One (1) pair gray pants.
One (1) pair black socks.
One (1) pair black shoes.
Samples of Blood (type O+), Bile, and Tissue (heart, lung, brain, kidney, liver, spleen).
Twelve (12) swabs from various body locations, to be tested for presence of hypochlorite.
Seventeen (17) autopsy photographs.
One postmortem CT scan.
One postmortem MRI.
OPINION:
Time of Death: Body temperature, rigor and livor mortis, and stomach contents approximate the time of death between 3AM and 6AM on March 2, 2008.
Immediate Cause of Death: Asphyxia due to ligature strangulation (Ligature A).
Manner of Death: Homicide
Remarks: Local homicide detectives were immediately notified of these findings.
-----
This is post #61 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Thursday, October 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Patrick W. Kearney
Tonight's serial killer bedtime story is about Patrick W. Kearney.
The top ranked Californian freeway killer. A fastidiously neat and organized murderer, Pat left his dismembered victims neatly wrapped in trash bags along the Californian highways. Kearney and his live-in lover, David D. Hill, both army veterans, lived in a meticulously clean bachelor pad in Redondo Beach, from where they launched their homicidal escapades. The "Trash Bag Murders," as they were known, started in 1975 and ended on July 5, 1977, when the couple walked into the Sheriff's Information Center in Riverside, saw a wanted poster of themselves and surrendered. Hill was subsequently released for lack of evidence. Kearney shouldered the guilt and confessed that killing "excited him and gave him a feeling of dominance."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
The top ranked Californian freeway killer. A fastidiously neat and organized murderer, Pat left his dismembered victims neatly wrapped in trash bags along the Californian highways. Kearney and his live-in lover, David D. Hill, both army veterans, lived in a meticulously clean bachelor pad in Redondo Beach, from where they launched their homicidal escapades. The "Trash Bag Murders," as they were known, started in 1975 and ended on July 5, 1977, when the couple walked into the Sheriff's Information Center in Riverside, saw a wanted poster of themselves and surrendered. Hill was subsequently released for lack of evidence. Kearney shouldered the guilt and confessed that killing "excited him and gave him a feeling of dominance."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Karl Denke
There is a lot of room at the inn in tonight's serial killer bedtime story about Karl Denke.
A German innkeeper in Silesia with a taste for the "long pig," Denke butchered at least thirty of his lodgers and kept their pickled remains in the basement of his inn. An avid church-goer who was known locally as "Papa," Karl especialized in slaying beggars, tramps and journeymen who would not be missed. When he was arrested in 1924 he told police that for the past three years he had eaten only sausages made of human flesh.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
A German innkeeper in Silesia with a taste for the "long pig," Denke butchered at least thirty of his lodgers and kept their pickled remains in the basement of his inn. An avid church-goer who was known locally as "Papa," Karl especialized in slaying beggars, tramps and journeymen who would not be missed. When he was arrested in 1924 he told police that for the past three years he had eaten only sausages made of human flesh.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Gerard John Schaefer
Shaefer, the one killer to have when you're killing more than 1, is the lead character in tonight's serial killer bedtime story.
This homicidal Martin County, Florida, deputy sheriff, though convicted in 1973 of only two mutilation murders, is believed to be responsible for at least thirty killings. A sadistic sex-beast by nature, Schaefer would lure young women off the roads with the help of his badge to torture, mutilate and murder. He enjoyed tying his victims to trees and leaving them there while he went to work as a police officer. Teeth, jewelry identification papers from several missing young women were found in a closet in his mother's house in Ft. Lauderdale.
When he was convicted for first degree murder of two teen-aged girls, Schaefer's wife divorced him and promptly married his defense attorney. Not the resentful type, Gerard gave the lovebirds his blessing and retained the attorney to continue handling his appeals. Curiously, he was later tried for plotting to kill them both and enjoyed sending them death threats regularly.
Schaefer was also a part-time novelist, penning a lurid collection of tales of sexualized violence called "Killer Fiction" -- available from Feral House -- that was published in 1989 by Sondra London, an old high school sweetheart, who subsequently "shackled up" with Danny Rolling, another sadistic killer awaiting execution in Florida.
On December 3, 1995, Gerard was found dead in his cell at the Florida State Prison in Starke. He had been stabbed 42 times about the head and neck, and slashed across his throat. His sister, Sarah Schaefer, claimed that her brother was murdered by his jailhouse buddy, cannibal killer Ottis Toole, because of information he had obtained on the murder of Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old Hollywood, Florida, boy whose abduction and murder led to the passing of new legislation nationwide regarding missing children. Ottis once claimed he killed young Adam but later recanted. Prison authorities believe Gerard's death was linked to his activities as a jailhouse lawyer. However, confessed double-slayer Vincent Rivera is currently facing trial for murdering Schaefer, allegedly because Schaefer used the last of the hot drinking water on the tier.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
This homicidal Martin County, Florida, deputy sheriff, though convicted in 1973 of only two mutilation murders, is believed to be responsible for at least thirty killings. A sadistic sex-beast by nature, Schaefer would lure young women off the roads with the help of his badge to torture, mutilate and murder. He enjoyed tying his victims to trees and leaving them there while he went to work as a police officer. Teeth, jewelry identification papers from several missing young women were found in a closet in his mother's house in Ft. Lauderdale.
When he was convicted for first degree murder of two teen-aged girls, Schaefer's wife divorced him and promptly married his defense attorney. Not the resentful type, Gerard gave the lovebirds his blessing and retained the attorney to continue handling his appeals. Curiously, he was later tried for plotting to kill them both and enjoyed sending them death threats regularly.
Schaefer was also a part-time novelist, penning a lurid collection of tales of sexualized violence called "Killer Fiction" -- available from Feral House -- that was published in 1989 by Sondra London, an old high school sweetheart, who subsequently "shackled up" with Danny Rolling, another sadistic killer awaiting execution in Florida.
On December 3, 1995, Gerard was found dead in his cell at the Florida State Prison in Starke. He had been stabbed 42 times about the head and neck, and slashed across his throat. His sister, Sarah Schaefer, claimed that her brother was murdered by his jailhouse buddy, cannibal killer Ottis Toole, because of information he had obtained on the murder of Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old Hollywood, Florida, boy whose abduction and murder led to the passing of new legislation nationwide regarding missing children. Ottis once claimed he killed young Adam but later recanted. Prison authorities believe Gerard's death was linked to his activities as a jailhouse lawyer. However, confessed double-slayer Vincent Rivera is currently facing trial for murdering Schaefer, allegedly because Schaefer used the last of the hot drinking water on the tier.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Internet Murder
Remember the old days before computers when you used to have to do everything the hard way? If you wanted to learn something about a fact you had to look it up in the Encyclopedia Britannica. If you wanted to meet new people you had to leave your home and seek them out. If you wanted to get work done you had to dress up in a suit and drive all the way to the office.
Now we live in a world where everything is at our fingertips, thanks to the computerized world of technology. Every piece of information and every answer to every question are just a couple of keystrokes away through a Google search. Anything we want can be found online, from books to collectibles to friends.
The Internet opens up endless possibilities for an entrepreneurial spirit. Just about any product can be sold online. Any service can be identified through Internet resources.
Why should serial murder be any different? Remember the days when serial murderers used to tirelessly stalk their victims before finding them at a vulnerable time and location? What a hassle it was. So inefficient. If only there was a better way . . . but now there is. It’s all at your fingertips in the form of a computer and the internet.
Now with just a little bit of creative work, an innovative serial killer can spend his (or her) stalking time at home lying on the couch watching reality show reruns while the victims come to him (or her). What could be more efficient than that?
Philip Markoff, a 22-year-old Boston University medical student, was recently arrested under accusation of being the Craigslist Killer. Markoff, a clean-cut “boy-next-door” type, was engaged to be married to his fiancée on the beach in Long Branch, New Jersey. In his spare time he trolled the web under the username “sexaddict53885” and “sexaddict 5385.” Now he is accused of bludgeoning and shooting a female escort at the Marriott Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, robbing a prostitute at gunpoint at another Boston hotel, and assaulting an exotic dancer at a hotel in Rhode Island. He reportedly found these women through classified ads on Craigslist, the on-line bulletin board website service.
What's next? Could it be possible that the entire serial murder process could someday be done online? Have you played the ME2 Satin Strangler serial killer challenge yet? Pretend you’re Destiny Blande through a computer simulation. You can kill without even leaving your living room.
What would happen to the serial killer support industry if such a change occurred? Would they continue to make biohazard canisters and oversized double ply Hefty bags? Is it time to sell our stock in duct tape and nylon cord companies?
Of course I jest. What’s the fun if you can’t get your hands a little dirty?
In any case, Philip Markoff at least proved that the internet is good for victim recruiting if you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #56 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Now we live in a world where everything is at our fingertips, thanks to the computerized world of technology. Every piece of information and every answer to every question are just a couple of keystrokes away through a Google search. Anything we want can be found online, from books to collectibles to friends.
The Internet opens up endless possibilities for an entrepreneurial spirit. Just about any product can be sold online. Any service can be identified through Internet resources.
Why should serial murder be any different? Remember the days when serial murderers used to tirelessly stalk their victims before finding them at a vulnerable time and location? What a hassle it was. So inefficient. If only there was a better way . . . but now there is. It’s all at your fingertips in the form of a computer and the internet.
Now with just a little bit of creative work, an innovative serial killer can spend his (or her) stalking time at home lying on the couch watching reality show reruns while the victims come to him (or her). What could be more efficient than that?
Philip Markoff, a 22-year-old Boston University medical student, was recently arrested under accusation of being the Craigslist Killer. Markoff, a clean-cut “boy-next-door” type, was engaged to be married to his fiancée on the beach in Long Branch, New Jersey. In his spare time he trolled the web under the username “sexaddict53885” and “sexaddict 5385.” Now he is accused of bludgeoning and shooting a female escort at the Marriott Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, robbing a prostitute at gunpoint at another Boston hotel, and assaulting an exotic dancer at a hotel in Rhode Island. He reportedly found these women through classified ads on Craigslist, the on-line bulletin board website service.
What's next? Could it be possible that the entire serial murder process could someday be done online? Have you played the ME2 Satin Strangler serial killer challenge yet? Pretend you’re Destiny Blande through a computer simulation. You can kill without even leaving your living room.
What would happen to the serial killer support industry if such a change occurred? Would they continue to make biohazard canisters and oversized double ply Hefty bags? Is it time to sell our stock in duct tape and nylon cord companies?
Of course I jest. What’s the fun if you can’t get your hands a little dirty?
In any case, Philip Markoff at least proved that the internet is good for victim recruiting if you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
-----
This is post #56 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Forensics: Name That Strangulation
Our server has been ringing off the hook from Blande-o-phile emails since we wrote our blog on strangulation biology. Okay okay. Calm down out there. Here’s the blog we promised you on strangulation forensics. We hope it matches all the hype. We once again recommend that you read Strack and McClane’s famous strangulation forensics article from 1999, available at this link. You may want to read the article before taking our “Name That Strangulation” quiz below.
Let’s imagine you’re a coroner in a potential homicide case. I know – if you’re even half as Crazy 4 Crazies as we are, it’s too exciting to even imagine. But let’s just say that you are for a moment. They wheel the corpse in on a stretcher and it’s all up to you to decide what happened. Luckily you will have taken our “Name That Strangulation” quiz. The first 10 people who email correct answers to this quiz plus our “Name That Weapon” quiz will win a Hillside Strangler Mug-Shot-Mug with their choice of cousins – Buono or Bianchi.
Name That Strangulation #1: The victim’s neck has a dark red circumferential mark shaped like a teardrop, darkest in the front. The mark is high up, has an extra wide bruise just behind the left ear, and is lined by a series of fingernail scratches along the upper border. The “whites” of the eyes have small red peppered appearance. There is no internal fracturing of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?
Name That Strangulation #2: There are numerous claw marks of different sizes and directions along the neck. Two round bruises, each a centimeter in width, lie over the area of the Adam’s apple. Pockets of air crackle under the skin when pressure is applied. There are blood patches filling the “whites” of the left eye, and numerous red dots along the neck and face. Internal examination reveals that the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both fractured. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging? Bonus question: was the assailant in front of or behind the victim?
Name That Strangulation #3: There is a dark horizontal mark around the neck just below the Adam’s apple. Numerous scratches and gouges are visible in the front of the neck and along the chin. There are many red dots along the “whites” of the eyes and just above the horizontal neck mark. On internal examination, the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both broken. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?
Name That Strangulation #4: This victim had a known strangulation event three weeks before death. There were never any external markings, including during your postmortem examination. All of the neck anatomy appears normal on internal examination. The lungs are heavy with accumulated fluid, and there is pneumonia in a pattern suggesting eroding gastric acid as the cause. Can this death be due to strangulation?
Blood red eyes. Claw marks. Broken neck bones. Gastric acid eroding lungs. Don’t you just love a good bedtime story? Of course you do, because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #53 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Let’s imagine you’re a coroner in a potential homicide case. I know – if you’re even half as Crazy 4 Crazies as we are, it’s too exciting to even imagine. But let’s just say that you are for a moment. They wheel the corpse in on a stretcher and it’s all up to you to decide what happened. Luckily you will have taken our “Name That Strangulation” quiz. The first 10 people who email correct answers to this quiz plus our “Name That Weapon” quiz will win a Hillside Strangler Mug-Shot-Mug with their choice of cousins – Buono or Bianchi.
Name That Strangulation #1: The victim’s neck has a dark red circumferential mark shaped like a teardrop, darkest in the front. The mark is high up, has an extra wide bruise just behind the left ear, and is lined by a series of fingernail scratches along the upper border. The “whites” of the eyes have small red peppered appearance. There is no internal fracturing of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?
Name That Strangulation #2: There are numerous claw marks of different sizes and directions along the neck. Two round bruises, each a centimeter in width, lie over the area of the Adam’s apple. Pockets of air crackle under the skin when pressure is applied. There are blood patches filling the “whites” of the left eye, and numerous red dots along the neck and face. Internal examination reveals that the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both fractured. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging? Bonus question: was the assailant in front of or behind the victim?
Name That Strangulation #3: There is a dark horizontal mark around the neck just below the Adam’s apple. Numerous scratches and gouges are visible in the front of the neck and along the chin. There are many red dots along the “whites” of the eyes and just above the horizontal neck mark. On internal examination, the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage are both broken. Is this a manual strangulation, a ligature strangulation, or a hanging?
Name That Strangulation #4: This victim had a known strangulation event three weeks before death. There were never any external markings, including during your postmortem examination. All of the neck anatomy appears normal on internal examination. The lungs are heavy with accumulated fluid, and there is pneumonia in a pattern suggesting eroding gastric acid as the cause. Can this death be due to strangulation?
Blood red eyes. Claw marks. Broken neck bones. Gastric acid eroding lungs. Don’t you just love a good bedtime story? Of course you do, because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #53 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Strangulation Biology 101
By popular demand from all of you Blande-o-philes out there, here is the Crazy 4 Crazies version of strangulation biology 101. We happen to love this stuff too, so it’s from a whole library of articles and websites that we have set aside as bedside reading. One of our favorites is Strack and McClane’s famous strangulation forensics article from 1999, available at this link.
You don’t have to have an advanced science degree to enjoy this one, so check it out. Our readers need to be well versed in strangulations, since they account for about 10% of all violent deaths each year.
You can kill someone by cutting off the blood going to their brain through their carotid arteries, the ones that squirt across the room in slash-happy horror flicks. All you need is 11 pounds of pressure for 10 seconds to make someone unconscious, so this is the best bang for your buck.
If you go for the jugular instead, you can cut off the blood returning to their heart from their head, making their face swell like a ripe plum.
The third way to kill someone by strangulation is to cut off the airway, which is a little more manly since it takes 33 pounds of pressure. All that pressure can do more than cut off the airflow though. Sometimes the assailant breaks the victim’s larynx (voice box) or a neck bone called the hyoid.
The victim experiences severe pain and then goes unconscious. They can regain consciousness in 10 seconds if the pressure is released, though, so ignore what you see in the movies and hold tight for 4-5 minutes so brain death can kick in. [Disclaimer: this website does not promote murder. This information is for educational purposes only.]
Now that you know how much time to set aside for a strangulation, here are 3 options for how to do it: hanging, ligature, and manual. Hanging is generally too difficult for a serial killer acting alone, so let’s move right to the other two.
Ligature strangulation means you use an object like a cord or clothing. The Boston Strangler did his dirty work with the victim’s silk stockings in most cases. The Hillside Strangler duo, Angelo Buono, Jr. and Kenneth Bianchi, used sheets as ligatures to kill their victims. Telephone cords also used to be popular, but times have changed. Women’s stockings are again the latest rage, including nearly a dozen copy-cat crimes across the U.S. since Destiny Blande was arrested.
Manual strangulation is done with your bare hands and is sometimes called “throttling.” This might be a little butch for a sexy lady like Destiny Blande but is otherwise extremely popular. BTK Killer Dennis Rader testified that his first attempt at manual strangulation was unsuccessful, and he was surprised at how much time and effort was required. Of course he got better with practice.
This is a lead in to an upcoming blog about the forensics of strangulation. Please be patient. We know you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
-------------------------
This is post #51 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
You don’t have to have an advanced science degree to enjoy this one, so check it out. Our readers need to be well versed in strangulations, since they account for about 10% of all violent deaths each year.
You can kill someone by cutting off the blood going to their brain through their carotid arteries, the ones that squirt across the room in slash-happy horror flicks. All you need is 11 pounds of pressure for 10 seconds to make someone unconscious, so this is the best bang for your buck.
If you go for the jugular instead, you can cut off the blood returning to their heart from their head, making their face swell like a ripe plum.
The third way to kill someone by strangulation is to cut off the airway, which is a little more manly since it takes 33 pounds of pressure. All that pressure can do more than cut off the airflow though. Sometimes the assailant breaks the victim’s larynx (voice box) or a neck bone called the hyoid.
The victim experiences severe pain and then goes unconscious. They can regain consciousness in 10 seconds if the pressure is released, though, so ignore what you see in the movies and hold tight for 4-5 minutes so brain death can kick in. [Disclaimer: this website does not promote murder. This information is for educational purposes only.]
Now that you know how much time to set aside for a strangulation, here are 3 options for how to do it: hanging, ligature, and manual. Hanging is generally too difficult for a serial killer acting alone, so let’s move right to the other two.
Ligature strangulation means you use an object like a cord or clothing. The Boston Strangler did his dirty work with the victim’s silk stockings in most cases. The Hillside Strangler duo, Angelo Buono, Jr. and Kenneth Bianchi, used sheets as ligatures to kill their victims. Telephone cords also used to be popular, but times have changed. Women’s stockings are again the latest rage, including nearly a dozen copy-cat crimes across the U.S. since Destiny Blande was arrested.
Manual strangulation is done with your bare hands and is sometimes called “throttling.” This might be a little butch for a sexy lady like Destiny Blande but is otherwise extremely popular. BTK Killer Dennis Rader testified that his first attempt at manual strangulation was unsuccessful, and he was surprised at how much time and effort was required. Of course he got better with practice.
This is a lead in to an upcoming blog about the forensics of strangulation. Please be patient. We know you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
-------------------------
This is post #51 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
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Friday, June 5, 2009
What Motivates a Serial Killer?
Why did Destiny Blande kill all those men? I know I know. The jury said she didn’t do it. As though any of us believes that. In order to look at the motivations of the Satin Strangler, we have to start with some traditional but perhaps controversial types of serial killers. Grab a snack, sit down with your computer, and look for some of your favorites in the information that follows.
Visionaries: Psychotic killers that hear voices often fit this mold. David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, said that a demon speaking through his neighbor’s dog told him to kill. Unfortunately David listened.
Missionaries: These killers are on a mission to change society in some way. The Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is a good example. In his Industrial Society and Its Future, later dubbed the Unabomber Manifesto, he declared that his bombs were to attract attention to the erosion of human freedoms caused by modern technology.
Lust Killers. They are motivated by sexual drive. Kenneth Bianchi, aka the Hillside Strangler, and Jeffrey Dahmer, had some issues with this one, to say the least.
Power Seekers: They play power games with their victims, providing a feeling of control. Ted Bundy, who confessed to more than 30 murders but is thought to have committed dozens more, might come to mind here.
Hedonistic/Thrill Killers. They just love what they do. How many of you can say you love your job that much? San Francisco’s Zodiac Killer and a long list of Hollywood characters found ways to make sport of it all.
Destiny Blande doesn’t fit any of these molds.
Dr. Steven Egger, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Houston at Clear Lake in Texas, and Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois at Springfield, defines serial murder as having the following 6 traits
In Serial Murderers and Their Victims (2nd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1997), author Eric Hickey described the differences between male and female serial killers. Female serial killers are more likely to kill husbands, relatives, or people in hospitals or nursing homes where they work; murder in one specific place; and poison the victims. Most importantly, they have money as a motive, which means most female “serial killers” do not actually meet Dr. Egger’s criteria listed above. Dorothea Puente, who had a terrible habit of killing her tenants for their social security checks, is a classic example of Hickey’s female serial killer but wouldn’t make Eggar’s cut.
If anything, Destiny Blande appears to be part Lust Seeker, part Power Seeker, and part Thrill Seeker. Hey don’t knock the girl for having more than one source of inspiration. She also behaves more like a male serial killer by taking strangers as victims and being geographically mobile.
Maybe these oddities are what make the Satin Strangler so frightening. Maybe they’re why we’re so infatuated with her. In any case, we just can’t get enough of her because we’re simply Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #48 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
Visionaries: Psychotic killers that hear voices often fit this mold. David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, said that a demon speaking through his neighbor’s dog told him to kill. Unfortunately David listened.
Missionaries: These killers are on a mission to change society in some way. The Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is a good example. In his Industrial Society and Its Future, later dubbed the Unabomber Manifesto, he declared that his bombs were to attract attention to the erosion of human freedoms caused by modern technology.
Lust Killers. They are motivated by sexual drive. Kenneth Bianchi, aka the Hillside Strangler, and Jeffrey Dahmer, had some issues with this one, to say the least.
Power Seekers: They play power games with their victims, providing a feeling of control. Ted Bundy, who confessed to more than 30 murders but is thought to have committed dozens more, might come to mind here.
Hedonistic/Thrill Killers. They just love what they do. How many of you can say you love your job that much? San Francisco’s Zodiac Killer and a long list of Hollywood characters found ways to make sport of it all.
Destiny Blande doesn’t fit any of these molds.
Dr. Steven Egger, Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Houston at Clear Lake in Texas, and Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois at Springfield, defines serial murder as having the following 6 traits
Minimum of two murders
The killer and victim are unrelated
Murders occur at different times
Murders occur at different locations
Victims may share characteristics with the killer
Murders are for fantasy gratification rather than financial gain
In Serial Murderers and Their Victims (2nd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1997), author Eric Hickey described the differences between male and female serial killers. Female serial killers are more likely to kill husbands, relatives, or people in hospitals or nursing homes where they work; murder in one specific place; and poison the victims. Most importantly, they have money as a motive, which means most female “serial killers” do not actually meet Dr. Egger’s criteria listed above. Dorothea Puente, who had a terrible habit of killing her tenants for their social security checks, is a classic example of Hickey’s female serial killer but wouldn’t make Eggar’s cut.
If anything, Destiny Blande appears to be part Lust Seeker, part Power Seeker, and part Thrill Seeker. Hey don’t knock the girl for having more than one source of inspiration. She also behaves more like a male serial killer by taking strangers as victims and being geographically mobile.
Maybe these oddities are what make the Satin Strangler so frightening. Maybe they’re why we’re so infatuated with her. In any case, we just can’t get enough of her because we’re simply Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #48 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
If you are enjoying this free and unique online reading experience, please tell your friends.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Vasili Komaroff
Tonight's serial killer bedtime story is about Vasili Komaroff.
A horse-trader during the early days of Stalin, Vasili was known as "The Wolf of Moscow" for his unbridled reign of terror. A peasant, Vasili typically killed for money. His first victim was uncovered in 1921. Many others followed with frightful regularity. There were 21 in all: strangled, bound, doubled-over and dumped in vacant lots around the Shabolovki District. Authorities linked the killings to the horse-trading market un Moscow that happened every Wednesdays and Fridays. As authorities soon discovered, anyone who left with Vasili to see his horses was never seen or heard of again. When police went to his home to question him they found his latest victim stuffed in a sack in the stable. Panicked, "the Wolf" jumped out the window and escaped.
Several days later he was picked up and confessed to the tune of 33 killings, 11 of which were not under investigation. Over the next few days he uncovered five new corpses for the authorities. The other six victims he dumped in the river and their bodies were never recovered. Vasili implicated his wife Sofia as an accomplice. They were both found guilty of multiple homicides and sentenced to death. On June 18, 1923, they went to the "big horse-show in the sky" via firing squad.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
A horse-trader during the early days of Stalin, Vasili was known as "The Wolf of Moscow" for his unbridled reign of terror. A peasant, Vasili typically killed for money. His first victim was uncovered in 1921. Many others followed with frightful regularity. There were 21 in all: strangled, bound, doubled-over and dumped in vacant lots around the Shabolovki District. Authorities linked the killings to the horse-trading market un Moscow that happened every Wednesdays and Fridays. As authorities soon discovered, anyone who left with Vasili to see his horses was never seen or heard of again. When police went to his home to question him they found his latest victim stuffed in a sack in the stable. Panicked, "the Wolf" jumped out the window and escaped.
Several days later he was picked up and confessed to the tune of 33 killings, 11 of which were not under investigation. Over the next few days he uncovered five new corpses for the authorities. The other six victims he dumped in the river and their bodies were never recovered. Vasili implicated his wife Sofia as an accomplice. They were both found guilty of multiple homicides and sentenced to death. On June 18, 1923, they went to the "big horse-show in the sky" via firing squad.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: John Wayne Gacy
Tonight's serial killer bedtime story about John Wayne Gacy will help even the worst of insomniacs go into a deep sleep.
Straight out of the he's-such-a-nice-guy file, Johnny was the type of man who liked to dress in a homemade Pogo the Clown outfit to entertain kids. A lonely and sadistic contractor, Johnny also liked to entertain young boys privately in a very different fashion. The prototypical organized killer, he had all aspects of the murder worked out before each kill.
Once he entered his murderous fantasy, there was no turning back.
He enjoyed handcuffing his victims, anally raping them, beating them to a pulp, offering to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, reciting verses from the Bible and strangling them to death. In 1978 he was tracked down by the police in Chicago. Thirty bodies were found buried in the crawl space underneath his house, explaining his wife's complaints about the constant stench. As a prisoner, Johnny Boy started a new career as an artist, painting mostly colorful clown pictures, which have been shown in galleries nationwide. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994.
On November 11, 1998, the Chicago Tribune reported that police, acting on a tip from a former detective, were searching for human remains in a parking lot behind Gacy's mother's house. Authorities believe there could be as many as four bodies buried 3 1/2 feet deep. Former Detective Bill Dorsch, now a private investigator, told prosecutors of a night in 1975 when he found Gacy holding a dirty shovel next to the alley where the new search is proposed. "I stopped and said, 'John, what are you doing out here at this time of night with a shovel?"' Dorsch said. Gacy replied: "Well, with all the kind of work I do, there just isn't enough time in the day. So here I am."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Straight out of the he's-such-a-nice-guy file, Johnny was the type of man who liked to dress in a homemade Pogo the Clown outfit to entertain kids. A lonely and sadistic contractor, Johnny also liked to entertain young boys privately in a very different fashion. The prototypical organized killer, he had all aspects of the murder worked out before each kill.
Once he entered his murderous fantasy, there was no turning back.
He enjoyed handcuffing his victims, anally raping them, beating them to a pulp, offering to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, reciting verses from the Bible and strangling them to death. In 1978 he was tracked down by the police in Chicago. Thirty bodies were found buried in the crawl space underneath his house, explaining his wife's complaints about the constant stench. As a prisoner, Johnny Boy started a new career as an artist, painting mostly colorful clown pictures, which have been shown in galleries nationwide. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994.
On November 11, 1998, the Chicago Tribune reported that police, acting on a tip from a former detective, were searching for human remains in a parking lot behind Gacy's mother's house. Authorities believe there could be as many as four bodies buried 3 1/2 feet deep. Former Detective Bill Dorsch, now a private investigator, told prosecutors of a night in 1975 when he found Gacy holding a dirty shovel next to the alley where the new search is proposed. "I stopped and said, 'John, what are you doing out here at this time of night with a shovel?"' Dorsch said. Gacy replied: "Well, with all the kind of work I do, there just isn't enough time in the day. So here I am."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Fernando Hernandez Leyva
Tonight's serial killer bedtime story about Fernando Hernandez Leyva is no April Fool's joke.
Mexican police said a Cuernavaca man they arrested on charges of assault and kidnapping had confessed to killing more than 100 people. Jose Castillo, chief prosecutor of central Morelos state, told a news conference that police arrested Fernando Hernandez, alias "Pancho Lopez." Castillo said he was unaware of any criminal who had a more violent record in Mexican history.
Hernandez also appeared at the news conference, telling reporters: "I committed about 100 homicides and six kidnappings." Castillo said police in four different states had sought the man they knew as "Pancho Lopez" in connection with 38 slayings and dozens of violent assaults and kidnappings. "I killed them because I had to," Hernandez added. "I don't know how to do anything else."
On April 4, a criminal court judge in Cuernavaca, 35 miles south of Mexico City, ordered Hernandez Leyva held over for trial along with three alleged accomplices on several murder, robbery and kidnapping counts. Hernandez Leyva is suspected in 137 killings, six kidnappings and several robberies in Mexico City and the states of Morelos, Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato and Michoacan.
The 36-year-old suspect told reporters that he is innocent of most of the charges. He admitted to kidnapping a journalist in Jalisco and to killing of a police officer. Hernandez Leyva said judicial police officers had beat him and threatened to rape his wife and take away his children unless he confessed to the crimes. Authorities made no comment about his allegations.
When Leyva was transferred to a state prison after crowds of victims' families in Cuernavaca called for his blood. "We want to lynch him," said Joel Uribe Landa, one of about 50 people gathered outside the Morelos state prosecutors' office, where Hernandez Leyva was taken for questioning before being transferred to the state prison. The unusually heavy police detail present during the transfer served a double purpose: to protect the suspect from angry protesters and to make sure he didn't escape, as he has done at least twice over the last 13 years.
Prosecutor Jose Leonardo Castillo Pombo said Hernandez Leyva is a suspect in kidnappings, robberies and as many as 135 murders in five southern Mexican states. Castillo Pombo said he opposed the death penalty, but added that "if the country is legally prepared to apply it, Mexicans should hold a referendum, so that public opinion can decide."
As evidence rolls in from prosecutors in outlying states, the number of potential murder charges against Hernandez Leyva continues to rise. Eleven more murder investigations forwarded by prosecutors in western Jalisco state name him as the prime suspect, bringing the caseload to 33 in four days. But under Mexican law -- in which sentences are served concurrently -- the most Hernandez Leyva is likely to face is a sentence of 50 years in prison, with time off for good behavior.
Hernandez Leyva was arrested in 1982 in Cuernavaca, 35 miles south of Mexico City, on robbery charges but escaped from jail by tunneling through a wall. He was arrested again on suspicion of murder and robbery in 1986, but again escaped from Mexico City's Western penitentiary. Morelos state officials have applied to the federal government for him to be transferred to a maximum security federal prison.
On April 12 Leyva attempted to hang himself in his jail cell. The confessed serial killer, who weighs about 300 pounds, used a rope to try and hang himself from cell bars, but the rope broke and he suffered only abrasions on his neck. A police psychological exam of suspect released earlier concluded that Hernandez Leyva is a "psychopath" who murdered for "personal satisfaction."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Mexican police said a Cuernavaca man they arrested on charges of assault and kidnapping had confessed to killing more than 100 people. Jose Castillo, chief prosecutor of central Morelos state, told a news conference that police arrested Fernando Hernandez, alias "Pancho Lopez." Castillo said he was unaware of any criminal who had a more violent record in Mexican history.
Hernandez also appeared at the news conference, telling reporters: "I committed about 100 homicides and six kidnappings." Castillo said police in four different states had sought the man they knew as "Pancho Lopez" in connection with 38 slayings and dozens of violent assaults and kidnappings. "I killed them because I had to," Hernandez added. "I don't know how to do anything else."
On April 4, a criminal court judge in Cuernavaca, 35 miles south of Mexico City, ordered Hernandez Leyva held over for trial along with three alleged accomplices on several murder, robbery and kidnapping counts. Hernandez Leyva is suspected in 137 killings, six kidnappings and several robberies in Mexico City and the states of Morelos, Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato and Michoacan.
The 36-year-old suspect told reporters that he is innocent of most of the charges. He admitted to kidnapping a journalist in Jalisco and to killing of a police officer. Hernandez Leyva said judicial police officers had beat him and threatened to rape his wife and take away his children unless he confessed to the crimes. Authorities made no comment about his allegations.
When Leyva was transferred to a state prison after crowds of victims' families in Cuernavaca called for his blood. "We want to lynch him," said Joel Uribe Landa, one of about 50 people gathered outside the Morelos state prosecutors' office, where Hernandez Leyva was taken for questioning before being transferred to the state prison. The unusually heavy police detail present during the transfer served a double purpose: to protect the suspect from angry protesters and to make sure he didn't escape, as he has done at least twice over the last 13 years.
Prosecutor Jose Leonardo Castillo Pombo said Hernandez Leyva is a suspect in kidnappings, robberies and as many as 135 murders in five southern Mexican states. Castillo Pombo said he opposed the death penalty, but added that "if the country is legally prepared to apply it, Mexicans should hold a referendum, so that public opinion can decide."
As evidence rolls in from prosecutors in outlying states, the number of potential murder charges against Hernandez Leyva continues to rise. Eleven more murder investigations forwarded by prosecutors in western Jalisco state name him as the prime suspect, bringing the caseload to 33 in four days. But under Mexican law -- in which sentences are served concurrently -- the most Hernandez Leyva is likely to face is a sentence of 50 years in prison, with time off for good behavior.
Hernandez Leyva was arrested in 1982 in Cuernavaca, 35 miles south of Mexico City, on robbery charges but escaped from jail by tunneling through a wall. He was arrested again on suspicion of murder and robbery in 1986, but again escaped from Mexico City's Western penitentiary. Morelos state officials have applied to the federal government for him to be transferred to a maximum security federal prison.
On April 12 Leyva attempted to hang himself in his jail cell. The confessed serial killer, who weighs about 300 pounds, used a rope to try and hang himself from cell bars, but the rope broke and he suffered only abrasions on his neck. A police psychological exam of suspect released earlier concluded that Hernandez Leyva is a "psychopath" who murdered for "personal satisfaction."
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Fun With "ME2"
Enjoy your own simulated “ME2” avatar character but have a fondness for killing the rest? Impressed by the Satin Strangler but think you can do better? Here it is. Exactly what you’ve been looking for. The Satin Strangler ME2 challenge.
This is an extension of the perfectly twisted and therefore popular Serial Killer Challenge. Refer to the ME2 website for details on getting started. You will need the Education, Business Accessories, After Hours, and Spare Time plug-ins.
Start by creating your Satin Strangler ME2. Will she be the stylish courtroom defendant, or the crazed serial killer from the original artist drawings? It’s up to you. Load up on satin stockings through your favorite wardrobe and accessories site, and she’s ready for action.
In this case the modified torture chamber room and isolation chamber will have most of the same characteristics but will now be called the ME2 Satin Suite. You’ll need another room for your stockings and any other weapons of choice. Always keep all doors set to “Lock . . . Allow ME2 Owner Only.”
Lure neighbors and other men into the Satin Suite, and then lock the door. Until there is a better strangling option, your victims will have to die on their own in the Satin Suite. Leaving your stockings in the suite with them will constitute a kill for the final tally. Trapping multiple victims at once gets bonus points, but having victims escape will cost you. The big points come for a “nookie-kill” combo.
Avoid suspicious activity, and don’t leave any clues. Stay away from community lots, where the police are snooping around for clues to the murders and posting sketches of the suspect. Leaving any stockings around the house or outside will surely alert the police to the trail, so be careful.
Scoring:
Bonuses:
Deductions:
Good luck, may the best strangler win, and may you all forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
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This is post #31 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
This is an extension of the perfectly twisted and therefore popular Serial Killer Challenge. Refer to the ME2 website for details on getting started. You will need the Education, Business Accessories, After Hours, and Spare Time plug-ins.
Start by creating your Satin Strangler ME2. Will she be the stylish courtroom defendant, or the crazed serial killer from the original artist drawings? It’s up to you. Load up on satin stockings through your favorite wardrobe and accessories site, and she’s ready for action.
In this case the modified torture chamber room and isolation chamber will have most of the same characteristics but will now be called the ME2 Satin Suite. You’ll need another room for your stockings and any other weapons of choice. Always keep all doors set to “Lock . . . Allow ME2 Owner Only.”
Lure neighbors and other men into the Satin Suite, and then lock the door. Until there is a better strangling option, your victims will have to die on their own in the Satin Suite. Leaving your stockings in the suite with them will constitute a kill for the final tally. Trapping multiple victims at once gets bonus points, but having victims escape will cost you. The big points come for a “nookie-kill” combo.
Avoid suspicious activity, and don’t leave any clues. Stay away from community lots, where the police are snooping around for clues to the murders and posting sketches of the suspect. Leaving any stockings around the house or outside will surely alert the police to the trail, so be careful.
Scoring:
+2 for each general character killed
+5 for each neighbor killed
Bonuses:
+2 for each new victim if multiple victims are already trapped
+10 if the victim is a best friend
+15 if the victim was the killer’s crush
+25 if your ME2 can “nookie” with the victim before killing him
Deductions:
-2 for each neighbor who declines an invitation to come over
-5 for each victim you fail to trap
-5 for each victim that escapes
-5 if a romance flops
-20 if your killer has a baby
-25 if stockings are left outside where they can be found
-50 and out of the contest if your killer dies of anything other than old age
Good luck, may the best strangler win, and may you all forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
-----
This is post #31 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
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Sunday, March 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Donald Harvey
Crawl under the covers. Here comes tonight's serial killer bedtime story about Donald Harvey.
The most prolific killer nurse of the trade. When he was not offing his patients, Donny enjoyed hanging out in the morgue and studying tissue samples. An amateur Satanist, he would joke with the hospital staff about "getting rid of patients." Little did they know, it was no joke.
Harvey murdered with abandon from the early seventies to 1987 when he was finally caught. He claimed that his killings were "mercy" killings even though he sometimes chose horrible substances to bring on death. He also did not limit his work to those hospitalized. He killed a neighbor out of spite by lacing her drink with hepatitis. He would also poison his male lover and then nurse him back to health to win his affection. On another occasion he poisoned his lover's family, killing the mother. He was convicted of thirty-four deaths but it is believed that he actually tallied eighty-seven kills.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
The most prolific killer nurse of the trade. When he was not offing his patients, Donny enjoyed hanging out in the morgue and studying tissue samples. An amateur Satanist, he would joke with the hospital staff about "getting rid of patients." Little did they know, it was no joke.
Harvey murdered with abandon from the early seventies to 1987 when he was finally caught. He claimed that his killings were "mercy" killings even though he sometimes chose horrible substances to bring on death. He also did not limit his work to those hospitalized. He killed a neighbor out of spite by lacing her drink with hepatitis. He would also poison his male lover and then nurse him back to health to win his affection. On another occasion he poisoned his lover's family, killing the mother. He was convicted of thirty-four deaths but it is believed that he actually tallied eighty-seven kills.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Strangulation
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Many of our loyal readers lately have been asking about strangulation. I suppose TV coverage isn’t providing enough for you. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s something to satisfy your appetites for gore – a few excerpts from one of my favorite pieces of bedtime reading, “Death by Strangulation,” by Dr. Dean Hawley.
Strangulation sometimes causes no external evidence. In other cases scratches and bruises occur on the neck. These are often from the fingers of the assailant, or even the fingers of the victim from attempts to pry free. Ligatures, such as the satin stockings used by Destiny Blande, can cause distinct abrasion patterns as well.
All of these marks can become more prominent after death as the skin dries out. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall as the coroner sits there eating his lunch while strangulation marks appear on the neck of the corpse?
But remember, not all of the evidence lies in the neck.
The exact findings at autopsy vary, and may be related to the different ways that strangulation can cause death. We each probably have our favorite ways that this can happen. Pressure on the carotid arteries can cut off blood flow to the brain, and blocking the jugular veins can stop the blood returning from the brain, either of which leads to unconsciousness and eventually death. Pressure on the larynx can prevent air flow to the lungs, causing suffocation. Then, of course, there’s my favorite, the possibility of causing an abnormal rhythm from carotid artery reflex signals to the heart.
Okay you wild asphyxiaphilics – we know this information will take your breath away because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
-----
This is post #28 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Many of our loyal readers lately have been asking about strangulation. I suppose TV coverage isn’t providing enough for you. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s something to satisfy your appetites for gore – a few excerpts from one of my favorite pieces of bedtime reading, “Death by Strangulation,” by Dr. Dean Hawley.
Strangulation sometimes causes no external evidence. In other cases scratches and bruises occur on the neck. These are often from the fingers of the assailant, or even the fingers of the victim from attempts to pry free. Ligatures, such as the satin stockings used by Destiny Blande, can cause distinct abrasion patterns as well.
“Ligature abrasions follow a predictable pattern of horizontal circumscription about the neck; distinguishable from the marks left by suicidal hanging, where a suspension point causes the ligature furrow to rise toward one ear.”
All of these marks can become more prominent after death as the skin dries out. Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall as the coroner sits there eating his lunch while strangulation marks appear on the neck of the corpse?
But remember, not all of the evidence lies in the neck.
“. . . In addition to the blunt force injuries of the neck, strangulation produces evidence of asphyxiation, recognized as pinpoint hemorrhages (petechiae) in the skin, conjunctiva of the eyes, and deep internal organs. Petechiae are non-specific findings that can develop from any cause of asphyxia including strangulation, hanging, drowning, sudden infant death syndrome, aspiration of gastric contents, profound depressant drug intoxication, and some natural diseases. The presence of petechiae does not prove strangulation, and the absence of petechiae does not disprove strangulation. In addition to petechiae, one may also (rarely) find interstitial free air in the lung or mediastinum.”
The exact findings at autopsy vary, and may be related to the different ways that strangulation can cause death. We each probably have our favorite ways that this can happen. Pressure on the carotid arteries can cut off blood flow to the brain, and blocking the jugular veins can stop the blood returning from the brain, either of which leads to unconsciousness and eventually death. Pressure on the larynx can prevent air flow to the lungs, causing suffocation. Then, of course, there’s my favorite, the possibility of causing an abnormal rhythm from carotid artery reflex signals to the heart.
Okay you wild asphyxiaphilics – we know this information will take your breath away because you’re Crazy 4 Crazies.
-----
This is post #28 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).
Start TSSB from the first blog post.
See links to all 105 posts in TSSB.
“Like” TSSB on Facebook.
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Sunday, February 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Moses Sithole
Tonight's bedtime story is about Moses. No, not that Moses.
A surprisingly intelligent and gentle mannered Moses Sithole is allegedly South Africa's worst serial killer. The suspected Gauteng serial killer, Sithole was charged in the Pretoria Supreme Court with 38 charges of murder, 40 charges of rape and six of robbery. Between 1994 and 1995 he allegedly strangled women in the Pretoria, Johannesburg and East Rand areas. Most victims were lured to secluded fields where Sithole allegedly assaulted, raped and strangled them with their own underwear or belts.
The series of murders started in June 1994, shortly after Sithole had served house arrest for rape. Between 1994 and 1995 South African authorities were alarmed by the growing number of dead women appearing around Pretoria and Johannesburg. Several of the women were left with their hands tied behind their backs. One woman was blindfolded. Many were found with their heads covered with clothing. Apparently he murdered his first victim because she had shouted at him when he asked her for directions. "I cannot remember her name," he said. "I killed her and left her there. I went straight home and had a shower."
Robert Ressler, the F.B.I. Behavioral Science Unit's former chief, was called in to help with the investigation. Ressler concluded that the killings in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg, and Boksburg, a suburb of Pretoria, were linked. In his psychological profile of the killer he indicated the possibility of two killers acting together.
On October 18, 1995, after a week-long nationwide hunt, police shot and wounded Moses Sithole, an ax-wielding ex-convict with six aliases. When he was arrested, authorities thought Sithole might have been acting in conjunction with David Selepe but no evidence has been uncovered suggesting that both men knew each other. Unfortunately for Selepe, he was killed by police while in custody.
On October 22, 1996, Sithole appeared in court and was charged with 38 murders and 40 rapes. On November 14, Sithole's trial was postponed after the suspect appeared in court looking very pale and with his pants soaked with blood. The HIV positive killer was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a wound on his knee. According to his defense team, the injury came from a fall he sustained at Pretoria Central Prison.
A jailhouse confession videotape -- made by Charles Schoeman on the condition that Sithole and three other prisoners would get a share of the royalties -- shows a visibly relaxed Sithole in a cell either smoking or chewing on an apple while giving a chilling account one of his victim's lasts moments before death. Sithole -- an avid talker -- was a willing party to a series of video and audio tapes made by fellow prisoners. In them he told fellow prisoners that he hated women and felt he was teaching them "a very good lesson" by murdering them.
Facts contained in the tapes were repeated in a confession to the police and in a phone conversation with a Johannesburg journalist. An unknown caller, identified by voice experts as Sithole, claimed to be the Gauteng serial killer and gave details of where he had left the bodies of several of his victims.
Sithole officially became South Africa's worst serial killer On December 5, 1997. when he was found guilty of 38 murders and 40 rapes. Sithole -- who's overwhelming arrogance had ultimately brought about his downfall -- sat emotionless, taking down notes throughout the three-hour judgment. After the judgment, he gathered up his briefcase and left the courtroom with a smile on his face. The next day, as people in the gallery cheered and applauded, Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 year in jail. Relatives of the victims shouted for his head and called for the return of capital punishment. The judge -- who also made a plea for the restoration of the death penalty -- said he would have sentenced Sithole to death without hesitation.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
A surprisingly intelligent and gentle mannered Moses Sithole is allegedly South Africa's worst serial killer. The suspected Gauteng serial killer, Sithole was charged in the Pretoria Supreme Court with 38 charges of murder, 40 charges of rape and six of robbery. Between 1994 and 1995 he allegedly strangled women in the Pretoria, Johannesburg and East Rand areas. Most victims were lured to secluded fields where Sithole allegedly assaulted, raped and strangled them with their own underwear or belts.
The series of murders started in June 1994, shortly after Sithole had served house arrest for rape. Between 1994 and 1995 South African authorities were alarmed by the growing number of dead women appearing around Pretoria and Johannesburg. Several of the women were left with their hands tied behind their backs. One woman was blindfolded. Many were found with their heads covered with clothing. Apparently he murdered his first victim because she had shouted at him when he asked her for directions. "I cannot remember her name," he said. "I killed her and left her there. I went straight home and had a shower."
Robert Ressler, the F.B.I. Behavioral Science Unit's former chief, was called in to help with the investigation. Ressler concluded that the killings in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg, and Boksburg, a suburb of Pretoria, were linked. In his psychological profile of the killer he indicated the possibility of two killers acting together.
On October 18, 1995, after a week-long nationwide hunt, police shot and wounded Moses Sithole, an ax-wielding ex-convict with six aliases. When he was arrested, authorities thought Sithole might have been acting in conjunction with David Selepe but no evidence has been uncovered suggesting that both men knew each other. Unfortunately for Selepe, he was killed by police while in custody.
On October 22, 1996, Sithole appeared in court and was charged with 38 murders and 40 rapes. On November 14, Sithole's trial was postponed after the suspect appeared in court looking very pale and with his pants soaked with blood. The HIV positive killer was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a wound on his knee. According to his defense team, the injury came from a fall he sustained at Pretoria Central Prison.
A jailhouse confession videotape -- made by Charles Schoeman on the condition that Sithole and three other prisoners would get a share of the royalties -- shows a visibly relaxed Sithole in a cell either smoking or chewing on an apple while giving a chilling account one of his victim's lasts moments before death. Sithole -- an avid talker -- was a willing party to a series of video and audio tapes made by fellow prisoners. In them he told fellow prisoners that he hated women and felt he was teaching them "a very good lesson" by murdering them.
Facts contained in the tapes were repeated in a confession to the police and in a phone conversation with a Johannesburg journalist. An unknown caller, identified by voice experts as Sithole, claimed to be the Gauteng serial killer and gave details of where he had left the bodies of several of his victims.
Sithole officially became South Africa's worst serial killer On December 5, 1997. when he was found guilty of 38 murders and 40 rapes. Sithole -- who's overwhelming arrogance had ultimately brought about his downfall -- sat emotionless, taking down notes throughout the three-hour judgment. After the judgment, he gathered up his briefcase and left the courtroom with a smile on his face. The next day, as people in the gallery cheered and applauded, Sithole was sentenced to 2,410 year in jail. Relatives of the victims shouted for his head and called for the return of capital punishment. The judge -- who also made a plea for the restoration of the death penalty -- said he would have sentenced Sithole to death without hesitation.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Serial Killer Bedtime Stories: Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski
Happy New Year! Tonight's serial killer bedtime story is not about the Iceman who stole our hearts in Top Gun.
Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was a professional hit man by trade with a serial killer passion on the side. Although suspected of at least 40 murders, while in custody Rich said that he only killed to support his family. A regular Mr. Short Fuse, Rich killed an unsuspecting motorist for cutting him off. He ran him off the road, beat him to death, then ran over his body repeatedly.
Not the family type, he is said to have once blown the head off the shoulders of a man over a bet. He also allegedly slit a man too see how long it would take him to bleed to death. He once chopped up a body, put it in a 50 gallon drum and placed the drum outside of his favorite hot dog stand. Rich got life and now sits rotting in a jail cell in New Jersey.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was a professional hit man by trade with a serial killer passion on the side. Although suspected of at least 40 murders, while in custody Rich said that he only killed to support his family. A regular Mr. Short Fuse, Rich killed an unsuspecting motorist for cutting him off. He ran him off the road, beat him to death, then ran over his body repeatedly.
Not the family type, he is said to have once blown the head off the shoulders of a man over a bet. He also allegedly slit a man too see how long it would take him to bleed to death. He once chopped up a body, put it in a 50 gallon drum and placed the drum outside of his favorite hot dog stand. Rich got life and now sits rotting in a jail cell in New Jersey.
Sweet dreams, and may you forever remain Crazy 4 Crazies.
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