The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

SERIAL KILLERS

Second Edition

Michael Newton

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Second Edition
Copyright © 2006, 2000 by Michael Newton

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Newton, Michael, 1951–

The Encyclopedia of serial killers / by Michael Newton.—2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8160-6195-5 (hc : alk. paper)

1. Serial murderers—Encyclopedias. I. Title.

HV6245.N49 2006

364.152’3’03—dc22

2005003800

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VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

For Janice Gail Knowlton,

survivor and friend.

(1937–2004)

I did it all for me. Purely selfish. I worshiped the art and the act of
death, over and over. It’s as simple as that. Afterwards it was all
sexual confusion, symbolism, honoring the “fallen.” I was honoring myself. I hated the decay and the dissection. There was no
sadistic pleasure in the killing. I killed them as I would like to be
killed myself, enjoying the extremity of the death act itself. If I did
it to myself I could only experience it once. If I did it to others, I
could experience the death act over and over again.

—Dennis Nilsen

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

vi

Preface to the First Edition

vii

Entries A–Z

1

Appendix A: Solo Killers

308

Appendix B: Team Killers

437

Appendix C: Unresolved Cases 455

Bibliography

489

Index

503

Preface to the Second Edition

I appreciate the opportunity to update and expand
The
been added to the work’s appendixes on solo killers,
Encyclopedia of Serial Killers.
Much has happened in team killers, and unsolved crimes, while certain errors the field since I completed the original work in early in the supplementary material have also been corrected; 1999, as evidenced by the increased volume of cases (3) The bibliography has been extensively updated, list-reported. The first edition included data on 1,621 spe-ing 686 English-language sources (compared to 276 in cific serial murder cases; this edition contains 2,309 (a the first edition). In short, the revised
Encyclopedia of
net increase of 42 percent in the span of five years). Not
Serial Killers
represents the most complete source on all of those cases and killers are “new,” however, since the subject presently available.

expanded study of serial crime has shed light on many Thanks are due to various individuals who provided older cases that were unrecognized or poorly reported supplementary material for this volume and/or sug-when the first edition went to press. Accordingly, while gested corrections from the first edition. First and fore-the previous edition dated records of the first known most, I owe thanks to David Frasier at Indiana serial killer from the first century A.D., we now know University—friend and fellow author, researcher par that compulsive predators were active in ancient Rome excellence—for his continuing assistance and support.

as early as 331 B.C. In time, older cases will no doubt The work in hand would literally not exist without his emerge.

generous help. Others unsung when the first edition With so much new material from which to choose, a went to press include Barry Baldwin, Kimba D’Michi, volume many times the size of the original might easily Michael Kingman, Alan and Lenore Locken, Heather have been prepared. Instead, as in the first edition, Facts Newton, Rod Poteet, and Stan Reid.

On File has placed a premium on user-friendly format As in the first edition, every effort has been made and economy. The new edition differs from its predeces-to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of this work.

sor in three ways: (1) New entries and updated infor-Readers possessing additional data on any aspect of mation have been added throughout the main text, serial murder are invited to contact the author via the while revisions and corrections have been undertaken publisher, or at his Web site (http://www.michaelnewton.

based on new research and sources; (2) 689 cases have homestead.com).

vi

Preface to the First Edition

In recent years it has become routine—indeed, almost cases. They include: David Frasier, reference librarian at obligatory—for authors of studies on serial murder to the University of Indiana in Bloomington; A. M. Barmer, describe the phenomenon as “elusive,” “mysterious,”

at the Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library; Becky Clark, at even “baffling.” It is not entirely clear why that should the Lincoln (Nebr.) Public Library; M. Collin, at the be the case—except, perhaps, that “normal” minds Santa Barbara (Ca.) Public Library; Virgil Dean, with rebel at understanding those who kill repeatedly outside the Kansas Historical Society; Nijole Etzwiler, at the the law, either for profit or the simple, atavistic pleasure Baraboo (Wisc.) Public Library; Elizabeth Fitzgerald, at of the act.

the Providence (R.I.) Public Library; Marcia Friddle, at It is the purpose of this volume to demystify, as far as the Chicago Public Library; Sally Fry, with the Orange possible, those predators in human form who have been County (Fla.) Library System; Merle Groce, with the with us since the dawn of history, their numbers multi-Morgan City (La.) Archives; Sandra Hancock, at the plying exponentially within the past four decades.

West Florida Regional Library in Pensacola; C. Jones, Understanding of the problem and development of reference librarian at the Public Library of Nashville workable solutions is important both in the United (Tenn.); Donald Langlois, reference librarian for the Ari-States (which, with less than 5 percent of the world’s zona Department of Library, Archives and Public population, has produced some 84 percent of all known Records; Catherine Larsen, at the Kalamazoo (Mo.) serial killers since 1980) and in nations ranging from Public Library; David Meeks, at the Palatka (Fla.) Public Australia to South Africa and Russia, where a new Library; Antonio Mendoza, of the Internet Crime wave of serial murder bids fair to reach crisis propor-Archives; the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History tions in the next millennium.

Room; Mary Lou Rothman, at the Indian River County The entries in this work are alphabetically arranged, (Fla.) Main Library; Mark Schreiber; Steve Stangle, including both case histories of individual serial killers with the St. Johns County (Fla.) Public Library System; and essays on general topics (e.g., motives for serial Warren Taylor, at the Topeka and Shawnee County murder, etc.) Cross-referenced items may be listed at the (Kans.) Public Library; Elizabeth Thacker, at the San end of a specific entry or signified by use of SMALL CAPI-Francisco Public Library; Vivian Turner, at the Sacra-TAL LETTERS in the body of the text. The large number mento (Ca.) Public Library; Katherine Turton, with the of serial killers on record—more than 1,500 at this writ-Chattahoochee Valley (Ga.) Regional Library System; ing—renders comprehensive coverage of each and every Sharon Van Dorn, at the Dallas Public Library; Carolyn case unfeasible in any single volume. Thus, case histories Waters, at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Public Library.

presented in the main text were selected as examples of Every effort has been made to ensure the timeliness specific serial killer types, motivations, nationalities, and and accuracy of the work in hand. Inevitably, by the so forth. The remainder of cases known at this writing time it goes to press there will be more new cases in the are presented in a detailed appendix, further subdivided media and fresh developments in some of those

into sections for solo killers, those who murder with reported here. Readers possessing additional informa-accomplices, and cases presently unsolved.

tion on any aspect of the serial murder phenomenon Many people have assisted in the preparation of this are encouraged to write the author, in care of Facts On work, particularly with the details of lesser-known File.

vii

Entries A–Z

A

ALLEN, Howard Arthur

Police were not finished with their suspect, however.

An African-American serial killer with a taste for As it happened, Laverne Hale had been a neighbor of elderly victims, Howard Allen never strayed far from Allen’s, living directly behind his house, and he became hometown Indianapolis in his search for prey. In a suspect in her murder, based on her killer’s modus August 1974, at age 24, he invaded the home of 85-operandi. In early August, detectives announced that year-old Opal Cooper, beating her to death in the Allen was a prime suspect in eleven other cases, each course of a petty robbery. Convicted on a reduced involving robbery or assault of elderly victims in their charge of manslaughter, Allen received a term of two to homes around Indianapolis.

21 years in state prison. Paroled in January 1985, he In the spring of 1988, Allen was convicted of bur-returned to Indianapolis and found work in a car wash, glary and felony battery in the May 18 assault, plus an biding his time before he resumed the hunt.

additional count of habitual criminal behavior. He was On May 18, 1987, a 73-year-old Indianapolis

sentenced to 88 years on those charges, but the worst woman narrowly escaped death when a prowler choked was yet to come. On June 11, 1988, he was convicted and beat her in her home. Two days later, Laverne Hale, of murder and robbery in the slaying of Ernestine Grif-87, was attacked in a similar fashion, dying of her fin, with the jury recommending CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

injuries on May 29.

At this writing, Allen awaits execution on Indiana’s The raids continued on June 2, when a burglar ran-death row.

sacked the home of an elderly man five blocks from the Hale murder scene. This time, the tenant was absent. The prowler vented his anger by setting the house on fire.

“ANGEL Makers of Nagyrev”

On July 14, Ernestine Griffin, age 73, was murdered Little is known of Julia Fazekas before 1911, when she in her Indianapolis home, stabbed eight times with a suddenly appeared in the Hungarian village of Nagyrev, 10-inch butcher knife, a kitchen toaster smashed 60 miles southeast of Budapest on the River Tisza. She repeatedly against her skull. Grieving relatives esti-was pushing middle age, a widow by her own account, mated that the killer had escaped with $15 and a cam-but no one seemed to know exactly what had happened era belonging to his victim.

to her husband. Between 1911 and 1921, midwife The case broke on August 4, 1987, with Howard

Fazekas was jailed 10 times for performing illegal abor-Allen’s arrest on multiple charges. Witnesses linked tions, but sympathetic judges acquitted her in each case.

him to the May 18 attack, leading to Allen’s indictment Meanwhile, apparently unnoticed by police, she had on charges of burglary, battery, and unlawful confine-inaugurated one of Europe’s most bizarre and deadly ment. He was also charged with arson and burglary murder sprees.

(from the June 2 incident), as well as the murder of The rash of homicides is traceable to World War I, Ernestine Griffin.

when able-bodied men from Nagyrev were drafted to
1

“ANGELS of Death”

fight for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the same life imprisonment, and the rest to lesser prison terms.

time, rural Nagyrev was deemed an ideal site for camps The condemned included Susannah Olah, a self-styled containing Allied prisoners of war—a circumstance that witch who boasted of training venomous snakes to catered to the wildest fantasies of women suddenly attack her victims in bed, competing with Fazekas in deprived of men. The prisoners most likely enjoyed a sales of “Aunt Susi’s inheritance powders”; Olah’s sister limited freedom within the village, and it soon became a Lydia, a septuagenarian whose flat denials of guilt failed point of pride for lonely wives in Nagyrev to boast a to impress the jury; Maria Kardos, who murdered her foreign lover, sometimes three or four. An atmosphere husband, a lover, and her sickly 23-year-old son, per-of rampant promiscuity prevailed, and husbands strag-suading the young man to sing her a song on his gling home from combat found their women strangely deathbed; Rosalie Sebestyen and Rose Hoyba, con-