pittsburgh serial killer 1980s

He also raped and brutalized a woman who escaped; he returned to her home several nights later and tried to break in, which led to his arrest. It's all highly circumstantial. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. His crimes took place in the Wild West, but Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, who would be known as the Sundance Kid, was born in Mont Clare, Pa. Brenda Lee Ritter, 18, was found strangled on May 19. (AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam). Spotz and his girlfriend separated she would surrender to police and Spotz abducted his final victim, Betty Amstutz, 70, near her Harrisburg home and killed her in North Middleton Township before surrendering to police. Right! His outstanding career catapulted him into a political role: He was elected Sheriff of Allegheny County, was named chairman of the County Democratic Committee and was narrowly defeated for a county commissioner scat. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove). [9] Baumhammers had also created an internet website on which he called for "an end to non-white immigration" and stated that "almost all" present-day immigration "is non-European. Scarf is seen here handcuffed along with reputed associates Joseph Ligambi, left, and Francis Iannarella, center, as they enter Philadelphia City Hall for their sentencing hearing, April 6, 1989. His bond was set at $1 million. Kochus body was pulled from the Ohio River in West Virginia on March 20 2015. Gary Styles was a traveler in a carnival throughout the duration of his life thanks to a genetic deformity that made his hands look like lobster claws. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The robbers fled with about $2,200 in cash. Want more true crime? But the fire never spread and days later the body was discovered. By the '90s, the number of cases dropped to 141 and again to 61 by the 2000s. [1] Andrejs Baumhammers claimed that Baumhammers even asked at one point to be taken to Dr. Kevorkian to help him commit suicide.[1]. Mary Stiles was married to Grady Stiles, also known as the sideshow performer Lobster Boy. Editor's note: Thispost has been updated to add information on additional criminals. 2022 Pittsburgh shooting: April 17, 2022 17 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Unsolved Robb Elementary School shooting: Andrejs would later testify that Baumhammers told him that during a visit to Ukraine, he became "euphoric"; but that by the time he traveled to Finland, he believed people were following and harassing him. Ramirez often smiled for the cameras at his trial and when he was convicted, he was heard to say, No big deal. He killed three people before killing himself. He focused on killing women, many of them prostitutes, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 1984: The old Stanley Theater re-opened as the beautifully renovated Benedum Center for the . The notorious murders of three siblings occurred in 1934 but have yet to be forgotten by the community. In the most recent incident, Richard Hyde, a 34-year-old elementary school principal, was killed by a shotgun blast Dec. 3 in the kitchen of his ranch home in Moon Township, a suburb about 10 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. However, they did not reach their peak until the late-1970s. Spotz and his girlfriend then carjacked Penny Gunnet of York County at gunpoint and stole her cash credit cards and jewelry. Eventually, a group of vigilantes dubbed the Paxton Boys would attempt to ensure their safety via themurderof the native Conestogapeople living near present-day Millersville. Days before his trial, he ran, escaping to Europe and eluding his pursuers for two decades years. He was last seen in Katz Plaza on his phone, presumably walking towards Katz Plaza and towards a bridge which would have taken him home to the North Side. (Gene J. Puskar). He stabbed her to death in 1960, which resulted in some jail time. Former trucker Edward Surratt, now 79, had for years been a suspect in these killings and . They didnt demand money or brandish weapons. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. He was tried as an adult and convicted of murder. Richard Baumhammers was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Andrejs and Inese Baumhammers, both Lutheran Latvian immigrants who fled the Soviet occupation of their homeland. while it was loading i was hoping this was the image. His body was discovered on March 20 near a barge at the Market Street Bridge that spans the Ohio River in Brooke County, West Virginia. Related: 9 Haunting Cases from Unsolved Mysteries That Have Since Been Solved. Eyler confessed to 21 further homicides of young men and boys he had committed between 1982 and 1984 in five separate states before he died. He acquired Latvian citizenship and sought to regain some of the family's properties lost during the Soviet occupation of Latvia. Gordon had been friends with Baumhammers' parents for 31 years. Debbie Makel. Victim of serial killer Albert Fish. The case was the subject of a book, "The D-Day Bank Massacre," authored by Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. THE JOURNALISTS. In this file photo from July 2, 1988, convicted kidnapper and torture killer Gary Heidnik leaves Philadelphia City Hall after being sentenced to die. One hardware store reported it had run out of locks and other security devices. "It does seem the golden age of serial murderers is probably past," said Harold Schechter, a professor who studies crime at Queens College of the City University of New York in a Slate report. The book influenced the re-opening of several missing person cases. Allegheny County has called on its sheriff, the former head of the city homicide squad, to take over the investigation. On Sept. 11, 2001, teams of Al Qaeda terrorists boarded four planes and crashed them into targets at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Accompanied by his 17-year-old girlfriend, he then shot and killed June Ohlinger, 52, of Schuylkill County and stole her car. [1], After completing high school in 1983, Baumhammers graduated from Kent State University in Ohio in 1989 and began law school at Cumberland Law School in Birmingham, Alabama. Graham, 43, on death row since May 1988 for murdering seven women and leaving their decomposed bodies in his apartment, cannot be executed because he is mentally retarded, a judge ruled Friday, Dec. 19, 2003. The most infamous murders and massacres in Pennsylvania history. Almost all his victims were African-American. Residents frequently peek through front windows before greeting callers. He is scheduled for release in 2033, when he is 104. On May 19, 2000, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole ruled that Baumhammers was unfit to stand trial and ordered that Baumhammers undergo at least 90 days of psychiatric treatment. I, personally, set out to discover all the information possible and come up with a conclusion based on available evidence. Blue-Eyed Six, 1878 Lebanon County After taking out life insurance policies amounting to $8,000 for Joseph Raber, an impoverished elder neighbor in the summer of 1878, a group of six men arranged Raber's murder. What lurid news stories keep you awake at night? Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! We need to know more about the causes of death. A twisted tale, the episode revealed that Trimbles husband, Brian, and his friend, Blaine Norris, plotted to murder Trimble in an effort to claim her $100,000 insurance policy, which they would then use to fund their low-budget horror movie. On Oct. 16, 1755, a band of raiders from the Delaware tribe attacked and killed over a dozen settlers at Penn's Creek near Selinsgrove. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. However, the majority remain unsolved. The famous murders in Bucks County PA aren't the state's only history-making slayings. The case was the first known murder of a state legislator. They didn't find the book, but they did find Rehmeyer and killed and mutilated his body. Randy Stair blocked the exits of a Weis Market in Tunkhannock late overnight in June of 2017 before opening fire on the people inside. The two murdered seven people in 1980 alone. Barona Avenue which was less than a block from where his grandparents had lived in the mid-1930s. The 1968 Pittsburgh riots were a series of urban disturbances that erupted in Pittsburgh on April 5, 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King. How was the body found but the location unknown? The psychiatrists agreed that he was psychotic but used different words to describe his condition: paranoid schizophrenic, psychotic thought disorder, and delusional disorder. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Thorman was a 13-year-old servant when she fatally burned a toddler on the stove. Lebanon High School football team. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. In 1928, Nelson Rehmeyer was murdered and his corpse was mutilated by a group of men led by John Blymire. He was an active member as of March 2000. Baumhammers was charged with 19 crimes which included five counts of criminal homicides, one count of attempted homicide, eight counts of ethnic intimidation, two counts of arson, two counts of criminal mischief, one count of arson, one count of reckless endangerment of another person, one count of violation of uniform firearms act, two counts of institution vandalism and one count of aggravated assault. He was arrested after one of the captives escaped and alerted police. After his death, Eylers defense attorney released his list of victims. Grady was reported to be a dangerous and abusive alcoholic, and served 15 years probation for killing his daughter's fiancee. Seriously, that's a minimum 4 hour hike and his friends were completely okay with him walking. Surratt had only been out of prison for 8 months after serving an attempted rape charge in Virginia. In fact, these killings were essentially an amalgamation of multiple killers going on separate sprees that local authorities could not pinpoint. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter and get our most chilling recommendations delivered straight to your inbox. He is currently on death row. The number of serial killers exceeded 200 in the '80s. People leave a joint memorial service for siblings Jerry Michael Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25, at the Lighthouse Cathedral in Pittsburgh's St. Clair neighborhood, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Darlene Ewalt of West Hanover Township was killed on July 13, 2007 by Adam Leroy Lane,the so-called "The Highway Killer." At the same time, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam David Berkowitz, and the Hillside Strangler were active criminals, which may explain why youve never heard of these less publicized crimes or names like Edward Surratt before. [1], For several years in the mid-1990s, Baumhammers lived in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was listed with the International Law Section members of the Georgia Bar Association. All rights reserved (About Us). [5], According to several people who associated with him in Latvia, Baumhammers mainly kept to himself. In a search of Lanes truck, Massachusetts police found a spotting scope, black clothes, a DVD titled Hunting Humans about a serial killer stalking another serial killer, and two hunting knives. While they were unsure if the same person committed these heinous crimes, it was logical to assume that there was some connection based on age and location. This 1980s serial killer was never caught. In 2010, a judge ruled that he was mentally incompetent and therefore could not be executed. Another victim was doing yard work. This page is not available in other languages. His body was found, with wallet and phone, on January 23rd, 2012 on the shore of the Ohio River. Dubbed the "House of Horrors" killer, Gary Heidnik murdered two women in his North Philadelphia home, where he held six victims in chains, raping them and using electrical shock on them during 1986 and 1987. First Amendment. The mysterious murderer may have struck again though in 1988: a woman was dragged from her vehicle and attacked while sitting in her car at a gas station. Baumhammers insisted that his parents had to go into the basement to talk with him, using a pen and notepad. Since most source reddit for the latest news, I expect it to be out in about 30 minutes. Probably about 1918.Immediate source: Noakes family history records, no publisher, no copyright.. Both were sentenced to life in prison. Barbour claimed that she started murdering people across the country as part of a satanic cult that she joined in Alaska. The fifth-grade boy, an avid reader and football player, allegedly shot the woman before leaving for the school bus. In 2015, National Geographic reported that evidence of the oldest known homicide had been uncovered literally. Baumhammers was the second child to Andrejs and Inese; his older sister Daina was born in 1963. Darlene Ewalt was talking on the phone with a family friend on her backyard patio in West Hanover Twp. Related: 48 Eerie Unsolved Mysteries That Will Keep You Awake at Night. In each of three recent cases, a man died of. [1], On April 28, 2000, at 1:30p.m. EDT, Richard Baumhammers walked to the home of his next-door neighbor, a 63-year-old Jewish woman named Anita "Nicki" Gordon, and fatally shot her, then set her house on fire. Several of the murders were committed in a mixed-use building that Holmes had purchased in Chicago, ostensibly for use as a hotel, but which garnered the reputation as the "Murder House.". [14] Baumhammers was scheduled to die by lethal injection. There was a wide radius that this killeror killerscovered over the course of the late-1970s. Gregor was reported missing. Harvey M. Robinson is one of the youngest serial killers in American history and the only serial killer from Allentown, PA. From 1992 to 1993, he raped and killed three women in the city, who ranged in age from 15 to 47. Raised in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Surratt's preying field was a lovers lane in Findlay township. His victims ranged from age 9 to 79, and he killed both men and women. Paleontologists in Spain found a 430,000-year-old skull that bears evidence of traumatic injury. Have any other famous murders in Pennsylvania inspired TV shows or movies? The night of October 22, 1977, Surratt shot Feeny. Death always comes with the territory. Lucas had been raised by an abusive mother who allegedly forced him to copulate with dead animals. The Connecticut River Valley Killer is believed to have killed seven women in the Connecticut River Valley which spans from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. On the morning of Oct. 2, 2006, 32-year-old milk truck driver Charles Carl Roberts IV drove about a mile from his home to a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Lancaster County. Amstutz, a retired Lutheran deaconess, was shot nine times. The next body was found Jan. 2, 1980, in a car at a parking garage in Downtown Pittsburgh. The passengers on the fourth plane mounted a counterattack and overcame the hijackers. Joseph "Joey" Miller, is one of the midstate's most prolific serial killers. She was having a fling with a local singer named John Murray and Bundy accidently told him details of her and Clarks sexual and murderous activities. [6], On April 27, 2000, Baumhammers would purchase a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver in South Strabane Township, Pennsylvania. He was dubbed the Grim Sleeper because he apparently took a 14-year-hiatus from killing: from 1988 to 2002. Two weeks later, Clark killed two more: a pair of prostitutes and he brought one of their decapitated heads home. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Worried that Murray would go to the police, Bundy shot him in the head before decapitating him. He was murdered in his home by Hubert Wingate III who was convicted of Grey's murder on Jan 13th 2017 and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. He was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in July 1999. "Three Rivers, Two Mysteries" host Michael A. Fuoco, producer Ashley Murray and editor Virginia Linn detail how the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette came to produce its first serialized podcast. Norris carried out the murder while Trimble was out at dinner. Both parents would become faculty members of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine and would open a successful practice on Fifth Avenue, near the . The Conestoga had lived in peace with settlers for decades, and manyhad been converted to Christianity, but they were blamed regardless. To date, Surratt has only confessed to 6 of the unsolved murders that plagued the Pittsburgh area, leaving dozens unsolved. A lifetime after the funeral, the broken heart, the despair, Karen Moore still burns with fury over the man she is convinced shattered her dreams. The group became known as the Blue-Eyed Six after the local media noted that all six men had blue eyes. Here are 8 of the most lethal serial killings of the decade. Not trying to be insensitive, but were most or all of these men gay? The names of Brenda Lee Ritter, Deborah Capiola, Barbara Lewis, Mary Irene Gency, and Susan Rush were five that came up the most often. Soon after, police determined that the crimes were committed by a person labeled the Southside Slayer, which authorities announced to the public in 1985. Did you know about these famous murders in Pennsylvania? Bernard Williams, May 17, 1988 Susquehanna Twp. The 1980's was the peak of serial killings, according to experts. PITTSBURGH, Dec. 17In the past 20 months, there have been at least 27 unsolved murdersperhaps as many as 41 in suburbs and rural areas near here. It was evident that Surratt was not done with his crimes, as he has a lengthy history with sexual assault and murder. He once delivered a beating that caused his pregnant daughter to miscarry. PITTSBURGH (AP) - A death penalty trial has begun for a man accused of having set a house fire that killed a young child and two women in Pittsburgh . Soon, Clark began bringing prostitutes home for threesomes. Harrison 'Marty' Graham is pictured in an undated police handout photograph. [5] Several Latvian acquaintances, however, described Baumhammers as intent on meeting women but "awkward. One of the states most infamous crimes occurred in 2017 when four young men were murdered on a farm just outside of New Hope in Bucks County. Marlene Newcomer, 26, a single mother from Connellsville, Fayette County, was fatally shot a day. It's a mystery that has haunted family and friends of the 23-year-old Duquesne University graduate student for two years. Franklin wasnt caught until 2007 when a murdered woman was matched through DNA analysis to at least 11 unsolved murders in Los Angeles. Meleanie Hain drew national attention and controversy when she openly wore a handgun at her five-year-old daughter's soccer game in Lebanon County. The 37-year-old man would have been under arrest for dismembering and disemboweling two men in 1988 and 1992. Forensic labs and DNA detection technology has advanced to such a high degree that even one of the most elusive murderers of the 20th century, Joseph James DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer, was finally captured and imprisoned. In 1994, a jury convicted her of conspiracy to commit murder and she was sentenced to 12 years in prison. [1] A Cumberland classmate described Baumhammers as "gregarious, a good student, in the top third of his class." Douglas Daniel Clark and his accomplice Carol M. Bundy were known as the "Sunset Strip Killers." Within days, Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier had been fired. More:http://ow.ly/lthzH. On December 18, 1977, it was reported by The New York Times that 27 confirmed unsolved murders had taken place in and around the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, trunk and extremities. (Remember that website?!) It wasnt until 1978 that he was officially arrested for attacking a family of three and failing to flee the premises before the police arrived. Most of his killings took place in the mid-80s. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments. Penn State was rocked by Sanduskys arrest and charges filed against three administrators accusing them of failing to report suspicions of that abuse to authority. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File). Let it be known: If I get drunk, fall off of something and die, please do not start a moral panic in response. Mary Irene Gency, 16, was found beaten to death Feb. 21, and Susan Elizabeth Rush. Here are 8 of the most lethal serial killings of the decade. Harrison Graham is a case that begs the question of whether an insane person can be responsible for his or her actions or if the shortcomings of the mental health care system should be held accountable. A licensed gun dealer who usually sells two or three guns a month said be sold 20 in one week. In 1934, Elmo Noakes, his niece Winifred Pierce and Noakes' three daughters arrived in Pennsylvania from California with no job or money. On June 6, 1986, 28-year-old Martin Appel and 29-year-old Stanley Hertzog entered the First National Bank of Bath in East Allen Township. He was convicted of her murder, and the murder of her two children, Karen and Michael, in 1983. He retired from Penn State in 1999, but had emeritus status that allowed him access to Penn State facilities. He was scheduled to be put to death on March 18, 2010. The Uniontown, Pennsylvania based newspaper listed an 8-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, as well as two young men. Bradfield was a high school teacher and the sole beneficiary of the life insurance policy of his colleagueSusan Reinert. "[11], On May 1, 2000, Richard Baumhammers was arraigned on charges of homicide, arson, and hate crimes. The next body was found Jan. 2, 1980, in a car at a parking garage in Downtown Pittsburgh. Share news, events, and thoughts with/about the Pittsburgh community. You will receive your first email soon. Powwow doctor Nelson Rehmeyer had been brutally murdered in his home in Stewartstown by three men who, after runs of bad luck, decided Rehmeyer had put a hex on them.

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