CLEVELAND TORSO MURDERS: THE MAD BUTCHER OF KINGSBURY RUN

Article BY David C. Hayes - Art by Vincent Castiglia

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From 1934 through 1938, the citizens of Cleveland, Ohio were rocked by a series of gruesome, horrific murders. Members of the city’s indigent population fell under the knife of “The Butcher of Kingsbury Run,” so named after the shantytown in which the killer plied his trade. Although unsolved, the crimes have lived on due to their bizarre, deviant nature. Over the course of five years in Ohio, thirteen partial corpses were found in the vicinity of Kingsbury. All had been decapitated, some had been sliced in half at the waist and some had their genitals mutilated. The victims were men and women, but all of them had felt the economic disparity of the Great Depression and lived in the makeshift shanties of Kingsbury Run. Elliot Ness, hot off the conviction of Al Capone in Chicago, took over Cleveland’s police force and, by extension, the investigation of what came to be known as The Cleveland Torso Murders. Ness, the Cleveland Police Department and the citizens of Cleveland were unable to, officially, put a face and name to the unsub, eventually relying on drastic decision-making, giving into the feeling of powerlessness that a sadistic sexual murder thrives on, to put an end to the victim pool if not the victimizer. In 1938, behavioral analysis was in its infancy, tied to the pioneering work of the Neo-Freudians and study of the development of personality. In addition, the forensic advancements of Europe had yet to be fully adopted in the United States. Ness and his term were woefully unprepared for an unsub like The Butcher… with a fantasy as complex as Jack the Ripper and pulling from a faceless victim pool like H. H. Holmes, the authorities didn’t stand a chance.

 

Cleveland 1934-1938

From 1934 through 1938, the country was deep within the financial miasma known as The Great Depression. Jobs were scarce for a majority of the country and the Midwest, containing Cleveland, Ohio, appeared to be hardest hit. Throughout the country, small, makeshift villages sprung up. Buildings made of discarded wood and aluminum, canvas and cardboard, called shantytowns dotted the landscape. Inside these shanty towns, the new generation of American homeless congregated and attempted to forge out an existence that was, at the very least, reminiscent of their pre-Depression lives prior to the economic fall of 1929. When humans congregate for economic means, as in all times of strife, and are, largely, left to their own devices, crime and alcoholism rise to the forefront. Kingsbury Run, Cleveland’s shantytown, was no exception. Men, women and children all inhabited the cobbled-together homes and businesses of Kingsbury Row. The lack of work provided ample idle time. The idle time provided ample avenues for depression and perceived failure. The cases of depression provided ample reasoning for alcohol and drug abuse. This new level of crime, city wide, necessitated the arrival of famed lawman, Elliot Ness. “Clevelanders got their first look at Elliot Ness in August of 1934… America’s seventh largest city (with a population of just under one million), Cleveland was infested with so much crime and corruption, that it had earned a reputation as an untamed town” (Nickel 1989). Ness had facilitated the arrest of the notorious Al Capone in Chicago years prior and he was heralded as Cleveland’s saviour. Unbeknownst to Ness, the Butcher of Kingsbury Run was already active in the poorest section of the sprawling metropolis and would prove to be a nemesis that Ness, the largest homicide investigation in the United States at that time, 2,400 officers and the terrified citizens of Cleveland would be unable to beat. After the discovery of parts of the Butcher’s first victim, The Lady in the Lake, Inspector Cornelius W. Cody was asked by a reporter of The Cleveland Plain Dealer whether or not, “this was the perfect crime. “No,” the inspector responded, “but so close to perfect that we don’t know what to do next” (Nickel 1989).

 

The Crimes

What follows is a listing, in order of body discovery, of the victims of The Butcher. Pertinent details such as date of death and appearance of the corpse have been noted in order to compile the behavioral profile. The following victim information was culled from James Jessen Badal’s In the Wake of the Butcher and Marilyn Bardsley’s “The Kingsbury Run Murders.”

Victim 0 – The Lady in the Lake (she was the first victim found, but was not related to the Butcher killings until much later).
Name: Jane Doe I
Date Found: September 5, 1934
Date of Death: Approximately March 1934 HYPERLINK "http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=DPaFPocVEoc&offerid=77482.10000007&type=4&subid=0"
Description: mid to late 30s, approximately 5’ 6” and 120 pounds, white female
Body: Her lower torso, from waist to knees, was found on the shore. Two days later, part of her ribcage and spinal column was uncovered. She had been decapitated and her torso had been cut in half with a sharp knife denoting some level of anatomical knowledge. Her right arm had been removed shoddily, though, with a saw. Her skin had a reddish hue and it was determined that her body had been preserved with a chemical compound called chloride of lime. Although time of death was gauged at March of 1934, the discovered parts had only been in the water for three or four months. Her head was never found.

Victim One
Name: John Doe I
Date Found: September 23, 1935
Date of Death: Approximately September 13, 1935
Description: mid-40s, about 5’ 6” and 165 pounds, white male
Body: John Doe’s body was found, in relatively plain sight, and displayed. He had been decapitated and cause of death was mid-cervical decapitation. He was also missing his left testicle. His skin had the same, red leathery appearance but, with this victim, the unsub had quickly lit the body on fire, searing it. Ligature marks on the victim’s wrists indicate that they were bound and decapitation may have happened while he was awake.
John Doe’s head was recovered near the body, buried.

Victim Two
Name: Edward Andrassy
Date Found: September 23, 1935
Date of Death: Approximately September 20, 1935
Description: 28 years old, 5’ 11” and 150 pounds, white male
Body: Edward Andrassy was found approximately 30 feet from John Doe 1 on the same day. He had died from a mid-cervical decapitation, complete with ligature marks as well. Like John Doe I, Andrassy was emasculated and his genitals were casually discarded in the foliage. Andrassy’s head was found, buried, near the body.

Victim Three
Name: Florence Genevieve Polillo
Date Found: January 26, 1936, torso and arms, February 7, 1936, legs
Date of Death: Approximately January 25, 1936
Description: 41 years old, 5’ 4” and 160 pounds, white female
Body: The first pieces of Flo Polillo’s body were found behind a marketplace in a small picnic basket, each piece wrapped in newspaper. A two-piece of underwear, wrapped in a newspaper, was found near Polillo’s remains. On February 7, 1936, more of Flo Polillo was found, including her legs. She had died from mid-cervical decapitation and was bisected at the waist. She was dismembered, but the skill used in the bisection and decapitation was not evident in her dismemberment. Her limbs were hacked and wrenched from their sockets. Her head was never found.

Victim Four
Name: John Doe II – The Tattooed Man
Date Found: June 5, 1936 (head), June 6, 1936 (body)
Date of Death: Approximately June 1, 1936
Description: Early 30s, 5’ 11” and 165 pounds, white male
Body: The Tattooed Man’s head was found wrapped in his own bloody clothes. A day later, the rest of this body was found. There was no additional mutilation to the Tattooed Man’s body, but he was killed by a mid-cervical decapitation, while awake (due to the contraction of the neck muscles).

Victim Five
Name: John Doe 3
Date Found: July 22, 1936 - The only victim killed where found.
Date of Death: Approximately May 1936
Age: Approximately 40 years old, 5’ 5” and 145 pounds, white male
Description: This victim was found decapitated mid-cervical, like other victims. Oddly, this victim was killed where he was found and is the only victim from the West side of Cleveland. The victim’s head was found close to the body and wrapped in clothes. The victim was decapitated while still alive and was killed before the Tattooed Man.

Victim Six
Name: John Doe 4
Date Found: September 10, 1936
Date of Death: September 8 or 9, 1936
Description: Mid-20s, 5’ 10” and 145 pounds, white male.
Body: Parts of this victim were found in a stagnant pool near the Kingsbury Run area. The cause of death was decapitation, much like the other victims, and this victim was emasculated like Andrassy and John Doe I. Unlike the other male victims, the unsub bisected the torso above the navel. The victim’s head was never found.

Victim Seven
Name: Jane Doe 2
Date Found: February 23, 1937 and May 5, 1937
Date of Death: February 19-21, 1937
Description: 25 to 30 years old, 5’ 5” to 5’ 8” and 120 pounds, white female.
Body: This victim was found in the same location as Victim 0, the Lady of the Lake. Initially, Jane Doe 2’s upper torso, minus her arms, was found. It was determined that she was decapitated post-mortem, which is a definite break from the established pattern. Jane Doe 2’s lower torso, sans legs, was recovered second. Her head was never found.

Victim Eight
Name: Rose Wallace
Date Found: June 6, 1937
Date of Death: Approximately June 1936
Description: 40 years old, petite African-American female
Body: Rose Wallace’s remains (skull and torso skeleton) was found, partially buried, in a greasy burlap bag covered in lime. Toe Coroner determined that Rose died of mid-cervical decapitation, but no other findings were apparent aside from a missing rib. Oddly, this is the first, and only, African-American victim and, unlike most of the others, was intentionally hidden.

Victim Nine
Name: John Doe 5
Date Found: July 6, 1937 and July 14, 1937
Date of Death: Approximately July 4, 1937
Description: Approximately 40 years old, 5’ 8” to 5’ 10” and 165 pounds, white male
Body: This victim’s upper torso was found floating in the Cuyahoga River in a burlap bag, and the lower torso was found 9 days later. The Coroner reported the same level of savage rage evidenced by the dismemberment. With this victim, the unsub extracted his organs violently and removed the heart. A piece of the lung was found, but no more organs. The victim’s head was never found.

Victim Ten
Name: Jane Doe 3
Date Found: April 8, 1938 and May 2, 1938
Date of Death: April 5 or 6, 1938
Description: 20s or 30s, 5’ 5” and 120 pounds, white female
Body: Jane Doe 3’s left leg was found in April, with evidence of an enraged dismemberment. In May, the remaining body parts, in a burlap bag, were found. The unsub, at this point, was definitely getting sloppier and a greater deal of rage was evident. Hesitation marks were evidenced as well as what was described as an increasing level of frustration. The head was never found.

Victim Eleven
Name: Jane Doe 4
Date Found: August 16, 1938
Date of Death: Mid-February or April, 1938
Description: 30 to 40 years old, 5’ 4” and 120 pounds, white female    
Body: Unlike many of the other victims, Jane Doe 3’s entire body, in pieces, was found. Cause of death was determined to be mid-cervical decapitation and limbs were dismembered at the joint. The body parts were enclosed in boxes and sacks and her head was found. Jane Doe 3 was found at the same time, and in the same location, as John Doe 6.

Victim Twelve
Name: John Doe 6
Date Found: August 16, 1938
Date of Death: December 1937 to February 1938
Description: 30 to 40 years old, 5’ 10” to 6’ 0” and 160 pounds, white male
Body: John Doe 6’s remains were found at the same time and place as Jane Doe 3. John Doe 6’s skeletal upper torso and skull were recovered and the cause of death was determined as a mid-cervical decapitation. The head was found in a can.

Victim Thirteen
Name: Robert Robertson
Date Found: July 23, 1950 and July 27, 1950
Date of Death: Approximately May 1950
Description: Late 30s, 6’0” and 160 pounds, white male
Body: Much like the earlier crimes, Robert Robertson was decapitated mid-cervical vertebrae. A few of Robertson’s limbs were found first, his head and torso four days later. Like earlier victims, Robertson had alcohol issues and was unemployed. Cleveland police have an official consensus calling the Robertson a copycat crime, yet all the files for the Robertson murder are house with the Kingsbury Run files.

 

The Profile

This profile is compiled using terminology, and denotations, as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation by review of John Douglas’ Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives.

AGE: The unsub is approximately, at the time of the canonical murders, 30 to 40 years old. Based on the age of his victims, and the relative sophistication of the crimes, he would need to develop the fantasy to the point he is decapitating and bisecting his victims.

TRANSPORTATION: The unsub has to have a vehicle. The dump locations, sometimes multiple locations for single victims, would require the unsub to possess and operate a vehicle. Within context of these crimes, that would, generally, dictate the unsub to be more affluent than his victims. Owning and operating an automobile during the Great Depression was a sign of employment, good employment. It can be inferred, then, that the unsub, if not affluent, is professional. In order to dump corpses, and pieces, the rudimentary public transportation at the time is unthinkable. He moves within the Kingsbury Run crowd, but does not stand out. He either works within, giving aid, or disguises himself to fit into the shantytown.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The unsub is physically fit enough to control drunken males and females and dump their bodies in locations citywide. He is strong enough to deviate a person’s head from the rest of their body and to dismember a body with hand tools. He is a white male, probably close to six feet tall and right-handed.
IQ: The unsub is highly intelligent. He has a knowledge of anatomy as well as police procedure. His fantasy is highly developed, regardless of his victim choices, and he enjoys taunting the police and press. His body staging is indicative of an intelligent “prankster” at times, enjoying the playfulness of his game. There is some idea of remorse, though. Most of the found heads have been wrapped or covered or buried, indicating he did not want to see them again. Two of the heads, the first two men, were buried, but not deep enough to escape detection. The one African-American victim, Rose Wallace, was in a burlap bag and buried deeper than most. That would indicate another level of shame in her death. Whether or not the unsub was shamed over killing an African-American or having a liaison with her is unclear.

LOCATION: The unsub most definitely lives around the Kingsbury Run area. He is familiar with Cleveland in general, but particularly the poor area around the shantytown. The Lady of the Lake is not a good indicator of the unsub’s location, even though she was the first known victim since it is apparent that he is mobile and willing to be as patient as possible in victim disposal, over a period of time and over a large area.

ORGANIZED: According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s terminology, this unsub is definitely organized. Murder weapons and ligature are taken from the scene and there is a distinct lack of evidence. The victim pool consists of known prostitutes, unemployed alcoholics and petty criminals. Each of these people had been hardened to the realities of street life, yet the unsub’s ruse or con was so developed, they found themselves at his mercy. His ritual fantasy was very sophisticated and, it appears, culminated in a beheading. The unsub, aside from Victim Five, killed in a different location than where he dumped the bodies. The bodies were posed as well (this includes the “bread crumb” trail of limbs that the unsub would sometimes leave). Therefore, he had a large space, remote and quiet, in order to dispatch his victims in. Only one victim, Victim Ten, had evidence of drugs in her system, but the others were intoxicated. It is reasonable to assume that the unsub lures his victims with alcohol, which would presuppose a ruse. The unsub is definitely intelligent and definitely highly organized.

MOTIVE: It is clear that the unsub chose high-risk victims because of their living conditions. It is reasonable to assume that they will not be missed and, by extrapolation, reasonable to assume that they will not be traced to him. The unsub takes a great deal of time with his victims, with the evidence of ligature marks and the uniqueness of a decapitation as evidence. The unsub’s level of rage, as evidenced by his mutilations, rose steadily as his career continued. He went from cutting around joints to wrenching arms from sockets, no mutilation to complete evisceration, etc. In his early murders, the bisection of victims was reserved exclusively for his female victims, whereas genital mutilation was reserved exclusively for his male victims. At the point of the second Lady in the Lake, though, the unsub became more universal in his approach. Decapitation, bisecting, mutilation (when apparent) became a stock in trade. The remorse evidenced by covering, or wrapping, the victim’s heads is unique, though.

 

Profile Conclusions

With the above profile in mind, Elliot Ness should have been looking for an aid worker, or physician’s assistant or even physician that donated time to the slums of Kingsbury Run. The unsub would appear sympathetic to the plight of the shantytown residents, but secretly hate their lifestyles. It would be reasonable to assume that the unsub grew up with a mother and father of lesser means, living in the same type of area as a Kingsbury Run. The unsub is taking out his hatred on both of his parents on his victims. He realizes the plight of alcoholism, drug use and prostitution. He may even believe he is saving these people. The women, bisected through the abdomen, ritually preventing them from using their “polluted” wombs. The genitals of some of the men are mutilated and removed then casually disregarded, indicating that the unsub realizes the pain that the genitals have caused these men. The unsub is fully aware that saving this immoral people requires their dirty bodies be destroyed. It is conceivable that the wrapping, or covering, of the found heads is another statement by the unsub relating to “saving” the victims. Even though there is evidence of remorse, the unsub is proud of his accomplishments and engineers the discovery of many of his victims. Some of these discoveries are quite playful, relatively. For example, he disguised Flo Padillo’s body parts as a meat delivery.

 

The Dahlia Fallacy

Finally, the Butcher of Kingsbury Run is sometimes attributed to the Black Dahlia murder in California in 1947. A cursory examination of the crime scene, and victimology, will dispel that rumor. Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, was a 22-year-old aspiring actress. She was found in a Los Angeles park, bisected just below the navel. She was displayed, shockingly, nude with deep lacerations to her face (Scheeres, n.d.). By examining just this information, the Butcher of Kingsbury Run can be exonerated. Short was killed by someone who knew her enough to be enraged by her, hence the face lacerations. A young, aspiring actress is a far cry from the near-homeless sometimes-prostitute that the Butcher favored and Short’s age is much younger than the Butcher’s victims were. There was no dismemberment of the limbs as well, unlike the Butcher.