SERIAL KILLERS WHO WERE NEVER CAUGHT

Article BY LORI BELL - Art by Mickmo

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From California’s Zodiac Killer to the serial murderer of Long Island , the butchers behind these grisly slayings were never nabbed. Watch your back – these infamous butchers have eluded capture for their bloody deeds.

When we think about serial killers we think about the depraved and horrific acts they performed on people. But even more than that we like to think they have been caught and are no longer able to hurt members of the public.

But what if there are serial killers on the loose? These killers get to keep on finding and tracking down their next victim, free to satisfy their blood lust, without the police having a clue. These are chilling cases of brutal serial murders that have been carried out, but those responsible have never been caught. And they could kill again.

 

Zodiac Killer

Beginning in the late 1960s, a serial killer was on the loose in the San Francisco Bay area, claiming the lives of two men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29. On August 7, 1969, he dubbed himself “Zodiac “ in a letter sent to various newspapers. A series of mysterious letters followed containing four different cryptograms, only one of which was solved. It read:

I like killing people because it is so much fun it is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangeroue anamal of all to kill something gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl the best part of it is thae when I die I will be reborn in paradice and thei have killed will become my slaves I will not give you my name because you will try to sloi down or atop my collectiog of slaves for my afterlife.

Ebeorietemethhpiti

The last letter of the chain was received in 1974. He claimed to be responsible for 37 murders, but only seven were conclusively tied back to him. Two male targets survived their Zodiac attacks and described the killer as wearing a black hood and a black shirt bearing a strange white cross –hairs symbol that also appeared in his letters, the case remains inactive but is frequently reopened --- most recently in 2014, with the release of Gary Stewart’s book. The Most Dangerous Animal, in which the author advances the theory that his own father was the Zodiac Killer.

 

The Jennings Murders

In a small town called Jennings, Louisiana, the bodies of eight young women were found between 2005 – 2009 leaving the small town wondering who in their community could be evil enough to commit murder.

Found discarded by roadsides and half immersed in canals, the bodies had been thrown away as if they meant nothing. The act of a serial killer? Possibly, but factually serial killers tend to pick victims that have no connection to them. All of these eight women knew each other personally, some were even cousins, and all were involved with drugs and prostitution.

Police corruption has been linked to the unsolved crimes, many saying it might have been a police officer that committed the murders. Eerily enough, a few of the girls had the feeling they were going to be killed, and had spoken out to family members.

In her final days, one of the eight, named Nicole Guillary, told her mother not to prepare her a birthday cake because she wouldn’t be alive to eat it. She had also placed her four children with family members and warned her mother that she wouldn’t tell her any information on who was making her so paranoid because she wanted to keep her safe.

Fifth victim, Laconia “Muggy “ Brown, told her sister she was helping a cop to solve a murder, and he had offered her money for information. She also ended up dead not long after.

So could it be a serial killer, murdering accessible young women for fun? Or could it be the young girls knew too much about a corrupt police state, and the killer was actually someone in a position of trust that was meant to protect them?

 

West Mesa Murders

A woman was out walking her dog in 2009 when she saw something she thought looked suspicious sticking out of the ground in West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico. She rang police who discovered it was a human bone.

After further investigation, the area contained the remains of 11 women and one fetus. All had been murdered and buried in shallow graves. All the women had gone missing between 2002 – 2005, but were not discovered until four years later. The makeshift graveyard meant the serial killer was given the name “The Bone Collector.”

Chillingly, in December 2010, police released pictures they had received of other women they wished to identify who could have been linked to the West Mesa killer. The women appeared to be unconscious in the photographs and the police refused to divulge where the pictures had come from.

Were the photographs handed to them by the killer? Was he playing a game of cat and mouse? Police in the area have been reluctant to say if the killer is in prison for another crime, dead, or still at large. So which is it?

No official suspects have ever been named in connection with the murders. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

 

Highway Serial Killer

The FBI has stated that this isn’t just one killer, but a network of killers who use the highways to murder and run. The profile of the murderer tends to be truck drivers, or people who need to use the highway frequently to do their job. This means they don’t stay in one place for too long. Which makes the killer harder to track.

Most of the victims have high risk lifestyles, such as prostitution and drug use, which means they are less likely to have a fixed place to live making it harder for people to realize they are missing. They also move around a lot, and with less stability, sadly, it is easier for someone to fall off the radar more easily.

A 500 – mile stretch of road along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Ruppert, British Columbia, Canada has been the place where 16 women have been murdered between 1969 – 2006, and that’s only counting the victims that were found. Up to 43 families have claimed they have lost a family member along that strip of road. Police have suspects, but are doubtful they will ever be able to convict the killers of each of the women.

All of the victims save for one, were members of the First National Community, and many were hitchhiking alone in the remote area. Authorities have confirmed 18 victims, but First Nation’s organizations estimate that over 40 women have fallen prey to the killer or killers stalking this long stretch of road. Many allege that institutionalized racism contributed to a shoddy investigation and tragic lack of media coverage.

Police and local people strongly suggest not to hitchhike, you can never be sure who’s car you might be getting into. And if you live in any of these towns or cities, or even if you don’t , always remember to take extra precautions to keep yourself safe, always let a person you trust know where you are at all times. Never walk in dimly lit areas, and carry a cell phone to call the police if you find yourself in an emergency situation.

 

Servant Girl Annihilator

Between 1884 – 1885, seven women and one man were brutally assaulted while asleep in their beds in Austin, Texas. Of the female victims, five were dragged from their sleeping quarters, battered but still alive and murdered outdoors. Some of these bodies were mutilated or posed in grisly positions. Another eight victims --- were also attacked during the spree, but survived.

According to a front – page article in the New York Times, authorities arrested roughly 400 men in connection with the murders, but all leads fell flat. The unsolved murders represent one of the earliest instances of prolific serial killing in the United States.

According to a June 2000 article appearing in the Texas Monthly about the murders, there was an eye witness who claimed to have seen the murderer. The killer (s) was reported to be a “yellowman” reported to be white or “dark” complexioned; wearing lamp black to conceal his skin color; a man wearing a Mother Hubbard style dress; a man wearing a slouch hat; or a man wearing a hat and also a white rag that covered the lower portion of his face. There was also reports that the killer worked with an accomplice, or was part of a “gang” of murderers. The African American community and some practitioners of voodoo believed the killer was a white man who had magic powers that enabled him to appear invisible, as no dogs outside or in fenced-in yards adjacent to locations where murders occurred were heard to bark or raise any alarm.

The series of murders stopped when additional police officers were hired, rewards were offered and citizens formed a vigilance committee to patrol the streets at night. Contemporary newspapers reported that the murderer had apparently fled the area, as no more murders were officially attributed to the killer by the authorities.

 

Alphabet Murders

In the early 1970s, in the blue collar city of Rochester, New York, three young girls, ages 10 – 11, were raped and strangled. The attacks seemed to be linked by the alphabet – each of the girls’ first and last name started with the same letter, and their bodies were found n nearby towns that began with these letters. These murders were also known as the “double initial murders.” Hundreds of suspects were questioned, yet a killer was never charged.

In 2011, a Rochester man named Joseph Naso was found guilty of a similar set of “alphabet murders “ that occurred in California in the late 1970s. Despite the eerie parallels, police have never been able to link Naso to the lettered murders in his hometown of Rochester.

While hundreds of people were questioned, the killer was never caught. One man, considered to be a “person of interest” in the case (he committed suicide six weeks after the last of the murders), was cleared in 2007 by DNA testing.

 

Freeway Phantom

Between April 1971 and September 1972, six African American girls between the ages of 10 and 18 were found raped and murdered in Washington DC. Most of the victims had been sent to run errands and never returned. The press quickly dubbed the killer the “ Freeway Phantom. “ His fifth victim, Brenda Woodward, was found dead in a patch of grass with the following note stuffed in her pocket :

This tantamount to my insensitivity to people to especially women. I will admit the others when you catch me, if you can!

 

Freeway Phantom

Police believe that the note, which was written on paper ripped from the victim’s notebook, was dictated to and handwritten by her.

The Phantom’s final victim was claimed almost a year later, in September 5, 1972, 17 – year –old Ballou High School senior, Diane Williams cooked dinner for her family and then visited her boyfriend’s house. She was last seen alive boarding a bus. A short time later her strangled body was discovered dumped alongside I-295, just south of the District line.

Ultimately, no investigative lead produced sufficient evidence for prosecution. However, interest in these serial killings has never faded, and this case is open as a cold case in the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division.

 

Redhead Murderer

The Redhead murders are a series of unsolved homicides believed to have been committed by an unidentified serial killer in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. It is presumed that the killings occurred between 1978 and the 1980s, but they may have continued until 1992.

The victims, many of whom have never been identified, usually had reddish hair and their bodies were abandoned along major highways in the United States, presumably, they were hitchhiking or engaged in prostitution. Authorities are unsure of how many people were responsible for these murders, if they were all performed by the same perpetrator(s), or how many victims there were. It is believed that a total of 8 to 11 victims were involved.

In 1985, the states of Pennsylvania ,Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi requested the FBI for assistance with the cases. There were some inconsistencies with some of the victims, as some were found with or without clothing and some had a sexual encounter before their murders.

It is believed that most of the victims remained unidentified due to being estranged or not close with existing family members or may not have been native to the states that they were found in. A possible suspect had emerged when a 37 –year –old trucker attacked and attempted to strangle a woman with reddish hair, but this was later dismissed, although he had left her lying near a highway, presuming she was dead.

 

Colonial Parkway Killer

Four separate couples met grisly ends along the asphalt of Colonial Parkway in Virginia. Starting with a couple in 1986, the mystery killer continued to target lovebirds oblivious to the dangers around them. One pair --- the third to go missing – has never been found. The location of the murders gave the name Colonial Parkway Killer to the apparent serial killer.

The murders occurred between 1986 and 1989, along or nearby the Colonial Parkway. The only evidence left by the killer is a tuft of hair in the hand of the first victim. As of 2014, the killer has not yet been identified.

Investigators have speculated that the subject might be a law enforcement officer, someone impersonating one, or perhaps a rogue operative from the CIA, which has a training facility nearby at Camp Pearly in York County. Other investigators believe the killings were committed by more than one person working as a team.

 

Long Island Killer

Casting a long shadow across Long Island, is a series of unsolved murders occurring along its shores. The remains of four separate victims, all of whom were sex workers advertising on Craigslist, we’re found in 2010. Additional victims were found in 2011 not too far from the others. The disappearances date back to 1996 and the killer’s dumping ground stretches from Jones Beach to Gilgo Beach. Police believe, however, that since many of the bodies were found in burlap sacks, that the murders occurred elsewhere.

On November 29, 2011, police announced that they believe one person is responsible for all 10 murders, and that the person is almost certainly from Long Island. There has been much speculation in the media concerning the identity of the killer, currently known as “Unsub” ---- unknown subject.

It has been suggested that the serial killer is most likely a white male in his mid- 20’s to mid-40s, who is very familiar with the South Shore of Long Island and who has access to burlap sacks which he uses to contain the bodies. He may have a detailed knowledge of law enforcement techniques which have thus far helped him avoid detection and perhaps even ties to law enforcement

Who is the mystery killer? There are ten victims that police have linked together as his victims, but since the gruesome discoveries, there have been at least another six murders that police believe could be linked to the Long Island Killer.

On June 16, 2011, Suffolk County Police raised the reward from $5,000 to $25,000 (the largest ever offered in the county’s history) for information leading to an arrest in the Long Island murders. As of September 22, 2011, the police had received over 1,200 tips via text, email, and phone since the beginning of the investigation.

 

Smiley Face Killer

As recently as 2008, investigators were examining evidence going back to the late 1990s that they believe connection to the deaths of 45 college – age males, whose dead bodies were found in water in 11 states, often after leaving parties or bars where they were drinking. The men often fit a profile of being popular, athletic and good students, and most were white.

Due to the sheer amount of victims many are skeptical that Smiley Face Killer exists, and think of it as an urban legend. But, the horrifying truth is that young men from all over the USA have all died in the same circumstances. Leading some experts to believe there isn’t just one killer, but a gang of killers working together to commit murder.

Further investigation has now proved that many of the scenes could be linked by a drawing of a small smiley face left somewhere near where some of the young men’s bodies were found. The killer (s) also left clues as to where the next victims could be found. The word ‘Sinsinawa’ was found written on a wall near to where one man’s body had been washed up. Weeks later, another unfortunate young man’s body was found, hundreds of miles away. The police believed the young man had been out into the water at Sinsinawa Avenue.

So why has this killer been leaving these subtle clues? And will the police ever catch up to the killer? Drowning makes it almost impossible as evidence gets washed away, and the body moves away from where it entered the water, also meaning evidence gets lost. So it remains a mystery. A mystery that has claimed the lives of 200 young men so far.

So many lives have been lost to these predators. So many families without closure or justice. Not sure whether to think these killers are just lucky or super smart. It’s hard to believe that these killers are on the loose, free to satisfy their appetites for killing. Let’s just hope that since there hasn’t been any recent activity with these cases, that they are either already incarcerated or are dead themselves.