Samuel Little Pleads Guilty to Cleveland Murders: FOX 8 Report, 2019

A FOX 8 Cleveland news report from August 2019 on Samuel Little's guilty pleas to the murders of Mary Jo Peyton and Rose Evans, with his statement read in court by his attorney.

Subject

Samuel Little

Recorded

August 23, 2019

Runtime

2:12

Content warning: Concerns the strangling of women; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a two-minute FOX 8 Cleveland news report from August 23, 2019, the day Samuel Little, appearing by video link from a California prison, pleaded guilty to the murders of two Cleveland women, Mary Jo Peyton and Rose Evans. Little himself is not heard. As the reporter says, he "didn't say much during the proceedings"; instead, his attorney read a statement on his behalf in court, and a short clip of that reading is included. The rest of the report is the reporter's narration and comments from a member of the prosecution team.

Historical Context

Little, a drifter who grew up in Lorain, Ohio, was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012 and convicted in 2014 of three murders in Los Angeles. In 2018 he began confessing to Texas Ranger James Holland, and he went on to describe 93 killings between 1970 and 2005. In May 2019 Cuyahoga County prosecutors charged him with the murders of two Cleveland women, Mary Jo Peyton, 21, whose body was found in July 1984, and Rose Evans, 32, found in August 1991. Prosecutors said he had also admitted killing an unidentified woman in the late 1970s and leaving her body in Willoughby Hills; remains of an unidentified woman were found there in 1983.

Circumstances of the Report

Little pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John J. Russo, who sentenced him to two consecutive life terms, with parole eligibility after 40 years. The report says that, as part of a plea arrangement, Little was arraigned, indicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Mary Jo Peyton and Rose Evans, and that the state reserved the right to prosecute the third case if a body is ever found.

What the Report Covers

The reporter names three victims and says all three were strangled and left in wooded areas. The report says Little pleaded guilty to all three killings; according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, the pleas were to the Peyton and Evans murders only, and the third case was left open. In the statement read by his attorney, Little says he wishes to bring closure to the families of the women and to ensure that no one else is falsely charged for his acts. A member of the prosecution team rejects that picture: Little, the speaker says, "jokes and laughs about women", calls them "units", and believes "he was doing them a favor". The report ends with the prosecution's remark that no family members of the victims could be found to tell that the cases had been solved.

What Makes the Recording Significant

The report records the Cleveland end of a single day on which Little was convicted of murders in two Ohio counties, and it sets the statement made in his name beside a prosecutor's account of how he spoke about his victims in interviews.

Archival Importance

Little's Cleveland convictions were among many pleas he entered across the country in 2018 and 2019 as investigators matched his confessions to unsolved cases. Little died in custody in December 2020. This report preserves local coverage from the day the Peyton and Evans cases were closed, with the only words from Little himself being those read by his attorney.

Important Caveats

Little does not speak in this video. The statement is his, as read by his lawyer, and its claims about his motives are his claims; the prosecution's view of him is its opinion. The speaker from the prosecution side is not named, and the court and judge are not identified in the report. The machine transcript could not be checked against captions, and the opening words of the statement are unclear. The report says Little pleaded guilty to killing three women, including an unidentified woman; the court record and prosecutors' announcement show pleas to two murders, Peyton and Evans. The YouTube title ("two Cleveland women") is correct.

Reporter: By the time he was put in a California prison for murder in 2005, Samuel Little of Lorain had crisscrossed the country for 35 years and has admitted to killing as many as 90 women. On Friday, he was finally brought to justice for the murders of three women here in Northeast Ohio. Little pleaded guilty to killing an unidentified woman sometime between 1977 and 1979, Mary Jo Peyton of Cleveland in July of 1984, and Rose Evans of Cleveland in 1991. All three were strangled, and their bodies dumped in wooded areas. Little didn't say much during the proceedings, but his attorneys read a statement before a sentence was passed.

Defense Attorney: [unclear: "Including today and accepting little sentences"; perhaps "In pleading today and accepting these sentences"], he wishes to provide closure to the families of [the] deceased women, as well as ensuring that no one else is falsely charged for his acts. [unclear: "Is making events in the only way possible?"; perhaps "He is making amends in the only way possible."]

Reporter: As part of a plea arrangement, Little was arraigned, indicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Peyton and Evans. The state has reserved the right to proceed to prosecute him on a third case if a body is ever found. Prosecutors say, even though Little claimed that he admitted to the crimes because he wanted to bring closure, they say Little is just evil.

Prosecution Speaker: He jokes and laughs about women. He calls them units. To this day, during our conversations, he was calling them units. So it's very demeaning, and he objectifies women to the point that he doesn't see them as a human being. In fact, he feels that he was doing them a favor, that they wanted to die.

Reporter: Samuel Little is also facing charges in other states. Detectives around the country have tied him to at least 34 unsolved murders, but he admits that he may have killed as many as 90 women. As for the Cleveland cases, prosecutors here say they weren't able to find family members of their victims, but their murderer will now pay.

Prosecution Speaker: There's nobody to tell that the case has been solved. There's no one to actually say, say a good thing has happened here today: this man won't kill any more women. ---