"He Has Kept Their Memories Alive in His Head": Samuel Little's Sketch of a 1974 Savannah Victim, WSAV, 2019

Name: "He Has Kept Their Memories Alive in His Head": Samuel Little's Sketch of a 1974 Savannah Victim, WSAV, 2019
Uploaded: 2019-04-03T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 56 s
Description: After the FBI released Samuel Little's drawing of a woman he said he killed in Savannah in 1974, WSAV asked the Chatham County district attorney and a Savannah police sergeant about his two Savannah confessions. Little is not heard.

After the FBI released Samuel Little's drawing of a woman he said he killed in Savannah in 1974, WSAV asked the Chatham County district attorney and a Savannah police sergeant about his two Savannah confessions. Little is not heard.

Subject: Samuel Little
Recorded: April 2, 2019
Runtime: 2:56

Content warning: Concerns the murders of two women; refers to sexual motivation; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a 2-minute-56-second WSAV News 3 report from Savannah, Georgia, broadcast on April 2, 2019, and posted by the station the next day. Reporter Darius Johnson covers the FBI's release of a sketch Samuel Little drew of a woman he said he killed in Savannah in 1974, and a second Savannah sketch released the month before. Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap and Savannah Police Sergeant Roberto Santoro are heard. Little himself is not heard.

Historical Context

Samuel Little was convicted by a Los Angeles County jury on September 25, 2014, of three murders committed in the late 1980s and sentenced to three terms of life without parole. From 2018 he confessed to 93 murders in many states between 1970 and 2005, and drew portraits of many of the women from memory, which the FBI released in groups to help identify them. He died in state custody, at a hospital in California, on December 30, 2020.

Circumstances

On Monday, April 1, 2019, the FBI released ten more of Little's drawings. One showed a Black woman, believed to have been 22 or 23, whom he said he killed in Savannah in 1974. A drawing of a second Savannah victim, a 23-year-old killed in 1984, had been released in March 2019.

What the Report Covers

The anchor says Little told authorities he was responsible for more than 90 murders, including two women in the Coastal Empire. District Attorney Heap calls him "an intelligent man" who "has kept their memories alive in his head." Sergeant Santoro describes the 1984 victim from Little's account (5 feet 5 inches, 120 pounds, 23, a birthmark on her left cheek) and the scene: a dead-end street off Montgomery Street, where she was found on a pile of construction sand. Santoro says Little's motivation, "based in sexual gratification," helps explain why he remembers so vividly, and Heap says he has given "facts that nobody else but law enforcement knows," so investigators can verify his claims. The reporter says the challenge is to identify the women and reach their families.

What Makes the Recording Significant

The report records local prosecutors and police explaining, at the time, how Little's drawings and remembered details were used to match his confessions to Savannah cases.

Archival Importance

It belongs to the set of local reports on the FBI's 2018 to 2019 campaign to identify Little's victims, with 11Alive in Atlanta and WCPO in Cincinnati.

Important Caveats

Little is not heard. The victims are not named in the report. In December 2019 a Chatham County grand jury indicted Little for the 1984 murder of Frances Campbell (WTOC); the sources read do not confirm that she is the woman in the March 2019 sketch, so page copy should not link the two. "The 78-year-old Little is now serving three life sentences": his age in April 2019 is correct. The YouTube description is an unrelated soap-opera synopsis and the title has a typo ("Svaannah"); do not reuse either.

Wsav Anchor: Tonight's top story: the FBI releases a new sketch in a 45-year-old case, drawn by the killer himself. This woman is believed to have been murdered in Savannah in 1974 by Samuel Little. A few weeks ago, we showed another drawing of a woman Little says he murdered in Savannah in 1984. Little told authorities he's responsible for more than 90 murders across the country, including the two women in the Coastal Empire. Little is providing vivid sketches of his victims decades after his crimes. News 3's Darius Johnson has been digging to learn more about his confessions and victims.

Darius Johnson: Monday, the FBI released an additional 10 sketches created by Little. One of them is this woman right here. Officials say she is a Black woman believed to be 22 or 23 years old when she was allegedly murdered in 1974. And these sketches are expected to bring closure to families who've been hurting for more than 40 years.

Darius Johnson: Sketches from the mind of a deranged man, capturing every detail of women Samuel Little admits he killed.

Meg Heap: He's an intelligent man, I think it would be fair to say. So he has kept their memories alive in his head.

Darius Johnson: Two are believed to be from Savannah. The newest sketch, released on April 1st: a Black woman, authorities say, was 22 or 23 years old, murdered in 1974. These sketches, they hope, will help them identify the victims and learn more of the crimes. The second local victim sketch was released last month. Savannah Police Sergeant Roberto Santoro says she was 5 foot 5, 120 pounds, 23 years old, with a birthmark on her left cheek.

Roberto Santoro: Was found on a dead-end street off of Montgomery Street sometime in 1984. Was found on top of a sand pile. There was, like, piles of sand that were on the dead-end street, because there was a construction or building going on at the time.

Darius Johnson: From California to Florida, between 1970 and 2005, 90 women turned up dead. The 78-year-old Little is now serving three life sentences for murders in California. Although it's been nearly 15 years since the last murder, investigators are working to match these cases and connect Little.

Roberto Santoro: You also have to look at, like, what motivates him to do this, and I think that goes a long way in explaining why he remembers it so vividly. It's, you know, based in sexual gratification.

Darius Johnson: But they say connecting Little won't be a problem.

Meg Heap: He has been giving facts that nobody else but law enforcement knows, so we can verify that, in fact, it is him.

Darius Johnson: Now their challenge: finding out who these women were and contacting their families to provide closure on cases that have been open for more than 30 years. And we are working to learn more about the victim in the newest sketch. Now, if you would like to take a closer look at the two sketches, just go to WSAV.com/littlesketches. Darius Johnson, WSAV News 3. [02:55: speech ends; clip runs to 02:56.] ---