Samuel Little
Samuel Little | |
---|---|
Born | Samuel McDowell June 7, 1940 Reynolds, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | December 30, 2020 (aged 80) |
Other names | Samuel McDowell The Choke-and-Stroke Killer Mr. Sam |
Known for | Being the most prolific serial killer in United States history by number of confirmed victims |
Conviction(s) | Murder (x8) |
Criminal penalty | Four life sentences without the possibility of parole |
Details | |
Victims | 60 confirmed 93 claimed and suspected[1][2] |
Span of crimes | 1970 – 2005 (confirmed) 1960 – 2012 (possible)[3][4] |
Country | United States |
State(s) | California, Texas, and Ohio (convicted) Sixteen others (accused)[3] |
Date apprehended | September 5, 2012 |
Samuel Little (né McDowell; June 7, 1940 – December 30, 2020) was an American serial killer of women who was convicted of eight murders and confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005.[5] The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program has confirmed his involvement in at least 60 murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in American history.[2][6][7][8][9][10] Little provided sketches for twenty-six of his victims although not all have been linked to known murders.[1][11][12]
Early life
[edit]Little was born Samuel McDowell on June 7, 1940, in Reynolds, Georgia.[13] His mother, Bessie Mae Little, was a teenage prostitute who had abandoned him; authorities believe that she might have given birth to him while she was in jail. The census from the year Little was born said Bessie Mae worked as a maid and that his father was 19-year-old Paul McDowell. Soon after his birth, Little's family moved to Lorain, Ohio, where he was brought up mainly by his grandmother. He attended Hawthorne Junior High School, where he had problems with discipline and achievement.[14] By his own account, he began having sexual fantasies about strangling women as a child, starting when he saw his kindergarten teacher touch her neck; as a teenager, he collected true crime magazines depicting the choking of women.[15][16]
In 1956, after being convicted of breaking and entering into property in Omaha, Nebraska, Little was held in an institution for juvenile offenders.[17] His mother was listed on the booking card as "whereabouts unknown." Little moved to Florida to live with his mother in the late 1960s. By his own account, he was working at various times as a cemetery worker[18] and an ambulance attendant.[19] He said he then "began traveling more widely and had more run-ins with the law," being arrested in eight states for crimes that included driving under the influence, fraud, shoplifting, solicitation, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and rape.[18] Little took up boxing during his time in prison, referring to himself as a former prizefighter.[18]
Crimes
[edit]In 1961, Little was sentenced to three years in prison for breaking into a furniture store in Lorain; he was released in 1964. By 1975, he had been arrested 26 times in eleven states for crimes including theft, assault, attempted rape, fraud, and attacks on government officials.[20]
In 1982, Little was arrested in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and he faced charges for the murder of 22-year-old Melinda Rose LaPree, who had gone missing in September of that year. A grand jury declined to indict him for her murder. However, while under investigation, Little was extradited to Florida and tried for the murder of 26-year-old Patricia Ann Mount, whose body was found in September 1982. Prosecution witnesses identified Little in court as a person who spent time with Mount on the night before her disappearance. Due to mistrust of witness testimonies, Little was acquitted in January 1984.[18]
Little moved to California, where he stayed in the vicinity of San Diego.[21] In October 1984, he was arrested for kidnapping, beating, and strangling 22-year-old Laurie Barros, who survived. One month later, he was found by police in the back seat of his car with an unconscious woman, also beaten and strangled, in the same location as the attempted murder of Barros. Little served two and a half years in prison for both crimes. Upon his release in February 1987, he immediately moved to Los Angeles and committed at least 10 additional murders.[22]
Little was arrested on September 5, 2012, at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, and extradited to California to face a narcotics charge, after which authorities used DNA testing to establish that he was involved in the murders of Linda Alford, killed on July 13, 1987; Guadalupe Duarte Apodaca, killed on September 3, 1987; and Audrey Nelson Everett, killed on August 14, 1989. All three women were killed and later found on the streets of Los Angeles. He was extradited to Los Angeles, where he was charged on January 7, 2013.[23][24] A few months later, the police said that Little was being investigated for involvement in three dozen murders committed in the 1980s, which until then had been undisclosed. In connection with the new circumstances in Mississippi, the LáPree murder case was reopened.[25] In total, Little was tested for involvement in 93 murders of women in many states.[19][26]
Trial and incarceration
[edit]Little was tried for the murders of Alford, Nelson, and Apodaca in September 2014. The prosecution presented the DNA evidence as well as testimony of witnesses who were attacked by the accused at different times throughout his criminal career.[22][27] On September 25, 2014, Little was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On the day of the verdict, Little continued to insist on his innocence.[28] Before his death, Little was serving a sentence at California State Prison, Los Angeles County.[29]
Later confessions
[edit]On November 9, 2018, Little confessed to the 1996 fatal strangulation of Melissa Thomas.[30] On November 13, 2018, Little was charged with the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa, Texas after having confessed the crime to a Texas Ranger in May 2018.[31] Little pleaded guilty to the murder of Brothers on December 13 and received another life sentence.[32] The Ector County, Texas District Attorney and Wise County, Texas Sheriff's Office announced on November 13 that Little had confessed to dozens of murders and may have committed more than 90 across fourteen states between 1970 and 2005.[3][13][33]
On November 15, 2018, the Russell County, Alabama District Attorney announced that Little had earlier that month confessed to the 1979 murder of 23-year-old Brenda Alexander, whose body was found in Phenix City, Alabama.[34] On November 16, 2018, Macon, Georgia sheriffs announced that Little had credibly confessed to the 1977 strangling murder of an unidentified woman and the 1982 strangling murder of 18-year-old Fredonia Smith.[35] In the fall of 2018, Little confessed to the 1982 murder of 55-year-old Dorothy Richards and the 1996 murder of 40-year-old Daisy McGuire; both of their bodies were found in Houma, Louisiana.[36]
On November 19, 2018, Harrison County, Mississippi sheriff Troy Peterson said that Little had confessed to strangling 36-year-old Julia Critchfield in the Gulfport area in 1978 and dumping her body off a cliff.[37] On November 20, 2018, Lee County, Mississippi law enforcement officials announced that Little had admitted to killing 46-year-old Nancy Carol Stevens in Tupelo, Mississippi in 2005 and that the case would be presented to a grand jury in January 2019.[38] On November 21, 2018, Richland County, South Carolina authorities announced that Little had confessed to murdering 19-year-old Evelyn Weston, whose body was found near Fort Jackson, South Carolina in 1978.[39] Little confessed to having killed 20-year-old Rosie Hill in Marion County, Florida in 1982.[13]
On November 27, 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that a Violent Criminal Apprehension Program team had confirmed 34 of Little's confessions and was working to match the remainder of Little's confessions to known murders or suspicious deaths. Little began making the confessions in exchange for a transfer out of the Los Angeles County prison in which he was being held.[1][9] One included his confession to a previous cold case homicide in Prince George's County, Maryland, previously one of only two homicide cases in that county with unidentified victims.[40]
In December 2018, Little was indicted for strangling Linda Sue Boards, 23, to death in May 1981 in Warren County, Kentucky. Her body was found on May 15, 1981, near U.S. Route 68.[41] One of Little's victims was identified in December 2018 as Martha Cunningham of Knox County, Tennessee, who was 34 when Little murdered her in 1975.[42]
On May 31, 2019, Cuyahoga County, Ohio prosecutors announced indictments, with four counts of aggravated murder and six counts of kidnapping, that accuse Little of killing Mary Jo Peyton in 1984 and Rose Evans in 1991 in Cleveland. Both victims were strangled and dumped.[43] The body of Rose Evans, 32, was found on August 24, 1991, in a vacant lot on East 39th St. She left her hometown of Binghamton, New York when she was 17. Evans had been strangled, according to coroner Elizabeth Balraj.[43][44] As for Peyton, an anthropologist had to create a model of what she looked like, but she remained unidentified until 1992 when Cleveland put her thumbprint in an FBI data base and got a match.[45] Little picked up Peyton at a bar near East 105th and Euclid avenues. He described her as a short, plump woman in her twenties with brown hair.[43] Little confessed to killing another Cleveland woman in 1977 or 1978. The woman murdered in 1977 or 1978 was found on March 18, 1983, in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. She was likely Black and somewhere between 17 and 35. The woman's body had been dumped down a grassy slope, near a fence in a wooded area just off Interstate 271; when her body was found by a man walking his dog, only her skeleton, some clothing, and jewelry remained.[43][46][47]
Little confessed to killing one woman in Akron, Ohio; two in Cincinnati – one of the bodies was dumped outside of Columbus, Ohio; and one woman he met in Columbus and disposed of in Kentucky.[43] Of the two women Little murdered in Cincinnati, one was identified as Anna Stewart, 33, whose body was dumped in Grove City, Ohio. Stewart was last seen on October 6, 1981, getting out of a cab at General Hospital to see her sister in the hospital (now University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center).[7] She was killed on October 11.[4] He killed the other woman between 1980 and 1999. The "Jane Doe" was anywhere from 15 to 50 as the details of her age and the date of her murder are unclear.[4] She was Black, slender, wore glasses and lived in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati with a "heavy female Hispanic". Little left her beside a cigarette billboard in Ohio.[7][48] On June 7, 2019, Little was indicted in Hamilton County, Ohio for murdering the two women killed in Cincinnati.[4]
Little had drawn portraits of many women he killed. These portraits were released by the FBI in hopes of someone identifying the women. At least one portrait solved a cold case in Akron, Ohio.[49] In November 2020, Little confessed to two Florida murders, one of which another man had been wrongfully convicted.[50] On April 22, 2022, a woman Little killed in Memphis, Tennessee, whose body was found on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, in 1990 was identified as 30-year-old Zena Marie Jones.[51]
Victims
[edit]Confirmed
[edit]Little admitted to 93 different murders in total, and 60 deaths have been formally connected to him by the police. The majority of Little's victims were sex workers, substance users, or homeless individuals, and most of them were female. He claimed that he thought these persons would leave fewer clues for authorities to find and leave fewer persons to search for them. Despite the broad scope of his offending, Little was charged with and convicted of only eight murders in total as these cases had the strongest evidence of guilt:[11]
- Annie Lee Stewart, 32, was murdered on October 11, 1981, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[11] Little strangled her and disposed of her body in the woods behind some apartments off Queen Anne Place in Grove City, Ohio.[52] Little was convicted of her murder on August 23, 2019.[53]
- Mary Jo Peyton, 21, was murdered sometime in 1984 after she encountered Little at a bar in Cleveland, Ohio.[54] Little claimed that he and Peyton left a bar together and that he then took her to an abandoned factory. He choked her there before throwing her body down a basement staircase. Two workers from a nearby company discovered her dead on July 3, 1984, a few weeks later.[11] Little was convicted on August 23, 2019.[54]
- Carol Linda Alford, 41, was murdered by Little in Los Angeles, California.[11] Authorities discovered Little's first DNA match on her underwear and under her fingernails. On July 13, 1987, her body was discovered in a Los Angeles alley. From the waist down, she was nude. Her daughter recognized her body. She had been strangled to death, an autopsy indicated. She also experienced other wounds, such as a punch-related head injury from blunt force. Little was found guilty of the crime on September 25, 2014.[55]
- Audrey Nelson Everett, 35, was found in a dumpster behind a night club and restaurant in Los Angeles, California, on August 14, 1989.[11] There was nothing found that could be used to identify her body, which was naked from the waist down. She had been repeatedly hit on the head before being forcefully strangled, according to an autopsy. DNA linked Little to the crime, and he was convicted on September 25, 2014.[56]
- Guadalupe Apodaca, 46, was found on September 3, 1989, at an abandoned auto repair shop in Los Angeles, California, after a boy kicking a soccer ball against the building peered into the windows and saw her body.[11] Authorities determined that Little kneeled on her chest and strangled her with his hands, causing her to have a seizure. She was nude from the waist down and had blood in her anal cavity as well. DNA linked Little to the crime, and he was convicted on September 25, 2014.[57]
- Zena Marie Jones, 30, was a woman found murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas on July 28, 1990, after going missing on July 6 from Memphis, Tennessee.[51] On the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, close to the shore, and about eight feet from the river's mile marker 722.2, a fisherman discovered the victim. Little admitted to killing her and provided a sketch in 2018.[11] He claimed she was a prostitute who was between the ages of 28 and 29 and that he had picked her up at a Memphis motel.[51] As a Memphis Police car passed them, he choked her while they were in his car. He then dropped the victim into the river once he entered Arkansas and pulled up to a bridge. On August 23, 2019, he was found guilty of her homicide.[51] She was identified in April 2022, after her family noticed a resemblance between the composite sketch drawn by Little and Jones.[51]
- Rose Evans, 32, was murdered in Cleveland, Ohio on or around August 24, 1991.[54] Little encountered Evans while driving and offered her a ride. Then, in an abandoned area, he strangled her in his car. He was convicted of her murder on August 23, 2019.[11]
- Denise Christie Brothers, 32, was a mother of two who was found killed in Odessa, Texas on February 2, 1994.[11] Brothers had been reported missing on January 1, 1994. According to District Attorney Bobby Bland, she had been strangled. Little pleaded guilty to killing her, receiving his fourth life sentence for it on December 13, 2018.[58]
Confessed
[edit]Name of victim | Date of murder | Location of murder | Age | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mary Jo Brosley | December 31, 1970 | Homestead, Florida | 33 | [10] |
"Linda" | 1971 | Miami, Florida | 22 | [11] |
"Marianne/Mary Ann" | 1971–72 | Miami, Florida | 18 | [59][11][60] |
"Donna/Sarah" | 1971–72 | Kendall, Florida | 18–25 | [61][11] |
Unnamed white female | 1972 | Prince George's County, Maryland | 20–25 | [62][11] |
Sarah Brown | 1973 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 39 | [63] |
Agatha White Buffalo | November 1973 | Omaha, Nebraska | 34 | [64] |
"Kat" | 1974 | Savannah, Georgia | 22–23 | [11] |
Leola Etta Bryant | 1974 | Charleston, South Carolina | 28 | [65] |
Martha Cunningham | December 31, 1974 | Knox County, Tennessee | 34 | [66] |
"Emily" | Mid-1970s | Miami, Florida | 23–24 | [11] |
Lee Ann Helms | June 1977 | Houston, Texas | 21 | [67] |
Yvonne Pless | September 1977 | Macon, Georgia | 20 | [68][69][70] |
Clara Birdlong | December 1977 | Pascagoula, Mississippi | 44 | [71] |
Unnamed black female | 1977–1978 | Cleveland, Ohio | 17–24 | [43][46][47] |
Julia Critchfield | January 1978 | Harrison County, Mississippi | 36 | [72] |
Evelyn Weston | September 1978 | Columbia, South Carolina | 19 | [73] |
Brenda Alexander | August 1979 | Phenix City, Alabama | 23 | [74] |
Linda Sue Boards | May 1981 | Smiths Grove, Kentucky | 23 | [75] |
Patricia Parker | September 1981 | Dade County, Georgia | 25–30 | [76] |
Fredonia Smith | July 1982 | Macon, Georgia | 18 | [77] |
Rosie Hill | August 1982 | Marion County, Florida | 20 | [78] |
Patricia Ann Mount | September 1982 | Alachua County, Florida | 26 | [79][80] |
Dorothy Richard | September 1982 | Houma, Louisiana | 56 | [81] |
Melinda LaPree | October 1982 | Pascagoula, Mississippi | 22 | [80] |
Unnamed black female | Autumn 1982 | New Orleans, Louisiana | 30–40 | [11] |
Unnamed black female | 1984 | San Bernardino, California | 18–23 | [82] |
Frances Campbell | 1984 | Savannah, Georgia | 23 | [83] |
"Granny" | 1987 | Los Angeles, California | 50 | [11] |
Linda Bennett | May 1988 | Owenton, Kentucky | 38 | [11][84] |
Alice Denise Duvall | June 11, 1991 | Los Angeles, California | 40–45 | [85] |
Roberta Tandarich | September 1991 | Akron, Ohio | 34 | [43][86] |
Alice Denise Taylor Tracy Lynn Johnson |
December 1992 | Gulfport, Mississippi | Taylor (27) Johnson (19) |
[87] |
"Ruth" | 1992–93 (April 21, 1994) | North Little Rock, Arkansas | 24 | [11] |
Unnamed black female | 1993 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 40 | [11] |
Ruby Dean Lane | May 1993 | Perry, Florida | 19 | [88] |
Jolanda Jones | 1994 | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | 26 | [89] |
Melissa Thomas | January 1996 | Opelousas, Louisiana | 29 | [90] |
Daisy McGuire | February 1996 | Houma, Louisiana | 40 | [91] |
"T-Money" | 1996 | Los Angeles, California | 23–24 | [11] |
Unnamed white female | 1996 | Los Angeles, California | 23–25 | [82] |
Priscilla Baxter-Jones | 1997 | West Memphis, Arkansas | 36 | [92] |
Nancy Carol Stevens | August 2005 | Tupelo, Mississippi | 46 | [93] |
Personal life and death
[edit]Little had a long-term girlfriend, Orelia Dorsey, since deceased, who supported them both through shoplifting for years.[94] On May 28, 1971, he was arrested in Cleveland with his girlfriend at the time, Lucy Madero, and they were charged with robbery of a gas station. While in jail, Madero confided in her cellmate, Dorsey, that she would be testifying against Little in the subsequent robbery case. In 1972, when the case went to trial, Madero testified against Little, but his defense team was able to plan for it with help from information passed on by Dorsey. Little was eventually found not guilty. Dorsey and Little were together until she died of natural causes (brain hemorrhage) in Los Angeles in 1988.[94][95] Little died on December 30, 2020, in a Los Angeles County area hospital.[96][97] Although California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sources indicate no cause of death, Little suffered from diabetes, heart problems, and other health conditions.[98]
Media
[edit]Jillian Lauren investigated Little and interviewed him at length in prison. Lauren initially had begun writing a mystery novel, and while interviewing detective Mitzi Roberts of the Los Angeles Police Department she told Lauren: "Well, I’m proud of them all, but I did catch this serial killer Sam Little once. That was pretty cool."[99] After that, Lauren switched from writing crime fiction to writing a non-fiction book about Little, and in the course of her preparation, spent more than 40 hours interviewing him. During the interviews, he confessed to multiple murders and sent her drawings of his victims.[100] In December 2018, Lauren wrote about her experiencing interviewing Little for The Cut.[94]
Joe Berlinger read the article and thought it would be interesting for a feature-length film or documentary series and met with Lauren.[101] The five-part television miniseries Confronting a Serial Killer, directed and produced by Berlinger,[102][103] presents her investigation and premiered on April 18, 2021, on Starz.[104] In 2023, Lauren's book Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer and Uncovering the Women Society Forgot was published by Sourcebooks.[105][106][107]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "ViCAP Links Murders to Prolific Serial Killer". FBI. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice. November 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ a b Warren, David (June 7, 2019). "Prosecutor: More than 60 deaths now linked to serial killer". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c Fieldstadt, Elisha (November 14, 2018). "Suspected serial killer Samuel Little may be connected to at least 90 murders". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Caniglia, John (June 7, 2019). "Convicted serial killer Samuel Little charged in the slayings of two Cincinnati women". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ "Samuel Little: FBI confirms 'most prolific' US serial killer". BBC News. London, England: BBC. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ Almasy, Steve; Lynch, Jamiel (June 7, 2019). "Confessed serial killer Samuel Little now linked to 60 deaths of women". CNN. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c O'Rourke, Tanya (June 6, 2019). "Samuel Little, America's most prolific serial killer, confesses to killing two women in Cincinnati". WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Allyn, Bobby (June 7, 2019). "'Most Prolific Serial Killer' in America Confesses to Murdering 5 More Women in Ohio". NPR. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Levenson, Eric; Johnston, Chuck (November 28, 2018). "A convicted murderer says he killed 90 people and got away with it. The FBI believes him". CNN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
In all, Little confessed to about 90 murders in that interview and in others, according to the Texas Rangers and the FBI.
- ^ a b Lowery, Wesley; Knowles, Hannah; Berman, Mark (November 30, 2020). "How America's deadliest serial killer went undetected for four decades". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Indifferent Justice Part 1: The Perfect Victim
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Samuel Little: Confessions of a Killer | FBI Seeking Assistance Connecting Victims to Samuel Little's Confessions". Federal Bureau of Investigation. October 6, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "New Details Released in Unsolved Samuel Little Murders". Texas Department of Public Safety. December 1, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c Williams, Timothy (November 26, 2018). "He Says He Got Away With 90 Murders. Now He's Confessing to Them All. :)". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
- ^ Caniglia, John (April 8, 2013). "Sam Little, who grew up in Lorain, is linked to serial killer probes". Cleveland.com. Cleveland, Ohio: Advance Publications. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ Smith, Benjamin H. (March 25, 2020). "Who Is The Most Prolific Serial Killer In History? Everything We Know About Samuel Little". Oxygen. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ "Samuel Little, the man called most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, dies at 80". Los Angeles Times. December 31, 2020.
- ^ "Timeline retraces the whereabouts of a career criminal, alleged serial killer". Fox News. New York City: News Corp. Associated Press. April 7, 2013. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Abdollah, Tami (April 7, 2013). "More cases connected to L.A. serial killer suspect". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii: Black Press. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^ a b Drury, Colin (June 1, 2019). "Samuel Little: US serial killer who admitted to 93 murders charged in two cold cases". The Independent. London, England. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
- ^ "Timeline retraces the whereabouts of a career criminal, alleged serial killer". Fox News. Associated Press. April 7, 2013. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ Blankstein, Andrew (January 7, 2013). "Exclusive: LAPD arrests serial killer suspect from 1980s". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ a b Kim, Victoria (September 1, 2014). "Women's testimony called 'blueprint' to serial killer suspect's behavior". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Madani, Doha (October 7, 2019). "FBI confirms Samuel Little's confession: He is the worst serial killer in U.S. history". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
- ^ "Man Linked to Three Cold Case Murders" (Press release). Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Police Department. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ "Cross-Country Killer: Samuel Little Tied to Cold Case Murders in 10 States?". The Hollywood Gossip. April 8, 2013. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Opabola, Maru I. (April 2, 2013). "Local records chief hailed for helping crack nationwide cold case". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Havens, April M. (September 4, 2014). "Former Pascagoula prostitutes testify of escapes from convicted serial killer Samuel Little". gulflive.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ Gerber, Marisa (September 25, 2014). "L.A. serial killer gets 3 life terms, screams, 'I didn't do it!'". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "LITTLE, SAMUEL - AV2258 - 76 - 11/24/2014 - Lancaster". Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ "Arrest made in 1996 murder of Opelousas woman". KATC.com. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ Rojas, Nicole (November 14, 2018). "Killer Samuel Little Charged in 1994 Texas Cold Case". MSN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "Serial killer who confessed to 90 murders pleads guilty in Texas woman's 1994 death". NBC News. Associated Press. December 13, 2018. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Wilbur, Del Quentin (September 26, 2019). "A Texas Ranger got a prolific serial killer to talk. This is how". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Chuck (November 15, 2018). "Almost 40 years after Phenix City murder, California serial killer makes a confession". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Kovac, Joe Jr. (November 16, 2018). "Skeletal remains of slain Macon women linked to suspected Georgia-born serial killer". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "Mass murderer implicated in 3 Louisiana deaths confesses to 90 killings spanning 4 decades". The Advocate. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Robin (November 19, 2018). "She was strangled, thrown in a Coast dirt pit in 1978. Now a suspected serial killer has confessed". Sun Herald. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ "Man who confessed to 90 deaths says he killed Decatur woman in 2005". The Decatur Daily. November 20, 2018. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ Bland, David Travis (November 21, 2018). "Serial killer likely murdered Columbia woman in 1978, sheriff says". The State. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ Bui, Lynh (November 29, 2018). "Serial killer Samuel Little says a 1972 unsolved Maryland case is among 90 he got away with, police say". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ Story, Justin (December 13, 2018). "Convicted serial killer charged in 1981 death of Smiths Grove woman". Bowling Green Daily News. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ Hickman, Hayes (December 16, 2018). "Knox woman's death dismissed as natural until serial killer Samuel Little's confession". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dissell, Rachel; Caniglia, John (May 31, 2019). "Serial killer Samuel Little confesses to killing multiple Ohio women, 3 in Cleveland". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Kleinerman, Ellen Jan (August 26, 1991). "WOMAN STRANGLED, CORONER SAYS". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Woge, Mary Jayn (October 15, 1984). "Anthropologist tackles puzzle of corpse's face". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ a b Caniglia, John (June 2, 2019). "'I killed her right there:' Willoughby Hills detectives try to link unidentified body to serial killer Samuel Little's confession". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ a b Shapiro, Emily (June 4, 2019). "Serial killer Samuel Little says he murdered unknown woman found dead in Ohio in 1983". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ Londberg, Max (June 6, 2019). "Serial killer who strangled dozens of women confesses to killing two Cincinnati victims". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Dan Sewell and Michael Rubinkam (October 13, 2019). "Serial killer's victim portraits could help crack cold cases". KEYE. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- ^ "Serial killer Samuel Little confesses to Miami murder that once sent innocent man to prison". Miami Herald. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "'Oh my God. That's her.' Daughter finds out a serial killer murdered her mom". WREG.com. April 28, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ "Serial killer's confession resolves 1981 slaying case". Associated Press.
- ^ "Samuel Little, called most prolific serial killer in US history, indicted in 2 Cincinnati murders, dies". Cincinnati.com/The Enquirer. Associated Press. December 30, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c Goldenberg, Sara; Stiver, Misty (October 11, 2019). "Akron mother murdered in 1991 was victim of serial killer Samuel Little". 19 News. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Samuel Little, suspected of killing more than 60 women, to plead guilty to Ohio murders today". KSBY. August 23, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ Frew, Cameron (February 21, 2022). "Woman Accidentally Uncovers America's 'Worst Serial Killer' With Unlikely Friendship". unilad.co.uk. UNILAD. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Serial Killer, 74, Sentenced To 3 Life Terms Without Possibility Of Parole". CBSLA.com. KCAL-TV. September 25, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ Staff (December 13, 2018). "Samuel Little pleads guilty to murder of Denise Brothers". CBS7.com. KOSA-TV. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Samuel Little Confession: Miami, Florida, 1972".
- ^ Williams, Timothy; Zraick, Karen (October 7, 2019). "Samuel Little Is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. History, F.B.I. Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ 1528UFFL - Unidentified Female
- ^ 385UFMD - Unidentified Female
- ^ NOPD investigating whether woman’s 1973 disappearance is connected to serial killer Samuel Little
- ^ Conley, Alia (November 29, 2018). "A serial killer in Texas says he killed an Omaha woman in the '70s; police investigating claim". Omaha World-Herald.
- ^ Kailey Cota (October 2, 2024). "50 years after her murder, skeletal remains found in Berkeley County linked to prolific serial killer". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ NOPD investigating whether woman’s 1973 disappearance is connected to serial killer Samuel Little
- ^ Samuel Little linked to Lee Ann Helms 1977 Atlanta murder
- ^ "Samuel Little: Remains of woman murdered nearly 50 years ago belong to victim of America's most prolific serial killer".
- ^ "Georgia woman's remains identified as victim of most prolific serial killer in US history". Fox News. May 18, 2023.
- ^ "'Macon Jane Doe' identified, confirmed as victim of serial killer Samuel Little". May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Remains of suspected victim of worst ever US serial killer identified 44 years after being found". Sky News. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Daughter of Woman Slain by America's Deadliest Serial Killer 'Dreams of the Horrors' Mom Endured
- ^ The family of 1978 slain woman says family 'not the same'
- ^ Phenix City cold case to be presented to grand jury after suspect admits to murder
- ^ WNKY SPECIAL REPORT: America’s most prolific serial killer talks about the murder of Smiths Grove woman
- ^ WTVC Staff (March 19, 2019). "Victim identified in 1981 cold case homicide, son still living in Chattanooga". WTVC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Macon Jane Doe Identified and Confirmed as a Victim of Serial Killer Samuel Little (Joint Release)
- ^ Serial killer confesses to 1982 murder of Ocala woman
- ^ Serial killer confesses in Alachua County strangling
- ^ a b What Murder Did Serial Killer Sam Little Go To Trial For, Years Before Finally Facing Justice?
- ^ 2 Louisiana murder cases solved following man’s confessions
- ^ a b "New Details Released in Unsolved Samuel Little Murders". Texas Department of Public Safety. December 1, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ Peebles, Will. "Serial killer indicted for 1984 Savannah murder, rape". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Kentucky State Police Central Forensic Laboratory Teams with Othram to Identify Owen County 1988 Jane Doe
- ^ Behold The Monster: A Q&A with Jillian Lauren
- ^ Persing, Sydney (October 16, 2019). "Ohio woman's mother among serial killer Little's known victims". Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Alleged serial killer linked to 90 deaths over 3 decades admits to killing 4 Mississippi women
- ^ Prolific serial killer Samuel Little likely to be indicted in murder of Perry teen
- ^ Serial killer linked to Arkansas woman’s 1994 slaying
- ^ ‘It Tore Their Family In Two’: One Of Serial Killer Samuel Little’s Murders Was Different Than The Rest
- ^ Documentary series about serial killer has Houma connections
- ^ Gertler, Jessica (February 23, 2019). "Another family tells police serial killer's sketch of victim is their loved one". WREG.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ Man who admitted to Decatur woman’s murder considered the “most prolific serial killer in U.S. history”
- ^ a b c Lauren, Jillian (December 20, 2018). "The Serial Killer and the 'Less Dead' The only reporter who's talked to Samuel Little tells how he was caught – and why he almost got away". The Cut. New York City: New York Media, LLC. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ Rodgers, John (December 30, 2020). "Man Called Most Prolific Serial Killer in US History Dies". NBC Los Angeles.
- ^ Alfonsi, Sharyn (December 31, 2020). "Samuel Little, serial killer behind 93 murders, has died at 80". CBS News. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Franco, Jose (December 31, 2020). "Prolific serial killer Samuel Little dies at age 80". KGET 17. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ "Samuel Little, prolific serial killer tied to Memphis crimes, dies". WREG.com. Memphis, Tennessee: WREG-TV. December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ Knake Johnson, Renee (April 19, 2021). "Cold Cases, Misogyny and Race in America: Q&A with Jillian Lauren, Host of Docuseries 'Confronting a Serial Killer' on STARZ". Ms. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Dutton To Publish Book On Most Prolific U.S. Serial Killer Sam Little". Mystery Tribune. December 24, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Lestre, Jorge (April 20, 2021). "Exclusive: Joe Berlinger and Jillian Lauren talk about Confronting a Serial Killer!". Cine Addiction. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Tallerico, Brian (April 14, 2021). "Confronting a Serial Killer movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ Turchiano, Danielle (April 16, 2021). "'Confronting a Serial Killer' Director Aims to Expose 'Dark Forces' With True Crime Stories". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "Video: Starz Unveils Trailer, Key Art and Premiere Date for Original Docuseries "Confronting a Serial Killer" from Oscar-Nominated and Emmy-Winning Filmmaker Joe Berlinger". The Futon Critic. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Dunn, Samantha (July 17, 2023). "'Behold the Monster' author Jillian Lauren exposes America's most prolific serial killer". Orange County Register.
- ^ Rutter, Samuel (July 12, 2023). "How one woman teased confessions out of America's worst serial killer". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer and Uncovering the Women Society Forgot. (Book, 2020). OCLC 1246302702. Retrieved July 21, 2022 – via WorldCat.org.
External links
[edit]- "FBI Seeking Assistance Connecting Victims to Samuel Little's Confessions". Stories. FBI. October 6, 2019.
- 1940 births
- 2020 deaths
- 20th-century African-American people
- 20th-century American criminals
- American male criminals
- American people convicted of murder
- American people convicted of rape
- American people convicted of robbery
- American people convicted of theft
- Crimes against sex workers in the United States
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- Necrophiles
- People convicted of murder by California
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- People from Taylor County, Georgia
- Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by United States jurisdictions
- Serial killers from Los Angeles
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