201311 2008118 "Upstate New York Serial Killer Dies". Years later, while serving in Vietnam, Arthur John Shawcross wrote bloodcurdling letters about his battlefield ordeals, then returned to Watertown to commit a string of arsons and burglaries. Angry that she was going to reveal his affairs to both Clara and Rose, Shawcross grabbed a log and beat her on the side of the head. Arthur Shawcross. They moved Shawcross and Whalley to Rochester, New York, where she became his fourth wife. Dorothy was Shawcross's first murder after he was released from prison in 1987. This one piece ofevidence could have led the authorities right to Shawcross, had they known that he was living in Rochester. While living in Watertown, in May of 1972, Shawcross murdered 10-year-old Jake Blake. 2. In April 1967, at age 21, Shawcross was drafted into United States Army. Then the body of 26-year-old June Stott, who was neither a prostitute nor drug user, was found on Thanksgiving Day. Arthur Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945, in Kittery, Maine. 17. 'It Was A Flooring Moment,' Says Woman On Learning Serial Killer Arthur Shawcross Was Her Dad. A bargain was struck: in return for a guilty plea to Karen Hills slaying, no charges would be filed in the death of Jack . The victims were:[7], All the victims were murdered in Monroe County except for Gibson, who was killed in neighboring Wayne County. He explained to the detectives that the reason he mutilated her body after killing her was a kind favor he extended to her so that she would decompose faster. On April 7, 1972, he took a 10-year-old boy named Jack Blake, a neighbor at the time, fishing. The psychiatrist, who is the subject of HBO's new documentary Crazy Not Insane, tells us what she saw during her decades interviewing and assessing serial murders. Shawcross had a reputation at school as a bully and would frequently act out violently. Nostrand went to the police and gave them the information along with a description of the man's vehicle. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. After working out a plea deal, Shawcross confessed to murdering Hill and Blake and agreed to divulge the location of Blake's body in exchange for a charge of manslaughter in the Hill case and no charges for murdering Blake. Being out of prison was challenging for Shawcross once word would getout about his criminal past. 0 references. After Vietnam, he was stationed in Oklahoma where he remarried (Shawcross was already once divorced and had given up parental rights to a child who he never saw again) and worked as an armorer. Arthur is what is called a serial killer/ murder. Search Reddit posts and comments - see average sentiment, top terms, activity per day and more McClusky also suggested Shawcross could have argued at trial that he was under "extreme emotional disturbance," and a jury would have been likely to arrive at a verdict of manslaughter. In June 1987, Shawcross and his new girlfriend, Rose Marie Walley, were relocated to Rochester, New York. The three women were prostitutes who worked on Lyell . natural causes. Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 - November 10, 2008), also known as the Genesee River Killer, was an American serial killer active in Rochester, New York from 1972 through 1989.. Shawcross's first known murders took place in his hometown of Watertown, New York, where he killed a young boy and a girl.Under the terms of a plea bargain, he was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of . 3. After Frances Browns body was found the media began to catch wind of the killing happening in the area. His final victim was Felicia Stephens, another 19-year-old prostitute. Arthur Shawcross: Vile cannibal who loved to eat women. This time there were no protests because Shawcross' parole officer failed to report to the local police department that a child rapist and murderer had just moved into town. Abstract. Marie Welch, age 22 was a Lyell Avenue prostitute who was reported missing on November 5, 1989. 23. He claims he was molested by an aunt at age nine, but his family disputes that claim. From his birthplace of Kittery, Maine, his family moved to Watertown, a small town near Lake Ontario in New York State, when he was still a child. . He was released in October 1971, after serving just 22 months of his sentence. But from 1988 to 1990, Shawcross killed 11 women in upstate New York, earning the nickname "Genesee River Killer." Apparently, Stott was a friend and had been a guest in his home. 26. When Delhi residents became aware of Shawcross' presence, the couple moved to nearby Fleischmanns, only to be met with hostility there as well. https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-serial-killer-arthur-shawcross-973145 (accessed March 4, 2023). Dorothy "Dotsie" Blackburn, 27, was a cocaine addict and prostitute who often worked on Lyell Avenue, a section in Rochester that was known for prostitution. Moreover, he tricked the prostitutes thinking it was a safe date because he was a regular customer. After suffocating June, a family friend of his and Roses, Shawcross cut her open with his knife to remove her organs and speed up the decomposition process. Arthur Shawcross, also known as the Genesee River Killer, was in prison after . Another Lyell Avenue prostitute, Patricia "Patty" Ives, 25, was found strangled to death and buried under a pile of debris on October 27, 1989. He was arrested the next day. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, a man walking his dog discovered the body June Stott, the one missing person that the police did not connect to the serial killer. He went into fits of rage that led to broken windows and beat-up wives. Shawcross pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Years later, while serving in Vietnam, Arthur John Shawcross wrote bloodcurdling letters about his battlefield ordeals, then returned to Watertown to commit a string of arsons and burglaries. Arthur Shawcross, also known as the Genesee River Killer, was in prison after . Authorities didnt find Jacks body for five months, but analysis showed the boy suffered from a sexual assault before his death. There were also human bite marks found all around her vagina. located in the administrative territorial entity. In October of 1989, Rochester, N.Y., police had uncovered the bodies of three women and believed them all to be the work of the same twisted serial killer. [11], Shawcross was held at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York, where he was held until his death. Montaldo, Charles. Kevin MacLeod . In 1968, Arthur Shawcross ended up in jail for arson and served two years of a five-year sentence. In November 1990, Shawcross went to trial for the 10 murders that had occurred in Monroe County. Just three weeks later, Shawcross married his third wife who was pregnant with his child. This time, Shawcross wasnt getting out of prison. Neighbors remembered that Shawcross had been seen with Karen in the vicinity of the bridge before her disappearance, and he had a history of minor run-ins with local children. At this time he divorced his first wife and gave up his rights to their 18-month-old son, whom he never saw again. Arthur Shawcross, known as the Genessee River Killer, killed at least 14 people in the 1980s. In Rochester, Shawcross took on a succession of menial jobs. He died in hospital in Albany, New York on the 10 November 2008, aged 63.. At the time he was incarcerated at Sullivan Correction Facility in the Hudson Valley and had been transferred for medical treatment. He was taken to Albany Medical Center where he went into cardiac arrest, and died shortly thereafter. Edit: Since it came up in comments. The mass murderer took up painting bright visages of butterflies, wildlife and water features. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. However, Shawcross was born with XYY syndrome. He could overpower people with this strength which pretty much sums up his murder methods. The next strangulation murder happened in September of 1989. During the trial, Shawcross defense attorneys tried to say he was insane but the court didnt agree. Shawcross would later admit to luring the boy into the woods, forcing him to strip naked and run before murdering him and consuming his heart and genitals. Despite the warnings of prison psychiatrists, after less than 15 years behind bars, social workers and prison staff members incorrectly determined Shawcross was no longer dangerous and granted him early parole in April of 1987. 1974. [2] Shawcross returned to his hometown of Watertown, New York, eventually getting a job with the Watertown Public Works Department and marrying for the third time. He was taken to the Albany Medical Center where he went into cardiac arrest and died that night. As to his claims to have killed and devoured two Vietnam women, two psychiatrists that interviewed him agreed that Shawcross changed the story so often that it became unbelievable. People with a desire to murder have a pretty big Venn diagram circle with people who have a craving for human flesh. Arthur John Shawcross was an American serial killer who killed between 1972 and 1990 around Rochester, New York. He was 63 years old. A food service worker, Shawcross trawled the streets of Rochester in his girlfriend's 1984 Dodge Omni (later using her 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity), looking for sex workers to kill. ", "Serial killer Arthur Shawcross dead at 63", Crime Library article on Arthur Shawcross, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Shawcross&oldid=1133486829, American people convicted of manslaughter, American people who died in prison custody, Crimes against sex workers in the United States, People convicted of murder by New York (state), People with antisocial personality disorder, People with schizoid personality disorder, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New York (state), Prisoners who died in New York (state) detention, Serial killers who died in prison custody, United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War, Violence against women in the United States, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Life in prison without parole (or a term amounting to 250 years), This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 01:31. Her body was found under a bridge near the Black River and she had been raped, mutilated and strangled. Initially, upon his release, Shawcross moved to Binghamton, New York, then relocated to Delhi, New York to be with a woman named Rose who would eventually become his third wife. But while they might intuitively sound plausible . Shawcrosss story for all three was that he saw them trying to steal from him, became angry, and killed them. However, Lewis's theories have attracted greater attention . [1], Arthur John Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine, the first of four children of Arthur Roy Shawcross and Elizabeth "Bessie" ("Betty") Yerakes Shawcross. They began to advise prostitutes working in the area to exercise caution, and sought as much information as possible about strangers operating in the area. On October 17, 1972, he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of first degree manslaughter for both deaths and was sentenced to an indeterminate term with a maximum of 25 years at Attica Correctional Facility. His early release from prison or even the fact he was even being . So He Killed Her And Threw Her Body Out Of APlane. Shawcross started his life of crime at a very young age and ended up being a big fat liar about many things he claimed to have done. Shawcross married his longtime sweetheart Clara in 1997 while behind bars. Naval Hospital in Kittery, Maine 1 month premature - weighed 5 pounds - spent 20 days in the hospital Mother Bessie was 18, father Arthur Roy was 21 Born with XYY Was first of four children Arthur Shawcross. His lackluster marriage to Whalley meant that he was soon seeking solace elsewhere, both from prostitutes as well as his new girlfriend, Clara Neal. Van Nostrand was a seasoned prostitute who had entertained men with all kinds of particularities, but this one - this "Mitch" - managed to give her the creeps. After deliberating for just one-half hour, they found him sane and guilty. 24. Mr. Shawcross confessed in 1972 to strangling an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy in his hometown, Watertown, N.Y., and served 15 years of a 25-year sentence for manslaughter, officials said. Released early on plea bargain, not long after which he murdered 11 women. He had been sexually assaulted and suffocated, but police had no leads to the identity of the killer. Five months later, his victim's body was finally located. He later claimed his mother performed oral sex on him for several years starting when he was aged 7, and that during junior high school he had sexual relations with his sister. With little evidence, and no public impetus to solve the murder of a prostitute, her case languished for over a year. Shawcross is known to have killed at least 14 people, as well as being a known cannibal and mutilator. He murdered Darlene after she made fun of him for failing to get an erection and hid her body in the woods. [9], In response to the defense's claim that Shawcross's actions were the product of post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his war service, FBI criminal profiler Robert K. Ressler reviewed the claim on behalf of the prosecution before the trial. cause of death. From earlyon,Shawcross was socially challenged and spent much of his time alone. She too was never seen alive again. [2] His second wife Linda experienced several aspects of his disturbing behavior, especially his penchant for starting fires; an Army psychiatrist told her that Shawcross derived sexual arousal from setting fires. In 2000, Margaret Demming discovered that Arthur Shawcross was her biological father.She forged a relationship with him and allowed him to meet her seven children. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. One of Rochester's most notorious serial killers, Arthur Shawcross killed 13 people in a span of two decades, including 11 Rochester-area women many of them prostitutes . Both marriages saw patterns of spousal abuse and violence perpetrated by Shawcross. When he was unable to get an erection, Anna began to make fun of him. Some people speculated that Seattles Green River killer had merely moved locations and was now terrorizing Rochester. Shawcross took him fishing just a few days before he disappeared, but denied any knowledge of the disappearance. A background check on the vans plates led to the killers arrest on January 4. Shawcross also killed 13 people over the course of 17 years. While several later tests showed his intelligence to be sub-normal or even "borderline disabled,"[citation needed] Shawcross received As and Bs in his first two years of grade school but was later tested to have an IQ of 86, signifying below-average intelligence. When Jacks body was eventually found (after Shawcrosss arrest months later) he had been suffocated, mutilated, and molested. Shawcross began developing a habit of looking for prostitutes and would use his girlfriend (who he was having an affair with) Claras car to go to Lake Avenue near the Genesee River which was an industrial area well known for cheap prostitutes and drug dealers. A judge sentenced the murderer to 250 years in prison. Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945 in Kittery, Maine to an English immigrant . He had to be relocated to four different citiesbecause of community protests. He admitted to 11 murders (he was not officially charged with a 12th), and his confession was an astounding 80 pages long. Arthur Shawcross, also known as "The Genesee River Killer," was responsible for the murders of 12 women in upstate New York from 1988 to 1990. The body, which was surrounded by fresh footprints in the snow, was that of June Cicero. He was identified as Arthur John Shawcross. He would often miss classes, and when he was there, he regularlymisbehaved and had the reputation of being a bully and picking fights with other students. Arthur Shawcross was released from prison in 1987 after serving 14 1/2 years for the murder . He wouldnt kill again for several months, but after being laid off from his job went into a rage and picked up Anna Steffen. In April 1967 Shawcross was drafted into the Army. The first child was 10-year-old Jack Blake. [6], Jefferson County District Attorney William McClusky explained the plea bargain by stating that other than Shawcross's confession to police, there was no direct evidence linking him to the Blake killing. Dont worry, you can unsubscribe any time you like. They finally tracked down Shawcross via the car's registration, which was in the name of his girlfriend Clara Neal. beheading mama-sans and nailing their heads to trees as a warning to the Vietcong., The High Falls of The Genesee River (Ken Gallagher/Wikipedia), A Woman Went To A Funeral To Berate A Grieving Mother, It Turns Out Her Daughter Might Be TheMurderer, Watch Chris Watts Give A Chilling Speech About Relationship Deterioration. Arthur Shawcross. With nothing to hold him onthe police had to let him go, but not before taking his picture. Shawcross' defense team tried to build a case based on an insanity plea, citing various mitigating factors, such as his upbringing, post-traumatic stress as a result of military service, a cyst on the brain and a rare genetic defect. Investigators were unable to identify the victim whose bones were found, so they hired an anthropologist to reconstruct the victim's facial features based on a skull that found on the scene. The judge sentenced him to 25 years for each count, a total of 250 years imprisonment. Sheriff's officials say six people including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby were killed in a shooting early Monday at a home in central California, and authorities are searching for . 4. You may unsubscribe at any time. After his release on parole in April of 1987, Shawcross simply could not stop his murderous tendencies. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. In the end, it came down to what the jury believed, and they weren't fooled for a moment. He also claimed a "combat kill" total of 39 which, when investigated later, was also discounted as fabrication; authorities claim he killed no one on his tour of duty. With Arthur Shawcross, John McCaffrey, Lynde Johnston, Geoffrey Wansell. Following Dotsies murder, Shawcross became a Lake Avenue regular and was known to the prostitutes by the name of Mitch. Male interviewers often had to listen to his conquests in Vietnam. It turned out that he was a regular customer of many of the women on Lyell Avenue. The press also grew interested in the murders and dubbed the killer as the "Genesee River Killer," and the "Rochester Strangler.". He appeared to be urinating, but when he spotted the aircrew, he immediately fled the scene in his van.The ground team was alerted and went in pursuit of the man in the van. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with testimony from forensic psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis that he had brain damage, multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder) and post-traumatic stress disorder, and had been sexually abused as a child. Shawcross paintings in prison bring new meaning to the phrase still waters run deep. If Arthur Shawcross developed a love of art earlier on instead of killing, perhaps his paintings of rivers and lakes would have been a healthier outlet for his emotions. Shawcross was 27 years old, divorced for the third time and would be locked away until the age of 52, but after serving just 14 1/2 years,he was released from prison. [2] In mid-October, Shawcross and Walley found more permanent lodgings at 241 Alexander Street in Rochester. It was discovered that Shawcross had an extra Y chromosomewhich somehave suggested (although there is no proof) makes the person more violent. [1], After the war, Shawcross was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, as an armorer. On October 21, 1989, the body of homeless woman Dorothy Keeler, aged 59, was discovered followed six days later by another prostitute, Patricia Ives, in the same area. He dropped out of school after failing to pass the ninth grade, and the next few years were punctuated with violence and jail sentences. His first known murders were in 1972 when he killed a young boy and a girl in his hometown of Watertown, New York. August 29, 2018, 12:00 AM. Her body was found under a bridge. Signing up helps us (not Zuckerberg) stay in direct contact with you and create the best horror website possible. Released on parole in March 1987. Hunting Down Shawcross' Car. June 16, 2012. New York. Getty ImagesArthur Shawcross leaves court in 1990 in Rochester, New York. I 1972 tilstod han seksuelle overgreb og mord p to brn. Partly told through the letters of Arthur Shawcross, The Shawcross Letters is the tale of one of America's most notorious serial killers and his relationship with his would-be biographer, John Paul Fay. Nicknames like The Genesee River Killer, The Monster of the Rivers, and The Rochester Strangler began popping up. Then his violent tendencies got worse and the arsonist became a cold-blooded murderer. 11. During his trial, his lawyer tried to prove that Shawcross was a victim of multiple personality disorder stemming from his years of being abused as a child. Once the boy was dead, he decided to eat his genitals. Patrol teams on the ground were alerted to the vehicle, which had sped away. They let him out saying he was no longer a danger. A few months later, Shawcross was taken to Wayne County to be tried for Elizabeth Gibsons murder. Its hard to corroborate his stories as later in life Shawcross frequently changed his stories from one moment to the next. Arthur Shawcross, convicted of killing 10 Rochester-area women from 1988 to 1990, was sentenced today to a minimum of 250 years in prison. She was also a Lyell Avenue prostitute and was last seen by Jo Ann Van Nostrand with the "Mitch" client who she had reported to the police in October. 2. Six days later her body was pulled from the Genesee River Gorge. But another probationary charge for unlawful entry in November 1965, proved the last straw for his marriage and he was divorced soon after. All Rights Reserved. The serial killer strangled June Stott, who was 26 at the time of her death, before Shawcross cut her body open from the throat to the vagina like she was a wild animal. One particular murder stood out to investigators who gave interviews after Shawcross went to jail. In this television interview, Shawcross said that murder was out of anger because allegedly Stott was going to go to the police and rat him out. imported from Wikimedia project. (33.02 x 25.4 cm) Frame Size: 14.75 x 11.25 inches . Reply . He claimed his aunt sexually molested him when he was 9, and that he had sexual relations with his younger sister. Thats why we started Creepy Catalog in 2015 as a place for creepy content and creepy people to congregate. An aerial search commenced and her body was found on January 3rd. [2] In late June 1987, Shawcross' parole officer moved him and Walley into a transient hotel in Rochester, but failed to notify local authorities of this action. A portrait of the late Princess Diana was among 10 sketches and paintings by him that sold for as much as $540 a piece. In November 1965 he was put on probation on a charge of unlawful entry. Prosecution psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz testified that Shawcross had antisocial personality disorder. Both Darlene Trippi and June Cicero were prostitutes that Shawcross picked up, strangled, and disposed of in December of 1989. [5], After fourteen years' imprisonment, inexperienced prison staff and social workers concluded that Shawcross was "no longer dangerous", disregarding the warnings of psychiatrists who had assessed Shawcross as a "schizoid psychopath." Interview with a Serial Killer is a powerful, no-frills documentary that consists largely of what the title advertises- a lengthy interview with Arthur Shawcross, also known as the Genesee River . It was also hindered by poor presentation on the part of the expert witnesses called to testify. On November 10, 2008, Shawcross died of cardiac arrest after being transferred from the Sullivan Correction Facility to an Albany, New York hospital. 2011719. The family moved to Watertown, NY shortly after Arthur's birth and he would be raised there. Tidlige r. The prosecution was quick to dispute the claims about his childhood and military service, casting doubts on Shawcross' testimony. While in Vietnam, along with killing 39 menduring combat (which was a proven lie) Shawcross also used the venue to describe in grotesque detailshow he murdered, then cooked and ate, two Vietnam women. Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945, and died on November 10, 2008, while serving a life sentence for the murder of 11 women. He also claimed that an aunt sexually molested him when he was 9 years old and that he acted out by sexually molesting his younger sister. Arthur Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine on June 6, 1945. A year later, on April 7, 1972, he claimed his first victim: 10-year-old neighbor Jack Blake. Women said this particular john was prone to violence. The interrogation tactics Shawcross employed with his Vietnamese captive are very similar to those used in the Phoenix Program, which was a .