He did, however, offer up more details about his childhood, his past murders and his experiences in Vietnam. Also, based on the lack of semen found on his victims, he was sexually dysfunctional and found gratification after his victims were dead. The case studies selected were those of Carroll Edward Cole, Jeffery Lionel Dahmer, Edmund Emil Kemper III, Henry Lee Lucas, and Arthur Shawcross. He was convicted of eleven murders, with a twelfth not officially ascribed to him. Serial killer Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "Genesee River Killer. After serving 22 months, he was granted an early release in October 1971, in part due to his role in the rescue of a correctional officer during a prison riot. An experienced and skilled writer, Olsen ( Predator ) proves himself equal to the formidable task of studying serial killer Arthur Shawcross. Arthur Shawcross was an American serial killer born in April 1945. His next three victims, 25-year-old Patricia Ives, 32-year-old Frances Brown, and 22-year-old Maria Welch, were all prostitutes Shawcross picked up and murdered while having sex with them. Jack was never heard from again. Arthur Shawcross murdered a boy and girl in Watertown, N.Y., in 1972, but he was only convicted of manslaughter and released from prison after 12 years. The day of her death, October 21, 1989, Dorothy and Shawcross had spent the day fishing and having sex before getting into an argument about Shawcrosss various affairs and how hed been stealing money. OVERVIEW ARTWORKS AUCTION RESULTS BIOGRAPHY Lapland Longspur. Shawcross was arrested on October 3, 1972, Shawcross stalled for two weeks before confessing both murders. 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. One particular murder stood out to investigators who gave interviews after Shawcross went to jail. Good Guy Arthur and his daughter and granddaughter . In the Spring of 1972, 10-year-old Jack Owen Blake disappeared after going out to play near the Cloverdale apartments where Shawcross lived. If he thought he sensed sympathy from the interviewer, he would add more details about how his mother would insert sticks into his anus or offer up specific details into exactly how his aunt took sexual advantage of him when he was just a child. Arthur Shawcross was skilled in having conversation with the prosititues about buying sex. cause of death. Shawcross also removed her genitals and consumed them as well as the removed organs. The trial was a national media event, extensively televised and widely viewed. In this jailhouse interview, Arthur Shawcross, the Genesee River Killer, shares candid details of his crimes and his surprising family bonds. In September, six months after Blackburn's body was found, the bones from another missing Lyell Avenue prostitute, Anna Marie Steffen, was found by a man who was collecting bottles to sell for cash. Stott was mentally ill and would occasionally vanish without telling anyone. They let him out saying he was no longer a danger. No matter how you look at it, Arthur Shawcross was a troubled person. We hear you like all things creepy we do too. 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. Following Dotsies murder, Shawcross became a Lake Avenue regular and was known to the prostitutes by the name of Mitch. Later, when Shawcross served in Vietnam, he claimed, although he had never served in combat, that he had . She too was never seen alive again. Future news of events, Zoom movie marathons, books, and streaming updates will be delivered first to our newsletter readers. Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945, and died on November 10, 2008, while serving a life sentence for the murder of 11 women. With the body count mounting, the police sought assistance from FBI profilers. He had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death. The decapitated and decomposing remains of a homeless woman, 60-year-old Dorothy Keller, was found on October 21, 1989, in the Genesee River Gorge. 23. She had been missing for nearly a month. An aerial search commenced and her body was found on January 3rd. Weve created a community powered by horror fans like you and we need you in it. According to Shawcross, he did not get along with his parents and his mother was domineering and extremely abusive. Shawcross was brought in for questioning a second time. After deliberating for just one-half hour, they found him sane and guilty. His second marriage quickly ended in divorce, after which Shawcross became a frequent arsonist. [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. Over the next few years, his violent behavior intensified, and he was suspected of arson and burglary. Serial killer Arthur Shawcross, whose drive to murder was analyzed by Dr. Dorothy Lewis, had been convicted in the deaths of two children in New York before ultimately securing parole and killing more. He was identified as Arthur John Shawcross. 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. 2. He died in prison. No matter what happened to Shawcross as a child, his adulthood was horrible. His daughter was apparently instrumental in Shawcross's conversion to Catholicism while in . <p>If you are from Rochester NY, or at least the upstate area,you know at least part of the story of Arthur John Shawcross. Dorothy was Shawcross's first murder after he was released from prison in 1987. The body was not Felicia Stephens but that of missing prostitute June Cicero. Search Reddit posts and comments - see average sentiment, top terms, activity per day and more 1 reference. Under the terms of a plea bargain, he was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of manslaughter, for which he served 14 years of a 25-year sentence. The body of Elizabeth "Liz" Gibson, 29, was found strangled to death on November 27, in another county. (20081011). His formal confession was nearly 80 pages long. When approached, Shawcross agreed to assist the police with their enquiries. He went into fits of rage that led to broken windows and beat-up wives. As part of the divorce, Shawcross gave up all paternal rights to his son and never saw the child again. Shawcross had gone fishing with the boy a few days earlier but denied knowing where he was. 18. He was arrested . Signing up helps us (not Zuckerberg) stay in direct contact with you and create the best horror website possible. She died of asphyxia, and her body had been dumped in a similar manner to Blackburn's corpse. He thanks you for reading his content. Even more importantly, the helicopter spotted a man standing on the bridge next to a small van. Eventually, he led his victims to the Genesee River and murdered them. 6 of 22. Dietz told the producers of "Crazy, Not Insane" that he believes multiple personality disorder, generally speaking, is "a hoax." He says he also exhibited behavioral problems at an early age, including bed-wetting and bullying. In March 1988, Shawcross began cheating on his wife with a new girlfriend. [10] It was later determined that Shawcross had a cyst pressing on the temporal lobe of his brain, as well as scarring on his frontal lobes areas that are responsible for decision-making and self-control. Shawcross' sealed criminal record meant that he shielded him from police scrutiny. Arthur Shawcross. ", "Is this why Ted Bundy became a murderer? The discovery of the body of Elizabeth Gibson, on November 27, brought a breakthrough: suspect "Mitch" had been seen with her shortly before her disappearance, but they seemed no closer to establishing his identity. Both marriages saw patterns of spousal abuse and violence perpetrated by Shawcross. [12], In 2003, Shawcross was interviewed by British reporter Katherine English for a documentary on cannibalism. The body, which was surrounded by fresh footprints in the snow, was that of June Cicero. [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. 9 October 2017. place of death. Serial killer Arthur Shawcross, better known as the Genesee River Killer, tormented upstate New York for decades until he was caught in 1990.Born in 1946 into a middle-class family, Shawcross claims he was severely bullied at school and sexually assaulted by his aunt as he was growing up, although his parents always denied any abuse and claimed Arthur was prone to fabrication (per Biography). With little evidence, and no public impetus to solve the murder of a prostitute, her case languished for over a year. Dental records provided additional confirmation. 30-year-old June Stotts was the first of Shawcrosss victims where he dove back into his love of cannibalism and mutilation. A year later, on April 7, 1972, he claimed his first victim: 10-year-old neighbor Jack Blake. His family moved to Watertown, New York, when he was young. retrieved. After his involvement in protecting a guard during a prison riot, he was granted an early release in October of 1971. Shawcross was transparent, so much so that the interviewers,detectives, and doctors that listened to him,doubted much of what he said when he would describe his childhoodabuse and his enjoyment of cutting up women andeating body parts. 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. After a photo of Shawcross was confirmed to be Mitch and police threatened to implicate Clara in the murders (Shawcross had gifted her a piece of jewelry from one of the victims), he confessed to killing the women detailing the reasons why he was forced to do it. Cause of Death: Asphyxiation. In this week's episode Ellen talks about Arthur Shawcross; a serial killer from upstate New York, which happens to be Ellen's favorite place in the world. A background check on the vans plates led to the killers arrest on January 4. As reported by Biography, Shawcross made many disturbing claims about his childhood: he said he had sexual relations with his younger sister, claimed that he was molested by his aunt at just 9 years old, and said he had an early homosexual experience. Arthur John Shawcross, handwritten account, 1990. "Serial killer Arthur Shawcross was born on June 6, 1945, and died on November 10, 2008 while serving a life sentence for the murder of 11 women" (Arthur Shawcross 2015). 2. 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 . Arthur John Shawcross, also known as the Genesee River Killer, is responsible for a brutal wave of slayings discovered between 1988 and 1990 in our downtown area. Hunting Down Shawcross' Car. We only haunt the willing. Since they had no solid evidence to convict him in the Blake case,prosecutors agreed, and he was found guilty and given a 25-year-sentence. He later boasted of grotesque combat exploits, such as "beheading mama-sans and nailing their heads to trees as a warning to the Vietcong" and engaging in cannibalism; in reality he never served in a combat position. He confessed and agreed to a plea-bargain in which he revealed the location of one of the boys . He had been sexually assaulted and suffocated, but police had no leads to the identity of the killer. Montaldo, Charles. Male interviewers often had to listen to his conquests in Vietnam. Albany. Arthur Shawcross was blinking in Morse code during his 2008 interview shortly before his death from cardia. Authorities ran criminal background checks on possible suspects, but sealing Shawcross previous records meant they didnt show up in any checks. His withdrawn behavior earned him the nickname "oddie" from his peers. However, Lewis's theories have attracted greater attention . Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Image via murderpedia.org. This one piece ofevidence could have led the authorities right to Shawcross, had they known that he was living in Rochester. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. In a disturbing interview, Shawcross details some of his crimes while vehemently refusing to discuss others. Officials disputed it and attributed him with a combat kill of zero. 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. After several hours of interrogation, he still denied having anything to do with the murdered women. People like Arthur Shawcross, the Rochester, NY based killer who killed 12 women . Allegedly, the youngster then began experimenting with this sexuality in many ways, including homosexuality and bestiality, by age 11. [citation needed]. Arthur Shawcross, AKA The Genesee River Killer, murdered at least 14 people. Arthur John Shawcross was an American serial killer who killed between 1972 and 1990 around Rochester, New York. He could have remained silent, yet it seemed he wanted to shock his interrogators, knowing that they could do nothing to him, regardless of how he described his crimes. Marie Welch, age 22 was a Lyell Avenue prostitute who was reported missing on November 5, 1989. The press also grew interested in the murders and dubbed the killer as the "Genesee River Killer," and the "Rochester Strangler.". Eventually, he found his way to bestiality. He was probably a local man familiar with the area, and he probably had a criminal record. A bargain was struck: in return for a guilty plea to Karen Hills slaying, no charges would be filed in the death of Jack . When asked for his driver's license, he told the police that he did not have one because he had been convicted of manslaughter. Shawcross stood trail in 1990 for 10 murders across Monroe County, New York. On January 2, another air and ground search was organized and right before calling it off due to bad weather, the air team spotted what appeared to be the body of a half-nude femalelaying face down near the Salmon Creek. 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. In November 1990, Shawcross went on trial for the 10 murders that had occurred in Monroe County. A decision was made to seal his records from public view, and he was moved one final time. People with a desire to murder have a pretty big Venn diagram circle with people who have a craving for human flesh. He also said that while strangling her she struggled so hard she broke a gearshift in his car. The Most Notorious Serial Killers in History. for help. This was the first real lead the investigators received. Profilers also determined that the killer returned to the scene of his crimes to either conceal the body or to derive pleasure from the attack while viewing the fresh kill. Just three weeks later, Shawcross married his third wife who was pregnant with his child. Under the terms of a plea bargain, Shawcross was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of manslaughter, for which he . Edit: Since it came up in comments. Getty ImagesArthur Shawcross leaves court in 1990 in Rochester, New York. Shawcross said throughout his childhood, he was a frequent bed-wetter (which is one part of the Macdonald triad). They divided the 11 unsolved prostitute murders into sub-groups according to method and position. While living in Watertown, in May of 1972, Shawcross murdered 10-year-old Jake Blake. After relocating due to the publics outcry of his release, he moved to Rochester with his fourth wife. In June 1987, Shawcross and his new girlfriend, Rose Marie Walley, were relocated to Rochester, New York. A police helicopter searching for a body along the river spotted a man on a bridge near one of the murder victims. Inside The Mind Of Arthur Shawcross, The 300-Pound Genesee River Killer. There is no definitive answer as to why Shawcross seemed to embellish the stories of what he did to his victims and what had been done to him throughout his childhood. Shawcross was sentenced to 250 years in prison and received an additional life sentence after pleading guilty to the murder of Elizabeth Gibson in Wayne County. With Arthur Shawcross, John McCaffrey, Lynde Johnston, Geoffrey Wansell. 14. 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. 5. It was not until the detectives threatened to bring his wife and his girlfriend Clara in together for questioningand that they couldbe implicated in the murders, did he begin to waver. In 1972, he confessed to killing two children and went to prison. It turned out that he was a regular customer of many of the women on Lyell Avenue. Shawcross claimed he couldnt recall any details of the murder other than he did it and disposed of her body near the last two. The physiological evidence about brain science and genetic factors was, at best, spurious and beyond the understanding of the jury. From rape to mutilation, he terrified the Rochester area for over 17 years. He was caught in 1990 and died in prison in 2008. . When police threatened to implicate her in the killings, Shawcross capitulated and admitted to most of the murders, giving detailed excuses about why he had been "forced" to kill each one. His final victim was Felicia Stephens, another 19-year-old prostitute. This, along with the fact that she was not a prostitute or drug user, kept her disappearance separated from the serial killer investigation. According to Shawcross, Dotsie bit his genitals drawing blood and began to call him names, which enraged him. Female interviewers were often subjected to his long descriptions of how much he enjoyed eating the body parts and organs that he had cut out from his victims. Then his violent tendencies got worse and the arsonist became a cold-blooded murderer. There was an immense criticism of Shawcross being allowed to participatehed previously served 9 months of a 2-year solitary sentence for giving art to outside individuals to sell on eBay, which is not allowed. He set fires to a local paper mill and the factory where he worked before being arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. He bragged about slicing out and eating the vulvae of three victims, but refused to discuss his earlier claim of eating the genitals of his first victim, Jack Blake.[2]. Her body was found in the Genesee River, dumped there following a vicious attack, which included bite marks in the groin area and strangulation. As to his aunt sexually abusing him, It was later determined,that if he had been abused, he somehow blocked out his aunt's name because the name that he gave did not belong to any of his real aunts. Both Darlene Trippi and June Cicero were prostitutes that Shawcross picked up, strangled, and disposed of in December of 1989. Arthur John Shawcross, a.k.a. New York governor George Pataki called Shawcross works of art sickening because the gentle paintings didnt reveal the monster underneath. For detectives, June Stott's murder sent the investigation into a tailspin. Shawcross also made extreme reports about his early sexuality. Shawcross also killed 13 people over the course of 17 years. Hunters found her body in the Genesee River. 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. YouTubeArthur Shawcross in a prison interview.