In the 1930s, Cleveland, Ohio, was rocked by a series of brutal and disturbing killings. The murderer’s chosen method of human destruction? Viciously beheading and dismembering his no-doubt terrified victims. Shockingly, some 80 years later, the case remains unsolved – and the killer’s identity is still unknown.
Moreover, there are precious few hard facts around the murders. Officially, 12 people – five women and seven men – lost their lives at the hands of this brutal killer between 1935 and 1938. However, it’s thought that he may have killed as many as 20 people over a greater period of time. Still, the 12 official victims all had a couple of things in common. For starters, they had all been decapitated.
But they shared a commonality in life too. You see, despite the Great Depression, Cleveland’s economy was performing well during the 1930s. In fact, the booming steel and manufacturing industry attracted many casual laborers and drifters, desperate for a wage, to the city.
Unfortunately, it would be these people who the murderer decided to target. Why? Well, the bodies of laborers – who were less likely to have a fixed address – would be harder to trace.
