[1]:33[n 7]. [3], Most, if not all, of Gilyard's victims were prostitutes. When Berdella refused, Stoops burst into tears. The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas, from May 1871 to December 1872. Rader was married and had two children, and was a leader in his community through the Christ Lutheran Church and Cub Scouts. This list shows serial killers from the 20th century to present day by number of victims. [1]:270, On April 10, 1985, a former lodger of Berdella's, 23-year-old Robert Sheldon, arrived on his doorstep, asking if he could again stay at his house for a short period of time. Only Berdella referred to James Ferris by his given first name, Walter. Dennis Rader, known as the BTK killer, was convicted of 10 murders in Wichita and Park City, Kansas in 2005. In addition, he began regularly abusing alcohol. Most, if not all, of Gilyard's victims were sex workers. America’s most famous serial killers — Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer — have all been white. Shortly after his return to Missouri, he murdered his 13th known victim. Kansas City has not escaped being scarred by the presence of serial killers. Making Berdella’s bloodlust worse was his deviant love of photographing his crimes. The murders spanned from 1974 to … Berdella accepted with the specific intention of kidnapping Ferris, whom he arranged to meet at a bar that evening. Robert Berdella was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to Robert Berdella Sr. and Mary Berdella. He tersely explained his successive actions to investigators on December 14 with the statement that he was "capturing them first, and what developed, developed." Throughout the latter part of his six weeks of captivity, Pearson trained himself to sleep without moving, in order that he did not antagonize Berdella and thus invite further torture or being returned to the basement. Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Texas (suspected) The I-70 killer is an unidentified American serial killer who is known to have killed six store clerks in the Midwest in the spring of 1992. With Jeff Downing, Dion Graham, Donie Hoffman, Mike Hutcheson. Apparently a serial killer has been dumping into the Missouri River the bodies of Kansas City women from red light district. Consequently, their bodies were never recovered. Known as the 'BTK killer,' Dennis Rader murdered 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas, area from 1974 to 1991, often leaving clues to taunt authorities. Authorities believe that he’s responsible for the murders of at least eight women in … To all concerned, he attempted to restore his image as a "sensitive citizen" who had simply "made mistakes" in committing his crimes. Furthermore, Berdella confessed to having alternately buried the two victims' heads in his backyard,[21] adding that he retrieved and cleaned the first skull – that of Robert Sheldon – at the time he buried victim Larry Pearson's head in the same hole. ", "Robert Berdella: The Butcher of Kansas City, Missouri", "Talk of Reopening Serial Killer Bob Berdella's Bazaar Bizarre is Dismissed as a Hoax", "House of Horrors Shocks Residents of a Quiet Neighborhood", "Serial Murder, Psychopathy, and Objectification", "Berdella Sentenced To Life In Prison Without Parole", "Crime watch leader had human head in yard", "Man Convicted of Murder After a Head Was Found in Garden", "Robert Berdella: The Butcher of Kansas City", "Macabre Mystery Surrounding Death of 2 Men in Kansas City", "Second Skull Found at Berdella's House Identified", "Man Convicted of Murder after a Head was Discovered in His Yard", "Missourian Admits Murders of 5 Men: Shopkeeper Now Serving Life Terms for 6 Killings in All", "Robert Berdella: Serving Six Life Sentences", "Killer Reportedly Agrees to Confess to Five Slayings", "The Kansas City Butcher: The Confession", "Berdella Criticizes Police; Insists He Does Feel Remorse", "Bob Berdella: The Butcher of Kansas City", "Auction of Killer's Art Collection Cancelled", "Auction of Killer's Art Collection Canceled", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Berdella&oldid=1002809458, American people who died in prison custody, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Missouri, Serial killers who died in prison custody, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2021, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The Kansas City Butcher was Robert Andrew Berdella Jr. who killed at least six people in the region before his arrest. The police have to do a lot of old fashion detective work with lack of … The Berdella family was Catholic, but Robert left the church when he was in his teens. Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer and mass murderer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County (in and around Wichita, Kansas), between 1974 and 1991. Also in the room was an electrical transformer, plugged into a wall, and with wires leading to the bed. [23] He would later have his lawyer threaten to file harassment accusations against police unless their questioning and surveillance of him ceased. Berdella was largely unathletic, whereas his younger brother, Daniel – seven years his junior – displayed an aptitude for various sports from an early age. [1]:94–95 These investigators would shortly discover Berdella had paid a $30 fee to secure a bond for Pearson in June 1987 (equivalent to $68 in 2019),[9] and that no further records existed to indicate Pearson was still alive. By the summer of 1984, Jerry Howell had turned 19.[1]:81–82. [1]:259–261 The following day, he dismembered Howell's body using a chainsaw and boning knives, before wrapping the sections in newspaper and trash bags. Nonetheless, in his early teens, he briefly had a girlfriend.[1]:47. Sheldon was drugged with sedatives and held captive in the second floor bedroom for three days, enduring forms of torture such as the swabbing of drain cleaner in his left eye,[1]:266 the insertion of needles beneath his fingertips,[1]:268 the binding of his wrists with piano wire with the intention of permanently damaging the nerves in his hands,[1]:271 and filling his ears with caulking to reduce his hearing capacity. Episode 3 45m. John Edward Robinson (born December 27, 1943) is an American [20] Furthermore, this individual had kept him bound to a bed on the second floor of the house throughout much of the time he had been held against his will, repeatedly sodomizing him, drugging him, and injecting his throat with drain cleaner to diminish his ability to speak loudly. Although occasionally making a generous monthly profit, the income he typically generated via this business was often not sufficient to maintain his daily expenses and to make ends meet. Of his known victims, 12 were murdered between 1977 and 1989. He would later be temporarily placed in protective custody at the Potosi Correctional Center, due to concerns for his safety. By 1981, he had established several contractual agreements with both national and international contacts for his own business. He then brought an electrical transformer to the basement. [n 6], On the afternoon of Bryson's escape, Berdella was arrested on charges pertaining to the sexual assault of Christopher Bryson. [8] The following month, he was arraigned and pleaded guilty in the 4th Circuit of the Jackson County Court before Judge Alvin C. Randall to the first degree murder of Larry Pearson. [1]:104, At the age of 19, Berdella was arrested for attempting to sell methamphetamines to an undercover officer;[8] he was released after posting a $3,000 bond (equivalent to $22,000 in 2019),[9] and would later plead guilty to the offense and was handed a five-year suspended sentence. Todd Stoops, 23, June 17, 1986: Kidnapped due to Berdella being "sexually frustrated" with him. [37], Berdella also lodged several complaints with prison officials regarding prison conditions. Hope you enjoyed the video! As a result, Berdella became increasingly withdrawn, and further immersed himself in the solitary activities he had participated in since childhood such as painting, collecting coins and stamps, and writing to foreign pen pals. [27] In this plea bargain, Berdella agreed to confess in graphic detail as to whom he had killed, what indignities he had subjected each victim, how he had killed each victim, and what he had done with their bodies. Robert J. Robert Andrew Berdella Jr. was born on January 31, 1949, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio,[1]:45 the first of two sons born to Robert Berdella Sr., a die setter for the Ford Motor Company, and Mary Berdella, a homemaker. [3] He died of a heart attack while incarcerated at the Missouri State Penitentiary in October 1992. [4] All were found shoeless and dumped in secluded spots around Kansas City, Missouri. [1]:281, On September 26, 1985, Berdella answered a phone call from an acquaintance named James Ferris,[n 3] who asked to stay at Berdella's home for a short time. In addition, despite the fact that more than 20 different men were depicted in postures suggesting unconsciousness or death within the 334 Polaroid images and 34 snapshot prints seized from 4315 Charlotte Street following his arrest, Berdella was adamant that the six individuals identified as vic… Early Life. Berdella would also represent his neighborhood at fundraising events for a local public television station, although he would also disengage himself from these events by the mid-1980s.[11]. Nonetheless, he did claim that he had tried to prevent any of his victims from developing any form of malnutrition or infection by occasionally administering antibiotics, or nutrients intravenously as his abuse and torture escalated. Robert Berdella was an American serial killer and rapist who operated in Kansas City. More Details. He had a speech impediment and wore thick glasses from the age of five because he was severely nearsighted. Prior to his arrest, Berdella was that serial killer cliché, someone neighbors described as a nice man who kept to himself.