Rise of the Black Serial Killer
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:12 am
Justin Cottrell
Americans have had a curious fascination with serial killers, since the days Jack the Ripper prowled the streets of London. Their stories have been told in countless books, portrayed in the cinema and told as spooky campfire stories to wide-eyed youths. As did the tales of vampires and ghouls in the middle ages, serial killers have haunted our dreams and kept us looking over our shoulder hoping we’re not one of their next victims.
Most people are familiar with how the story goes. Intelligent middle class white loner, abused as a youth, a bed-wetter until puberty with a morbid fascination of torturing animals as a teen, snaps and begins killing people as an adult. The names and stories of Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Robert Lee Yates and dozens of others fit this description and seem make this idea credible. Turn on the television or read a fiction book about serial killers and this is the idea portrayed, in nearly every instance, serial killers are always white. But is this always correct? The answer is resoundingly, no!
(A good introduction to Carl Eugene Watts pictured above)
In 2002 a scene in Washington D.C. and surrounding areas played out over a three week period, as the Beltway Sniper kept the nation on it’s toes. In initial reports, authorities were on the lookout for a white male in his mid-thirties, possibly driving a white mini-van. FBI profilers and sketch artists told the masses what this white killer possibly looked like, and what behavior this individual exhibited. Area citizens were on the lookout for anyone fitting this description, as dozens that fit were interviewed. The nation did a double take once the captured killer, with gun in hand turned out to be a Black Muslim that went by the name John Allen Muhammad.
Soon following every black commentator that could be found was on the news media, showing their dismay at the thought of a black killer. Articles written at the time by black psychologists and commentators are telling of the mindset of most Americans, about the general perception of blacks being serial killers.
Admittedly, my perception at the time was skewed as well. Aside from what I vaguely remembered from of Wayne Williams, the black serial killer from Atlanta in the late 70’s; I assumed black serial killers weren’t common. In the numerous books I’d read on the subject, from understanding the psychology behind a sociopath to the fine details of their horrible crimes; Williams was usually the lone black killer in their lists. I assumed, that if black serial killers existed, surely the information would be in print.
The Facts
After growing tired of hearing politically correct spin-doctors, claim serial killers were always white; I decided to do a bit of research to see if this idea held water. What I found not only proved conclusively black serial killers do exist, but of the blatant bias against reporting on them.
At first I thought I’d be lucky to find twenty. Once I eclipsed this mark, I raised the bar to fifty black serial killers, thinking that had to be the ceiling. When my list eclipsed two hundred and counting, I realized this topic is the most ignored subject involving blacks in American history. Every generation from the reconstruction, to present is rife with examples.
To begin, the same criteria used by the FBI for serial killers has been followed. A serial killer is one that has killed at least twice, with a cooling period between each killing in which the murders were premeditated. Spree killers, mass murders, gang killings and hired assassins haven’t been included in the data. However, the fine line between some that fall into these categories and the classification of a serial killer is one that needs to be considered. John Allan Mohammad is a prime example. He’s listed as a spree killer in most books, but the premeditation involved and the time period between his killings in Alabama and D.C. more fit a serial killer. Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the infamous founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles is another example. Found guilty on four murders, but having been linked to at least eleven; his propensity for violence and his lust to spill blood fits that of a serial killer living the life of a gang-banger. For now Mohammad is on the list, while Williams has been removed until this gray area is a little clearer.
Currently the official list, of which every black serial killer’s information and crimes has been confirmed, is sitting at 409 entries[iv], with more than a dozen being investigated for possible addition. In just the first quarter of 2011, five that have been apprehended were added. The list will continue to grow with constant flood of killers caught, in addition to older data from prior to World War II that is slowly being sifted through.[v]
409 black serial killers you might ask, is this possible? Can this be correct? Yes, contrary to how little media attention this subject attracts the facts speak for themselves. Newspaper articles, court records and prison inmate information have been the source of this information, not Internet forums or blogs. Additionally, great time is being undertaken to gather the names and stories of the victims, and the intimate details of the crimes for publication of a future book on the subject.
One common complaint that arises with the PC types when discussing black serial killers, if they admit they exist, is their constant insisting that these killers only account for a small portion of murders done by serial killers. Whites are to blame they maintain, blacks aren’t possible of such wanton destruction. Again the data speaks another story.
Below is a chart from a class taught on the subject of serial killers. The left column represents the decade in which the crimes happened; to the right of this each race is represented. Since this chart was released in September 2010, new data has surfaced and will continue to surface for some time. An example is the decade of 2000-2010 saw 82 total serial killers of all races in this chart. In that decade alone, seven additional black serial killers have surfaced since this chart’s publication, and are either awaiting trial or have recently been found guilty. This brings the tally up to 89 killers for that decade, which lowers the white serial killers to 36%, while raising blacks to 62%. In addition to this a few cold cases from earlier decades have been attributed to black serial killers. Another thing to note is the absence of Indian serial killers from this chart. While few in number, I suspect they’ve been added to the category of white, which pads the whites numbers making them appear higher.
Historically from 1890 to present black serial killers have accounted for almost 26% of all solved murders from serial killers. In just the past three decades, the number rises drastically to 38.9%. This trend shows no sign of stopping anytime soon either. Estimates based solely off current trends, place the possible black serial killers for the decade we’re in, at anywhere from 62.5% to 75% of all serial killers! This is a very real possibility, unless the masses wake up to these startling facts.
When crunching these statistics, an even more startling trend surfaces. Currently, blacks[vii] are a minority in this country and represent about 12.6% of our current population.[viii] Of this, black males represent 48% of this total, which equates 6% of the total U.S. population. But this figure represents males from birth to death; a more fine tuned number is in need. When black males from 18-44 are considered solely, it’s found they make up only 38.6% of the previous 6%, or about 2.33% of the total U.S. population.
According to the current list, every black serial killer that has been apprehended is male (there is one instance of a female accomplice, forced to kill). Almost exclusively, they kill or begin their rampage between the ages of 18 and 44. So, the bottom line is a group that represents only 2.33% of the U.S. population[ix] has been responsible for producing serial killers responsible for over one quarter of the serial killings from 1890 to present. More shocking, this minority within a minority will committed almost a third of known serial killings in the past decade. Serial killers are not a white only phenomenon any longer.
Nowhere on the media are the PC jackals doing anything to present this data to the public. You’ll never here them lament the victims of this elite group. You’ll never here them tell how 2.33% of the population are responsible for the majority of the other violent crimes. Instead they ignore the facts and would have us believe black males from this age group represent the crème de la crème of society, blessing us with their wonderful contributions. While a few do fit this lofty description, sadly this isn’t the norm.
(More about Jake Bird, the Tacoma Axe Killer.)
A Startling Trend
When trying to assess how the trend of black serial killers is on the rise, a of variety key factors come into play. Chief amongst these is the idea that serial killers are always white. Hollywood and popular shows such as Dexter tout this idea and portray serial killings as restricted to whites and on rare occasion Hispanics. Fictional books follow the same theme, without ever straying far from their politically correct course. When a black serial killer is caught, the media coverage is usually restricted to the local market in which they were apprehended. The bottom line is black serial killers don’t draw the same attention as whites convicted of the same crime.
A prime example of the differences between coverage of black versus white serial killers can be seen in dozens of cases, but for the sake of time I’ll consider only two.
Most everyone has heard of Jeffery Dahmer. He’s the creep that lured numerous men and teenage boys to his apartment to participate in homosexual activities. After which, he drugged, then tortured and ultimately killed 17. After being arrested, authorities found parts of some of the bodies displayed in his home, a heart in his freezer and even some having evidence of cannibalism. As a result, his picture was plastered over every television and numerous major magazines for months. Television documentaries and books gave the gruesome details of his beastly activity for years after his capture. Now twenty years later, his name still invokes fear and wretches stomachs.
While Dahmer’s crimes horrified the nation, barely a decade later a serial killer stalked the streets of St. Louis, committing similar atrocities. He preyed on drug dependent black prostitute, which he took back to his home to be raped, tortured and killed. After his arrest, police found videotapes he’d recorded of his crimes, labeling one of them “My Wedding Story”. In these tapes he forced his captives, which were bound with duct tape to submit to him as their lord and master, while he beat and abused them. Next he repeatedly raped them repeatedly with unusual and torturous foreign objects, he then strangled his victims to death. Forensic investigators noted there were multiple layers of blood sprayed onto the walls. After his capture, he confessed to 17 murders, yet evidence now points to at least 20. However, while police were still in their investigation he hung himself, so the true number may never be known. Despite the horrific nature of his crimes, nary an American has ever heard the name of Maury Troy Travis, primarily because he was black. Had he been white, his name would be as common as Dahmer in the minds of Americans. Even a quick tour of the Internet substantiates this. The Wikipedia page for Dahmer has 3,552 words and greatly details his crimes. On the contrary, Travis’s page has a measly 107 words, with no mention of the wickedness of his devilry.
The year 1987 found the capture of Gary Heidnik in Philadelphia, with a gruesome discovery in his basement that horrified the nation. His crime was kidnapping six black women, five of which he kept in his basement as sexual slaves and prisoners. Two died of starvation and trauma in the pits he’d dug. His story made national news for weeks, the nation was outraged and blacks were calling for his swift execution for defiling black women. Even a movie character, Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs was based on his horrible story. While the nation was still reeling from Heidnik’s story, one involving more victims and similar circumstances unfolded just six months later.
Just about three miles from Heidnik’s homemade prison, a predator hunted the same streets where Gary had kidnapped his victims. This killer eventually nabbed eight black women over a one-year period and like his contemporary held his victims prisoner to rape and torture. This killer however, had a lust for blood and strangled each of his victims to death. After death, he performed necrophilia on their rotting corpses for weeks, and when the urge to kill again hit him, he stored the remains in a closet or bedroom with his other victims. Yet, despite the fact his crimes were worse, involved more victims, covered the same neighborhood at the same time as Heidnick; few have ever heard of Harrison F. Graham or his sick twisted savagery. Those that do are quick to point out that his IQ was low and that he wasn’t bright enough to realize what he was doing. They willfully ignore the thought and preparation he put into each of his murders, all because he was black. You can read his gruesome story here: Harrison Graham - Black Serial Killer
Closely coupled with the bias against reporting on black serial killers, is the fear that commentators or authors reporting on their crimes will be deemed racist, if they slip and call the killer a pejorative name. Sure it’s okay to call Henry Lee Lucas, the guy that claimed to murder from 3 to 600 people a primitive monster. But should the same name be attached to Marc Sappington, a black serial killer appropriately nicknamed the Kansas City Vampire, blacks nationwide would be screaming for an apology to be issued.
Some would stoop low enough to demand the killer’s release as a form of reparations for daring to call a black a monster. An example of this was seen in 1993 after Colin Ferguson killed 6 and wounded 19 on a commuter train, in front of 40 plus witnesses. Thomas Gulotta referred to him as an animal for his barbaric crime. Jesse Jackson and crew immediately responded criticizing Gulotta’s choice of words, fearing a race war would be started and blacks would be hunted down. [x] Even Ferguson’s defense played on this, claiming the witnesses were racist and hated blacks.
Other reasons why black serial killers are on the rise have their roots firmly established in dictator Abe Lincoln’s reconstruction. When a black commits a violent crime against a white, the usual demagogues go to work spinning fanciful stories. They tell of how the poor deprived black man, in his lowly state rose up and smote the white man, showing he was an equal, no longer to be shackled or forced into servitude. They cry for his release, claiming that until America has reached a magical egalitarian utopia, this will continue to happen. Closely linked with this, the hip-hop music industry openly promotes and glorifies killing to a generation of young blacks. (Colorado Springs police trace rise in violence to gangster rap music) Charismatic rap stars unabashedly speak of killing whites, cops and raping white women. Meanwhile weak minded whites feel guilty for any racialist thought they’ve ever entertained, and raise their children up to believe the lie that multiculturalism is successful.
This deadly combination of causal effects, pave a path of destruction for black males, as they seek honor and prestige in their communities. While most turn to just rape, robberies and gang violence, more and more are acquiring a taste for blood. As long as these dangerous trends continue, black serial killers will continue to grow more brazen as their ranks swell. Thankfully the stories of these animalistic killers and the sad stories of their victims are being told more frequently on the Internet. Additionally, a few new books are expected out over the next year in an attempt to fill this void.
The next time someone tells you black serial killers don’t exist, let them know that not only are they wrong, but that the number is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Moreover, teach your children to not accept these sorts of lies any longer, nor to feel pity for any black serial killer.
White, T.,Willis, L.,&Smith, L. (2002, October 25). African Americans grapple with race of sniper suspects: Relief at capture, worry about repercussions [Electronic version]. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md .concern25oct25.story
[ii] Charles, N. (2002, November 2). Black serial killers: A rare breed. Harlem Times, p. 1.
[iii] Kimberley,M. (2003, November 20). John Ashcroft and the bloodthirsty actions of a bible quoting prosecutor. Black Commentator. http://www.blackcommentator.com/65/65_fr_justice.html
[iv] In this tally serial killing gangs, such as the Zebra Killers or de Mau Mau Killers, even though they contain numerous murders are counted as only one entry.
[v] Data prior to WWII is primarily restricted court records and old newspaper articles. Thankfully some are listed online, but many aren’t, which makes this task arduous.
[vi] Chart found at http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%204 ... illers.pdf.
[vii] This means anyone with black ancestry, whether it is African or Australian Aborigine.
[viii] Historically from 1890 to present, blacks have represented only 11.06% of the U.S. population.
[ix] From 1890 to present this figure has remained fairly constant.
[x] http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/13/nyreg ... tml?src=pm
A little less than year ago I wrote an article about the research I was doing on the subject of black serial killers (original article ). To my surprise the article was very well received, and was carried on numerous websites, and blogs. I’ve had people thank me and give encouragement, as I’ve kept traveling this path. Thanks to all that read it, and gave me a positive review.
What I’ve discovered while on this path has been remarkable, and has blossomed to an even bigger story than I could have ever imagined. Large enough that over the course of this past winter I decided to document my findings, in a book to share with the world. It’s taken a concerted effort to get to this point, but I’m fairly confident I’ve uncovered every black serial killer that has been discovered to date.
In the last few months I’ve been asked how the statistics have changed in my research. But without re-writing my book for this article, it’s difficult to give the full picture of the depth of my research, and the full impact of what I’ve found. Nevertheless, I can make simple comparisons of the old data to the new, showing what has changed, as well as give a snippet view of some of the trails my research has taken me on.
Comparing the Old to the New
When I finished the original article I had 238 black serial killers, in addition to a database of over 340 names I needed to verify to see if they were black, and fit the description of a serial killer. A month after publishing the article the verification process was complete and I had 409 confirmed serial killers in my records, but I soon hit a wall in my research. No matter how hard I tried I could find no more killers to add to my list, and for almost a month I was satisfied I’d hit the upper limit. However, I soon realized I wasn’t even half way there.
I became unsatisfied that my research prior to 1960 was complete, but fortunately I stumbled almost by accident over the news archives at Google. They’ve done a wonderful job putting copies of papers as far back as the mid 1800’s online, some as original images, and others that are transcribed. While this service I knew held missing data I needed, I had to learn how glean the data. For starters the term ‘serial killer’ is a modern term, and didn’t get wide use until the mid 1980’s. Coupled with this, even after the term was in use often times it wasn’t attached to black serial killers; instead they were simply called murderers and killers. Therefore I had to fine tune my search terms, and tried the term, “3 murders”, in combination with “black male”. Bingo I had a hit, but I had to weed through hundreds of articles, and had to change the search terms for each number of murders, as well as the spelling, and even had to use the terms, “mass-murders”, “slayings”, “number of deaths attributed too”, and over two dozen other such terms or variations of the terms just to filter the data. But as I mentioned for each variation I had to use the number of murders in both numeric and written form, starting with the number three all the way to one-hundred.
As painstaking and time consuming as this process was, the rewards were well worth it. In the process I uncovered stories I’d never heard, of black killers taking anywhere from three to forty-seven lives. This process took several months of 10-14 hour days sifting through the data, but much to my surprise I found unexpected surprises, like proof of black lynch-mobs eliminating black murderers or rapists in their communities (READ HERE). Most of the killers added prior to 1980 were as a result of this source, but I also found a few I stumbled across in old books and periodicals, many of which are out of print but preserved online.
My search into the archives made me question whether my data was complete post 1980. Testing to see if it was, I found that when I searched the most recent decades black serial killers soon surfaced using the same search techniques. This led me to question why a black serial killer that’s taken five, ten, or even over thirty lives isn’t listed as a serial killer in the news media. While it was tempting to look for some grand conspiracy to cover the truth, I ruled that out because some parts of the country were more prone to call a black serial killer a serial killer than others. From the best I can tell, it’s a regional dilemma, usually in areas that have had a past problem with the media labeled as racist for reporting about black crime. So it’s more plausible that media agencies that fail to use the label of serial killers for blacks do it to keep the number of complaints down. While that helps them, it makes my job extra difficult, and I’m still trying new search variables to ensure my research is at the top of the curve.
When the research was finished, I’d more than doubled the amount of killers, and my database is currently sitting at 836 confirmed black serial killers. The list is two exhausting to post here, but just the listing of their name, age, killing dates, killing areas, number & race of victims, and a brief description of their crimes takes 106 pages in my book. Instead of listing the names, I’ll do something I did in the previous article. In the last there was a chart of the percentage of serial killers by decade from 1930 to 2000, sorted by race. I’d taken this chart from another researchers work, and fixed a few minor errors he had. Below is the chart from my research. While I’ve mostly researched black serial killers, I did have accurate numbers for the other races from other researchers, in addition to a little footwork of my own.
What is first noticed when comparing this new chart to the old is the lowest percentage of black serial killers in the old chart was for 1950 at 3.2%. In the new 1950 is still the lowest percentile number for a decade, but now it sits at 26.83%. People may be tempted to note this number was a serious drop from the previous decade, but there is an explanation. In 1940 there were 32 black serial killers that began in that decade, but in 1950 the number had risen to 41, for an increase of 9. But due to the rise in black population in the decade in part, but mostly as a result of the explosion of white serial killers from 1940 to 1950 (a leap from 56.25% to 73.17%), the percentage of black serial killers went down, despite their number actually increasing.
The biggest change in these charts, aside from having data prior to 1930 and for 2010 to present, was that in six of the decades black serial killers outnumbered whites, of which they have dwarfed the white serial killers in the decades since 1990 by a factor of 3.36 to 1! And in the remaining ten decades they’ve been tied with whites once, and closely trailed in three other decades.
The bottom line however, is black serial killers have slightly more serial killers in their ranks, despite only making up 11.49% of the historical population from 1860 to present. Yet, few have ever heard of their crimes, which was my motivation to publish my research.
Race Selection amongst Serial Killers
A topic I tackle in the book is the races of their victims. This may seem unimportant to some, but for police criminal profilers it’s a useful piece of the puzzle in helping them apprehend serial killers. The old canard was that serial killers generally always kill within their race, therefore if white victims turn-up then the killer is most likely white. The truth is, this works for white serial killers, but not for blacks.
Of the 832 known white serial killers, only 2.04% had all of their victims outside their race. If you factor in the white killers that killed a variety of races, their number represents 3.72% of their ranks, for a grand total of 5.76% that killed either full or part-time outside their race. This means 94.23% of white serial killers killed within their race, which means criminal profilers seem to be on the right track when white victims start appearing. However this fails miserably with black serial killers.
When considering the black serial killers, they killed only 39.23% of the time within their race exclusively. As for those that have killed solely white victims, their number stands at 33.79% of the total, and includes many of the more prolific killers. The number of black serial killers that killed an even mixture of whites and blacks stands at 25.11%, for a grand total of 58.48% of these killers that murdered either full or part-time outside their race. This means that even in a predominately white town when trying to find the killer of several whites, police can’t discount that the killer might be white. This scenario has been encountered numerous times, but a good example was when three white women were killed in 1990 in Mercer Island, WA over a three month span. At first they were in search of a white killer, but the trail eventually led to a black killer, George Waterfield Russell. Derrick Todd Lee, Carl Eugene Watts, Cleophus Prince, Vincent Darrell Groves, and many other prolific serial killers had police searching for a white killer.
Not only have the majority of black serial killers killed outside their race on at least a few occasions, but in every instance when white women were killed, rape was almost always involved. Rape also played an important part of the killing ritual for those that killed black women, but there are more examples of not getting raped than with white women and girls.
Coupled with the larger number of whites raped, is the larger propensity for overkill. Overkill is the process of continuing to beat, stab, strangle, rape, or dismember the victim after they’re dead, sometimes over a period of days. Not every black serial killer with white victims overkilled, but from preliminary research I’ve conducted the percentage is higher than those with black victims. An example of this can be seen in the method of killing, which with black victims the most common is shooting, with many dying from one to four wounds. With white victims, shooting is still at the top, but a very close second and third place is strangulation and stabbing, of which both rank considerably lower in black victims. With stabbing, many of the victims were stabbed over ten times, with some even receiving over 80 stab wounds. The bottom line is black serial killers that choose white victims have a higher chance to rape, torture, and overkill their victims. Some may think that’s a racist proposition, but the reality is police reports and court records don’t make these tales up. In the words of many of these killers, I’ve recorded many quotes of their hatred of whites, with some that have a goal in life to free black people from the oppression of whites via exterminating as many whites as they can. As appalling as this is, it’s never presented by the media, but is covered in depth in my book.
Other Things Discussed
When I had finished my research I noticed a trend of both whites and blacks holding fairly steady numbers from 1860 to the 1940s. From 1950 until 1980, both races saw every decade hit a new level of total killers, sometimes increasing by over 300% every decade. As with other researchers I was curious at what the causations were in the rising trend. While other researchers have already done a great job finding these causes, most of these researchers assumed whites make up the majority of serial killers. Therefore the causes that might motivate whites may be a non-factor for blacks. So I began looking at the spikes in black serial killers, specifically year by year, and what areas of the country they were popping up most frequently. Here is the list of the major contributing factors I’ve found that have had little to no effect as a motivator for white serial killers. Each of these is discussed fully in my book, but for sake of space I’ll leave it at just the list.
Aside from this, I also delve extensively into the disparity between reporting on black serial killers versus whites. I pull from a variety of sources, comparing the media’s coverage of serial killers of both races. Additionally, I pit the reporting of the deaths of James Byrd and James McDonald at the hands of white men, as well as the tale of Rodney King; by comparing examples of whites being lynched by blacks, where little to no coverage was given. The difference is alarming.
Another interesting thing my research turned up was 89 serial killers that were convicted for murder, but after release from prison murdered again. Some of these killers have been released on murder charges on two separate cases, only to kill again; while two of these men served sentences for murder four times, only to murder after each release. I briefly tell of their crimes, give the dates of their imprisonment, and when they murdered. Coupled with this section, is a list of serial killers that have had their sentences reduced, and when they’ll be up next for parole. One of the primary motivators I’ve uncovered for this problem, is black serial killers claiming the system is racist, of which unfortunately has helped more than one get a reduced sentence. While the list is extensive, it’s probably not complete and will likely grow in a future edition.
There are many other things I’ve found, like the number of killers that committed rape, dabbled in cannibalism, preformed necrophilia, over-killed or tortured their victims, as well as recording weird quirks some of the killers had (one thought he was invisible because of a witch doctor’s spell!). I also compare the average number of kills between black and white serial killers, and even give examples of blacks lynching whites, including one that hanged his female victims to death—yet his story has never been told.
As aforementioned the information is far too extensive to reiterate in an article, as it took 480 pages to give the full depth view of my research. I hope you’ll take the time to read the first chapter of my book HERE, and tell me what you think. If you’re financially able, buy a copy for your library, or send one to a friend. My wish isn’t to get rich telling this story, I want the scales balanced and the stories of these killers told, for the sake of 5,100 or so victims that died at their hands. May they rest in peace.
http://www.phinehasfury.com/2012/03/441/#more-441
Americans have had a curious fascination with serial killers, since the days Jack the Ripper prowled the streets of London. Their stories have been told in countless books, portrayed in the cinema and told as spooky campfire stories to wide-eyed youths. As did the tales of vampires and ghouls in the middle ages, serial killers have haunted our dreams and kept us looking over our shoulder hoping we’re not one of their next victims.
Most people are familiar with how the story goes. Intelligent middle class white loner, abused as a youth, a bed-wetter until puberty with a morbid fascination of torturing animals as a teen, snaps and begins killing people as an adult. The names and stories of Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Robert Lee Yates and dozens of others fit this description and seem make this idea credible. Turn on the television or read a fiction book about serial killers and this is the idea portrayed, in nearly every instance, serial killers are always white. But is this always correct? The answer is resoundingly, no!
In 2002 a scene in Washington D.C. and surrounding areas played out over a three week period, as the Beltway Sniper kept the nation on it’s toes. In initial reports, authorities were on the lookout for a white male in his mid-thirties, possibly driving a white mini-van. FBI profilers and sketch artists told the masses what this white killer possibly looked like, and what behavior this individual exhibited. Area citizens were on the lookout for anyone fitting this description, as dozens that fit were interviewed. The nation did a double take once the captured killer, with gun in hand turned out to be a Black Muslim that went by the name John Allen Muhammad.
- “This is not typical conduct for us. I mean Black folks do some crazy stuff, but we don’t do anonymous violence. That’s not in our history. We just don’t do that.” “
“White guys have pretty much cornered the market on mass murders and serial killing.”[ii]
“There aren’t any black serial killers.”[iii]
Admittedly, my perception at the time was skewed as well. Aside from what I vaguely remembered from of Wayne Williams, the black serial killer from Atlanta in the late 70’s; I assumed black serial killers weren’t common. In the numerous books I’d read on the subject, from understanding the psychology behind a sociopath to the fine details of their horrible crimes; Williams was usually the lone black killer in their lists. I assumed, that if black serial killers existed, surely the information would be in print.
The Facts
After growing tired of hearing politically correct spin-doctors, claim serial killers were always white; I decided to do a bit of research to see if this idea held water. What I found not only proved conclusively black serial killers do exist, but of the blatant bias against reporting on them.
At first I thought I’d be lucky to find twenty. Once I eclipsed this mark, I raised the bar to fifty black serial killers, thinking that had to be the ceiling. When my list eclipsed two hundred and counting, I realized this topic is the most ignored subject involving blacks in American history. Every generation from the reconstruction, to present is rife with examples.
To begin, the same criteria used by the FBI for serial killers has been followed. A serial killer is one that has killed at least twice, with a cooling period between each killing in which the murders were premeditated. Spree killers, mass murders, gang killings and hired assassins haven’t been included in the data. However, the fine line between some that fall into these categories and the classification of a serial killer is one that needs to be considered. John Allan Mohammad is a prime example. He’s listed as a spree killer in most books, but the premeditation involved and the time period between his killings in Alabama and D.C. more fit a serial killer. Stanley “Tookie” Williams, the infamous founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles is another example. Found guilty on four murders, but having been linked to at least eleven; his propensity for violence and his lust to spill blood fits that of a serial killer living the life of a gang-banger. For now Mohammad is on the list, while Williams has been removed until this gray area is a little clearer.
Currently the official list, of which every black serial killer’s information and crimes has been confirmed, is sitting at 409 entries[iv], with more than a dozen being investigated for possible addition. In just the first quarter of 2011, five that have been apprehended were added. The list will continue to grow with constant flood of killers caught, in addition to older data from prior to World War II that is slowly being sifted through.[v]
409 black serial killers you might ask, is this possible? Can this be correct? Yes, contrary to how little media attention this subject attracts the facts speak for themselves. Newspaper articles, court records and prison inmate information have been the source of this information, not Internet forums or blogs. Additionally, great time is being undertaken to gather the names and stories of the victims, and the intimate details of the crimes for publication of a future book on the subject.
One common complaint that arises with the PC types when discussing black serial killers, if they admit they exist, is their constant insisting that these killers only account for a small portion of murders done by serial killers. Whites are to blame they maintain, blacks aren’t possible of such wanton destruction. Again the data speaks another story.
Below is a chart from a class taught on the subject of serial killers. The left column represents the decade in which the crimes happened; to the right of this each race is represented. Since this chart was released in September 2010, new data has surfaced and will continue to surface for some time. An example is the decade of 2000-2010 saw 82 total serial killers of all races in this chart. In that decade alone, seven additional black serial killers have surfaced since this chart’s publication, and are either awaiting trial or have recently been found guilty. This brings the tally up to 89 killers for that decade, which lowers the white serial killers to 36%, while raising blacks to 62%. In addition to this a few cold cases from earlier decades have been attributed to black serial killers. Another thing to note is the absence of Indian serial killers from this chart. While few in number, I suspect they’ve been added to the category of white, which pads the whites numbers making them appear higher.
Historically from 1890 to present black serial killers have accounted for almost 26% of all solved murders from serial killers. In just the past three decades, the number rises drastically to 38.9%. This trend shows no sign of stopping anytime soon either. Estimates based solely off current trends, place the possible black serial killers for the decade we’re in, at anywhere from 62.5% to 75% of all serial killers! This is a very real possibility, unless the masses wake up to these startling facts.
When crunching these statistics, an even more startling trend surfaces. Currently, blacks[vii] are a minority in this country and represent about 12.6% of our current population.[viii] Of this, black males represent 48% of this total, which equates 6% of the total U.S. population. But this figure represents males from birth to death; a more fine tuned number is in need. When black males from 18-44 are considered solely, it’s found they make up only 38.6% of the previous 6%, or about 2.33% of the total U.S. population.
According to the current list, every black serial killer that has been apprehended is male (there is one instance of a female accomplice, forced to kill). Almost exclusively, they kill or begin their rampage between the ages of 18 and 44. So, the bottom line is a group that represents only 2.33% of the U.S. population[ix] has been responsible for producing serial killers responsible for over one quarter of the serial killings from 1890 to present. More shocking, this minority within a minority will committed almost a third of known serial killings in the past decade. Serial killers are not a white only phenomenon any longer.
Nowhere on the media are the PC jackals doing anything to present this data to the public. You’ll never here them lament the victims of this elite group. You’ll never here them tell how 2.33% of the population are responsible for the majority of the other violent crimes. Instead they ignore the facts and would have us believe black males from this age group represent the crème de la crème of society, blessing us with their wonderful contributions. While a few do fit this lofty description, sadly this isn’t the norm.
(More about Jake Bird, the Tacoma Axe Killer.)
A Startling Trend
When trying to assess how the trend of black serial killers is on the rise, a of variety key factors come into play. Chief amongst these is the idea that serial killers are always white. Hollywood and popular shows such as Dexter tout this idea and portray serial killings as restricted to whites and on rare occasion Hispanics. Fictional books follow the same theme, without ever straying far from their politically correct course. When a black serial killer is caught, the media coverage is usually restricted to the local market in which they were apprehended. The bottom line is black serial killers don’t draw the same attention as whites convicted of the same crime.
A prime example of the differences between coverage of black versus white serial killers can be seen in dozens of cases, but for the sake of time I’ll consider only two.
Most everyone has heard of Jeffery Dahmer. He’s the creep that lured numerous men and teenage boys to his apartment to participate in homosexual activities. After which, he drugged, then tortured and ultimately killed 17. After being arrested, authorities found parts of some of the bodies displayed in his home, a heart in his freezer and even some having evidence of cannibalism. As a result, his picture was plastered over every television and numerous major magazines for months. Television documentaries and books gave the gruesome details of his beastly activity for years after his capture. Now twenty years later, his name still invokes fear and wretches stomachs.
While Dahmer’s crimes horrified the nation, barely a decade later a serial killer stalked the streets of St. Louis, committing similar atrocities. He preyed on drug dependent black prostitute, which he took back to his home to be raped, tortured and killed. After his arrest, police found videotapes he’d recorded of his crimes, labeling one of them “My Wedding Story”. In these tapes he forced his captives, which were bound with duct tape to submit to him as their lord and master, while he beat and abused them. Next he repeatedly raped them repeatedly with unusual and torturous foreign objects, he then strangled his victims to death. Forensic investigators noted there were multiple layers of blood sprayed onto the walls. After his capture, he confessed to 17 murders, yet evidence now points to at least 20. However, while police were still in their investigation he hung himself, so the true number may never be known. Despite the horrific nature of his crimes, nary an American has ever heard the name of Maury Troy Travis, primarily because he was black. Had he been white, his name would be as common as Dahmer in the minds of Americans. Even a quick tour of the Internet substantiates this. The Wikipedia page for Dahmer has 3,552 words and greatly details his crimes. On the contrary, Travis’s page has a measly 107 words, with no mention of the wickedness of his devilry.
The year 1987 found the capture of Gary Heidnik in Philadelphia, with a gruesome discovery in his basement that horrified the nation. His crime was kidnapping six black women, five of which he kept in his basement as sexual slaves and prisoners. Two died of starvation and trauma in the pits he’d dug. His story made national news for weeks, the nation was outraged and blacks were calling for his swift execution for defiling black women. Even a movie character, Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs was based on his horrible story. While the nation was still reeling from Heidnik’s story, one involving more victims and similar circumstances unfolded just six months later.
Just about three miles from Heidnik’s homemade prison, a predator hunted the same streets where Gary had kidnapped his victims. This killer eventually nabbed eight black women over a one-year period and like his contemporary held his victims prisoner to rape and torture. This killer however, had a lust for blood and strangled each of his victims to death. After death, he performed necrophilia on their rotting corpses for weeks, and when the urge to kill again hit him, he stored the remains in a closet or bedroom with his other victims. Yet, despite the fact his crimes were worse, involved more victims, covered the same neighborhood at the same time as Heidnick; few have ever heard of Harrison F. Graham or his sick twisted savagery. Those that do are quick to point out that his IQ was low and that he wasn’t bright enough to realize what he was doing. They willfully ignore the thought and preparation he put into each of his murders, all because he was black. You can read his gruesome story here: Harrison Graham - Black Serial Killer
Closely coupled with the bias against reporting on black serial killers, is the fear that commentators or authors reporting on their crimes will be deemed racist, if they slip and call the killer a pejorative name. Sure it’s okay to call Henry Lee Lucas, the guy that claimed to murder from 3 to 600 people a primitive monster. But should the same name be attached to Marc Sappington, a black serial killer appropriately nicknamed the Kansas City Vampire, blacks nationwide would be screaming for an apology to be issued.
Some would stoop low enough to demand the killer’s release as a form of reparations for daring to call a black a monster. An example of this was seen in 1993 after Colin Ferguson killed 6 and wounded 19 on a commuter train, in front of 40 plus witnesses. Thomas Gulotta referred to him as an animal for his barbaric crime. Jesse Jackson and crew immediately responded criticizing Gulotta’s choice of words, fearing a race war would be started and blacks would be hunted down. [x] Even Ferguson’s defense played on this, claiming the witnesses were racist and hated blacks.
Other reasons why black serial killers are on the rise have their roots firmly established in dictator Abe Lincoln’s reconstruction. When a black commits a violent crime against a white, the usual demagogues go to work spinning fanciful stories. They tell of how the poor deprived black man, in his lowly state rose up and smote the white man, showing he was an equal, no longer to be shackled or forced into servitude. They cry for his release, claiming that until America has reached a magical egalitarian utopia, this will continue to happen. Closely linked with this, the hip-hop music industry openly promotes and glorifies killing to a generation of young blacks. (Colorado Springs police trace rise in violence to gangster rap music) Charismatic rap stars unabashedly speak of killing whites, cops and raping white women. Meanwhile weak minded whites feel guilty for any racialist thought they’ve ever entertained, and raise their children up to believe the lie that multiculturalism is successful.
This deadly combination of causal effects, pave a path of destruction for black males, as they seek honor and prestige in their communities. While most turn to just rape, robberies and gang violence, more and more are acquiring a taste for blood. As long as these dangerous trends continue, black serial killers will continue to grow more brazen as their ranks swell. Thankfully the stories of these animalistic killers and the sad stories of their victims are being told more frequently on the Internet. Additionally, a few new books are expected out over the next year in an attempt to fill this void.
The next time someone tells you black serial killers don’t exist, let them know that not only are they wrong, but that the number is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Moreover, teach your children to not accept these sorts of lies any longer, nor to feel pity for any black serial killer.
White, T.,Willis, L.,&Smith, L. (2002, October 25). African Americans grapple with race of sniper suspects: Relief at capture, worry about repercussions [Electronic version]. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md .concern25oct25.story
[ii] Charles, N. (2002, November 2). Black serial killers: A rare breed. Harlem Times, p. 1.
[iii] Kimberley,M. (2003, November 20). John Ashcroft and the bloodthirsty actions of a bible quoting prosecutor. Black Commentator. http://www.blackcommentator.com/65/65_fr_justice.html
[iv] In this tally serial killing gangs, such as the Zebra Killers or de Mau Mau Killers, even though they contain numerous murders are counted as only one entry.
[v] Data prior to WWII is primarily restricted court records and old newspaper articles. Thankfully some are listed online, but many aren’t, which makes this task arduous.
[vi] Chart found at http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%204 ... illers.pdf.
[vii] This means anyone with black ancestry, whether it is African or Australian Aborigine.
[viii] Historically from 1890 to present, blacks have represented only 11.06% of the U.S. population.
[ix] From 1890 to present this figure has remained fairly constant.
[x] http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/13/nyreg ... tml?src=pm
Rise of the Black Serial Killer - an Update
A little less than year ago I wrote an article about the research I was doing on the subject of black serial killers (original article ). To my surprise the article was very well received, and was carried on numerous websites, and blogs. I’ve had people thank me and give encouragement, as I’ve kept traveling this path. Thanks to all that read it, and gave me a positive review.
What I’ve discovered while on this path has been remarkable, and has blossomed to an even bigger story than I could have ever imagined. Large enough that over the course of this past winter I decided to document my findings, in a book to share with the world. It’s taken a concerted effort to get to this point, but I’m fairly confident I’ve uncovered every black serial killer that has been discovered to date.
In the last few months I’ve been asked how the statistics have changed in my research. But without re-writing my book for this article, it’s difficult to give the full picture of the depth of my research, and the full impact of what I’ve found. Nevertheless, I can make simple comparisons of the old data to the new, showing what has changed, as well as give a snippet view of some of the trails my research has taken me on.
Comparing the Old to the New
When I finished the original article I had 238 black serial killers, in addition to a database of over 340 names I needed to verify to see if they were black, and fit the description of a serial killer. A month after publishing the article the verification process was complete and I had 409 confirmed serial killers in my records, but I soon hit a wall in my research. No matter how hard I tried I could find no more killers to add to my list, and for almost a month I was satisfied I’d hit the upper limit. However, I soon realized I wasn’t even half way there.
I became unsatisfied that my research prior to 1960 was complete, but fortunately I stumbled almost by accident over the news archives at Google. They’ve done a wonderful job putting copies of papers as far back as the mid 1800’s online, some as original images, and others that are transcribed. While this service I knew held missing data I needed, I had to learn how glean the data. For starters the term ‘serial killer’ is a modern term, and didn’t get wide use until the mid 1980’s. Coupled with this, even after the term was in use often times it wasn’t attached to black serial killers; instead they were simply called murderers and killers. Therefore I had to fine tune my search terms, and tried the term, “3 murders”, in combination with “black male”. Bingo I had a hit, but I had to weed through hundreds of articles, and had to change the search terms for each number of murders, as well as the spelling, and even had to use the terms, “mass-murders”, “slayings”, “number of deaths attributed too”, and over two dozen other such terms or variations of the terms just to filter the data. But as I mentioned for each variation I had to use the number of murders in both numeric and written form, starting with the number three all the way to one-hundred.
As painstaking and time consuming as this process was, the rewards were well worth it. In the process I uncovered stories I’d never heard, of black killers taking anywhere from three to forty-seven lives. This process took several months of 10-14 hour days sifting through the data, but much to my surprise I found unexpected surprises, like proof of black lynch-mobs eliminating black murderers or rapists in their communities (READ HERE). Most of the killers added prior to 1980 were as a result of this source, but I also found a few I stumbled across in old books and periodicals, many of which are out of print but preserved online.
My search into the archives made me question whether my data was complete post 1980. Testing to see if it was, I found that when I searched the most recent decades black serial killers soon surfaced using the same search techniques. This led me to question why a black serial killer that’s taken five, ten, or even over thirty lives isn’t listed as a serial killer in the news media. While it was tempting to look for some grand conspiracy to cover the truth, I ruled that out because some parts of the country were more prone to call a black serial killer a serial killer than others. From the best I can tell, it’s a regional dilemma, usually in areas that have had a past problem with the media labeled as racist for reporting about black crime. So it’s more plausible that media agencies that fail to use the label of serial killers for blacks do it to keep the number of complaints down. While that helps them, it makes my job extra difficult, and I’m still trying new search variables to ensure my research is at the top of the curve.
When the research was finished, I’d more than doubled the amount of killers, and my database is currently sitting at 836 confirmed black serial killers. The list is two exhausting to post here, but just the listing of their name, age, killing dates, killing areas, number & race of victims, and a brief description of their crimes takes 106 pages in my book. Instead of listing the names, I’ll do something I did in the previous article. In the last there was a chart of the percentage of serial killers by decade from 1930 to 2000, sorted by race. I’d taken this chart from another researchers work, and fixed a few minor errors he had. Below is the chart from my research. While I’ve mostly researched black serial killers, I did have accurate numbers for the other races from other researchers, in addition to a little footwork of my own.
What is first noticed when comparing this new chart to the old is the lowest percentage of black serial killers in the old chart was for 1950 at 3.2%. In the new 1950 is still the lowest percentile number for a decade, but now it sits at 26.83%. People may be tempted to note this number was a serious drop from the previous decade, but there is an explanation. In 1940 there were 32 black serial killers that began in that decade, but in 1950 the number had risen to 41, for an increase of 9. But due to the rise in black population in the decade in part, but mostly as a result of the explosion of white serial killers from 1940 to 1950 (a leap from 56.25% to 73.17%), the percentage of black serial killers went down, despite their number actually increasing.
The biggest change in these charts, aside from having data prior to 1930 and for 2010 to present, was that in six of the decades black serial killers outnumbered whites, of which they have dwarfed the white serial killers in the decades since 1990 by a factor of 3.36 to 1! And in the remaining ten decades they’ve been tied with whites once, and closely trailed in three other decades.
The bottom line however, is black serial killers have slightly more serial killers in their ranks, despite only making up 11.49% of the historical population from 1860 to present. Yet, few have ever heard of their crimes, which was my motivation to publish my research.
Race Selection amongst Serial Killers
A topic I tackle in the book is the races of their victims. This may seem unimportant to some, but for police criminal profilers it’s a useful piece of the puzzle in helping them apprehend serial killers. The old canard was that serial killers generally always kill within their race, therefore if white victims turn-up then the killer is most likely white. The truth is, this works for white serial killers, but not for blacks.
Of the 832 known white serial killers, only 2.04% had all of their victims outside their race. If you factor in the white killers that killed a variety of races, their number represents 3.72% of their ranks, for a grand total of 5.76% that killed either full or part-time outside their race. This means 94.23% of white serial killers killed within their race, which means criminal profilers seem to be on the right track when white victims start appearing. However this fails miserably with black serial killers.
When considering the black serial killers, they killed only 39.23% of the time within their race exclusively. As for those that have killed solely white victims, their number stands at 33.79% of the total, and includes many of the more prolific killers. The number of black serial killers that killed an even mixture of whites and blacks stands at 25.11%, for a grand total of 58.48% of these killers that murdered either full or part-time outside their race. This means that even in a predominately white town when trying to find the killer of several whites, police can’t discount that the killer might be white. This scenario has been encountered numerous times, but a good example was when three white women were killed in 1990 in Mercer Island, WA over a three month span. At first they were in search of a white killer, but the trail eventually led to a black killer, George Waterfield Russell. Derrick Todd Lee, Carl Eugene Watts, Cleophus Prince, Vincent Darrell Groves, and many other prolific serial killers had police searching for a white killer.
Not only have the majority of black serial killers killed outside their race on at least a few occasions, but in every instance when white women were killed, rape was almost always involved. Rape also played an important part of the killing ritual for those that killed black women, but there are more examples of not getting raped than with white women and girls.
Coupled with the larger number of whites raped, is the larger propensity for overkill. Overkill is the process of continuing to beat, stab, strangle, rape, or dismember the victim after they’re dead, sometimes over a period of days. Not every black serial killer with white victims overkilled, but from preliminary research I’ve conducted the percentage is higher than those with black victims. An example of this can be seen in the method of killing, which with black victims the most common is shooting, with many dying from one to four wounds. With white victims, shooting is still at the top, but a very close second and third place is strangulation and stabbing, of which both rank considerably lower in black victims. With stabbing, many of the victims were stabbed over ten times, with some even receiving over 80 stab wounds. The bottom line is black serial killers that choose white victims have a higher chance to rape, torture, and overkill their victims. Some may think that’s a racist proposition, but the reality is police reports and court records don’t make these tales up. In the words of many of these killers, I’ve recorded many quotes of their hatred of whites, with some that have a goal in life to free black people from the oppression of whites via exterminating as many whites as they can. As appalling as this is, it’s never presented by the media, but is covered in depth in my book.
Other Things Discussed
When I had finished my research I noticed a trend of both whites and blacks holding fairly steady numbers from 1860 to the 1940s. From 1950 until 1980, both races saw every decade hit a new level of total killers, sometimes increasing by over 300% every decade. As with other researchers I was curious at what the causations were in the rising trend. While other researchers have already done a great job finding these causes, most of these researchers assumed whites make up the majority of serial killers. Therefore the causes that might motivate whites may be a non-factor for blacks. So I began looking at the spikes in black serial killers, specifically year by year, and what areas of the country they were popping up most frequently. Here is the list of the major contributing factors I’ve found that have had little to no effect as a motivator for white serial killers. Each of these is discussed fully in my book, but for sake of space I’ll leave it at just the list.
- Reconstruction of the South after the end of the War Between the States
The Civil Rights Movement
The rise of violent black criminal gangs
Violent gangster rap
Aside from this, I also delve extensively into the disparity between reporting on black serial killers versus whites. I pull from a variety of sources, comparing the media’s coverage of serial killers of both races. Additionally, I pit the reporting of the deaths of James Byrd and James McDonald at the hands of white men, as well as the tale of Rodney King; by comparing examples of whites being lynched by blacks, where little to no coverage was given. The difference is alarming.
Another interesting thing my research turned up was 89 serial killers that were convicted for murder, but after release from prison murdered again. Some of these killers have been released on murder charges on two separate cases, only to kill again; while two of these men served sentences for murder four times, only to murder after each release. I briefly tell of their crimes, give the dates of their imprisonment, and when they murdered. Coupled with this section, is a list of serial killers that have had their sentences reduced, and when they’ll be up next for parole. One of the primary motivators I’ve uncovered for this problem, is black serial killers claiming the system is racist, of which unfortunately has helped more than one get a reduced sentence. While the list is extensive, it’s probably not complete and will likely grow in a future edition.
There are many other things I’ve found, like the number of killers that committed rape, dabbled in cannibalism, preformed necrophilia, over-killed or tortured their victims, as well as recording weird quirks some of the killers had (one thought he was invisible because of a witch doctor’s spell!). I also compare the average number of kills between black and white serial killers, and even give examples of blacks lynching whites, including one that hanged his female victims to death—yet his story has never been told.
As aforementioned the information is far too extensive to reiterate in an article, as it took 480 pages to give the full depth view of my research. I hope you’ll take the time to read the first chapter of my book HERE, and tell me what you think. If you’re financially able, buy a copy for your library, or send one to a friend. My wish isn’t to get rich telling this story, I want the scales balanced and the stories of these killers told, for the sake of 5,100 or so victims that died at their hands. May they rest in peace.
http://www.phinehasfury.com/2012/03/441/#more-441