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The Cleveland Torso Murderer (also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) was an unidentified serial killer active in the Cleveland, Ohio, area in the early 20th century. The official toll of the murderer was 12, killed between 1935 to 1938, but some believe that there may have been as many as 40+ victims in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, area between the 1920s and the 1950s. Two strong candidates for addition to the list of those killed are the unknown victim nicknamed the Lady of the Lake, found on September 5, 1934, and Robert Robertson, found on July 22, 1950.
The victims were usually drifters whose identities were never determined, although there are several exceptions to this (victims number 2, 3, and 8 were identified as: Edward Andrassy, Flo Polillo and possibly Rose Wallace, respectively). Invariably, all the victims, male and female, appeared to be from the lower classes of society—easy prey in Depression-era Cleveland.
The Torso Murderer always beheaded and often dismembered his victims, sometimes also cutting the torso in half. Most of the male victims were castrated, and some victims showed evidence of chemical treatment of their bodies. Many of the victims were found a considerable period after their deaths, sometimes a year or more, which made identification nearly impossible, especially since the heads were often not found.
More on [ Cleveland Torso Murderer ]
History :: Society and Culture
Unsolved :: Crime
Ness, Eliot :: People
Corroborating Evidence - William T. Rasmussen attempts to link the Cleveland Torso Murderer to other murders across the US, including the Black Dahlia killing.
Meta Description: [ Corroborating Evidence by William T. Rasmussen. Evidence
supporting the connections between the Cleveland Torso murders, the murders of socialite
Georgette Bauerdorf, Josephine Ross, Frances Brown, Suzanne Degnan, Elizabeth Short, The Black
Dahlia, Jeanne Axford, and others. A True Crime Story. ]
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Dead Men Do Tell Tales - Illustrated recounting of the Kingsbury Run murders.
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Torso Murders - Brief illustrated overview.
James Jessen Badal Interview - Interview with the author of The Wake of the Butcher, a 2001 book about the murders.
Kingsbury Run - Dead Ohio presents the story of the murders.
The Kingsbury Run Murders - Detailed overview with photographs, from the Cleveland Police Museum.
The Kingsbury Run Murders or Cleveland Torso Murders - Author Marilyn Bardsley explores the history and identity of the serial killer who baffled Eliot Ness.
Meta Description: [ Eliot Ness, head of the Cleveland Police Department in the late 1930s, chased the elusive Cleveland Torso Murderer, a fiendish serial killer also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run. Author Marilyn Bardsley uncovered the identity of the killer who Ness kept secret for many decades. ]
Wikipedia: Cleveland Torso Murderer - Entry from publicly editable encyclopedia. Includes speculation about the killer's identity and possible additional victims.
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