Earle Nelson

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Earle Leonard Nelson (born May 12, 1897 in San Francisco , † January 13, 1928 in Winnipeg ) was an American serial killer . Also known as The Dark Strangler (dt .: The Dark Strangler ) or Gorilla killer called Nelson killed between February 1926 and June 1927 at least 22 women.

Life

Nelson was born in San Francisco in 1897, the only child of James Ferrel and Frances Nelson. Frances Nelson died of syphilis ten months after his birth , and James Ferrel also died of the disease seven months later. Nelson was placed in the care of his maternal grandparents and grew up among the devout Puritans .

Nelson was first noticed in May 1918 when he entered a house on the pretext of being the plumber and molested a twelve-year-old girl there. The girl called for help and Nelson escaped after a brief fight with the girl's brother. He was arrested that evening, but because of his behavior he was taken to a mental institution, Napa State Hospital. Nelson escaped from this several times and married Mary Martin, 36 years his senior, during his escape. The marriage ended in divorce after just six months.

The murders

The number of women killed by Nelson ranged from 21 to 26, mostly of 22 women murdered. In February 1926 Nelson strangled 62-year-old Clara Newman in San Francisco . Newman is believed to be Nelson's first victim. Occasionally, however, the very similar murders of Olla McCoy, Mae Murray and Lillian Weiner in October and November 1925 in Philadelphia are ascribed to him. McCoy, Murray and Weiner, like Newman, were strangled and sexually assaulted after death . Nelson traveled through California and murdered other women on the way, all of whom had in common that they rented rooms. He murdered in San José , Santa Barbara and Oakland and then moved on to the state of Oregon . Nelson killed three women there within three days and continued his journey. In December 1926 he first murdered a 23-year-old woman in Kansas City, three days later he strangled Germania Harpin and killed her eight-month-old son Robert. Nelson traveled to Canada via Chicago and Detroit , where he killed 14-year-old Lola Cowan in Winnipeg in June 1927 . Less than 24 hours after Cowan's murder, he slew and raped his last victim, Emily Patterson. He then went to a hairdresser, who noticed dried blood in Nelson's hair. He was identified on the basis of a profile and then arrested.

The process

Using a nail file, Nelson broke the lock on his cell in Killarney prison and escaped. He was caught again just 12 hours later. The trial for the murder of Emily Patterson began on November 1, 1927. Nelson pleaded insanity but was sentenced to death by hanging anyway . The sentence was carried out in Winnipeg on January 13, 1928.

Hans-Dieter Otto classifies the case as a miscarriage of justice because, in his opinion, Nelson was clearly mentally ill.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hans-Dieter Otto, Das Lexikon der Justizirrtäne , Ullstein, 2003, ISBN 3548364535 , p. 372/373.
  2. ↑ Michael Newton: The great encyclopedia of serial killers ; Stocker, Graz, 2002, ISBN 3-85365-189-5 ; P. 287.
  3. ↑ Mark Gribben: Earle Leonard Nelson: The Dark Strangler , Crime Library, accessed August 9, 2011.
  4. ↑ Dirk Cameron Gibson: Serial murder and media circuses ; Praeger, 2006; ISBN 0-275-99064-8 ; P. 32; here online at books.google, accessed on August 9, 2011.
  5. ↑ Dirk Cameron Gibson: Serial murder and media circuses ; Praeger, 2006; ISBN 0-275-99064-8 ; P. 31; here online at books.google, accessed on August 9, 2011.
  6. ↑ a b Michael Newton: The great encyclopedia of serial killers ; Stocker, Graz, 2002, ISBN 3-85365-189-5 ; P. 288.
personal data
SURNAME Nelson, Earle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nelson, Earle Leonard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 1928
Place of death Winnipeg