"The Dark Strangler" by Earl Leonard Nelson

Sometimes people commit such monstrous acts that they become an inspiration for horror creators. Thus, the master of the genre Alfred Hitchcock wrote the script for the film "Shadow of a Doubt", impressed by the "deeds" of serial killer Earl Leonard Nelson. Although the atrocities of this murderer, rapist, gerontophile and necrophile would be enough for a whole series.

Earl Nelson is considered to be the maniac who opened the count of serial killers in the United States in the 20th century. He was born on May 12, 1897 in San Francisco to a prostitute and an alcoholic. His parents quickly left this world: his father died of alcoholism, and his mother of syphilis. The orphaned boy was taken in by his strict grandmother, who tried to instill Christian values in him, but to no avail.

At the age of ten, Earl crashed his bicycle into a streetcar and hit his head hard. After that, the boy lay in a coma for 6 days, and no one hoped that he would survive. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, young Nelson came to his senses. The already not very bright son of his parents suffered serious damage and ended up in a mental hospital. In a special clinic in the city of Napa, the boy was treated, but he was never the same again.

Earl began to have uncontrollable mood swings. He would either fall into a stupor or start having uncontrollable fun. Sometimes he would seem quite normal, but then, suddenly, he would start shouting out Bible quotations that he had learned with his grandmother, interspersed with foul language. Earl would also often talk to invisible interlocutors. By that time, he had already been expelled from school for poor academic performance, and the boy went downhill.

As a teenager, Earl became a regular at pubs and brothels. While his peers were still gnawing at the granite of science, Nelson had already contracted a venereal disease. But despite the injury, illness and lifestyle, Earl grew up a strong and agile young man. In bars, he often argued with visitors for drinks and walked on his hands or performed acrobatic tricks.

Earl Nelson's first prison sentence came in 1915, when he was 18. He broke into a cabin he claimed was abandoned. For this, he was sentenced to a year in the notorious San Quentin prison. After his release, Nelson was jailed again, this time for theft. This time, he was given only six months, after which Earl committed a burglary in Los Angeles.

As a repeat offender, Nelson was given a significant prison term, but escaped after five months. To escape justice, Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917. But the strict discipline quickly wore him down, and he deserted after a month and a half. Nelson subsequently enlisted in various units several more times, but always escaped, except for the last time.

Private Nelson was taken from his unit in the United States Navy by corpsmen to be taken to a mental hospital. His commanding officer decided it was best for the boy who saw demons telling him to kill himself. At the hospital, Earl quickly earned the nickname "Houdini" because he was constantly escaping in the most intricate ways.

When Earl Nelson escaped again, he was simply discharged in absentia and no one looked for him again. This happened in May 1919. Freed from supervision, Nelson got a job as a janitor at St. Mary's Hospital, using someone else's documents in the name of Evan Louis Fuller.

At the hospital, 22-year-old Earl Nelson met 60-year-old administrator Mary Martin. Despite the significant age difference, they got married. But the marriage was short-lived: after only six months, Mary began to fear her husband because of his strange behavior, perverted sexual inclinations, and constant beatings. Eventually, she decided to end the relationship.

After the divorce, Earl quit the hospital and got a job as a plumber in an apartment on Pacific Avenue. He chose this place for a reason - he had been watching 12-year-old schoolgirl Mary Summers for several days, whom he wanted to rape. The girl lived in those very apartments. Seizing the moment, the rapist attacked the child, but Mary began to scream, and her older brother rushed to her aid.

The maniac had to retreat, but a few hours later he was detained by police officers in a tram. An examination found Nelson insane and he was returned to the mental hospital in Napa, which he knew well from childhood. Earl stayed there until 1925. He tried to escape twice, but the hospital staff had already studied his behavior too well, and both attempts failed.

Once free, Earl Nelson, who had completely gone crazy, began to attack women. His first victim in early 1926 was 60-year-old landlady Clara Newman. The maniac came to her under the guise of a tenant and called himself Roger Wilson. As soon as Newman lost her vigilance, he attacked her and strangled her. After that, Earl had sexual intercourse with the corpse and hid it in the back room of the house.

After the murder, Nelson left San Francisco for San Jose. There, three weeks later, he killed and raped 63-year-old Laura Beall. Returning to his hometown, two months later, Earl killed 63-year-old Lillian St. Mary. Two weeks later, he attacked 53-year-old boarding house owner Ollie Russell right in her establishment.

A month later, 52-year-old Mary Nisbet died at Nelson's hands in Oakland. In the fall of 1926, the killer moved to Portland. There, he immediately found a new victim - 35-year-old Beata Withers. He committed the crime at the woman's home and hid her body in a suitcase in the attic. Just a day later, death overtook Virginia Grant, 53. The maniac lured her into an empty house. The woman's body was found in the basement behind the stove.

After a two-day break, Nelson killed Mabel Fluke, strangling her with a scarf in her own home. Having left a considerable mark in Portland, Earl returned to San Francisco. He marked his arrival with a murder followed by rape. This time, 56-year-old Anna Edmonds fell into his hands.

Less than 24 hours later, Nelson attacked a 28-year-old pregnant woman named Murray. The maniac strangled her and raped her, but this time the victim survived. Moreover, she remembered the attacker's appearance well. The serial killer always acted the same way - strangled his victims and then had sex with the corpse. The cops already knew that this was the work of one person. Now they had his description.

Ten days later, Nelson showed up in Portland again and killed Blanche Myers at her home. Here he made another mistake, and the police found his fingerprint. The ring around the maniac was tightening, but he did not know it and continued killing. In Portland, the police offered a reward for anyone who could help find the killer. Journalists called the maniac the "Dark Strangler" and "Gorilla", since the police found that he had extremely strong hands.

In the first few days, police received more than 1,000 calls from the public. One of them was particularly helpful. The owner of a hotel reported that a suspicious man had recently stayed with her. He introduced himself as Adrian Harris and paid for a few days' stay. But on the day of Myers' murder, the man suddenly moved out, although he could have stayed for two more days.

The stranger was kind and even gave the owner some beautiful trinkets. However, what the woman thought was cheap costume jewelry turned out to be jewelry that belonged to Florence Monks, who had been murdered and raped in Seattle. After this, the police asked all housewives in the United States to be extremely careful and not let strangers into their homes.

But Earl Nelson was unstoppable. He hitchhiked or rode trains from state to state, killing again and again. In December 1926, he strangled 41-year-old Almira Berard with a shirt in Iowa. Then he killed 23-year-old Bonnie Pace and 28-year-old Germany Harpin in Kansas City. Harpin had her 8-month-old baby in the house with her, and Nelson killed her too.

In April, Nelson showed up in Philadelphia, where he murdered, raped, and robbed 53-year-old Mary McConnell. From the crime scene, he went to a pawn shop to pawn his jewelry, but was turned down. In May 1926, Earl, calling himself Charles Harrison, rented a room from Jennie Randolph in Buffalo, New York. Three days later, the 53-year-old woman's body, showing signs of abuse, was found under her bed. Once again, there was a witness. Mr. Harrison caught the eye of the dead woman's brother.

But Nelson was already in Detroit. On the first day of summer in 1926, he checked into a boarding house and immediately killed the manager Fannie Mae and one of the guests named Maureen Athorty. Two days later, he knocked on the door of 27-year-old Mary Cecilia Sietsem, already in Chicago. The woman opened the door, and the maniac killed and raped her. In the victim's house, Earl made off with men's things - Mary's husband turned out to be his build.

On June 8, 1927, 14-year-old Lola Cowan, a flower seller, disappeared in Winnipeg, Canada. She went door-to-door, offering her wares to residents. Her body was soon found under a bed in a boarding house. The room was rented by a man who matched the description of Earl Nelson.

Two days later, Emily Patterson died. She was murdered in her home, raped, and her body was hidden in her son's bedroom under the child's bed. Luckily, the child was at school at the time. In the victim's house, the killer made off with $70, a gold ring, a man's suit, and a Bible. Earl sold the loot through a local jewelry store and a second-hand shop. Their owners later identified the maniac.

On June 12, 1927, after the mutilated body of young Lola Cowan was found in a hotel room, the Winnipeg police and city council announced a large reward of $1,500 for information about the killer. There were many people who had seen and heard something. But the killer seemed to have disappeared into thin air. The Canadian police sent a request to their colleagues in the United States, suspecting that the maniac had left the country.

On June 16, in the Canadian town of Killarney, the police arrested a man named Virgil Wilson, who matched the description of the wanted man. But he behaved so calmly and affably that the police were almost sure that they were mistaken. But to clarify all the circumstances, he was placed in a local jail. As is known, Earl Nelson had the nickname "Houdini". And it is not surprising - after a few hours, he easily escaped from the provincial jail.

The bloody orgy could have continued if not for an accident. After escaping, the maniac boarded a train, where he was accidentally discovered by police officers who were participating in the raid. Nelson was detained and taken to Winnipeg. There, his fingerprints were taken and photographs were taken. This time, there was no doubt - the one they were looking for had been detained.

The trial of the serial killer was scheduled for June 27, 1927, but it had to be postponed due to the intervention of Nelson's ex-wife, Mary Martin. She presented certificates confirming his complete insanity. But the trial still took place on November 1, 1927. The trial heard the testimony of more than 60 witnesses. On November 5, the maniac was sentenced to death by hanging.

Before the execution, Nelson was visited by relatives of his victims. But even in the last hours of his life, he staged a farce, continuing to claim that he was being unfairly accused of other people's crimes. Incidentally, the rope almost missed Earl's neck. Nelson's lawyer filed an appeal at the end of 1927, attaching certificates from mental hospitals. But the police experts fundamentally did not confirm the diagnosis, and the sentence remained in force.

On January 13, 1928, Earl Nelson was taken to the Vaughan Street Jail in Winnipeg to be executed. He continued to maintain his innocence and before he died, he said, "I forgive those who have wronged me." At noon, the rope was tied around the scoundrel's neck.