Arthur Shawcross | |
Mug shot of Shawcross |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Arthur John Shawcross |
Also known as |
The Genesee River Killer, The Rochester Strangler |
Born |
June 6, 1945 Kittery, Maine |
Died | November 10, 2008(aged 63) |
Conviction |
Arson, Burglary, Manslaughter, Second degree murder |
Sentence | Life in prison without parole |
Killings | |
Number of victims | 14 |
Country | United States |
State(s) |
Rochester, New York Watertown, New York |
Date apprehended | January 5, 1990 |
# | Name | Age | Disappeared | Discovered |
1. | Dorothy "Dotsie" Blackburn | 27 | March 18, 1988 | March 24, 1988 |
2. | Anna Marie Steffen | 28 | July 9, 1988 | September 11, 1988 |
3. | Dorothy Keeler | 59 | July 29, 1989 | October 21, 1989 |
4. | Patricia "Patty" Ives | 25 | September 29, 1989 | October 27, 1989 |
5. | June Stott | 30 | October 23, 1989 | November 23, 1989 |
6. | Marie Welch | 22 | November 5, 1989 | January 5, 1990 |
7. | Frances "Franny" Brown | 22 | November 11, 1989 | November 15, 1989 |
8. | Kimberly Logan | 30 | November 15, 1989 | November 15, 1989 |
9. | Elizabeth "Liz" Gibson | 29 | November 25, 1989 | November 27, 1989 |
10. | Darlene Trippi | 32 | December 15, 1989 | January 5, 1990 |
11. | June Cicero | 34 | December 17, 1989 | January 3, 1990 |
12. | Felicia Stephens | 20 | December 28, 1989 | December 31, 1989 |
All the victims were murdered in Monroe County, except for Gibson, who was killed in neighboring Wayne County. The retired detective Robert Keppel has argued that the detectives investigating the case over-relied on the concept of modus operandi, at times searching for multiple suspects due to small differences in the profiles of each victim.
June Cicero's body was discovered by aerial surveillance on January 3, 1990.
Shawcross was spotted by the surveillance team (and by an eyewitness) standing near his car, apparently urinating, on a bridge over Salmon Creek; upon whose frozen waters the body of his final victim was dumped.He was stopped in Spencerport, New York on January 3, 1990, taken into custody and was later arrested. Shawcross eventually confessed in custody.
On October 29 and 30, 1990, Dr. Jerid M. Fisher, Forensic Neuropsychologist, saw Shawcross at Neurorehab Associates, Inc. for an evaluation. Dr. Fisher was asked to assess Arthur Shawcross' neuropsychological status and whether a brain injury could account for his criminal behavior. Shawcross’ defense attorney later decided not to call Dr. Fisher at the time of the trial.
Trial and conviction
In November 1990, Shawcross was tried by Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Charles J. Siragusa for the 10 murders in Monroe County. Shawcross pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with testimony from psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis that he suffered from multiple personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and possible child abuse.[citation needed] Shawcross, who had served in Vietnam with the 4th Supply and Transport Company of the 4th Infantry Division,[19] had told many outlandish tales of committing gruesome crimes (including cannibalism), often perpetrated while alone in the jungle.From the time Shawcross returned from his tour of duty, he told acquaintances of seeing American soldiers "skinned from their neck to their ankles",and claimed to have decapitated two women he had victimized, "placing" their heads on poles. FBI criminal profiler Robert K. Ressler reviewed the PTSD claim on behalf of the prosecution before the trial. Ressler wrote that "his claim of having witnessed wartime atrocities was patently outrageous and untrue."Prosecution psychiatrist Dr Park Dietz said Shawcross had antisocial personality disorder.Shawcross was found guilty of 10 counts of second degree murder, and was sentenced to 250 years to life in prison for the Monroe County killings.
A few months later, Shawcross was taken to Wayne County to be tried for Gibson's murder. He pleaded guilty and was given a life sentence.
In 1992, true crime author Joel Norris wrote a book about the case. The paperback came with a tape that contained "the live confessions of Arthur Shawcross and his hideous crimes!" This drew some criticism that Norris was sensationalizing the case.
Imprisonment
Shawcross with his daughter (left) and granddaughter at theSullivan Correctional Facility, 2002
Shawcross was held at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York, until he died on November 10, 2008 at the Albany Medical Center.
In 2003, Shawcross was interviewed by British reporter Katherine English for a documentary on cannibalism. Shawcross bragged about slicing out and eating the vaginas of three victims, but refused to discuss his earlier claim of eating the genitals of his first victim, Jack Blake.
In 2006, Shawcross was interviewed by Columbia University forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Stone for the Discovery Channelseries Most Evil. In the interview, Arthur Shawcross claimed to have been sexually abused as a child by his mother, and also admitted sexually abusing his younger sister as a child. He also claimed to murder the prostitutes in revenge for supposedly having sex with an HIV-positive prostitute, and to eat the body parts in order to speed up the process of death (he had assumed he was infected). Stone agreed with the jury's conclusion and did not believe Shawcross' claims of being out of control during the prostitute murders.
Death
Officials said Shawcross complained of a pain in his leg on the afternoon of November 10, 2008, his date of death. He was taken to Albany Medical Center, where he went into cardiac arrest. Shawcross died at 9:50 p.m.
Arthur Shawcross was privately cremated.
References to Arthur Shawcross in popular media
•On their 1992 album Tomb of the Mutilated, American death metal band Cannibal Corpse features a song called "Addicted to Vaginal Skin", in which there is an intro that uses an excerpt from the interview with Arthur Shawcross and Katherine English.
•Featured in 2012 on Investigation Discovery television show Evil, I episode 1, "Body Snatcher".