The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (59 page)

blamed the crimes on Cleveland’s butcher, tracing the In 2002, author James Badal identified Eliot Ness’s movements of the boxcars to pinpoint the murders in prime suspect as Dr. Francis Edward Sweeney, a Cleve-Youngstown, Ohio, during December 1939.

land physician born in May 1894. Sweeney served in Journalist Oscar Fraley, in his book 4 Against the World War I and was discharged from the U.S. Army Mob, contends that Eliot Ness—then Cleveland’s direc-with a notation that he was “25% disabled.” He stud-tor of public safety—not only identified the Mad ied medicine in St. Louis, returned to Cleveland follow-Butcher in 1938, but also brought him to a semblance ing his 1928 graduation, and was licensed to practice in of justice. Tagged with the pseudonym of “Gaylord Ohio on January 8, 1929. Sweeney’s wife committed Sundheim,” the suspect was described as a homosexual him for treatment of alcoholism in December 1933, and premed student and member of a prominent Cleveland he was discharged a month later. The court dismissed a family. Interrogated by Ness in autumn 1938, “Sund-second petition to have him committed, and Mrs.

heim” allegedly escaped prosecution by committing Sweeney filed for divorce in September 1934 (granted in himself to a mental hospital, where he died around 1936). Court-ordered psychiatric examinations per-1940 or ’41. In the interim, he tormented Ness with a formed in February and April 1938, at the behest of a barrage of obscene, menacing notes, which terminated medical colleague and Sweeney’s sister, found Sweeney with his death.

sane. Ness’s description of his unnamed suspect The tale deserves consideration, inasmuch as Ness matched Sweeney in some respects—married to a nurse, preserved the “greeting cards”—all carefully anony-related to a congressman—but nothing connects him mous—and they are viewable in Cleveland archives.

directly to the murders. Sweeney committed himself to But do taunting notes provide a viable solution to the a veteran’s hospital in August 1938, emerged briefly in torso murders? Why did experts on the case insist the 1939, then returned to custodial care in August 1939.

Butcher claimed three victims in December 1939, when He proved a bothersome patient, described by an FBI

“Sundheim” had been out of circulation for a year or file as “constantly in trouble” with hospital authorities more? If Ness was certain of the killer’s whereabouts, until his death in July 1964. Perhaps significantly, that why did he allow “suspect” Frank Dolezal to be abused date conflicts with Ness’s public claims that his name-

(and possibly murdered) by sheriff’s officers in 1939? If less suspect died in the 1940s.

the case was solved in 1938, why did Detective Merylo pursue the Butcher into retirement, blaming his elusive quarry for more than 50 murders by 1947? Tantalizing
MALVO, Lee Boyd, and MUHAMMAD, John Allen

as it is, the Fraley story falls apart on close examina-In the wake of terrorist attacks that claimed nearly tion, failing every test of common sense.

3,000 victims on September 11, 2001, residents of There is a grisly postscript to the Butcher’s story. On Washington, D.C., and environs were naturally fright-July 23, 1950, a man’s headless body, emasculated and ened by the prospect of further attacks. That nightmare dismembered, was found in a Cleveland lumberyard, a came to life in October 2002, with a series of deadly few miles from Kingsbury Run. The missing head sniper attacks that panicked the U.S. capital and spread turned up four days later, and the victim was identified ripples of fear nationwide.

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The killing spree began, ironically, with a wild shot serial murder to request FBI assistance on the case, but that struck no one. At 5:20 P.M. on October 2, 2002, a G-men had no magic recipe for capturing the killer. An rifle bullet drilled the display window of a Michael’s unnamed suspect “of previous interest” was detained craft store in Aspen Hill, Maryland, without hitting any for questioning on October 9, but the sniper struck shoppers. Forty-four minutes later, 55-year-old James again while he was still in custody.

Martin was killed in the parking lot of a Shoppers Food The latest victim was 53-year-old Dean Meyers, Warehouse in Wheaton, Maryland, 15 miles north of killed with a single shot while he pumped gas at a filling Washington. Officers rushed from the Wheaton police station outside Manassas, Virginia. Prince William station, directly opposite the shooting scene, but Martin County police chief Charles Deane initially told was already dead, his killer nowhere in sight.

reporters that the crime “appears to be consistent with The sniper rested overnight, then returned to action the other shootings in the region,” then declared on at 7:41 A.M. on October 3. His next shot killed 39-year-October 10 that ballistics had scored another match to old landscaper James Buchanan while he was mowing the elusive sniper’s weapon. At the same time, FBI grass at the Fitzgerald Auto Mall in White Flint, Mary-agents released their first composite drawing in the case, land. At 8:12 A.M., another rifle slug killed Premkumar depicting a white minivan or “box truck” allegedly seen Walekar, a 54-year-old taxi driver, while he filled his near the site of the shooting. Chief Deane appealed in cab’s tank at a gas station in Aspen Hill, Maryland.

vain for the killer to desist, airing a plea that “There’s Twenty-five minutes later, the gunman shot and killed enough damage been done.”

34-year-old Sarah Ramos outside a post office in Silver The sniper obviously disagreed. On October 11, 53-Spring. Twenty-five-year-old Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera year-old Kenneth Bridges was killed by a single gun-was killed at 9:58 A.M. while pumping gas at a station shot while filling his car’s gas tank at a station near in Kensington, Maryland. The day’s last victim, 72-Fredericksburg, Virginia. Three days later, the killer year-old Pascal Charlot, was gunned down on a Wash-struck again. Linda Franklin, a 47-year-old employee ington street corner, near the Montgomery County of the FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center, (Maryland) line, shortly before 10 P.M. The sniper’s first was killed by a single shot at 9:15 A.M. on October 14

survivor, Caroline Seawell, was wounded on October 4

outside a Home Depot store near Falls Church, Vir-in the parking lot of a Michael’s craft store outside ginia. After that murder, state authorities told Fredericksburg, Virginia.

reporters, “There’s some pretty decent eyewitness Ballistics experts soon reported that the same .223-information that maybe we haven’t had in some of the caliber rifle was used in five of the shootings, but that previous shootings.” Specifically, bystander Matthew revelation brought police no closer to the gunman. A Dowdy described an “olive-skinned” gunman fleeing late-night alert for a burgundy Chevrolet Caprice led the scene in “a cream-colored Chevrolet Astro van officers to one such car, abandoned and burned on the with a burned-out taillight,” but the lead proved false.

outskirts of Washington, but detectives never deter-On October 18, police jailed Dowdy for filing a false mined whether the vehicle had any link to the shoot-report.

ings. At day’s end, Montgomery County police chief On October 18, retired FBI profiler ROBERT K.

Charles Moose could only say, “We do have someone RESSLER appeared on Larry King’s CNN talk show, pre-that so far has been very accurate in what they are dicting that the sniper might travel as far south as Rich-attempting to do. We probably have a skilled shooter mond, Virginia, and perhaps “down to Ashland

and that heightens concern.” Hasty attempts at PROFIL-

[Virginia].” One day later, a 37-year-old man was shot ING described the shooter as a random “thrill seeker”

and wounded outside a Ponderosa restaurant in Ash-devoid of rational MOTIVES.

land, 90 miles south of Washington, D.C. While critics Concern moved closer to panic on October 7, when raged against the media for “giving a madman ideas,”

13-year-old Iran Brown was shot outside his school in Chief Moose released a cryptic message via the media in Bowie, Maryland. Brown survived his chest wound to Maryland: “To the person who left us a message at the become the sniper’s second “failure.” Patrolmen found Ponderosa last night. You gave us a telephone number.

the death card from a tarot deck lying near a spent rifle We do want to talk to you. Call us at the number you cartridge in a patch of woods 150 yards from the provided. Thank you.” The plea brought a response by school. Inscribed on the card was a handwritten mes-telephone, but it was garbled. On October 21, Chief sage: “Dear policeman, I am God.” Chief Moose wept Moose again used television cameras to address the as he told reporters, “All of our victims have been inno-killer: “The person you called could not hear everything cent and defenseless, but now we’re stepping over the you said. The audio was unclear and we want to get it line. Shooting a kid—it’s getting to be really, really per-right. Call us back so that we can clearly understand.”

sonal now.” Moose invoked a new federal statute on That same afternoon, police arrested two passengers of
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MALVO, Lee Boyd, and MUHAMMAD, John Allen

An FBI visual information specialist (center) gestures as he testifies in front of a model of the Chevrolet Caprice trunk in which sniper John Allen Muhammad was captured. The model shows the modifications that were made so that the sniper could shoot while undetected in the trunk. (AP Photo/Tracy Woodward, Pool) a white van in Henrico County, Virginia, but they rented home, announcing that they wished to run ballis-proved to be illegal immigrants with no connection to tics tests related to the sniper case. That same day, a call the case.

to the sniper hotline claimed credit for a September 21

A note found near the Ashland shooting scene raged shooting that killed 52-year-old Claudine Parker and at “incompetent” police and warned: “Your children wounded 24-year-old Kellie Adams at a liquor store in are not safe anywhere at any time.” That threat Montgomery, Alabama. A magazine found at that crime prompted authorities to close 10 Richmond-area scene bore fingerprints identified as those of 41-year-old schools on October 22, and while that move relieved John Allen Muhammad (né Williams). On October 23

some local parents, it failed to stop the sniper. At 5:56

police in Maryland issued an arrest warrant for that morning, Conrad Johnson, a 35-year-old bus dri-Muhammad, citing federal weapons charges. A frequent ver, was shot and killed at a bus stop in Aspen Hill, traveling companion was identified as 17-year-old Lee Maryland. Ballistics confirmed the same gunman at Boyd Malvo, a Jamaican citizen. The two were spotted work. Police found another note at the scene, demand-at 1 A.M., sleeping in a car at a highway rest stop in ing that $10 million be wired to a domestic bank Frederick County, Maryland, and police swarmed the account. Chief Moose convened a press conference, scene to arrest them at 3:19 A.M. Ballistics tests matched advising the killer that his request was not “electroni-a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, found in Muhammad’s cally possible,” but he welcomed further negotiations.

car, to various bullets recovered from victims.

“We remain open and ready to talk to you about the Investigation of Muhammad’s background identified options you have mentioned,” Moose said. “It’s impor-him as a Louisiana native who converted to Islam and tant we do this without anyone else getting hurt. You changed his name in 1985. He subsequently served in indicated that this is about more than violence. We are the U.S. Army from November 1985 to April 1994, waiting to hear from you.”

including foreign service in the 1990 Gulf War.

On October 22, authorities in Tacoma, Washington, Muhammad was trained as a mechanic and truck dri-seized a bullet-riddled tree stump from the backyard of a ver, but he also won an expert marksmanship badge
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