Jerry Walter McFadden

Gerald "Jerry" Walter McFadden was an American serial killer and sex offender who was executed in 1999. Biography: Gerald Walter McFadden was born on March 21, 1948, in Haskell County Texas. Criminal Life: On May 4, 1986, McFadden kidnapped 20-year-old Gena Turner, 19-year-old Bryan Boone, and 18-year-old Suzanne Harrison as they took a trip to Lake Hawkins north of Tyler. McFadden raped and strangled Harrison and dumped her body in a park about 25 miles (40 km) from Lake Hawkins. She was found the next day. He was arrested on 6 May, after a police report from a couple he had attacked by the lake on the day of the murder. Three days later, the bodies of Boone and Turner were discovered, with gunshot wounds being the cause of death. McFadden had been convicted of rape three times between 1972 and 1978, but never had to serve his full sentence. He was released on parole in July 1985. There were several witnesses who had seen McFadden close to the scene of the crime on the day of the killings. Ammunition found in his possession was identified as the same ammunition used in the killings of Boone and Turner. DNA evidence was collected from the bodies at this time. On July 9, 1986, he overcame Kenneth Mayfield, a jailer, and escaped from the prison in Upshur County with Rosalie Williams, another guard, as a hostage. He was arrested two days later after the biggest fugitive hunt in Texas state history. In August 1986, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the escape. In July 1987, he was sentenced to death for the murder of 18-year-old Suzanne Harrison, 20-year-old Gina Turner and 19-year-old Bryan Boone. The Texas Appeals Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in November 1993. In October 1999, he was executed in the Huntsville Unit by lethal injection. In January 2019, McFadden was linked by DNA via GEDmatch to the July 24, 1979 murder of Anna Marie Hlavka; Anna was found dead by her sister inside her apartment. Police said Hlavka had been sexually assaulted and strangled with the electric cord from her clock radio. Timeline of crimes: -Sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1973 for two counts of rape. Paroled in December 1978. Committed July 24, 1979 murder of Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland, Oregon. Mcfadden was not identified as the killer until January 2019 using Genetic genealogy. -Convicted in 1979 of aggravated sexual abuse for kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman at knifepoint. Paroled in July 1985, having served less than five years of a 15-year sentence. -Arrested in May 1986 for the rape and murder of 18-year-old high school cheerleader Suzanne Harrison and the murder of 20-year-old Gena Turner and 19-year old Bryan Boone who were shot.

Disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick

The disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick occurred on New Year's Day 2008. At 10pm on that day, 15-year-old Irish girl Amy Fitzpatrick said goodbye to her friend Ashley Rose, with whom she had been babysitting Ashley's brother at a house in Mijas Costa in Málaga, Spain. Fitzpatrick should have arrived at her home a few minutes later, as it was only a short walk away. She never arrived home and has not been heard from or seen since that night. Initial search: Following her disappearance, a search involving hundreds of people was launched amidst speculation this was not an abduction. In August 2008, the home of Mahon and Fitzpatrick's lawyer in Riviera del Sol was broken into and a laptop that was used in the search for Fitzpatrick was stolen. In addition, Fitzpatrick's Nokia mobile phone was stolen. The 32-year-old lawyer, Juan José de la Fuente Teixidó, said the burglars got into his property by forcing a locked garden gate. He said: "The stolen documents included confidential police reports about Fitzpatrick's disappearance. I believe the burglary was related to Fitzpatrick's disappearance. It makes no sense that they took documents which financially are worthless, and left behind all my expensive valuables like TVs, computers and music equipment." Ransom demand: In June 2009, Audrey Fitzpatrick received a telephone call from a man claiming he knew the location of Amy Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick described the caller as having an African accent asking her if she was Fitzpatrick's mother. In an article published by expatriate newspaper Euro Weekly News Audrey said: He went on to say he knew where she was. She had been kidnapped and was in Madrid and the police were not to be involved. So I agreed, of course. He then said he'd ring me back with a name and address in two hours. Five hours later, after sitting with my phone in my hand and my heart in my mouth, I got a text to say, and I quote: 'Can you pay us 500,000 euro. Yes or no send your answer now and will send you all the info you need.' The phone number on this text is 672 564 687. I'll also give you the number he rang me on, too: 672 564 681. Audrey Fitzpatrick commented that the Guardia Civil and her private investigators followed up on these numbers, but they were both pre-pay, and had never been registered. Later investigations: Audrey Fitzpatrick has taken on private investigators who have been working on Fitzpatrick's case since 2008. They are the same detectives who investigated the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. In May 2012, it was reported that an Irish gangland killer, Eric "Lucky" Wilson, murdered her. Her parents believe that this particular piece of information is credible; however, a body is yet to be found. Amy was seen out with an older man on the night she disappeared who her family now believe was Wilson. A police report from May 2011, claims three witnesses have come forward alleging they saw Amy with a mystery blonde woman in the Trafalgar Bar in Calahonda's El Zoco centre hours after her previous last reported sighting. Amy's 23-year-old brother Dean Fitzpatrick was stabbed to death in Coolock, Dublin, in 2013 in an incident involving Dave Mahon, his mother's partner. On 6 May 2016, Dave Mahon was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of his stepson, Dean Fitzpatrick. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Missing Women Commission of Inquiry

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was a commission in British Columbia ordered by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on September 27, 2010, to evaluate the response of law enforcement to reports of missing and murdered women. The commission concluded its Inquiry in December 2012, and outlined 63 recommendations to the Provincial government and relevant law enforcement. The Inquiry itself received criticism from various civil society group and Indigenous communities, regarding its investigative structure, as well as, the lack of government action after the Inquiry to fulfill its recommendations. History: On December 9, 2007, Robert Pickton, a pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of six women. He was also charged in the deaths of an additional twenty women, many of them from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. These charges were, however, stayed by the Crown in 2010. In December 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years. It was the longest sentence then available under Canadian law for murder. Following Pickton's arrest, there was increased attention given to a prior attempted murder charge of a sex worker in March 1997. Pickton was alleged to have stabbed her several times during an altercation at the farm. The victim informed police that Pickton had handcuffed her, but that she escaped after suffering several lacerations, disarming him, and stabbing him with his weapon. The charge was dismissed in January 1998. The mandate of the commission included evaluating why the 1997 charges against Pickton were stayed. The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry had four mandates: -Evaluate the response of the police to reports of missing women from Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, -Evaluate the reasons for staying charges against Robert Pickton in January 1998, -Recommend changes regarding how missing women and suspected homicides are handled -Recommend changes to how cases are handled when they involve more than one investigating organization In 2012, the Commission issued a final report which included a number of recommendations. The commission closed its office on August 1 of the following year. The Inquiry and Overrepresentation of Indigenous Women: The Inquiry’s executive report notes that Indigenous women experience a “heightened vulnerability” to violence, disproportionally facing higher rates of violence with harsher severity. The Inquiry found Indigenous women alarmingly overrepresented in missing women cases, being approximately 33% of the cases, despite making up approximately 3% of the Province's total population. Additionally, the Inquiry found that Indigenous women have increased susceptibility to violence and other violent crimes such as “sexual assault, murder, and serial predation”. The Inquiry suggests a correlation between the increased risks of violence Indigenous women face to the systematic level of marginalization and inequality Indigenous women face within British Columbia, Canada, and globally. This systematic marginalization of Indigenous women throughout the Inquiry was linked to Canada’s colonial history, finding that such colonial links created an “unjust” relationship between the Canadian government and their Indigenous peoples. When considering the disproportionate number of Indigenous women represented in Inquiry, it condemned possible correlations between a women’s “high-risk lifestyle” to their “vulnerability to predation”. Beyond that, Indigenous women’s overrepresentation in missing women cases was considered “not within the mandate” of the Inquiry, and a matter better handled for Federal authority. Reaction to the Inquiry- From the Indigenous community: As an extension of The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was formed by the Government of Canada in September 2016. The Indigenous community and Canadian government have focused their attention on systemic causes of all forms of violence and institutional policies and practices implemented in response to violence. The community has been open, allowing anyone who has experienced violence to participate in the inquiry, from family member to survivors. Together, the inquiry went through a four part sequence to bring awareness to the issue. First, a Truth-Gathering Process to hear and share testimonies from participants, then involving experts such as elders, academics, legal experts, front line workers, young people, specialists and others to provide their recommendation on system causes of violence and possible solutions. Lastly, the report was presented to the National Inquiry. The Indigenous and local communities have engaged in multiple actions to raise awareness and ensure Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women receive the attention they deserve. In October 2020, Coalition on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls in B.C. demanded an action plan from provincial leaders. In an open letter, the coalition called on each party to commit to fully implement the recommendations from the Legal Strategy Coalition on Violence Against Indigenous Women (LSC); Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; the Path Forward Indigenous Women and Girls Safety Action Plan; the report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada; the report of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its Article 8 Inquiry into murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls in Canada; and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. From the community in British Columbia- SisterWatch/Project Sister Watch: SisterWatch was developed in collaboration with police and community to help address and respond to the remaining gaps in care for missing and murdered women in B.C. The committee has been working together since 2016 to eliminate violence against women and girls in Downtown Eastside Vancouver. The collaboration between police and the Indigenous community allows for two way information-sharing practices to support women. In addition to the committee of community leaders, Vancouver Police Department and members of the Women’s Memorial March Committee, The SisterWatch Tip Line is available for people to call who need support or know information about crimes against women. Project Rescue: Residents of downtown Vancouver noticed violent drug dealers were preying on addicted marginalized women. Police admitted they had heard anecdotal evidence of this, but cases were never reported. The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) arranged for a team of detectives to set up an investigation, for the first time in history, the VPD laid charged for criminal organization. The ongoing investigation was successfully in reducing the violence of marginalized women. Post Inquiry Actions: After the conclusion of the inquiry in 2012, two urgent outcomes and 63 separate recommendations to the BC government were made. Among these included recommendations for additional funding to centres providing services for sex workers, as well as enhanced public transit along highway 16, sections of which are where many of the missing and murdered women had been abducted from. Following the inquiry the provincial government took action on many of the recommendations of the report. Some of these commitments included the establishment of a compensation fund for children of missing and murdered women, funding for safer public transit along highway 16, and investments in community organizations to support sex workers. In the Ministry of Justice’s final update on the inquiry they stated that “action has been taken on over three quarters of the recommendations directed at the Province”. The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry and its consequences eventually gave way to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, sponsored by the Canadian federal government. This program began in 2016 with the goal of developing a more inclusive methodology as well as expanding the inquiry nationally. However this initiative has been criticized for similar reasons that the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry has. Criticism of the Inquiry: Following the release of the Inquiry in 2012, scholars, non-governmental organizations, the families of the missing women, and various Indigenous communities across British Columbia and Canada, spoke out against the Inquiry. A civil society response by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Pivot Legal Society, and West Coast LEAF deemed the Inquiry a keynote example of “what should not be done in conducting a public inquiry involving marginalized communities”, with multiple other grassroots and legal organizations sharing similar sentiments. While the critiques of the Inquiry varied, the three common criticisms emerged: the lack of community inclusion, inadequate investigative framework, and failures in addressing the underlying issues contributing to missing women. Lack of Community Inclusion: The lack of inclusion of the marginalized women and communities in focus is a common critique of the Inquiry. Many legal, human rights, and Indigenous organizations found the Inquiry’s limited representation of the population in question decreased its reliability and effectiveness. These groups found the Inquiry to be overly reliant on Western European traditions of study and investigation, hindering its ability from the start to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the issue. Additionally, many found the Inquiry’s mandate, directives, terms of references, processes, and recommendations to lack consideration and input from the community in question. Due to this lack of community inclusion, various groups found the Inquiry to be merely an application of governmental inquiry procedures, rather than a way to address and reduces the issue of missing women. Inadequate Framework: The Inquiry's framework design was criticized and was thought by many to hinder the effectiveness of the investigation. Input from relevant witnesses, families, and civil society organizations was limited due to a lack of proper funding for legal representation. When individuals were granted sufficient legal funding, they faced arguable legal misrepresentation, with the commission using just two lawyers to advocate for the diverse voices of impoverished communities and Indigenous people. Along with inadequate funding, the Inquiry's investigation was limited by government time constraints, reducing the full participation of marginalized individuals and relevant organizations, as well as, limiting the insight the Inquiry was able to gain. Many critics found the Inquiry was misled from the beginning, as the Commissioner of the Inquiry, Wally Oppal, previously expressed doubts about the usefulness of any inquiry regarding the issue of missing women and marginalized communities. Along with concerns regarding his openness to an inquiry, Oppal's position as Commissioner was further questioned in relation to his close ties to the ruling Liberal government, as he previously served as a Member of Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the Liberals. In addition to the Commissioner of the Inquiry presenting conflicting interests, legal rights groups found a number of the personnel tasked with conducting the inquiry had previous employment relations with Vancouver Police Department, arguably influencing the neutrality of the Inquiry. The Inquiry’s credibility was further questioned as lack of community inclusion funding resulted in the underrepresentation of community voices, favouring government, and police representation. Lack of Underlying Acknowledgment: Prior to the Inquiry’s publication, the commission garnered attention when Dr. Bruce Miller, a Canadian scholar who specializes in Canadian-Indigenous relations, had his report on systematic racism excluded from the Inquiry’s investigation. After the Inquiry was released to the public, it was seen that the issue and consequences of systemic racism were not considered or addressed in the Inquiry. Critics found the Inquiry selective of their background history, with deliberate ignorance of Canada’s colonial history and its modern implications of Indigenous communities, especially Indigenous women. Jodi Beniuk, an Indigenous scholar, deemed the Inquiry as a “public spectacle” used by the government and police authorities to regain institutional legitimacy. Many found the Inquiry’s choice, use, and reference to historical events, themes, and evidence to be supportive of government narratives, rather than critical of the government and police authorities' shortcomings. Chief Jackie Thomas of the Saik'uz First Nation rejected the inquiry entirely, viewing it as an attempt at "rewashing" the issue of missing women, failing to address both the individuals and underlying issues that contribute to the problem. Similar projects: The high profile of the BC investigation caused other Canadian jurisdictions to create new task forces to deal with missing persons cold cases. Often these cases involve marginalized women, including sex workers, drug users, and Aboriginals. In Manitoba, Project Devote was looking for 28 people as of 2012. Since 2003, Project KARE has been looking for "cases of murdered or missing high risk persons from all parts of Alberta".

Disappearance of Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos

Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos were two fourteen-year-old friends who vanished during a fishing trip on July 24, 2015 in Tequesta, Florida. Background: Cohen and Stephanos were avid fishermen and would go fishing at an area not far offshore. The two boys would routinely check in with their parents, every couple of hours. Stephanos's grandfather told reporters that his grandson had operated the boat about twenty times and that family members were comfortable with him operating the boat. About a week prior to the boys disappearance Stephanos had been stopped by a Marine Patrol Officer for a routine check, and all safety equipment mandated by Florida law was aboard the boat. On July 23, 2015, Cohen sent a message to another friend via Instagram that read; "Me and Austin are crossing to the Bahamas tomorrow. Come with us, we wouldn't check in." Another friend reportedly spoke to Stephanos about traveling to the Bahamas prior to their departure with Stephanos said that the weather was too rough. Cohen reportedly asked his step-father that night if he could borrow his GPS to use on Stephanos's boat. Disappearance: The night prior to their disappearance Cohen and Stephanos spent the night together at Stephanos's home before planning to go fishing the next morning, although Cohen had told a friend that they were planning to head to the Bahamas. On the morning of July 24, 2015, Cohen and Stephanos traveled to the Jupiter Island marina, to go fishing on an eighteen-foot, single engine 1978 SeaCraft that was registered to Stephanos's mother. They were last seen at the Jib and Yacht Club and Marina where they spent about $100 USD on gas and Stephanos texted his parents around 11:25 AM and they left the marina sometime before noon. Shortly after they left, a line of thunderstorms were documented moving towards the area, and the National Weather Service issued a special marine warning that warned of heavy rains and winds potentially in excess of 40 mph. It is believed that the boys were overtaken by the storm, as Stephanos's cellphone was disconnected from the Internet around 1:15 PM. His last social media post was from his Snapchat account, with one of the posts being the boys on the boat with fishing poles and a message stating; "Peace Out Jup", which friends claim meant the boys were going to the Bahamas. A friend told reporters that another post from that day from Stephanos's account was a video of the fast moving storm headed towards the boat, with the commentary; "We're f-cked". Search efforts: A fund was created in order to pay for private efforts of searching for the boys and thousands of dollars was raised within a few hours of the fund being created. Dozens of people, including NFL Hall-of-Famer Joe Namath, joined the search and participants followed shorelines and beaches looking for any debris washed ashore. Due to the vast sea area to be searched, multiple boats and aircraft were used to search for the missing boys. A Coast Guard C-130 airplane, a Miami helicopter crew, a HR 144 plane, two US Customs and Border Protection planes and two Coast Guard Cutters were used along with multiple private boaters and pilots offering their help. The search was made difficult as it was determined that the boat was not equipped with an emergency positioning beacon or any other safety equipment, such as a radio or GPS. The boat that the boys were operating was originally discovered on July 26, 2015 near Daytona Beach, Florida and the Coast Guard attached a data-marker buoy to the boat and left to continue to search for Cohen and Stephanos. It was re-discovered on March 18, 2016 about one-hundred-miles from Bermuda. An iPhone and other personal effects were found on board the boat. The search for the boys was called off on July 31, 2015. Investigation: Due to the storm that occurred shortly after the boys left the marina, while the boys were declared missing they were generally believed to be victims of the violent storm. However, with the rediscovering of the boat on March 18, 2016 the parents of Cohen believed that there was potentially additional information in the fate of the two boys. The boat was discovered to have the ignition and the battery switched to the Off position, which could potentially indicate foul play. However, as there is no other evidence of foul play all the items found in the boat were turned over to the boys' families, without investigation into the objects. Cohen's parents filed a lawsuit against an iPhone being returned to Stephanos's parents as they felt it would break the chain of custody and any evidence would be tainted by potential bias. Legal: In 2016, Cohen's parents filed a lawsuit to prevent an iPhone that was discovered in the boat being returned to Stephanos's family. Cohen's parents argued that the phone being returned to Stephanos's family would potentially taint any evidence found on the iPhone. Despite multiple motions for emergency injunction against the Stephanos family and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the phone was turned over to the Stephanos family. It was later sent to Apple per a judge's order to be investigated by the company for the court. In 2017, Cohen's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stephanos's family alleging that Stephanos and other family members were negligent for allowing the boys to venture into the Atlantic Ocean with an unworthy vessel and no communication devices on board. Specific charges were filed against Stephanos's father, William "Blu" Stephanos, who the Cohens alleged delayed rescue efforts by proper authorities by undertaking his own search instead of calling 911 when he learned of the boys' disappearance from his ex-wife. In September 2020, a Palm Beach County judge ruled that William "Blu" Stephanos was not liable in the disappearance of his son and Cohen. The judge stated that the personal search did not increase the boys' risk of harm, and that the risk the boys faced were the dangerous conditions at sea. Vigils and memorials: Shortly after their disappearance, a makeshift memorial was created out of seashells and candles to honor the boys. Artist Shepard Fairey painted a mural of Cohen at Jupiter High School in 2017. A statue to honor the boys and others lost at sea is too be installed at the south jetty of the Jupiter Inlet memorial sight, in a combined effort by the AustinBlu Foundation and the Jupiter Inlet District. The statue is being created by West Palm Beach artist Robert St. Croix. A teak plaque topped with a clear lighthouse inscribed with; "Keep the Light Shinning for Austin & Perry" was installed at the jetty, the lighthouse has a flashing LED light. The five year anniversary of their disappearance was marked in 2020, with both families engaging in separate memorials due to the ongoing legal battle. Legacy: Both families set up foundations in honor of their sons. The Perry J. Cohen Foundation has donated to local organizations and schools with the Jupiter High Schools new Wetlands Laboratory named after Cohen. The laboratory works with students in an outdoor environment to teach art, photography, environment, and agriculture students. The AustinBlu Foundation has held annual fishing tournaments and helped the "Beacon Bill" signed into state law in 2016, which helps boaters with registration fees for location beacons

Donald Henry Gaskins

Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr. (born Donald Henry Parrott Jr.) was an American serial killer, rapist, and cannibal from South Carolina. As a young man, Gaskins was repeatedly arrested for robbery and rape. In 1955, he escaped from prison and found work with a traveling carnival. Gaskins was charged in 1976 with eight charges of murder after an associate told police officers that he had confessed to multiple murders. Police found eight buried bodies on his property in Prospect, South Carolina. While awaiting the death sentence in prison, Gaskins killed a fellow inmate on death row with a small explosive. He was put to death on September 6, 1991. Early life: Gaskins was born in Florence County, South Carolina to Eulea Parrott, the last in a string of illegitimate children. He was small for his age and immediately gained the nickname "Pee Wee." As an adult, he was between 5' 4" and 5' 5" and weighed approximately 130 lbs (59 kg). Gaskins' early life was characterized by a great deal of neglect. When he was one year old, Gaskins drank a bottle of kerosene, which caused him to have convulsions until he was three years old. His mother apparently took so little interest in him that the first time he learned his given name—Donald—was when it was read out in his first court appearance, for a crime spree Gaskins committed along with a group of fellow delinquents which included robberies, assaults and a gang rape. Following his conviction for his role in the crime spree, Gaskins was sent to reform school. There, he was regularly raped by his fellow inmates. After escaping from the school, getting married and voluntarily returning to complete his sentence, he was released in 1951, at the age of 18. Gaskins briefly worked on a tobacco plantation until his 1953 arrest, after he attacked a teenage girl with a hammer for an alleged insult. Gaskins was sentenced to six years' imprisonment at the South Carolina Penitentiary. Being in prison, he earned his fellow prisoners' respect by killing the most feared man in the prison, Hazel Brazell. As a result, Gaskins received an extra three years in prison, but from that point on he became the aggressor instead of the victim. He escaped from prison in 1955 by hiding in the back of a garbage truck and fled to Florida, where he took employment with a traveling carnival. He was re-arrested, remanded to custody, and paroled in August 1961. Murders: Following his release from prison, Gaskins reverted to committing burglaries and fencing stolen property. Two years after his parole, he was arrested for the rape of a twelve-year-old girl, but he absconded while awaiting sentence. Gaskins was rearrested in Georgia and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. Gaskins was paroled again in November 1968. Upon his release, Gaskins moved to the town of Sumter and began work with a roofing company. Gaskins' first non-prison-related murder victim was a hitchhiker whom he tortured and murdered in September 1969, before sinking her body in a swamp. In his memoirs, he wrote: "All I could think about is how I could do anything I wanted to her." This hitchhiker was to be the first of many he picked up and killed while driving around the coastal highways of the American South. Gaskins classified these victims as "coastal kills": people, both male and female, whom he killed purely for pleasure, on average approximately once every six weeks, when he went hunting to quell his feelings of "bothersome-ness." He tortured and mutilated his victims, while attempting to keep them alive for as long as possible. He confessed to killing these victims using a variety of methods including stabbing, suffocation, mutilation, and even claimed to have cannibalized some of them. He later confessed to killing "eighty to ninety" such victims, although his claims to have committed any "coastal kills" have never been corroborated. In his memoirs, Gaskins claims to have committed coastal kills every six weeks, yet contradicts this claim later in the book by stating he felt the overpowering need to seek out and commit a coastal kill by the tenth date of each calendar month. In November 1970, Gaskins committed the first of his so-called "serious murders", people whom he knew and killed for personal reasons. Gaskins' first "serious murder" victims were his own niece, Janice Kirby, aged 15, and her friend Patricia Ann Alsbrook, aged 17, both of whom he beat to death after attempting to sexually assault them in Sumter. Other "serious murder" victims were killed for a variety of reasons: because they had mocked Gaskins, attempted to blackmail him, owed him money, allegedly stolen from him, or because Gaskins had been paid to kill his victim. Unlike his "coastal kills", Gaskins simply executed these victims, usually by shooting them, before burying them around the coastal areas of South Carolina. In 1973, he committed one of his more gruesome murders when he raped and murdered two of his neighbors: Doreen Dempsey, aged 23 and eight months pregnant, and her two-year-old daughter. Nobody suspected that Gaskins was a sadistic serial killer, but there were some who knew that he was prepared to commit murder for a reasonable reward. In February 1975, a woman named Suzanne Kipper Owens hired Gaskins to kill her boyfriend, Silas Barnwell Yates. In order to cover up the murder, Gaskins ended up killing four more times. Final arrest: Gaskins was arrested on November 14, 1975, when a criminal associate named Walter Neeley confessed to police that he had witnessed Gaskins killing Dennis Bellamy, aged 28, and Johnny Knight, aged 15. Neeley confessed to police that Gaskins had confided in him to having killed several people who had been listed as missing persons during the previous five years, and had indicated to him where they were buried. On December 4, 1975, Gaskins led police to land he owned in Prospect, where police discovered the bodies of eight of his victims. Imprisonment and execution: Gaskins was tried on eight charges of murder on May 24, 1976, found guilty on May 28 and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life in prison when the South Carolina General Assembly's 1974 ruling on capital punishment was changed to conform to the U.S. Supreme Court guidelines for the death penalty in other states. On September 2, 1982, Gaskins committed another murder, for which he earned the title of the "Meanest Man in America". While incarcerated in the high security block at the South Carolina Correctional Institution, Gaskins killed a death row inmate named Rudolph Tyner, who had received his sentence for killing an elderly couple during a bungled armed robbery of their store in Burgess. Gaskins was hired to commit this murder by Tony Cimo, the son of Tyner's victims. Gaskins initially made several unsuccessful attempts to kill Tyner by lacing his food and drink with poison before he opted to use explosives to kill him. To accomplish this, Gaskins rigged a device similar to a portable radio in Tyner's cell and told Tyner this would allow them to "communicate between cells". When Tyner followed Gaskins' instructions to hold a speaker (laden with C-4 plastic explosive, unbeknownst to him) to his ear at an agreed time, Gaskins detonated the explosives from his cell and killed Tyner. He later said, "The last thing he (Tyner) heard was me laughing." Gaskins was tried for Tyner's murder and sentenced to death. It was the first time in the history of South Carolina that a white man was sentenced to death for the murder of a black man. While on death row, Gaskins claimed to having committed between 100 and 110 murders, including that of Margaret "Peg" Cuttino, the 13-year-old daughter of then South Carolina State Senator James Cuttino Jr. of Sumter. Gaskins was executed on September 6, 1991, at 1:10 a.m. in the electric chair, hours after he tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists. His last words were: "I'll let my lawyers talk for me. I'm ready to go."

Harry Powers

Harry F. Powers (born Harm Drenth) was a Dutch-born American serial killer who was hanged in Moundsville, West Virginia. Powers lured his victims through "Lonely Hearts" ads, claiming he was looking for love, but ultimately murdering them for their money. Davis Grubb's 1953 novel The Night of the Hunter and its 1955 film adaptation were based on these crimes. Jayne Anne Phillips's novel Quiet Dell (2013) examined the Powers case anew. Early life: Harm Drenth was born in 1893 in Beerta, in the Netherlands. He immigrated to the United States in 1910 and lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His family came in 1911 to the US. Harm moved to West Virginia in 1926. In 1927, he married Luella Strother, an owner of a farm and grocery store, after responding to her lonely hearts ad. Though now married, Powers took out his own lonely hearts ads. Many women wrote in response to his advertisement. "Postal records later indicated that replies to Powers' advertisement poured in at a rate of 10 to 20 letters per day." Powers constructed a garage and basement at his home in Quiet Dell; the garage was later discovered to be the scene of the murders, of which he was convicted. After his 1931 arrest, police investigation using fingerprints and photographs revealed that he had been incarcerated for burglary under his birth name in Barron County, Wisconsin in 1921–1922. Although not charged, Powers was suspected of involvement in the 1928 disappearance of Dudley C. Wade, a carpet sweeper salesman with whom he had once worked, and the unsolved murder of a Jane Doe in Morris, Illinois. Murders: Using the alias "Cornelius Orvin Pierson," Powers began writing letters to Asta Eicher, a widowed mother of three residing in Park Ridge, Illinois. Powers went to visit Eicher and her children—Greta, Harry, and Annabel—on June 23, 1931, and soon left with Eicher for several days. Elizabeth Abernathy cared for the children until she received a letter saying that "Pierson" was going to come pick up the children to join him and their mother. When he arrived, he sent a child to the bank to withdraw money from Eicher's account. The child returned empty-handed because the signature on the check was forged. Powers and the children then hastily departed. He told neighbors concerned about their disappearance that they were on a trip to Europe. Some time later, Powers courted Dorothy Pressler Lemke from Northborough, Massachusetts, who was also looking for love through lonely hearts ads. He brought her to Iowa to marry her and persuaded her to withdraw $4,000 from her bank account. Lemke did not notice that instead of sending her trunks to Iowa, where Powers claimed to be living, he sent them to the address of "Cornelius O. Pierson" of Fairmont, West Virginia. Asta Eicher, her children, and Dorothy Lemke had disappeared with no explanation. In August 1931, police began investigating the disappearances of Asta Eicher and her children, beginning with "Pierson", who was discovered emptying Eicher's house. They found love letters, which led them to Quiet Dell, where "Pierson" lived under the name Harry Powers with his wife. Powers was arrested and his house in Quiet Dell was searched. Police found the crime scene in four rooms located under Pierson's garage. Bloody clothing, hair, a burned bankbook and a small bloody footprint of a child were discovered. Citizens of the town began to arrive at the scene to watch the investigation unravel. A 15-year-old bystander informed the sheriff that he had recently helped Powers dig a ditch on his property. The freshly filled-in ditch was then dug up, and the bodies of Asta Eicher, her children, and Dorothy Lemke were uncovered. Evidence and autopsy results showed that the two girls and their mother were strangled to death while the young boy's head was beaten in with a hammer. Lemke was the last victim uncovered; she had also been strangled, with a belt still wrapped around her neck. Love letters were found in the trunk of Powers' automobile. He had written back to many women with the intention of stealing their money and killing them, just as with his most recent victims. Trial and execution: Shortly following after his arrest, Powers received two black eyes and bruising, allegedly from falling down a staircase during his questioning. On September 20, 1931, a lynch mob attempting to take Powers from the jail was dispersed with fire hoses and tear gas. Powers was then moved to the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville. Powers' five-day trial was held at a local opera house because of the large number of spectators. Numerous witnesses testified to the evidence in Powers' home, that he had been with the victims and picked up their luggage, and so on; Powers also testified for himself. On December 12, 1931, he was sentenced to death, and he was hanged on March 18, 1932.

Choking game

The choking game (also known as the fainting game, the Good Kids high and a wide variety of slang terms) refers to intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain with the goal of inducing temporary loss of consciousness and euphoria. Reasons for practice: Limited research has been conducted regarding motivations for practicing the fainting game, although thrill-seeking has been identified as a risk factor, as has the perception that it is a low-risk activity. Anecdotal reasons stated include: -Peer pressure, a challenge or dare, a rite of passage into a social group or amusement over erratic behavior. -Curiosity in experiencing an altered state of consciousness, the experience of a greyout, or an imagined approximation to a near-death experience. -A belief that it can induce a brief sense of euphoria (a rushing sensation or high). -The prospect of intoxication, albeit brief, at no financial cost. Reasons for practice are distinct from erotic asphyxiation. Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners in London, claims that the fainting game is pursued primarily by children and teens "to get a high without taking drugs." Children "aren't playing this game for sexual gratification." It is frequently confused with erotic asphyxiation, which is oxygen deprivation for sexual arousal. Unlike erotic asphyxiation, practice of the fainting game appears to be uncommon in adulthood. Mechanisms of effect: There are two main mechanisms behind many variations of this practice, both resulting in cerebral hypoxia (oxygen deprivation to the brain). The two mechanisms tend to be confused with each other or treated as one but are quite dissimilar although both have the potential to cause permanent brain damage or death. The two mechanisms are strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia and work as follows: Strangulation: A ligature such as a belt or rope around the neck, or hands or arm pressure on the neck compresses the internal carotid artery. Apart from the direct restriction of blood to the brain there are two other significant responses produced by pressing on the neck: -Pressing on the carotid arteries also presses on baroreceptors. These bodies then cause vasodilatation in the brain leading to insufficient blood to perfuse the brain with oxygen and maintain consciousness. -A message is also sent via the vagus nerve to the main pacemaker of the heart to decrease the rate and volume of the heartbeat, typically by a third. In some cases there is evidence that this may escalate into asystole, a form of cardiac arrest that is difficult to treat. There is a dissenting view on the full extent how and when a person reaches a stage of permanent injury, but it is agreed that pressure on the vagus nerve causes changes to pulse rate and blood pressure and is dangerous in cases of carotid sinus hypersensitivity. Increased breathing: The second mechanism requires hyperventilation (forced overbreathing) until symptoms of hypocapnia such as tingling, light-headedness or dizziness are felt, followed by a breath-hold. This alone is enough to cause a blackout, but it is widely believed that the effect is enhanced if lung air pressure is increased by holding the breath "hard" or "bearing down" (tightening the diaphragm as in a forced exhalation while allowing no air to escape or having an assistant apply a bear-hug). These latter actions may augment the effects of hypoxia by approximating the Valsalva maneuver, causing vagal stimulation. The hyperventilation leads to an excessive elimination of carbon dioxide (CO2) whereas no significant additional amounts of oxygen can be stocked in the body. As only carbon dioxide is responsible for the breathing stimulus, after hyperventilation, breath can be held longer until cerebral hypoxia occurs. The blood also becomes abnormally alkaline as a result of the excessive elimination of carbon dioxide; this subsequent rise in blood pH is termed alkalosis. Alkalosis interferes with normal oxygen utilization by the brain. The symptoms of alkalosis are neuromuscular irritability, muscular spasms, tingling and numbness of the extremities and around the mouth, and a dizziness, or giddiness, often interpreted as a sense of euphoria. In the body alkalosis generally induces vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels) but in the brain alone it causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels). This vasoconstriction appears to be made even worse by a sudden increase in blood pressure caused by squeezing or holding the breath "hard". The alkalosis-induced euphoria can be followed rapidly by hypoxia-induced unconsciousness. The sequence of events leading to unconsciousness from hyperventilation is as follows: -Decrease in partial pressure of alveolar CO2. -Decrease in partial pressure of arterial CO2. -Increase in blood pH, (respiratory alkalosis). -Vasoconstriction of blood vessels supplying brain. -Pooling of the blood present in the brain at the time. -Brain rapidly uses up oxygen (O2) available in the pooled blood. -O2 concentration in the brain drops. -Unconsciousness from hypoxia of cerebral tissue. Because the brain cannot store reserves of oxygen and, unlike other organs, has an exceedingly low tolerance of oxygen deprivation, it is highly vulnerable if vasoconstriction is not reversed. Normally, if the brain is hypoxic, autonomous systems in the body divert blood to the brain at the expense of other organs; because the brain is vasoconstricted this mechanism is not available. Vasoconstriction is only reversed by the build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood through suspension of breathing. In some versions the bear-hug is replaced by pressure on the neck in which case blackout is a hybrid of strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia. Other mechanisms: Unconsciousness may be induced by other methods although these are controversial: pressure over the carotid sinus may induce syncope (fainting) without any other action at all but this is difficult to reproduce and is not the basis of the game. For those susceptible to carotid sinus syncope, of which most people would be unaware until it occurred, this can be an exceedingly dangerous game. In both strangulation and self-induced hypocapnia blackouts the victim may experience dreaming or hallucinations, though fleetingly, and regains consciousness with short-term memory loss and involuntary movement of their hands or feet. Full recovery is usually made within seconds if the strangulation stops. Prevalence: A 2008 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health study found that at least 79,000 students in the Canadian province of Ontario participated in this act. The 2006 Youth Health Risk Behavioral Survey in Williams County, Ohio found that 11% of youths aged 12–18 years and 19% of youths aged 17–18 reported ever having practiced it. Injuries and fatalities: Any activity that deprives the brain of oxygen has the potential to cause moderate to severe brain cell death leading to permanent loss of neurological function ranging from difficulty in concentration or loss of short term memory capacity through severe, lifelong mental disability to death. Statistics on fatalities and neurological damage are controversial; no definitive, empirical study exists although the indications are that the practice is a significant contributor to death and disability, particularly among male juveniles in most developed countries. Many believe that deaths are significantly underreported because of false attributions to suicide. One study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found sufficient evidence to indicate that since 1995 at least 82 youths between the age of 6 and 19 have died in the United States as a result of the game (being roughly 1% of the deaths attributed to suicide by suffocation in the same age group), see chart on the right. Of these 86.6% were male, the mean age being 13.3. 95.7% of these deaths occurred while the youth was alone; parents of the decedents were unaware of the game in 92.9% of cases. Deaths were recorded in 31 states and were not clustered by location, season or day of week. Neurological damage is harder to attribute accurately because of the difficulty of linking generalised, acquired neurological disability to a specific past event. Incidental, or indirect, injuries may arise from falling or uncontrolled movements and crushing by a ligature or an assistant. Such injuries may include concussion, bone fractures, tongue biting and hemorrhaging of the eyes. The CDC encourages parents, educators and health-care providers to familiarize themselves with the signs of the game. These include discussion of the game, bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, severe headaches, disorientation after spending time alone, ropes, scarves, and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor, and unexplained presence of things like dog leashes, choke collars and bungee cords.

Blue Whale Challenge

"Blue Whale" (Russian: Синий кит, romanized: Siniy kit), also known as the "Blue Whale Challenge", is a social network phenomenon dating from 2016 that is claimed to exist in several countries. It is a "game" reportedly consisting of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, initially innocuous before introducing elements of self-harm and the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. "Blue Whale" first attracted news coverage in May 2016 in an article in Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta that linked many unrelated child suicides to membership of group "F57" on the Russian-based VK social network. A wave of moral panic swept Russia. However, the piece was later criticised for attempting to make a causal link where none existed, and none of the suicides were found to be a result of the group activities. Claims of suicides connected to the game have been reported worldwide, but none have been confirmed. Background: In November 2015, a Russian teenager posted a selfie with the caption "nya bye" before committing suicide; her death was then discussed in internet forums and groups, becoming mixed with scare stories and folklore. Further suicides were added to the group stories. Soon after, Russian journalist Galina Mursaliyeva first wrote about these "death groups" in an article published in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in April 2016. The article described the "F57" groups on Russian social media site VK, that she claimed had incited 130 teenagers to commit suicide. Mursaliyeva's article was criticised at the time of its release for lacking credible data and balance, with the 130 cases of suicide cited being particularly problematic. The number was originally suggested by the father of one of the suicides, Sergey Pestov, who came to the figure 130 by using Russian media sources to look for child suicides he believed to be linked to online groups and then produced a brochure which implied that foreign intelligence operatives were responsible for encouraging Russian children to commit suicide. After an investigation by Evgeny Berg for Meduza, Mursaliyeva responded by saying in fact there had been at least 200. The origin of the name "Blue Whale" is uncertain. Some reports say that it comes from a song by the Russian rock band Lumen. Its opening lines are "Why scream / When no one hears / What we're talking about?" and it features a "huge blue whale" that "can't break through the net." Others believe it to be a reference to beaching, where whales become stranded on beaches and die. The game is said to run on different social media platforms and is described as a relationship between an administrator and participant. Over a period of fifty days the administrator sets one task per day; the tasks seem innocuous to begin with ("get up at 4:30 am", "watch a horror movie"), and move on to self-harm, leading to the participant committing suicide on the final day. As professor at Russian State University for the Humanities, Alexandra Arkhipova found that the administrators were found to be children aged between 12 and 14, drawn to the story as it became widely reported and not, as the hysteria had intimated, predatory adults. Social concerns: While many experts suggest "Blue Whale" was originally a sensationalised hoax, they believe that it is likely that the phenomenon has led to instances of imitative self-harming and copycat groups, leaving vulnerable children at risk of cyberbullying and online shaming. By late 2017, reported participation in Blue Whale was receding; however, internet safety organisations across the world have reacted by giving general advice to parents and educators on suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and online safety in advance of the next incarnation of cyberbullying. "People join narratives to explain their experiences...that is possibly why some children have said they participated in the rumoured challenge despite there being no proof of its existence." — Dr. Achal Bhagat, Delhi psychiatrist, BBC News India, September 19, 2017; American skeptic Ben Radford researched the phenomenon, calling it the "moral panic du jour" and equating it to the Dungeons & Dragons controversies of the 1980s. Radford also states "this is only the latest in a long series of similar moral panics and outrages shared on social media... the best antidote ... is a healthy dose of skepticism". Arrests: In 2016, Philipp Budeikin, a 21-year-old former psychology student who was expelled from his university, claimed that he invented the game in 2013. He said his intention was to cleanse society by pushing persons to suicide whom he deemed as having no value. Although originally claiming innocence and stating he was "just having fun", Budeikin was arrested and held in Kresty Prison, Saint Petersburg, and in May 2016 pled guilty to "inciting at least 16 teenage girls to commit suicide". He was later convicted on two counts of inciting suicide of a minor. Commentators such as Benjamin Radford have pointed out that sensationalized stories in world news regarding the involvement of Budeikin have all linked back to just two Russian sources, with tabloid news outlets replicating the same information without elaboration. In June 2017, postman Ilya Sidorov was arrested in Moscow, also accused of setting up a "Blue Whale" group to encourage children to self-harm and ultimately commit suicide. He claimed to have persuaded 32 children to join his group and follow commands. In June 2018, Russian financial analyst Nikita Nearonov was arrested for allegedly masterminding the Blue Whale game. Nearonov is suspected of grooming 10 "underage" girls in order to bring them to suicide, 2 of which, aged 14 and 17, are known to have survived. As a financial analyst, Nearonov has been described as a "very smart" computer expert who held a large amount of contempt for teenagers, believing that they were "wicked" and "deserved to die". Police reports claim that Nearonov's involvement in the Blue Whale game was his "hobby". Alleged incidents- Bangladesh: Despite many news reports published in Bangladeshi media attempting to link suicides with the game no case has been officially confirmed. In October 2017, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan stated that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has been directed to investigate the Blue Whale game after reports of suicide around the country. BTRC released a notice urging people to call a specific number if any web link or any information related to the Blue Whale game were to be found. Later that month, the Bangladeshi High Court ordered a six-month ban on special night-time internet packages provided by various mobile operators across the country in order to curb suicides resulting from the game. Brazil: Despite several news reports in Brazilian media linking cases of child self-harm and suicide with Blue Whale and several ongoing investigations, none has been officially confirmed. In response to the game, a designer and a publicity agent from São Paulo created a movement called Baleia Rosa (Pink Whale), which became popular. It relied on the collaboration of hundreds of volunteers. The movement is based on positive tasks that value life and combat depression. Also in Brazil, Sandro Sanfelice created the movement Capivara Amarela (Yellow Capybara), which proposes to "combat the Blue Whale game" and guide people seeking some kind of help. Participants are separated between challengers, who are the people who seek help, and the healers, who are kind of godfathers of these people. An Adventist school in southern Paraná, in partnership with other education networks, also sought to reverse the situation by proposing another charity game, the "Jonas Challenge" (referring to the biblical character Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale and vomited up three days later). Other games created in Brazil in response to the Blue Whale were the Baleia Verde (Green Whale) and the Preguiça Azul (Blue Sloth). In Belo Horizonte and Recife metropolitan area in Brazil, many schools promoted lectures to talk about the Blue Whale game. On May 21, 2017, it was announced that the Brazilian police Specialized in High Technology Crime Repression in Piauí were preparing a digital primer to warn young people about the dangers of the game. China: In May 2017, Tencent, China's largest Internet service portal, closed 12 suspicious Blue Whale-related network groups on its social networking platform QQ. It said that the number of this kind of groups is on the rise. The search results of related keywords was also blocked in QQ. Egypt: In April 2018, Egyptian news sources claimed a 12-year-old schoolboy had committed suicide by taking poisonous tablets to fulfill one of the challenges of the game. According to the media, the schoolboy was found with a scar in the shape of a blue whale on his right arm. In reaction to the growing media awareness of the game, Egypt's Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah uploaded a video on their YouTube channel claiming that the game is forbidden in Islam, and warning against it. India: Throughout 2017, media in India reported several cases of child suicide, self-harm and attempted suicide alleged to be a result of Blue Whale, and in response, the Indian government's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, requested that several internet companies (including Google, Facebook, and Yahoo!) remove all links which direct users to the game. Some commentators accused the government of creating a moral panic. Indian internet watchdog the Centre for Internet and Society accused the coverage of effectively spreading and advertising a "game" for which there is little evidence. In India, suicide was the second most common form of death of children, according to a 2012 report. The Supreme Court asked the Indian Central government to ban the game, following which the government responded that since Blue Whale wasn't an application, it couldn't be banned. Finally in January 2018, after a full investigation the government reported there was no evidence that any death was as a result of Blue Whale saying “The committee analysed the internet activities, device activities, call records and other social media activity, other forensic evidences and also interacted with rescued victims associated with these incidents. Involvement of Blue Whale challenge game in any of these incidents could not be established.” Iran: In September 2017, the Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology posted a message in his official Instagram account to warn parents and teachers about the spread of the Blue Whale challenge among Iranian teens. Italy: In Italy, press coverage of "Blue Whale" first appeared on 3 June 2016, in the newspaper La Stampa, which described the challenge as "a bad joke". The debunking site BUTAC reported the total lack of evidence to affirm the game's existence. On 14 May 2017, a TV report by Le Iene about 'Blue Whale' on the national channel Italia 1 linked the challenge to an unconnected suicide in Livorno. The report showed several suicide scenes, mostly from videos on LiveLeak depicting adults unrelated to the challenge. It incorrectly described the footage as evidence of teenagers playing the game. The report interviewed a schoolmate of the Livorno teenager, two mothers of Russian girls who supposedly took part in the game, and the founder of the Russian Center for the safety of children from internet crimes. Following the report, coverage of the challenge in the Italian media increased, with many outlets describing it as real. There was a sharp rise in Google searches for the challenge, and some panic. On 15 and 16 May, newspapers announced the arrest of Budeikin, without saying that it happened months before. His unconfirmed statements about his supposed victims being "genetical rubbish" were reported as real. Paolo Attivissimo, a journalist and debunker of hoaxes, described the game as "a death myth dangerously exaggerated by sensationalist journalism". Police received calls from terrified parents and teachers, and there were reports of teenagers taking part in the challenge. These included several cases of self-mutilation and attempted suicide. Most reports were considered to be false or exaggerated. Alleged participants were reported from all over Italy: Ravenna, Brescia and Siracusa. On May 22, 2017, the Polizia Postale declared that they had received 40 alarms. On the 24th this number was increased to 70. On its website the Polizia Postale defines Blue Whale as "a practice that seems to possibly come from Russia" and offers advice to parents and teenagers. Several alleged cases have since been described by newspapers. Israel: In July of 2020, the Israeli Child Online Protection Bureau had announced they are collaborating with TikTok to "eradicate the Blue Whale phenomenon". Russia: In March 2017, authorities in Russia were investigating approximately 130 separate cases of suicide related to the phenomenon. In February a 15-year-old and 16-year-old threw themselves off the top of a 14-story building in Irkutsk, Siberia after completing 50 tasks sent to them. Before they killed themselves together, they left messages on their pages on social networks. Also in February, a 15-year-old was in critical condition after throwing herself out of an apartment and falling on snow-covered ground in the town of Krasnoyarsk, also in Siberia. On 26 May 2017, the Russian Duma passed a bill introducing criminal responsibility for creating pro-suicide groups on social media and in June 2017, President Putin signed a law imposing criminal penalties for inducing minors to suicide. The law imposes a maximum punishment of six years in prison. Saudi Arabia: On July 15, 2018, the Saudi General Commission for Audio-Visual Media banned 47 video games, including Roblox, Grand Theft Auto V, Assassin's Creed II and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, that had online components that were alleged to be part of the Blue Whale game following the suicides of two teenagers that had been involved in it. Tunisia: On March 12, 2018, the parents of seven Tunisian children who claimed their children had killed themselves due to the game requested a ban on Blue Whale from the Tunisian courts. A trial court in Sousse issued an interim judgment prohibiting Blue Whale and another supposed similar game named "Miriam". In popular culture: -Search Out is a 2020 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Kwak Jeong.

Momo Challenge hoax

The "Momo Challenge" is a hoax and an Internet urban legend that was rumored to spread through social media and other outlets. It was reported that children and adolescents were being enticed by a user named Momo to perform a series of dangerous tasks including violent attacks, self-harm and suicide. Despite claims that the phenomenon had reached worldwide proportions in July 2018, the number of actual complaints was relatively small and no law enforcement agency has confirmed that anyone was harmed as a direct result of it. The challenge was reported to become "a worldwide phenomenon" in 2018 after an Indonesian newspaper reported that it had caused a 12-year-old girl to kill herself. Awareness grew in February 2019 after the Police Service of Northern Ireland posted a public warning on Facebook, and American media personality Kim Kardashian posted on her Instagram Story pleading for YouTube to remove alleged "Momo" videos. The challenge has (or claims to have) existed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Luxembourg, Belgium, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, France, Indonesia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Australia. Background and reactions The Momo Challenge gained the public's attention in July 2018, when it was noticed by a YouTuber, ReignBot. Targeting teenagers, people presenting themselves as a character named Momo on WhatsApp messages try to convince people to contact them through their cell phone. As with other Internet hoaxes presented as challenges such as "Blue Whale", players are then instructed to perform a succession of tasks, refusal to do so is met with threats. Messages are subsequently accompanied by frightening or gory pictures. Although the panic eventually died down throughout the rest of 2018, it returned in a much more pervasive form in early 2019, when it was claimed that Momo was being inserted into seemingly innocuous YouTube and YouTube Kids videos about Peppa Pig and Fortnite; these claims were repeated by the group National Online Safety. Although authorities have not confirmed any physical harm resulting from this, or even that a sustained exchange of messages took place between the Momo character and anybody, police forces and school administrations on several continents have issued warnings about the Momo Challenge and repeated common advice about Internet safety. WhatsApp is encouraging its users to block phone numbers engaging in this practice and to report them to the company. Commenting on the numerous rumours of suicide related to the Momo Challenge, web security experts and folklorists studying urban legend have stated that the phenomenon is likely a case of moral panic: a sensationalized hoax fuelled by unverified media reports. Benjamin Radford says "the Blue Whale Game and the Momo Challenge have all the hallmarks of a classic moral panic", "fuelled by parents' fears in wanting to know what their kids are up to. There's an inherent fear in what young people are doing with technology." By September 2018, most phone numbers supposedly associated with "Momo" were out of service. The founder of fact-checking site Snopes, David Mikkelson, doubts anybody actually came to any harm and said the whole thing "may primarily be a product of bullies and pranksters latching onto a handy mechanism to goad and torment vulnerable youngsters rather than an intrinsic part of a particular social media challenge." In response to the reports in early 2019, YouTube has said that it has "not received any links to videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on YouTube" but permits news stories and videos intended to raise awareness of and educate against the alleged phenomenon. The website has demonetized all videos mentioning Momo, including those of news organizations, saying such content violates its advertiser-friendly content guidelines. It has also placed advisory warnings on some Momo videos alerting viewers of "inappropriate or offensive" content. Spread- Asia: In India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in West Bengal indicated on August 29, 2018, that claims reported in the media about the death of two teens being linked to the Momo Challenge were "far fetched and devoid of any evidence". CBI believes most of the large volume of Momo Challenge invitations in India originate locally as pranks sent to spread panic. A CBI spokesperson stated that "so far, the game has not claimed any victim, nor has anyone approached us saying they have played even the first level of it." The CBI statement follows weeks of news coverage about unconfirmed cases. After being alerted by a youth who received a Momo Challenge invitation, police in West Bengal issued a warning, and the cybercrime unit has opened an investigation. The Mumbai police had previously started to warn the population, although no complaints were filed. Police have not confirmed any role the Momo Challenge might have played in the death of a girl in grade 10 who committed suicide after leaving a note expressing discouragement with low grades or the suicide of an engineering student in Madras. The Odisha Police, while issuing an advisory, are asking the media to refrain from publishing unconfirmed reports linking teen death to the Momo Challenge. Pakistan's Minister of Information Technology announced the government intends to draft legislation making it a crime to distribute both the Momo Challenge and the Blue Whale Challenge. Police authorities in the Philippines issued warnings to parents to be vigilant of their children's online activity after an 11-year-old boy died from apparent suicide by drug overdose on 11 January 2019, linking the incident to the viral challenge, although no official confirmation of direct relation to the incident has been established by the authorities. In the aftermath of the reports, Raffy Tulfo and other YouTubers voiced their condolences to the family, encouraging that children be monitored by their parents. They also linked the Blue Whale Challenge to the incident. Europe: In France, a group at the State Department was reviewing the situation daily in late July 2018. A complaint was filed in November by a father whose son committed suicide. In Germany, the police were only aware of mentions made in chain letters. They are asking the population to act prudently when faced with that kind of cell phone contact. The Luxembourg police confirmed one case on its territory, but no harm was caused. The Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office reported on 6 November 2018 that a 13-year-old boy had been the victim of the Momo Challenge and hung himself. Spain's National Police warned people to stay away from new "challenge" applications that pop up on WhatsApp, indicating the Momo phenomenon was in vogue among teenagers. In the United Kingdom, some school administrations relayed warnings about the phenomenon. Reports on and awareness of the alleged challenge rose in February 2019 after the Police Service of Northern Ireland issued a public warning. British authorities say the challenge is being used by cybercriminals to gain personal identity information. Responding to tabloid coverage which asserted the challenge to be true, the NSPCC, the Samaritans, and the UK Safer Internet Centre have issued statements that the Momo Challenge is a hoax. The parent who alerted the press to the Momo Challenge subsequently said her child had not received messages from "Momo", but was merely told about it in a school playground conversation. Nevertheless, authorities and the media issued online safety precautions. Nicola Harteveld (who said her son was targeted by the challenge) and clinical psychologist Anna Colton warned on ITV's daytime TV show This Morning not to search for Momo online and advised parents to be aware of their children's activity online. North America: In the Canadian province of Quebec, local police forces of Longueuil, Sherbrooke and Gatineau have indicated that people in their jurisdiction have been approached to participate in the Momo Challenge but did not report any victims. They are asking people not to use the phone number provided in the WhatsApp messages and to send screen capture images of their phone to police authorities. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other police forces say they are monitoring the spread of the phenomenon but could not confirm any actual victim. Mexican authorities investigating Internet crimes distributed detailed information to parents about the methods of the scheme. They suspect it has spread through a Facebook group frequented by young people. They warned those caught in the scheme risked self-harm, hacking and extortion. In early August 2018 in the United States, various local police forces warned the population about the dangers of the phenomenon. Some jurisdictions have received several complaints, but no jurisdiction reported anybody being harmed. The Momo character has also appeared in the popular game Minecraft in the form of in-game skins and unofficial mods created by the game's users. A police officer in Ohio was concerned to see Momo in his son's copy of the game, worried about the possibility that the mod could lead to participation in the Momo Challenge. After news reports started to outline the link between the Minecraft mod and the Momo Challenge, Microsoft announced it was taking measures to "restrict access to the mod" in question. South America: In Argentina, despite several media reports tentatively establishing a relationship between the Momo Challenge and the suicide of a 12-year-old girl from Ingeniero Maschwitz, no link has been confirmed by authorities. Authorities in Brazil have not confirmed any case linked to the Momo Challenge. The national SaferNet non-profit organization has been approached by concerned parents and warned that this is only one of a variety of schemes to extort money and information from people. The Colombian police have not confirmed news reports linking the death of two youths in Barbosa to the Momo Challenge in early September. Picture: Early news reports stating the image of Momo was of a sculpture by Japanese artist Midori Hayashi turned out to be incorrect. Hayashi indicated that it was not her piece, and Internet users identified Link Factory, a Japanese special effects company, as the correct author of the sculpture. The sculpture has bulging eyes and a beak-like mouth. Pictures of the sculpture were first posted online in 2016, when it was publicly exhibited. The remainder of the sculpture, not always shown by "Momo" accounts of the media, consists of a small, bald, chicken-like body with avian feet and human breasts. A photograph of a sculpture of an ubume (a yōkai or ghost) was popularly used to depict Momo. The firm denies any involvement with the hoax. Japanese artist Keisuke Aiso confirmed in March 2019 that the sculpture had been thrown away in 2018, after its material—natural rubber and plant oils—had decomposed. In popular culture: -Video games based on the Momo Challenge have been published by various independent developers; in July 2018 by SirFatCat and Indie_RU, in August 2018 by Dymchick1 and in October 2018 by Caffeine. The player has to do various tasks and the goal is usually to survive before getting rescued. -The Momo Challenge will be used as a plot device in an upcoming teen horror film called Getaway, produced by Emagine Content, November 11 Pictures, SorenFilms Productions and Lady of the Light Productions. Stef Beaton, Alex Brown, Georgie Storm Waite, Rianne Sensing and Charlotte Spencer will play hapless youths who experience strange phenomena after one of them tells a story about Momo. -In July 2019, Orion Pictures announced the development of a film adaptation, with producers Roy Lee (with his production company Vertigo Entertainment) and Taka Ichise.

David Bullock (serial killer)

David Bullock, known as The .38 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who killed at least six people in New York City between December 1981 and January 1982. Owing to his unassuming appearance and character, his killing spree was undetected by local police for some time, who were unaware that a serial murderer was operating in the area. Despite the fact that Bullock committed the murders four years after David Berkowitz's notorious crime spree, which caused a moral panic in the city, the former's killings were not widely reported and failed to acquire international renown, since most of the details became known after his arrest. Early life: David Bullock was born on November 13, 1960 in New York City. Both of his parents were dependant on alcohol, which resulted in Bullock's grandfather raising him. He attended school for some time, but after his first arrest in February 1977 and subsequent imprisonment, he was expelled and never returned. Criminal career: Bullock was first arrested in February 1977 in Monroe, for theft. Five months later, he committed a similar crime in Manhattan, was caught, plead guilty, was convicted and spent several months in a juvenile institution. He was released in November of that same year, but two months later, Bullock was arrested in Goshen for burglary. After his release, he permanently moved to Manhattan, where, having no source of income, Bullock engaged in male prostitution to survive. Between the period of 1978 and 1981, he was prosecuted an additional five times. Arrest and exposure: Bullock was arrested on January 14, 1982 in the basement of an apartment building as a witness in the disappearance of his roommate Michael Winley. During the search, a .38 caliber revolver and a shotgun were seized. A few hours after his detainment, Bullock confessed to authorities that he had committed six murders. The first victim was 42-year-old theatrical actor James Weber, whose body was discovered on December 5, 1981 in Central Park. After shooting Weber, Bullock stole his money and ID, which delayed the victim's identification by a few days. The reasons for Weber's appearance late at night in the park were never established, with police suggesting that the deceased and his killer were familiar and in a homosexual relationship. This theory was rejected by Weber's relatives and acquiantances, while Bullock himself denied dating James. According to him, he had gone to the park to shoot birds when he came across Weber, deciding to kill him at random. A few days later, Bullock killed his 23-year-old friend, prostitute Edwina Atkins. According to Bullock, it was a crime of hatred: he had told her about killing Weber, but in response, she laughed in his face in disbelief. After shooting Atkins, he set fire to the apartment in order to destroy any evidence of a crime. His next confessed victim was 29-year-old investment consultant Stephen Glenn Hassell, who was promised sexual services in exchange for money. He lured Hassell to his luxurious Manhattan apartment where, during the late night of December 15th, Bullock shot him after covering his face with a pillow. In spite of the fact that Hassell was an influential person and the murder occurring in a prestigious area of the city, Bullock managed to leave the crime scene unnoticed, leaving no evidence or clues for the investigators. Bullock's fourth victim was 50-year-old Heriberto Morales, a gay man whom Bullock had known since 1980. On the evening of December 22nd, Bullock recalled that he and Morales were at a Christmas party, after which they went to Heriberto's apartment. According to him, the victim started messing with a Christmas tree and telling how nice it is, whereupon he was shot to death. Bullock then stole some jewelry and other valuables and, like with Atkins' killing, set fire to the apartment before leaving. The serial killer's last victim was 28-year-old security guard Eric Michael Fuller, whom Bullock shot on January 4, 1982 with a shotgun during a robbery. Subsequently, Bullock admitted that he was responsible for his roommate's disappearance: according to his claims, he shot Winley on December 23rd and threw his corpse into the Harlem River. Police organized a search to collect the body, but were unsuccessful. After examining the five murder scenes, ballistic experts concluded that the same .38 caliber revolver, which belonged to Bullock, had been used to kill the victims. Trial and imprisonment: David Bullock's trial began in the fall of 1982, a high-profile case for its time. He was sent to be mentally evaluated, with psychiatrists determining that he had no underlying mental illnesses or abnormalities, but acknowledged that the defendant had an impaired emotional state. He was charged with six murders, despite the fact that Winley's body was never located. At the court hearings, Bullock appeared to be in a positive mood, describing in detail the crimes he had committed in a sarcastic and extremely cynical tone, without expressing any visible remorse. On October 26, 1982, he plead guilty to all charges, naming hedonism as his main motive, stating the following: "I was in the Christmas spirit. It made me happy. I enjoy what I do". Three days later, he was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment. At the time, such long sentences were unprecedented in the state's history. Aftermath: As of May 2020, the 59-year-old Bullock is alive and serving his sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Over the past 38 years in prison, the media has lost interest in his crimes, and the circumstances behind his life in jail are unknown.

Richard Cottingham

Richard Francis Cottingham is an American serial killer from New Jersey operating in New York between 1967 and 1980. He was nicknamed The Torso Killer due to his habit of dismembering his victims, usually leaving nothing but a torso behind. He was eventually convicted of murder in 1981, after being caught fleeing an attempted murder. Officially, Cottingham killed nine people, but he claims between 85 and 100 murders. Cottingham is incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. Early life and education: Cottingham was born Richard Francis Cottingham on November 25, 1946, in The Bronx, New York City, the first of three children. In 1958, when Richard was 12, his family moved to River Vale, New Jersey. In 1964, Cottingham graduated from Pascack Valley High School, in Hillsdale, New Jersey. After graduating, he worked for his father at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company until 1966 as a computer operator, while taking computer courses. Career: Cottingham was a computer operator, and a well-liked employee at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in New York from 1966 until his arrest. Marriage: On May 3, 1970, Richard married his wife Janet at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village, New York. First arrest and subsequent minor offenses: Cottingham was arrested for several minor charges throughout his killing spree; the police were not aware of his murders at the time. On October 3, 1969, he was charged and convicted of intoxicated driving in New York City, and sentenced to 10 days in jail & a $50 fine. On August 21, 1972, Cottingham was charged and convicted of shoplifting at Stern’s Department Store in Paramus, New Jersey and was sentenced to pay a $50 fine. Killing spree: -Cottingham's first known murder was the 1967 slaying of Nancy Schiava Vogel. The 29-year-old married mother of two was strangled, and her nude, bound body was found in her car in nearby Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. She had last been seen three days earlier, when she left home to play bingo with friends at a local church. -On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at a hotel near Times Square. When they forced their way inside and put the fire out they found two corpses. Both bodies had their hands and heads removed. They had been doused with lighter fluid and set alight. The missing body parts were never found. -One victim was identified as Deedeh Goodarzi, 22, an immigrant from Kuwait who was working as a sex worker. The other corpse was never identified. Homicide detectives wrongly linked the murder with that of the murder of teenager Helen Sikes who had gone missing from Times Square in January 1979. -On May 5, 1980, police found the body of nineteen-year-old Valerie Ann Street in a Quality Inn in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. The victim’s hands were tightly handcuffed behind her back. She was covered in bite marks and was beaten across the shins. Street had died of asphyxiation and traces of adhesive tape were found on her mouth. This murder was later linked to an earlier murder in the same motel. -Twenty-six-year-old radiologist Maryann Carr was also found brutally beaten near the same hotel, but police could not positively link the crimes until after Cottingham's. On May 15, Jean Reyner was strangled and her throat cut in the historic Seville Hotel. -In 2020, Cottingham admitted to killing an additional three women (Jacalyn Harp, of Midland Park; Irene Blase, of Bogota; and Denise Falasco, of Closter, all of whom were strangled in the late 1960s) Arrest: On May 22, 1980, Cottingham picked up eighteen-year-old Leslie Ann O’Dell, who was soliciting on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 25th Street. At some point she agreed to have sex with him for $100. Around dawn, they checked into the same Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn where he had left his last mutilated victim. Cottingham offered to give the girl a massage and she rolled over onto her stomach. Straddling her back, he drew a knife and put it to her throat as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. He began torturing her, nearly biting off one of her nipples. She later testified that he said, “You have to take it. The other girls did, you have to take it too. You’re a whore and you have to be punished.” The charges listed in Cottingham’s New Jersey indictment included kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault while armed (rape), aggravated sexual assault while armed (sodomy), aggravated sexual assault while armed (fellatio), possession of a weapon, possession of controlled dangerous substances, Secobarbital and Amobarbital, or Tuinal, and possession of controlled dangerous substance, Diazepam or Valium. O’Dell’s muffled cries of pain became so loud that the motel staff, already spooked by the murder eighteen days earlier, called police and then rushed to the room demanding that Cottingham open the door. Cottingham was apprehended by arriving police officers in the hallway. When arrested he had handcuffs, a leather gag, two slave collars, a switchblade, replica pistols and a stockpile of prescription pills. At his house he had a trophy room where he kept personal effects from some of his victims. Trials: A strong case was built against Cottingham due to the testimony of three surviving victims. He was eventually found guilty of murdering Valerie Streets, drawing a sentence of 173 to 197 years in prison. In two following trials he was found guilty of four second degree murders.

Tony Costa

Antone Charles "Tony" Costa was an American serial killer and carpenter who achieved notoriety for committing serial murders in and around the town of Truro in 1969. 1969 murders: The case gained international attention when district attorney Edmund Dinis, in comments to the media, claimed "The hearts of each girl had been removed from the bodies and were not in the graves…Each body was cut into as many parts as there are joints." Dinis also claimed that there were teeth marks found on the bodies. These claims produced a stream of national and international media outlets into local Provincetown, Massachusetts. The media attention was so great that Kurt Vonnegut (whose daughter Edith had met Costa) compared him to Jack the Ripper in an article in the July 25, 1969 issue of Life Magazine which was included in his collection of essays Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons. Vonnegut maintained a correspondence with Costa. The author said, "The message of his letters to me was that a person as intent on being virtuous as he could not possibly have hurt a fly. He believed it." Costa was suspected of killing seven women: Bonnie Williams, Barbara Spaulding, Sydney Monson, Susan Perry, Patricia Walsh, and Mary Anne Wysocki but convicted of killing only two: Walsh and Wysocki. On February 8, 1969, while looking for the bodies of Patricia Walsh and Mary Anne Wysocki, police discovered Susan Perry. Perry had been missing since the previous Labor Day. Perry's body had been cut into eight pieces. When Wysocki's body was found about a month later, her torso and head had been buried separately. Not long after, Walsh and the rest of Wysocki's body were found in a forest clearing that Costa had used for growing marijuana. This "garden" of marijuana plants and the greater case inspired the true crime book In His Garden, by Leo Damore. Costa's account: Costa described the murders of Walsh and Wysocki in his unpublished novel, Resurrection, written while he was in prison. In his account, Costa and a friend named "Cory" were out with the two women consuming LSD and Dilaudid. Cory then shot Walsh and Wysocki. Costa claimed he was able to subdue his friend and upon realizing that Mary Anne Wysocki was still alive used a knife to end her suffering. According to Costa, he and Cory buried the bodies. The novel also describes the deaths of Susan Perry and Sydney Monzon as due to drug overdoses. Costa claims it was Carl who dismembered and buried their bodies and that he had no knowledge until after their deaths. Trial and imprisonment: On June 12, 1969, Costa was arraigned on charges of murder for three of the deaths. In May 1970 he was convicted of the murders of Mary Ann Wysocki and Patricia Walsh and sentenced to life in prison at Massachusetts' Walpole Correctional Institution. Four years after his incarceration, Costa committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell.

Robert Hansen

Robert Christian Hansen, known in the media as the "Butcher Baker," was an American serial killer. Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered at least 17 women in and around Anchorage, Alaska; he hunted many of them down in the wilderness with a Ruger Mini-14 and a knife. He was arrested and convicted in 1983, and was sentenced to 461 years and a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Early life: Robert Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa, in 1939. He was the son of a Danish immigrant and followed in his father's footsteps as a baker. In his youth, he was skinny and painfully shy, afflicted with a stutter and severe acne that left him permanently scarred. Not receiving the attention he wanted from the attractive girls in school, he grew up hating them and nursing fantasies of cruel revenge. Throughout childhood and adolescence, Hansen was described as being quiet and a loner, and he had a difficult relationship with his domineering father. Hansen started to practice both hunting and archery, and often found refuge in these pastimes. In 1957, Hansen enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and served for one year before being discharged. He later worked as an assistant drill instructor at a police academy in Pocahontas, Iowa. There, he began a relationship with a younger woman. He married her in the summer of 1960. First crimes: On December 7, 1960, Hansen was arrested for burning down a Pocahontas County Board of Education school bus garage, revenge for his unpopularity in high school. He served 20 months of a three-year prison sentence in Anamosa State Penitentiary. During his incarceration, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (at that time called “manic depression”) with periodic schizophrenic episodes. The psychiatrist who made the diagnosis noted that Hansen had an “infantile personality” and was obsessed with getting back at people he felt had wronged him. Hansen's wife filed for divorce while he was incarcerated. Over the next few years, he was jailed several times for petty theft. In 1967, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska with his second wife, whom he had married in 1963 and with whom he had two children. In Anchorage, he was well liked by his neighbors and set several local hunting records. In December 1971, Hansen was arrested twice: once for the abduction and attempted rape of a housewife, and again for raping a prostitute. He pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon in the offense involving the housewife; the rape charge involving the prostitute was dropped as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to five years in prison; after serving six months of his sentence, he was placed on a work release program and released to a halfway house. In 1976, Hansen pleaded guilty to larceny after he was caught stealing a chainsaw from Fred Meyer, an Anchorage department store; he was sentenced to five years in prison and required to receive psychiatric treatment for his bipolar disorder. The Alaska Supreme Court reduced his sentence, and he was released with time served. Murder investigation: Hansen is believed to have begun killing around 1972. His modus operandi was to pick up a prostitute in his car, and force her at gunpoint to his cabin, where he would rape her; he would then fly her out to a secluded area and "hunt" her as if she were wild game before shooting or stabbing her. On June 13, 1983, Hansen offered 17-year-old sex-worker Cindy Paulson $200 to perform oral sex; when she got into the car, he pulled a gun on her and drove her to his home in Muldoon. There, he held her captive, and proceeded to torture and rape her. She later told police that after Hansen chained her by the neck to a post in the house's basement, he took a nap on a nearby couch. When he awoke, he put her in his car and took her to Merrill Field airport, where he told her that he intended to "take her out to his cabin" (a shack in the Knik River area of the Matanuska Valley accessible only by boat or bush plane). Paulson, crouched in the back seat of the car with her wrists cuffed in front of her body, saw a chance to escape when Hansen was busy loading the airplane's cockpit. While Hansen's back was turned, Paulson crawled out of the back seat, opened the driver's side door, and ran toward nearby Sixth Avenue. She later told police that she had left her blue sneakers on the passenger side floor of the sedan's backseat, as evidence that she had been in the car. Hansen panicked and chased her, but Paulson made it to Sixth Avenue first and managed to flag down a passing truck. The driver, Robert Yount, alarmed by Paulson's disheveled appearance, stopped and picked her up. He drove her to the Mush Inn, where she jumped out of the truck and ran inside. While she pleaded with the clerk to phone her boyfriend at the Big Timber Motel, the truck driver continued on to work, where he called the police to report the barefoot, handcuffed woman. When Anchorage Police Department (APD) officers arrived at the Mush Inn, they were told that the young woman had taken a cab to the Big Timber Motel. APD officers arrived at Room 110 of the Big Timber Motel and found Paulson, still handcuffed and alone. She was taken to APD headquarters, where she described the perpetrator. Hansen, when questioned by APD officers, denied the accusation, stating that Paulson was just trying to cause trouble for him because he would not pay her extortion demands. Although Hansen had several prior run-ins with the law, his meek demeanour and humble occupation as a baker, along with an alibi from his friend John Henning, kept him from being considered as a serious suspect, and the case went cold. Detective Glenn Flothe of the Alaska State Troopers had been part of a team investigating the discovery of several bodies in and around Anchorage, Seward, and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley area. The first of the bodies was found by construction workers near Eklutna Road. The body, dubbed "Eklutna Annie" by investigators, has never been identified. Later that year, the body of Joanna Messina was discovered in a gravel pit near Seward, and in 1982, the remains of 23-year-old Sherry Morrow were discovered, in a shallow grave near the Knik River. Flothe now had three bodies and what looked like one killer. He contacted Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Douglas and requested help with a criminal psychological profile, based on the three recovered bodies. Douglas thought the killer would be an experienced hunter with low self-esteem, have a history of being rejected by women, and would feel compelled to keep "souvenirs" of his murders, such as a victim's jewelry. He also suggested that the assailant might stutter. Using this profile, Flothe investigated possible suspects until he reached Hansen, who fit the profile and owned a plane. Supported by Paulson's testimony and Douglas' profile, Flothe and the APD secured a warrant to search Hansen's plane, vehicles, and home. On October 27, 1983, investigators uncovered jewelry belonging to some of the missing women as well as an array of firearms in a corner hideaway of Hansen's attic. Also found was an aeronautical chart with little "x" marks on it, hidden behind Hansen's headboard. Many of these marks matched sites where prior bodies had been found (others were discovered later at those then unexplored). When confronted with the evidence found in his home, Hansen denied it as long as he could, but he eventually began to blame the women and tried to justify his actions. Eventually confessing to each item of evidence as it was presented to him, he admitted to a spree of attacks against Alaskan women starting in 1971. Hansen's earliest victims were girls, usually between 16 and 19 and not sex workers, unlike the victims who led to his discovery. Known victims: Hansen is known to have raped and assaulted over 30 Alaskan women, and to have murdered at least 17, ranging in age from 16 to 41. Those with an * beside their "Date Found" were found with the help of Hansen after his arrest. Of these 17 women, Hansen was only formally charged with the murders of four: Sherry Morrow, Joanna Messina, "Eklutna Annie", and Paula Goulding. He was also charged with the kidnapping and rape of Cindy Paulson. Imprisonment: Once arrested, Hansen was charged with assault, kidnapping, multiple weapons offenses, and theft and insurance fraud. The last charge was related to a claim filed with the insurance company over the alleged theft of some trophies; he used the proceeds to purchase the Super Cub. At trial, he claimed he later recovered the trophies in his backyard but forgot to inform the insurer. Only after ballistics tests returned a match between bullets found at the crime scenes and Hansen's rifle did he enter into a plea bargain. He pleaded guilty to the four homicides the police had evidence for (Morrow, Messina, Goulding, and "Eklutna Annie") and provided details about his other victims, in return for serving his sentence in a federal prison, along with no publicity in the press. Another condition of the plea bargain was his participation in deciphering the markings on his aviation map and locating his victims' bodies. He confirmed the police theory of how the women were abducted, adding that he would sometimes let a potential victim go if she convinced him that she would not report him to police. He indicated that he began killing in the early 1970s. He showed investigators 17 grave sites, in and around Southcentral Alaska, 12 of which were unknown to investigators. There remained marks on his map that he refused to give up, including three in Resurrection Bay, near Seward (authorities suspect two of these marks belong to the graves of Mary Thill and Megan Emrick, whom Hansen has denied killing). The remains of 12 (of a probable 21) victims were exhumed by the police and returned to their families. Hansen was sentenced by jury to 461 years plus life in prison, without the possibility of parole. He was first imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1988, he was returned to Alaska and briefly incarcerated at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau. He was also imprisoned at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward until May 2014, when he was transported to the Anchorage Correctional Complex for health reasons. Death: Hansen died on August 21, 2014, aged 75, at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage, due to natural causes from lingering health conditions. In popular culture- Films: -In The Frozen Ground (2013), John Cusack portrayed Hansen opposite Nicolas Cage as Sergeant Jack Halcombe (a character based on Glenn Flothe) and Vanessa Hudgens as victim-survivor Cindy Paulson. -Naked Fear (2007), directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Danielle De Luca, is loosely based on characteristics apparent in Hansen's modus operandi. Television- Documentaries: -The FBI Files episode, "Hunter's Game" (1999), depicts Hansen's murderous rampage. -Crime Stories featured a full 2007 episode of the case. -The Alaska: Ice Cold Killers episode "Hunting Humans" (January 25, 2012) on Investigation Discovery[18] covered the Hansen case. -Hidden City season 1, episode 12 ("Anchorage: Robert Hansen's Most Dangerous Game, the Legend of Blackjack Sturges, Eskimo Hu"; airdate February 21, 2012), on the Travel Channel, covered the Hansen case. -Mark of a Killer season 2, episode 6 "Hunted to Death" on Oxygen covered the Hansen case. TV series: -"Mind Hunters" and "The Woods", two 2005 episodes of the CBS TV series Cold Case, were inspired by Hansen's crimes. -In Criminal Minds, season 5, episode 21 ("Exit Wounds"; airdate May 12, 2010), Hansen is referred to by name. -Hansen's crimes inspired Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, season 13, episode 15 ("Hunting Ground"; airdate February 22, 2012), which depicts a serial killer who hunts women like wild game before killing them. -Hansen's crimes were also recounted on the May 16, 2020 episode of Oxygen's Mark Of A Killer, "Hunted To Death." -"The Butcher Baker: Mind of a Monster" aired on September 2, 2020, on Investigation Discovery.