September 13, 2022 / 1:52 PM / CBS Pittsburgh. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Williams is currently serving a life sentence for the crime. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Editor's note: Thispost has been updated to add information on additional criminals. My relatives lived in the area when these heinous crimes were committed. Both were sentenced to life in prison. He stabbed her to death in 1960, which resulted in some jail time. Gary Michael Heidnik (November 22, 1943 - July 6, 1999) was an American murderer and serial rapist who kidnapped, tortured, and raped six women, murdering two of them, while holding them captive in a self-dug pit in his basement floor, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1983: The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh opened in the Old Post Office building on the North Side. After the bludgeoning, he cut out their hearts. After police arrived, he shoteight girls, killing five, before killing himself. The majority of the women suffered multiple knife wounds. In 1999, he became the last person to be executed in Pennsylvania. He eventually fled to South America, and theres disagreement over whether he died there in a shootout, or later returned to the U.S. His exploits were romanticized in the classic movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.. In addition to killing at least 12, he wounded numerous others. His body was found at the train track above Station Sqaure, near the Wabash. Einhorn, a former guru, was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Holly Maddux. To this day, these cases remain unsolved, and the mysteries of Pittsburghs decade filled with death permeates oral histories across nearly every county nearby. Today, he sits on death row. He would ruthlessly kill hunters, fisherman, and joggers with weapons like his high-velocity .308 Mauser rifle. Five people, including a pregnant woman, were killed at a backyard party in suburban Pittsburgh in March of 2016. PITTSBURGH, Dec. 17In the past 20 months, there have been at least 27 unsolved murdersperhaps as many as 41 in suburbs and rural areas near here. Press J to jump to the feed. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Almost all his victims were African-American. Richard Scott Baumhammers (born May 17, 1965)[1] is an American former immigration attorney and spree killer who began a racially motivated crime spree on April 28, 2000, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which left five individuals dead and one paralyzed. More:http://ow.ly/lthzH. His body was found in the Ohio River at Neville Island on March 6th, 2017. He was also a consummate con artist, defrauding numerous people and occasionally murdering them to tie up loose ends. Marlene Newcomer, 26, a single mother from Connellsville, Fayette County, was fatally shot a day. In 1988, Bernard Williams beat state representative William Telek to death with a hammer, stealing $100 in cash and Telek's car. People leave a joint memorial service for siblings Jerry Michael Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25, at the Lighthouse Cathedral in Pittsburgh's St. Clair neighborhood, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Those four killings were committed with a .22 caliber sawed-off rifle, which led to the nickname .22-Caliber Killer. It's not like they went missing in regent square and ended up in the Allegheny. He was convicted of the murder, but sentenced to just 15 years probation because of his health concerns. First Amendment. He was notoriously bad-tempered towards his family, a quality that culminated the day he shot his daughter's fiance in the face with a shotgun. Dubbed the "House of Horrors" killer, Gary Heidnik murdered two women in his North Philadelphia home, where he held six victims in chains, raping them and using electrical shock on them during 1986 and 1987. The two murdered seven people in 1980 alone. Amstutz, a retired Lutheran deaconess, was shot nine times. Eyler confessed to 21 further homicides of young men and boys he had committed between 1982 and 1984 in five separate states before he died. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. His victims were: Two other women survived attacks by Mille. [6] Hidden in every town and city in America lies a dark secret. Penn State would soon face crippling sanctions from the NCAA. He is currently incarcerated at Greene State Correctional Institute in Franklin Township, Pennsylvania, awaiting judicial appeal dates. [1] A Cumberland classmate described Baumhammers as "gregarious, a good student, in the top third of his class." This page is not available in other languages. They had three children two born with their fathers deformity and the story goes, Grady Stiles turned into a nasty drunk. Last seen in downtown Pittsburgh at about 7 p.m on May 27, 2015. By 1986 he helped clear 213 unsolved cases. Baumhammers was charged with 19 crimes which included five counts of criminal homicides, one count of attempted homicide, eight counts of ethnic intimidation, two counts of arson, two counts of criminal mischief, one count of arson, one count of reckless endangerment of another person, one count of violation of uniform firearms act, two counts of institution vandalism and one count of aggravated assault. Debbie Makel. Also known as the Highway Murderer and the Interstate Killer, Eyler is believed to have killed between 19 and 23 people from 1982 to 1984. One year later, Hain was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Scott, who then shot and killed himself. Sandusky spent 30 years at Penn State, most as assistant football coach under legendary coach Joe Paterno. Another, was photographing birds in a Wetland Preserve. Investigators believe Noakes killed his daughters, Norma Sedgewick, 12; Dewilla Noakes, 10, and Cordelia Noakes, 8, on Nov. 21 rather than let them starve. His body was discovered on March 20 near a barge at the Market Street Bridge that spans the Ohio River in Brooke County, West Virginia. Have any other famous murders in Pennsylvania inspired TV shows or movies? Richard Baumhammers was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Andrejs and Inese Baumhammers, both Lutheran Latvian immigrants who fled the Soviet occupation of their homeland. [12] O'Toole made his decision after three psychiatrists examined Baumhammers, each coming to the conclusion that Baumhammers was psychologically unstable. It is estimated that he may be responsible for as many 400 deaths during his career as a nurse, causing intentional overdoses of numerous patients via commonly used medication. His date, Renee Gregor, 16, is still missing. Grady Stiles Jr., was born with a genetic abnormality that made his hands resemble lobster claws. In 2014, Miranda and Elytte Barbour were convictedforthe murder of Troy LaFerrera. His death was believed to be accidental. The "Frankford Slasher" raped and killed women in Philadelphia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 1,000. By week's end, he left on a flight for Spain. Lucas had been raised by an abusive mother who allegedly forced him to copulate with dead animals. The three children were found dead on Nov. 24, and it is believed that Noakes killed them in order to prevent them from starving. Bradfield was a high school teacher and the sole beneficiary of the life insurance policy of his colleagueSusan Reinert. The Uniontown, Pennsylvania based newspaper listed an 8-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, as well as two young men. He remains on death row. His bond was set at $1 million. A twisted tale, the episode revealed that Trimbles husband, Brian, and his friend, Blaine Norris, plotted to murder Trimble in an effort to claim her $100,000 insurance policy, which they would then use to fund their low-budget horror movie. [15] On February 28, 2010, Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning granted Baumhammers an indefinite stay of execution. There is still hope for justice. These confused reporters. He tied them up and opened fire, killing five girls and injuring five, before committing suicide. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove). After graduating from Cumberland, Baumhammers enrolled in a specialized one-year international program at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, where he received a master's degree in transnational business practice and specialized in both immigration law and international law. Ten of this year's 16 playoff teams feature former Penguins, including one of the league's best penalty killers and the 40-goal scorer who got away. On that night he had been drinking, left a bar alone and later called his friends to come help him with a glass cut on his hand, even though he was a nursing grad. Their bodies were found Nov. 24, 1934 in Cumberland County near what is today the entrance to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. I wonder which local magazine will pick up this crazy theory first. [1], From Robinson Town Center, Baumhammers drove to the C.S. In 2011, following a two-year grand jury investigation, Sandusky was charged with sexually assaulting 10 boys over a 15-year period. Every community has its grisly tales of murder including the Coal State. Eventually, Cullen was arrested in connection with a patient's overdose. There was a wide radius that this killeror killerscovered over the course of the late-1970s. Had they existed in the 1970s, perhaps the deaths mentioned in this article could have been avoided. Three of the murder victims were hitchhiking and were abducted before being killed. Darlene Ewalt was talking on the phone with a family friend on her backyard patio in West Hanover Twp. All rights reserved (About Us). Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Some say that the '80s was the peak for serial killers and the publics fascination with them. A serial killer, or a string of brutal random killings? Toole confessed to the 1981 murder of Adam Walsh, son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh. [8], Baumhammers next drove to the Ahavath Achim Congregation in Carnegie, where he shattered the synagogue's glass windows with gunfire. And though every slaying is a tragedy, some will go down in history as the most famous murders in Pennsylvania. Baumhammers initially pointed the gun at Thomas, then turned and fired at Lee, killing him instantly. In 1977, he founded The Second Mile, a charity devoted to helping children with absent or dysfunctional families. 4. He was convicted and sentenced to death in Illinois for the 1984 murder and dismemberment of a 15-year-old. Eric Frein, authorities say, ambushed two state police troopers outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks on Sept. 12, 2014, killing Cpl. 1984: The old Stanley Theater re-opened as the beautifully renovated Benedum Center for the . In 1993, he was convicted in absentia of Madduxs death. However, there were several killings that threw a wrench in their theory. A jury found that Mr. Abu-Jamal had shot Faulkner in the back and then, as the officer lay bleeding, shot him four more times. Robert Wayne Marshall knew that his crime was so heinous that he killed himself before the police could catch him. [2] Both parents would become faculty members of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine and would open a successful practice on Fifth Avenue, near the university. Christophers killing spree began in September of 1980 when he committed four murders in the space of just 36 hours. They then fires around his body, hoping to burn any evidence of their crime. Dubbed the "House of Horrors" killer, Gary Heidnik murdered two women in his North Philadelphia home, where he held six victims in chains, raping them and using electrical shock on them during 1986. He focused on killing women, many of them prostitutes, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His body was found Dec. 12, 2014 in Beaver Falls. From 1992-1993, he raped and killed three women. His crimes took place in the Wild West, but Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, who would be known as the Sundance Kid, was born in Mont Clare, Pa. It must be noted that I, the author, am from Washington, Pennsylvania, where several murders took place. He is currently on death row. Harrison Graham is a case that begs the question of whether an insane person can be responsible for his or her actions or if the shortcomings of the mental health care system should be held accountable. State Park found at the train track above Station Sqaure, near Wabash. Murdering them to tie up loose ends just 36 hours arrived, became... Were hitchhiking and were abducted before being killed that Baumhammers was psychologically unstable of their crime goes! Committed with a.22 caliber sawed-off rifle, which led to the that... Addition to killing at least 12, he shoteight girls, killing five, before committing suicide 13. 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