1 00:00:06,950 --> 00:00:11,435 NARRATOR: In January 1968, 19-year-old encyclopedia 2 00:00:11,510 --> 00:00:15,875 saleswoman Linda Slawson arrived on the doorstep of a family 3 00:00:15,950 --> 00:00:18,002 home in Portland, Oregon. 4 00:00:18,077 --> 00:00:21,675 She was invited in by a seemingly kind stranger, 5 00:00:21,750 --> 00:00:23,795 but she would never leave. 6 00:00:23,870 --> 00:00:27,235 While his children played above, the man of the house 7 00:00:27,310 --> 00:00:30,955 strangled Linda to death, before severing her foot 8 00:00:31,030 --> 00:00:35,195 and dumping her body in a nearby river. 9 00:00:35,204 --> 00:00:37,122 ROD ENGLERT: And then he put her foot in a freezer 10 00:00:37,197 --> 00:00:41,395 and would put shoes on this foot. 11 00:00:41,470 --> 00:00:44,475 NARRATOR: The depraved killer was local electrician, 12 00:00:44,484 --> 00:00:45,908 Jerry Brudos. 13 00:00:45,984 --> 00:00:49,755 The 28-year-old appeared to be an upright family man, 14 00:00:49,830 --> 00:00:54,395 but he was keeping a dark secret very close to home. 15 00:00:54,470 --> 00:00:56,115 LARS LARSON: If you can imagine, a man 16 00:00:56,190 --> 00:00:59,115 who would capture women while his wife and his two 17 00:00:59,124 --> 00:01:00,995 small children are in the house. 18 00:01:01,070 --> 00:01:05,155 She's making dinner, and he's in the garage torturing a woman. 19 00:01:05,230 --> 00:01:07,235 NARRATOR: Brudos killed four young women 20 00:01:07,310 --> 00:01:11,715 in the cruelest of circumstances before defiling their bodies 21 00:01:11,790 --> 00:01:13,482 for his own twisted pleasure. 22 00:01:13,557 --> 00:01:16,315 GEOFFREY WANSELL: Brudos is intent on only one thing-- 23 00:01:16,390 --> 00:01:19,635 his own gratification at its most extreme. 24 00:01:19,710 --> 00:01:22,042 And that is one of the things that makes him 25 00:01:22,117 --> 00:01:25,035 the most horrifying of killers. 26 00:01:25,110 --> 00:01:27,755 NARRATOR: The perverted desires of Jerry Brudos 27 00:01:27,830 --> 00:01:31,635 had erupted, turning him into one of the "World's Most 28 00:01:31,710 --> 00:01:32,788 Evil Killers." 29 00:01:32,764 --> 00:01:36,322 [theme music] 30 00:01:53,590 --> 00:01:58,035 In June 1969, Jerry Brudos was given three 31 00:01:58,110 --> 00:02:00,355 life sentences for murder. 32 00:02:00,430 --> 00:02:04,035 Over a 15-month period, he abducted, raped, 33 00:02:04,110 --> 00:02:06,435 killed, and desecrated the bodies 34 00:02:06,510 --> 00:02:09,402 of four young women in Oregon. 35 00:02:09,477 --> 00:02:13,635 The 30-year-old could not suppress his unhealthy desire 36 00:02:13,710 --> 00:02:15,042 for high-heel shoes. 37 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:20,202 Rod Englert is a crime scene analyst 38 00:02:20,277 --> 00:02:23,115 who visited Brudos' infamous kill room 39 00:02:23,190 --> 00:02:27,435 and spent time speaking with the sadistic killer. 40 00:02:27,510 --> 00:02:29,162 ROD ENGLERT: I talked to him about what 41 00:02:28,804 --> 00:02:32,802 went through his mind, what was he thinking about 42 00:02:32,877 --> 00:02:35,435 prior to picking up a victim? 43 00:02:35,444 --> 00:02:38,322 He would drive for hours at a time, 44 00:02:38,397 --> 00:02:41,075 all over looking for what he had in his mind 45 00:02:41,150 --> 00:02:45,035 is that perfect victim walking in front of him. 46 00:02:45,110 --> 00:02:49,602 Because in his mind when he saw that, it had to have something. 47 00:02:49,677 --> 00:02:51,635 What was it that it had to have? 48 00:02:51,710 --> 00:02:53,922 High-heel shoes. 49 00:02:53,997 --> 00:02:56,035 NARRATOR: Portland journalist and radio 50 00:02:56,110 --> 00:02:59,075 talk show host, Lars Larson, also 51 00:02:59,150 --> 00:03:01,995 interviewed Brudos in prison. 52 00:03:02,070 --> 00:03:04,715 All of these women who were Brudos' victims 53 00:03:04,790 --> 00:03:08,682 were women that all of us could imagine as wives, 54 00:03:08,757 --> 00:03:11,275 mothers, sisters, daughters. 55 00:03:11,350 --> 00:03:13,635 And they were simply disappearing 56 00:03:13,710 --> 00:03:17,195 like a puff of smoke, and that made it particularly 57 00:03:17,270 --> 00:03:19,035 terrifying for the community. 58 00:03:19,110 --> 00:03:21,035 Because they didn't know if the next day, 59 00:03:21,110 --> 00:03:22,795 it wouldn't be a member of their family 60 00:03:22,870 --> 00:03:24,835 who was taken in this way. 61 00:03:24,910 --> 00:03:29,195 NARRATOR: Despite being incarcerated for over 35 years, 62 00:03:29,270 --> 00:03:34,715 Brudos never showed any remorse for his horrendous crimes. 63 00:03:34,790 --> 00:03:36,462 ROD ENGLERT: The big question-- 64 00:03:36,537 --> 00:03:40,635 Jerry, if you got out today, would you not do it again? 65 00:03:40,710 --> 00:03:42,675 And there was a blank stare. 66 00:03:42,684 --> 00:03:44,235 He just nodded like that. 67 00:03:44,310 --> 00:03:45,915 That's all he did. 68 00:03:45,990 --> 00:03:48,435 He would do it again. 69 00:03:48,510 --> 00:03:50,875 LARS LARSON: There was apparently no conscience. 70 00:03:50,950 --> 00:03:52,802 There was apparently no remorse. 71 00:03:52,877 --> 00:03:55,042 Yeah, he was the personification of evil. 72 00:03:57,390 --> 00:03:59,275 NARRATOR: This killer story begins 73 00:03:59,350 --> 00:04:01,602 in Webster, South Dakota. 74 00:04:01,677 --> 00:04:07,235 Jerome Brudos was born on the 31st of January 1939. 75 00:04:07,310 --> 00:04:10,635 The second son of Henry and Eileen, young Jerry 76 00:04:10,710 --> 00:04:13,602 had a difficult upbringing. 77 00:04:13,677 --> 00:04:14,995 GEOFFREY WANSELL: Eileen, his mother, 78 00:04:15,070 --> 00:04:16,555 was rather solid figure. 79 00:04:16,630 --> 00:04:21,395 And she really favored his elder brother, Larry. 80 00:04:21,470 --> 00:04:25,235 I think that was to color a great deal 81 00:04:25,310 --> 00:04:27,355 of Jerry Brudos' childhood. 82 00:04:27,430 --> 00:04:32,035 An unaffectionate mother, a fairly remote father, 83 00:04:32,110 --> 00:04:35,035 so you've got this sort of runt-of-the-litter 84 00:04:35,110 --> 00:04:38,275 concept of Brudos' childhood. 85 00:04:38,350 --> 00:04:40,115 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: And the family were quite nomadic. 86 00:04:40,190 --> 00:04:41,555 They moved around a lot. 87 00:04:41,630 --> 00:04:43,915 So Brudos didn't really get the chance 88 00:04:43,990 --> 00:04:46,675 to develop those stable peer relationships 89 00:04:46,750 --> 00:04:50,115 that were really important to becoming who we are. 90 00:04:50,124 --> 00:04:53,035 NARRATOR: It was at a young age that Brudos first 91 00:04:53,110 --> 00:04:56,555 discovered the fetish that would define him. 92 00:04:56,630 --> 00:04:58,675 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: When Brudos was five, 93 00:04:58,750 --> 00:05:00,802 he was just allowed to go and roam about 94 00:05:00,877 --> 00:05:02,235 and do what he wanted to do. 95 00:05:02,310 --> 00:05:04,595 So he was in a junkyard one day and he 96 00:05:04,670 --> 00:05:06,675 came across a pair of quite elaborate, 97 00:05:06,750 --> 00:05:09,035 shiny, high-heeled shoes. 98 00:05:09,110 --> 00:05:10,768 And he would have been fascinated 99 00:05:10,844 --> 00:05:13,955 by them, because his mother dressed very conservatively. 100 00:05:14,030 --> 00:05:15,795 These weren't the kind of shoes that he 101 00:05:15,870 --> 00:05:17,122 would have seen her wearing. 102 00:05:17,197 --> 00:05:21,035 So they were-- they were something quite intriguing 103 00:05:21,044 --> 00:05:22,475 GEOFFREY WANSELL: And develops what 104 00:05:22,550 --> 00:05:25,755 one almost call it an excitement about them, 105 00:05:25,830 --> 00:05:27,435 and indeed takes them home. 106 00:05:27,444 --> 00:05:31,635 His mother is very, very disapproving. 107 00:05:31,710 --> 00:05:34,635 And indeed so disapproving, she burns them. 108 00:05:34,710 --> 00:05:39,835 Now, that is the genesis in my mind of what turned Jerry 109 00:05:39,910 --> 00:05:42,355 Brudos into a shoe fetishist. 110 00:05:42,430 --> 00:05:47,275 That single moment completely altered the trajectory 111 00:05:47,350 --> 00:05:49,442 of the rest of his life. 112 00:05:49,517 --> 00:05:53,835 NARRATOR: As the family settled in Oregon in the early 1950s, 113 00:05:53,844 --> 00:05:58,195 the now teenage Brudos' fascination with women's shoes 114 00:05:58,270 --> 00:06:01,635 took a more sinister turn. 115 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:03,515 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: The obsession which 116 00:06:03,590 --> 00:06:07,435 started off with shoes then expanded to women's underwear. 117 00:06:07,444 --> 00:06:09,555 And he would steal women's underwear, 118 00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:12,042 and he would wear it, and he would play with it. 119 00:06:12,117 --> 00:06:15,275 And I think he starts to experience feelings of comfort 120 00:06:15,350 --> 00:06:16,995 and feelings of arousal. 121 00:06:17,070 --> 00:06:18,908 So these are things, I think, that 122 00:06:18,984 --> 00:06:21,755 are quite kind of confusing for him but quite intriguing 123 00:06:21,830 --> 00:06:24,235 at the same time. 124 00:06:24,310 --> 00:06:27,995 ROD ENGLERT: Brudos collected his high heels and underwear, 125 00:06:28,070 --> 00:06:31,355 the thefts of them, from clothes lines, 126 00:06:31,430 --> 00:06:33,875 sneaking through neighborhoods. 127 00:06:33,950 --> 00:06:35,755 This was a challenge to him. 128 00:06:35,830 --> 00:06:38,635 And it's not about the sex, it's about power, 129 00:06:38,710 --> 00:06:40,555 what can I get away with? 130 00:06:40,630 --> 00:06:43,035 NARRATOR: Brudos' next twisted plan 131 00:06:43,110 --> 00:06:45,515 was to photograph a naked girl. 132 00:06:45,524 --> 00:06:50,035 Aged 17, he lured one of his neighbors into his house 133 00:06:50,110 --> 00:06:52,795 and threatened her with a knife. 134 00:06:52,870 --> 00:06:53,995 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: When she'd taken 135 00:06:54,070 --> 00:06:55,875 her clothes off under his orders, 136 00:06:55,950 --> 00:06:58,002 he took photographs of her. 137 00:06:58,077 --> 00:07:00,395 And I think at this point, he hadn't thought much 138 00:07:00,470 --> 00:07:03,195 beyond taking photographs, but he knows 139 00:07:03,270 --> 00:07:04,742 that he can control women. 140 00:07:04,817 --> 00:07:07,435 He knows he can get them to do what he wants them to do. 141 00:07:07,510 --> 00:07:10,355 And this sets a really dangerous precedent. 142 00:07:10,430 --> 00:07:13,835 NARRATOR: The girl didn't report Brudos to the police, which 143 00:07:13,910 --> 00:07:16,315 only spurred him on further. 144 00:07:16,324 --> 00:07:21,715 Eight months later, he escalated the intensity of his attacks. 145 00:07:21,790 --> 00:07:27,115 He persuades a 17-year-old girl to get into his car 146 00:07:27,190 --> 00:07:29,315 on the pretext of giving her a lift home. 147 00:07:29,390 --> 00:07:30,762 He doesn't give her a lift home. 148 00:07:30,837 --> 00:07:35,442 He takes to a remote spot and beats her, assaults her, 149 00:07:35,517 --> 00:07:38,555 brutally, because she refuses to take 150 00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:43,235 off all her clothes for him and let him photograph her. 151 00:07:43,310 --> 00:07:44,935 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: This is somebody who's 152 00:07:45,010 --> 00:07:48,155 been fantasizing about the-- the control that he has over women. 153 00:07:48,230 --> 00:07:50,755 This is somebody who's been able to get women 154 00:07:50,830 --> 00:07:52,235 to do what he wants before. 155 00:07:52,310 --> 00:07:55,115 And now, he's got somebody who is not playing ball, 156 00:07:55,190 --> 00:07:56,442 and he doesn't like it. 157 00:07:56,517 --> 00:07:59,315 So this violent reaction, it's not particularly 158 00:07:59,390 --> 00:08:01,835 surprising one to me. 159 00:08:01,910 --> 00:08:05,002 NARRATOR: This time, Brudos didn't get away with it. 160 00:08:05,077 --> 00:08:07,995 A couple overheard the assault taking place 161 00:08:08,070 --> 00:08:09,835 and called the police. 162 00:08:09,910 --> 00:08:14,755 In the spring of 1956, instead of facing a prison sentence, 163 00:08:14,830 --> 00:08:18,075 Brudos was committed to Oregon State Hospital 164 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:20,635 for psychiatric evaluation. 165 00:08:20,710 --> 00:08:22,402 GEOFFREY WANSELL: It's concluded that he's 166 00:08:22,477 --> 00:08:26,435 having what was described as an aberrant adolescence, 167 00:08:26,510 --> 00:08:30,882 a sexual deviation with fetishism. 168 00:08:30,957 --> 00:08:33,635 It's also suggested that there may 169 00:08:33,710 --> 00:08:40,395 be an element of schizophrenia in his condition. 170 00:08:40,470 --> 00:08:42,995 ROD ENGLERT: It was mentioned at the time 171 00:08:43,004 --> 00:08:44,635 that he couldn't be rehabilitated, 172 00:08:44,710 --> 00:08:51,275 that he had a sociopathic issue that couldn't be rehabilitated. 173 00:08:51,350 --> 00:08:53,075 GEOFFREY WANSELL: But what you have now 174 00:08:53,150 --> 00:08:56,802 is the beginnings of a full-scale sexual predator. 175 00:08:56,877 --> 00:08:59,915 If you like, the genesis from the cocoon 176 00:08:59,990 --> 00:09:02,315 is beginning to emerge. 177 00:09:02,390 --> 00:09:05,635 NARRATOR: Brudos spent his days at school and his nights 178 00:09:05,710 --> 00:09:07,302 in the hospital. 179 00:09:07,377 --> 00:09:11,075 Despite the reports suggesting he could not be rehabilitated, 180 00:09:11,150 --> 00:09:14,835 the 17-year-old was released after just nine months 181 00:09:14,910 --> 00:09:18,075 in December 1956. 182 00:09:18,150 --> 00:09:20,075 LARS LARSON: After he left school, Brudos, 183 00:09:20,150 --> 00:09:22,155 he did do a short stint in the military, 184 00:09:22,230 --> 00:09:24,435 but then he became a commercial electrician 185 00:09:24,510 --> 00:09:28,395 and began to-- to do wiring jobs. 186 00:09:28,470 --> 00:09:31,595 NARRATOR: By 1963, the 24-year-old 187 00:09:31,604 --> 00:09:36,675 was working for a local radio station in Corvallis, Oregon. 188 00:09:36,750 --> 00:09:42,155 It was there he met his wife, 17-year-old Darcie. 189 00:09:42,230 --> 00:09:44,195 GEOFFREY WANSELL: They begin a relationship, 190 00:09:44,270 --> 00:09:47,075 get married, and have the first child. 191 00:09:47,150 --> 00:09:50,835 Brudos hasn't really changed. 192 00:09:50,910 --> 00:09:57,002 What he wants Darcie to do is to do all the housework naked, 193 00:09:57,077 --> 00:09:59,115 or only wearing underwear, or only wearing 194 00:09:59,190 --> 00:10:01,195 a pair of high-heel shoes. 195 00:10:01,270 --> 00:10:02,595 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: And that is typical 196 00:10:02,670 --> 00:10:04,195 of an abusive situation. 197 00:10:04,270 --> 00:10:06,402 It's typical of coercive control. 198 00:10:06,477 --> 00:10:10,602 He's got this much younger woman who is completely 199 00:10:10,677 --> 00:10:13,235 kind of under his command. 200 00:10:13,244 --> 00:10:16,155 And when he orders her to walk around 201 00:10:16,230 --> 00:10:19,835 naked at home, or wearing lingerie, she does it. 202 00:10:19,844 --> 00:10:23,002 Because, I think, he has got such kind of influence 203 00:10:23,077 --> 00:10:26,955 over her in this relationship. 204 00:10:26,964 --> 00:10:31,475 NARRATOR: By 1967, the couple had welcomed a second child 205 00:10:31,550 --> 00:10:34,915 into the world, and Darcie had refused to continue 206 00:10:34,990 --> 00:10:37,075 dressing up for her husband. 207 00:10:37,150 --> 00:10:40,722 Jerry Brudos would have to go looking for his thrills 208 00:10:40,797 --> 00:10:42,642 elsewhere. 209 00:10:42,284 --> 00:10:46,995 GEOFFREY WANSELL: In May 1967, he's been stalking a woman, 210 00:10:47,004 --> 00:10:50,395 and he breaks into her house when she's asleep. 211 00:10:50,470 --> 00:10:54,435 Now he's really there to steal her underwear. 212 00:10:54,510 --> 00:10:59,035 But sadly, she wakes up while he's in the midst of stealing, 213 00:10:59,044 --> 00:11:03,275 and he attacks her, rapes her, and flees. 214 00:11:03,350 --> 00:11:06,755 It's the action of a man who has lost 215 00:11:06,830 --> 00:11:10,955 control of his own capacities. 216 00:11:11,030 --> 00:11:14,035 On the surface, hard-working family 217 00:11:14,110 --> 00:11:19,595 man, underneath a cauldron of sexual desire, 218 00:11:19,670 --> 00:11:24,195 a fetish of the desire to hurt women. 219 00:11:24,270 --> 00:11:28,195 NARRATOR: In April 1969, Oregon State police 220 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:31,755 were searching for four missing young women who'd vanished 221 00:11:31,830 --> 00:11:34,075 over a 15-month period. 222 00:11:34,150 --> 00:11:36,995 The latest girl to go missing was secretary and 223 00:11:37,004 --> 00:11:40,195 part-time student, Linda Salee. 224 00:11:40,270 --> 00:11:43,155 Becky New was just 10 years old when 225 00:11:43,230 --> 00:11:46,195 her big sister disappeared. 226 00:11:46,270 --> 00:11:50,835 BECKY NEW: She was 22, and she was 227 00:11:50,910 --> 00:11:56,802 like a second mom, babysat me, took me to "Mary Poppins," 228 00:11:56,877 --> 00:11:57,762 you know? 229 00:11:57,837 --> 00:12:01,235 That kind of stuff. 230 00:12:01,310 --> 00:12:03,269 Of course we had our moments. 231 00:12:02,844 --> 00:12:07,442 [chuckles] I was kind of a brat, but she was always good to me. 232 00:12:10,404 --> 00:12:14,035 NARRATOR: On the 23rd of April 1969, 233 00:12:14,110 --> 00:12:17,955 Linda headed out to a shopping mall in Portland. 234 00:12:18,030 --> 00:12:21,715 BECKY NEW: The last time I saw my sister Linda, she was going 235 00:12:21,724 --> 00:12:26,602 to Lloyd Center and get like a birthday present 236 00:12:26,677 --> 00:12:28,995 for her boyfriend or fiance. 237 00:12:29,004 --> 00:12:31,035 And that's all I remember. 238 00:12:31,044 --> 00:12:34,435 And she didn't come back. 239 00:12:34,510 --> 00:12:36,355 NARRATOR: Linda Salee didn't arrive 240 00:12:36,430 --> 00:12:38,755 at her boyfriend's birthday party 241 00:12:38,830 --> 00:12:41,075 or for work the following day. 242 00:12:41,150 --> 00:12:44,675 Her worried parents dialed 911. 243 00:12:44,750 --> 00:12:46,755 BECKY NEW: As far as I know, they called the police 244 00:12:46,830 --> 00:12:48,715 as soon as they could. 245 00:12:48,790 --> 00:12:54,722 I, that night, had a dream that she was in a meadow. 246 00:12:58,110 --> 00:12:59,475 And she was happy. 247 00:12:59,550 --> 00:13:05,635 [sniffs] And, uh, I kept having that dream, over and over, 248 00:13:05,710 --> 00:13:08,635 and, uh, it's just weird. 249 00:13:08,710 --> 00:13:11,402 She just disappeared. 250 00:13:14,270 --> 00:13:16,395 NARRATOR: Linda had become the fourth girl 251 00:13:16,470 --> 00:13:20,915 to go missing in the Portland area in just over a year. 252 00:13:20,990 --> 00:13:23,315 LARS LARSON: I think people were terrorized at the time. 253 00:13:23,390 --> 00:13:26,275 Because they knew that there was somebody taking young women 254 00:13:26,350 --> 00:13:31,395 off the street in positions where it's not somebody who 255 00:13:31,470 --> 00:13:34,395 goes to a remote area late at night 256 00:13:34,470 --> 00:13:37,275 and is involved in some other activity 257 00:13:37,350 --> 00:13:39,115 that might put them greatly at risk. 258 00:13:39,190 --> 00:13:42,195 These were women from the community who were just 259 00:13:42,270 --> 00:13:43,722 going about their daily lives. 260 00:13:47,990 --> 00:13:51,835 NARRATOR: On the 10th of May 1969, 17 261 00:13:51,910 --> 00:13:54,275 days after Linda's disappearance, 262 00:13:54,350 --> 00:13:56,435 authorities were alerted when two 263 00:13:56,444 --> 00:13:59,195 fishermen made a grisly discovery 264 00:13:59,204 --> 00:14:02,275 in the Long Tom River. 265 00:14:02,350 --> 00:14:03,782 BECKY NEW: The first news that we 266 00:14:03,857 --> 00:14:08,195 heard was when they found a body in the-- in the river, 267 00:14:08,270 --> 00:14:11,115 and then, we kinda was wondering if it was her, 268 00:14:11,190 --> 00:14:12,562 and turned out it was. 269 00:14:18,230 --> 00:14:20,275 NARRATOR: The police didn't know it yet, 270 00:14:20,350 --> 00:14:24,035 but Linda's killer was a 30-year-old local electrician 271 00:14:24,110 --> 00:14:26,355 named Jerry Brudos. 272 00:14:26,430 --> 00:14:29,475 On the 23rd of April, Linda Salee 273 00:14:29,550 --> 00:14:33,195 had been walking back to her car at the Lloyd Center Shopping 274 00:14:33,204 --> 00:14:35,835 Mall, with her arms filled with birthday 275 00:14:35,910 --> 00:14:38,435 presents for her boyfriend. 276 00:14:38,510 --> 00:14:41,635 Brudos approached the 22-year-old, claiming 277 00:14:41,710 --> 00:14:43,842 to be a security officer. 278 00:14:43,917 --> 00:14:48,475 He accused Linda of shoplifting, sat her down in his car, 279 00:14:48,550 --> 00:14:50,435 and drove her away. 280 00:14:50,510 --> 00:14:52,835 GEOFFREY WANSELL: Linda was taken back to the garage, 281 00:14:52,844 --> 00:14:54,302 the killing ground. 282 00:14:54,377 --> 00:14:57,035 But Brudos doesn't immediately kill her. 283 00:14:57,110 --> 00:14:58,635 He keeps her in the garage and goes 284 00:14:58,710 --> 00:15:00,235 to have supper with his family. 285 00:15:00,310 --> 00:15:03,442 And then, returns to the garage and strangles her. 286 00:15:06,270 --> 00:15:08,115 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think that process of switching 287 00:15:08,190 --> 00:15:10,995 from murderer to family man eating dinner, 288 00:15:11,070 --> 00:15:13,035 and then, back again, is-- 289 00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:15,835 it's one that many of us struggle to understand. 290 00:15:15,910 --> 00:15:17,115 Because when we hurt other people, 291 00:15:17,190 --> 00:15:18,875 we-- we feel bad about it. 292 00:15:18,884 --> 00:15:19,995 We feel guilty. 293 00:15:20,070 --> 00:15:21,288 But Brudos doesn't. 294 00:15:21,164 --> 00:15:23,195 He doesn't have that-- that conscience. 295 00:15:23,270 --> 00:15:24,715 He doesn't have that empathy. 296 00:15:24,790 --> 00:15:28,435 He is literally able to just put one part of his life down 297 00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:30,315 and go and see to another one. 298 00:15:30,390 --> 00:15:32,035 So it is very chilling. 299 00:15:32,110 --> 00:15:34,082 It is very, very difficult to comprehend, 300 00:15:34,157 --> 00:15:36,522 but that's what's going on there. 301 00:15:36,597 --> 00:15:39,035 NARRATOR: Brudos had been abducting and killing 302 00:15:39,044 --> 00:15:41,035 women for 15 months. 303 00:15:41,110 --> 00:15:45,635 Linda Salee had become his fourth victim. 304 00:15:45,710 --> 00:15:49,235 BECKY NEW: First, he tied her up and kept her for a while. 305 00:15:49,310 --> 00:15:52,675 And she happened to get away, or almost 306 00:15:52,750 --> 00:15:54,835 got out of her restraints. 307 00:15:54,910 --> 00:16:00,115 And he happened to come back into the garage and caught her, 308 00:16:00,190 --> 00:16:04,195 and she fought like hell, but it wasn't enough. 309 00:16:04,270 --> 00:16:07,915 She was just like my height, and he's like six foot, 310 00:16:07,990 --> 00:16:10,235 so it wasn't much of a-- 311 00:16:10,244 --> 00:16:11,515 I mean, she tried. 312 00:16:11,524 --> 00:16:17,435 She tried like heck, but it didn't-- 313 00:16:17,444 --> 00:16:18,402 I wish it had. 314 00:16:21,070 --> 00:16:25,435 NARRATOR: Brudos strangled Linda with a strap of a postal bag 315 00:16:25,510 --> 00:16:30,235 and raped the 22-year-old as she lay dying. 316 00:16:30,310 --> 00:16:34,155 The 30-year-old shoe fetishist had taken his obsession 317 00:16:34,230 --> 00:16:36,755 to deadly extremes. 318 00:16:36,830 --> 00:16:39,635 ROD ENGLERT: She crossed his path, he saw shoes, 319 00:16:39,710 --> 00:16:41,395 and he has to have her. 320 00:16:41,470 --> 00:16:44,555 And that was his modus operandi. 321 00:16:44,564 --> 00:16:47,435 NARRATOR: Linda Salee's post-mortem revealed 322 00:16:47,444 --> 00:16:50,675 that not only had she been strangled by the killer, 323 00:16:50,750 --> 00:16:54,555 but her lifeless body had been experimented on. 324 00:16:54,630 --> 00:16:56,635 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: After he killed Linda, 325 00:16:56,710 --> 00:16:59,635 he violates her body in a whole new way. 326 00:16:59,710 --> 00:17:03,555 So he puts hypodermic syringes at the sides of her ribs 327 00:17:03,564 --> 00:17:06,635 and attaches electrical nodes to them, 328 00:17:06,710 --> 00:17:10,995 and tries to get her body kind of reanimated, essentially. 329 00:17:11,070 --> 00:17:11,875 This doesn't work. 330 00:17:11,950 --> 00:17:13,122 It fails. 331 00:17:13,197 --> 00:17:15,522 All that happens is that he burns her skin. 332 00:17:15,597 --> 00:17:18,555 But for me, this says that-- that Brudos is an offender 333 00:17:18,564 --> 00:17:21,595 who will constantly be trying to improve 334 00:17:21,604 --> 00:17:23,562 and refine his offenses. 335 00:17:23,637 --> 00:17:26,482 And he's an incredibly dangerous man at this point. 336 00:17:30,270 --> 00:17:32,435 NARRATOR: Linda's murder still affects 337 00:17:32,510 --> 00:17:36,555 her family over 50 years on. 338 00:17:36,630 --> 00:17:40,875 BECKY NEW: My mom, she never got over it. 339 00:17:40,950 --> 00:17:42,402 Never. 340 00:17:42,477 --> 00:17:46,555 And she used to call me Linda once in a while, by accident. 341 00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:49,242 And she missed her. 342 00:17:49,317 --> 00:17:52,835 And you can't talk about it much without crying, 343 00:17:52,910 --> 00:17:55,835 even after all these years. 344 00:17:55,910 --> 00:17:59,275 He took my sister away from me. 345 00:17:59,350 --> 00:18:02,635 I had no sister anymore. 346 00:18:02,710 --> 00:18:03,955 Now, it's hard. 347 00:18:04,030 --> 00:18:05,042 That was really hard. 348 00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:11,875 NARRATOR: Jerry Brudos had begun his murderous career 349 00:18:11,950 --> 00:18:15,875 15 months earlier in January 1968, 350 00:18:15,950 --> 00:18:18,915 when an encyclopedia saleswoman turned 351 00:18:18,990 --> 00:18:24,115 up at the former home of the dangerous predator in Portland. 352 00:18:24,190 --> 00:18:26,035 GEOFFREY WANSELL: Linda Slawson knocks 353 00:18:26,110 --> 00:18:29,202 on the door of Jerry Brudos. 354 00:18:29,277 --> 00:18:32,915 Perfectly conventional family scene-- his mother's there 355 00:18:32,990 --> 00:18:35,435 and the two children, his wife Darcie's 356 00:18:35,510 --> 00:18:39,635 out at work, and on his front doorstep, 357 00:18:39,710 --> 00:18:41,555 presents a 19-year-old. 358 00:18:41,630 --> 00:18:44,675 Well I don't think Jerry Brudos could believe his good luck. 359 00:18:44,750 --> 00:18:48,435 NARRATOR: Brudos feigned an interest in the encyclopedias 360 00:18:48,510 --> 00:18:52,075 and invited Linda into the basement of his house. 361 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:53,435 GEOFFREY WANSELL: There must have 362 00:18:53,510 --> 00:18:55,795 been a moment in which Linda thought to herself, 363 00:18:55,870 --> 00:18:57,562 this is very strange. 364 00:18:57,637 --> 00:19:02,275 But, without warning, he hits her over the head with a plank, 365 00:19:02,350 --> 00:19:04,235 making her unconscious. 366 00:19:04,310 --> 00:19:05,835 Then he strangles her. 367 00:19:05,844 --> 00:19:09,835 Remember, he can hear the footsteps of his children 368 00:19:09,910 --> 00:19:11,355 above him. 369 00:19:11,430 --> 00:19:15,515 He strangled a woman he's never met before in the basement 370 00:19:15,524 --> 00:19:16,795 of his own house. 371 00:19:16,870 --> 00:19:19,075 NARRATOR: Brudos spent hours dressing 372 00:19:19,150 --> 00:19:21,675 and undressing Linda's body. 373 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:25,715 By 2:00 AM, he realized he would have to dispose of her, 374 00:19:25,790 --> 00:19:29,435 but wanted to keep a memento of his first kill. 375 00:19:29,444 --> 00:19:34,515 The perverted shoe fetishist decided to saw off her foot. 376 00:19:34,590 --> 00:19:37,475 LARS LARSON: He wanted that foot to be kept because he couldn't 377 00:19:37,550 --> 00:19:39,115 keep the whole body, but he would 378 00:19:39,190 --> 00:19:41,475 keep the foot in a freezer and that allowed 379 00:19:41,550 --> 00:19:44,275 him to relive the sexual fantasy of seeing 380 00:19:44,350 --> 00:19:46,035 this woman's foot in a shoe. 381 00:19:46,110 --> 00:19:48,755 Even though for any normal person, 382 00:19:48,830 --> 00:19:54,235 seeing a severed amputated foot would be disgusting 383 00:19:54,310 --> 00:19:56,995 on its face, for Jerry Brudos, this 384 00:19:57,070 --> 00:19:59,042 was a sexual fantasy of his. 385 00:20:02,030 --> 00:20:03,322 This was something that-- 386 00:20:03,397 --> 00:20:07,235 that couldn't fight back against him. 387 00:20:07,310 --> 00:20:09,835 NARRATOR: Brudos tied the rest of Linda's body 388 00:20:09,910 --> 00:20:14,395 to an engine head and threw it into the Willamette River. 389 00:20:14,470 --> 00:20:18,675 10 months later, he would claim a second victim. 390 00:20:18,750 --> 00:20:24,475 In November 1968, Brudos drove past a broken-down vehicle. 391 00:20:24,550 --> 00:20:27,555 22-year-old Jan Whitney had been driving 392 00:20:27,564 --> 00:20:31,915 to the University of Oregon three days before Thanksgiving. 393 00:20:31,990 --> 00:20:34,195 GEOFFREY WANSELL: Why don't you come with me, you know, just 394 00:20:34,270 --> 00:20:35,795 pop into the house, and I'll-- 395 00:20:35,870 --> 00:20:38,242 I'll come straight back to the car and fix it up. 396 00:20:38,317 --> 00:20:39,902 Away you go, you'll be fine. 397 00:20:39,977 --> 00:20:43,635 Well, why would Jan think that particularly worrying? 398 00:20:43,710 --> 00:20:46,075 He was upright enough kind of character. 399 00:20:46,150 --> 00:20:48,315 He didn't have a hook or a claw, or he 400 00:20:48,390 --> 00:20:50,195 didn't wear a devil's mask. 401 00:20:50,270 --> 00:20:53,595 He was just an ordinary bloke in Oregon. 402 00:20:53,670 --> 00:20:56,955 ROD ENGLERT: And he was able to, while she was in the car, 403 00:20:57,030 --> 00:20:58,435 he would've got into the backseat 404 00:20:58,510 --> 00:21:01,395 and put that strap over her neck from behind, 405 00:21:01,404 --> 00:21:05,315 and then closed the ends of the strap into the rear door. 406 00:21:05,390 --> 00:21:08,835 And then in his home, he took her into his garage. 407 00:21:08,844 --> 00:21:11,635 And then, also had sex with her. 408 00:21:11,710 --> 00:21:17,475 He's a necrophiliac-- uh, intercourse with the dead. 409 00:21:17,550 --> 00:21:19,275 GEOFFREY WANSELL: And it really-- 410 00:21:19,350 --> 00:21:24,515 he's like a-- a cat with a mouse. 411 00:21:24,590 --> 00:21:27,195 It's as if he's playing with the body 412 00:21:27,270 --> 00:21:30,235 of this poor, dead young woman. 413 00:21:30,310 --> 00:21:32,635 NARRATOR: For days, Brudos left Jan Whitney 414 00:21:32,710 --> 00:21:35,635 hanging in the garage workshop of his new family home 415 00:21:35,710 --> 00:21:39,315 in Salem, Oregon, regularly changing her clothes 416 00:21:39,390 --> 00:21:42,075 and defiling her body. 417 00:21:42,150 --> 00:21:44,835 GEOFFREY WANSELL: It is like an element of fiction. 418 00:21:44,910 --> 00:21:48,155 Just out of the blue sudden killing. 419 00:21:48,164 --> 00:21:49,675 Why should you expect it? 420 00:21:49,750 --> 00:21:53,435 Innocent, young woman driving to the University of Oregon, 421 00:21:53,510 --> 00:21:55,635 you don't expect to come across somebody who's gonna strangle 422 00:21:55,710 --> 00:21:57,435 you in front of the car. 423 00:21:57,510 --> 00:22:00,235 But of course, that's not Brudos' point, really. 424 00:22:00,310 --> 00:22:02,635 Brudos' point is the body-- 425 00:22:02,710 --> 00:22:04,955 it's the body that he wants. 426 00:22:05,030 --> 00:22:07,195 NARRATOR: Brudos removed Jan's breasts 427 00:22:07,270 --> 00:22:09,995 before weighing her body down and dumping 428 00:22:10,070 --> 00:22:11,835 her in the Willamette River. 429 00:22:11,910 --> 00:22:15,395 She would not be discovered until eight months later 430 00:22:15,470 --> 00:22:18,075 in July 1969. 431 00:22:18,084 --> 00:22:22,715 The killer then towed Jan's car away from his home. 432 00:22:22,790 --> 00:22:24,635 GEOFFREY WANSELL: He's not gonna leave her car 433 00:22:24,644 --> 00:22:26,435 at the side of the road. 434 00:22:26,510 --> 00:22:30,075 So once he's had his way with the body, 435 00:22:30,150 --> 00:22:32,635 he goes back and moves the car from the side 436 00:22:32,710 --> 00:22:37,602 of the road to a service station so nobody's gonna miss it. 437 00:22:37,677 --> 00:22:39,235 Indeed, he locks it up. 438 00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:41,635 Brudos is covering his tracks. 439 00:22:41,710 --> 00:22:44,435 NARRATOR: In just 10 months, Jerry Brudos had 440 00:22:44,510 --> 00:22:46,842 taken the lives of two women. 441 00:22:46,917 --> 00:22:49,355 But his lust for high heels and murder 442 00:22:49,430 --> 00:22:52,755 was about to intensify even further. 443 00:22:52,830 --> 00:22:56,842 The 30-year-old shoe fetishist had killed Linda Slawson 444 00:22:56,917 --> 00:22:59,835 and Jan Whitney in 1968. 445 00:22:59,910 --> 00:23:05,435 And by March 1969, he was ready to strike again. 446 00:23:05,510 --> 00:23:11,235 He comes across a 19-year-old Karen Sprinker in the car park 447 00:23:11,310 --> 00:23:13,355 of Oregon State University. 448 00:23:13,430 --> 00:23:17,515 He has a pistol, and he abducts her, 449 00:23:17,590 --> 00:23:20,802 forces her into his car at gunpoint. 450 00:23:20,877 --> 00:23:24,442 NARRATOR: Brudos kept Karen detained in the garage workshop 451 00:23:24,517 --> 00:23:27,235 of the family home in Salem that he shared 452 00:23:27,310 --> 00:23:29,675 with his wife and two children. 453 00:23:29,750 --> 00:23:34,635 He raped the college freshman before reaching for his camera. 454 00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:36,515 ROD ENGLERT: There's pictures that he took of her, 455 00:23:36,590 --> 00:23:40,635 and she's standing in the nude, in his garage, 456 00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:45,755 and she has a look of somewhat of approval on her face, 457 00:23:45,764 --> 00:23:48,042 and that's called fear paralysis. 458 00:23:48,117 --> 00:23:50,155 In other words, she knew she was in trouble. 459 00:23:50,230 --> 00:23:53,475 He told me that she did everything that she could-- 460 00:23:53,550 --> 00:23:54,368 don't shoot me. 461 00:23:54,444 --> 00:23:57,595 Please, don't shoot me. 462 00:23:57,670 --> 00:24:00,435 NARRATOR: Brudos put a rope around Karen's neck 463 00:24:00,510 --> 00:24:03,115 and hanged her until she was dead. 464 00:24:03,190 --> 00:24:07,435 But not before he took pleasure in seeing her struggle. 465 00:24:07,510 --> 00:24:08,915 ROD ENGLERT: He had an eye hook. 466 00:24:08,990 --> 00:24:12,035 An eye hook is like a round device in the ceiling-- that 467 00:24:12,110 --> 00:24:14,555 screws into the ceiling, and the cable 468 00:24:14,630 --> 00:24:17,235 would go into that-- the hook would go into that. 469 00:24:17,310 --> 00:24:21,635 And hang down, and then he would put that around their neck, 470 00:24:21,710 --> 00:24:24,035 and then jack it up and he would ask her. 471 00:24:24,110 --> 00:24:25,515 He said, OK, does that hurt? 472 00:24:25,590 --> 00:24:27,135 Does that hurt? 473 00:24:27,044 --> 00:24:30,995 And he got off on the fact that, [heels tapping] in her heels, 474 00:24:31,070 --> 00:24:34,035 those high-heel shoes were kicking the side 475 00:24:34,044 --> 00:24:36,162 and the back of his wall. 476 00:24:36,237 --> 00:24:38,955 He smiled when he talked about it. 477 00:24:39,030 --> 00:24:41,315 Women to him are expendable. 478 00:24:41,390 --> 00:24:44,235 Women to him are no more than a piece of gum 479 00:24:44,310 --> 00:24:47,795 that you're tired of and you-- you throw away. 480 00:24:47,804 --> 00:24:49,635 NARRATOR: After sexually violating 481 00:24:49,710 --> 00:24:55,075 Karen's lifeless body, Brudos continued to defile her. 482 00:24:55,150 --> 00:24:58,715 ROD ENGLERT: Karen Sprinker's breasts were cut off. 483 00:24:58,790 --> 00:25:04,035 And they were cut off so that he could make a mold. 484 00:25:04,110 --> 00:25:08,235 These individuals, serial murderers, 485 00:25:08,310 --> 00:25:10,795 like to keep souvenirs. 486 00:25:10,870 --> 00:25:12,435 And it was not about the sex. 487 00:25:12,510 --> 00:25:16,195 It's just like keeping something to remember by, 488 00:25:16,270 --> 00:25:20,795 keeping something so that he can relive this 489 00:25:20,870 --> 00:25:25,035 again, until the next victim. 490 00:25:25,110 --> 00:25:26,929 GEOFFREY WANSELL: This is a man utterly 491 00:25:27,004 --> 00:25:32,115 out of control, fulfilling every dark fantasy that he ever had. 492 00:25:32,190 --> 00:25:36,315 He's mutilating a young woman he's abducted, killed, 493 00:25:36,390 --> 00:25:38,795 and he's using her body as though it 494 00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:41,275 were a toy, a plaything. 495 00:25:41,350 --> 00:25:44,555 It's very hard to imagine the worst kind of depravity 496 00:25:44,630 --> 00:25:46,635 than that. 497 00:25:46,710 --> 00:25:49,555 NARRATOR: After taking the life of Karen Sprinker, 498 00:25:49,630 --> 00:25:55,035 Brudos didn't wait long before hunting for his next victim. 499 00:25:55,110 --> 00:25:59,835 On the 21st of April 1969, 24-year-old secretary 500 00:25:59,910 --> 00:26:05,235 Sharon Wood was on her usual Monday morning trip to work. 501 00:26:05,310 --> 00:26:07,062 SHARON WOOD: So it was beautiful spring day. 502 00:26:07,137 --> 00:26:10,155 It was one of those days in April, a rare Portland day 503 00:26:10,230 --> 00:26:11,668 where you didn't need a coat. 504 00:26:11,744 --> 00:26:16,795 And I, um, had dropped my children off at the sitter. 505 00:26:16,870 --> 00:26:20,195 And then, I went to work, and I worked all day. 506 00:26:20,270 --> 00:26:24,122 And when I couldn't find my keys after a day of work, 507 00:26:24,197 --> 00:26:26,915 I asked my work study student, Alex, 508 00:26:26,990 --> 00:26:28,235 if he could just cover for me. 509 00:26:28,310 --> 00:26:31,355 I was gonna run down to that garage and see, 510 00:26:31,430 --> 00:26:34,475 maybe I'd left my keys in the car. 511 00:26:34,550 --> 00:26:37,595 NARRATOR: Not only could Sharon not find her car keys, 512 00:26:37,670 --> 00:26:41,442 she'd forgotten the whereabouts she'd parked. 513 00:26:41,517 --> 00:26:45,155 SHARON WOOD: So here I am, not knowing for sure where I'm 514 00:26:45,230 --> 00:26:46,755 going because I can't remember what 515 00:26:46,830 --> 00:26:49,995 floor I'm supposed to be on. 516 00:26:50,070 --> 00:26:52,442 As I'm changing my mind about-- 517 00:26:52,517 --> 00:26:53,235 oh, I'm down here. 518 00:26:53,310 --> 00:26:54,235 No, I'm upstairs. 519 00:26:54,310 --> 00:26:55,115 No, I'm down here. 520 00:26:55,190 --> 00:26:56,275 No, I'm upstairs. 521 00:26:56,350 --> 00:27:00,115 So I'm turning, my body's turning, 522 00:27:00,190 --> 00:27:03,435 and suddenly, I realized, there's somebody behind me, 523 00:27:03,510 --> 00:27:05,682 and they're turning every time I turn. 524 00:27:08,590 --> 00:27:12,435 I haven't seen this person, I just feel this presence. 525 00:27:12,510 --> 00:27:16,115 And then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. 526 00:27:16,190 --> 00:27:21,282 And what I remember is, him saying, ma'am-- 527 00:27:21,357 --> 00:27:24,162 and he said something like, you, too? 528 00:27:24,237 --> 00:27:25,995 Like he's lost, too. 529 00:27:26,070 --> 00:27:29,115 So I was off like a shot. 530 00:27:29,190 --> 00:27:30,835 Like, I'm going for the daylight. 531 00:27:30,844 --> 00:27:35,795 And then, he pulled a gun and pointed the gun at me 532 00:27:35,870 --> 00:27:42,235 and said, if you don't scream, I won't shoot you. 533 00:27:42,310 --> 00:27:44,595 NARRATOR: Despite the order to comply, 534 00:27:44,670 --> 00:27:49,235 Sharon's instincts were to stand up to Jerry Brudos. 535 00:27:49,310 --> 00:27:50,915 SHARON WOOD: I just started screaming. 536 00:27:50,990 --> 00:27:52,595 I start backing up. 537 00:27:52,670 --> 00:27:54,122 He came at me. 538 00:27:54,197 --> 00:27:57,235 And then, he got his arm around my neck 539 00:27:57,310 --> 00:28:03,802 and somehow, his thumb got in my mouth, and I bit down. 540 00:28:03,877 --> 00:28:05,475 So hard. 541 00:28:05,550 --> 00:28:08,835 And then, I didn't even know I had, what you call, 542 00:28:08,910 --> 00:28:11,035 fear paralysis? 543 00:28:11,110 --> 00:28:15,315 That's when your jaw locks, and you just can't move. 544 00:28:15,390 --> 00:28:17,435 And he's much bigger than I am. 545 00:28:17,510 --> 00:28:19,762 I always call him an army tank of a man. 546 00:28:19,837 --> 00:28:21,868 He was kind of scary-looking. 547 00:28:21,844 --> 00:28:26,155 But there we were, and I am biting, and I cannot let go. 548 00:28:26,230 --> 00:28:30,235 And we were going around, and around, and around. 549 00:28:30,310 --> 00:28:32,195 NARRATOR: As the tussle continued, 550 00:28:32,204 --> 00:28:34,842 the sound of a nearby car starting 551 00:28:34,917 --> 00:28:37,235 and a flash of headlights, startled 552 00:28:37,310 --> 00:28:40,122 both Sharon and Brudos. 553 00:28:40,197 --> 00:28:41,562 SHARON WOOD: He grabbed my hair. 554 00:28:41,637 --> 00:28:44,195 I had very long hair. 555 00:28:44,270 --> 00:28:48,155 And he pulled me backwards, and he beat my head 556 00:28:48,164 --> 00:28:52,115 against the concrete until my jaw would relax, 557 00:28:52,190 --> 00:28:55,395 because it would not relax. 558 00:28:55,470 --> 00:28:56,828 That was it. 559 00:28:56,904 --> 00:29:01,675 He jumped up, ran off, and then I'm laying there dazed. 560 00:29:01,750 --> 00:29:05,435 And then he comes back up to retrieve his gun. 561 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:07,555 And, uh, when he comes back, I think, oh, no. 562 00:29:07,630 --> 00:29:10,155 He's gonna shoot me. 563 00:29:10,230 --> 00:29:12,955 NARRATOR: But Luckily for the 24-year-old, 564 00:29:13,030 --> 00:29:15,595 Brudos grabbed his gun and ran. 565 00:29:15,670 --> 00:29:18,795 Sharon was left completely stunned. 566 00:29:18,870 --> 00:29:21,762 SHARON WOOD: I felt like I'd just been hit by a tsunami. 567 00:29:21,837 --> 00:29:23,395 It was over very quickly. 568 00:29:23,470 --> 00:29:27,675 I'd no idea what had happened to me. 569 00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:29,035 I assumed I was dead. 570 00:29:29,110 --> 00:29:31,275 And, um, I just was so sad I-- 571 00:29:31,350 --> 00:29:34,075 I am never gonna see my children again. 572 00:29:34,150 --> 00:29:36,282 But you don't really have time to think about it. 573 00:29:36,357 --> 00:29:39,642 It's like throwing a match on kerosene. 574 00:29:39,717 --> 00:29:42,955 You know, it just goes off, and you're there, 575 00:29:43,030 --> 00:29:47,635 and you're fighting the fire to save your life. 576 00:29:47,710 --> 00:29:50,635 You have no other feelings, or no other thoughts, 577 00:29:50,710 --> 00:29:53,355 but surviving. 578 00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:55,635 NARRATOR: Just two days after the attack 579 00:29:55,710 --> 00:29:58,635 on Sharon Wood, Jerry Brudos murdered 580 00:29:58,710 --> 00:30:01,475 his fourth victim, Linda Salee. 581 00:30:01,550 --> 00:30:05,635 The 30-year-old electrician had perfected his method of hiding 582 00:30:05,710 --> 00:30:09,115 bodies by tying them to heavy engine parts 583 00:30:09,124 --> 00:30:12,755 before throwing them into local rivers. 584 00:30:12,764 --> 00:30:15,635 LARS LARSON: Those seem to be his favorite dumping sites, 585 00:30:15,710 --> 00:30:19,842 because he knew that if he took a body to a river 586 00:30:19,917 --> 00:30:22,075 and could make it stay underwater 587 00:30:22,150 --> 00:30:24,155 for a period of time-- 588 00:30:24,164 --> 00:30:25,675 maybe not indefinitely, but for a period 589 00:30:25,750 --> 00:30:29,122 of time, that it would be very difficult for that body 590 00:30:29,197 --> 00:30:31,035 to be discovered. 591 00:30:31,110 --> 00:30:33,955 NARRATOR: On the 12th of May 1969, 592 00:30:34,030 --> 00:30:38,755 just 48 hours after Linda Salee had been discovered, divers 593 00:30:38,830 --> 00:30:41,835 searching for evidence in the Long Tom River 594 00:30:41,910 --> 00:30:45,115 found the body of Karen Sprinker. 595 00:30:45,190 --> 00:30:47,675 Detectives decided to question students 596 00:30:47,750 --> 00:30:51,035 in Callahan Hall at the University of Oregon 597 00:30:51,110 --> 00:30:53,035 where Karen had been living. 598 00:30:53,110 --> 00:30:55,835 It just so happened, at the same time, 599 00:30:55,844 --> 00:30:59,435 Jerry Brudos had changed his MO. 600 00:30:59,510 --> 00:31:01,435 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Brudos is becoming incredibly 601 00:31:01,510 --> 00:31:04,522 bold, incredibly confident in his offending, 602 00:31:04,597 --> 00:31:06,135 at this point in time. 603 00:31:06,210 --> 00:31:09,875 So he starts phoning up the dorm rooms of a local university 604 00:31:09,950 --> 00:31:13,162 and asking to-- to speak to a woman of a particular name, 605 00:31:13,237 --> 00:31:15,235 and he-- he just makes the name up. 606 00:31:15,310 --> 00:31:18,235 But he knows that this is going to be a way of actually 607 00:31:18,310 --> 00:31:20,755 getting to talk to young women. 608 00:31:20,830 --> 00:31:24,842 And when he does this, he asks them out on dates. 609 00:31:24,917 --> 00:31:28,595 NARRATOR: One student agreed to go for a drink with Brudos, 610 00:31:28,670 --> 00:31:33,435 but she'd remember the date for all the wrong reasons. 611 00:31:33,444 --> 00:31:35,355 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: When he's in the car with her 612 00:31:35,430 --> 00:31:37,675 and they're-- they're driving, he says, well, how-- 613 00:31:37,750 --> 00:31:39,835 how did you know that-- that I wouldn't marry 614 00:31:39,910 --> 00:31:41,755 you and-- and dump you in the river? 615 00:31:41,830 --> 00:31:44,635 And-- and then, she was really taken aback by this. 616 00:31:44,710 --> 00:31:48,235 Because, you know, people can make those kind of comments, 617 00:31:48,310 --> 00:31:50,235 how did you know that you could trust me? 618 00:31:50,310 --> 00:31:52,435 But this was incredibly specific. 619 00:31:52,510 --> 00:31:55,362 And I think it-- it was that specificity that caused 620 00:31:55,437 --> 00:31:57,315 her to contact the police. 621 00:31:57,390 --> 00:31:59,875 NARRATOR: The girl arranged a second date. 622 00:31:59,950 --> 00:32:02,755 But when Brudos arrived, it was the police 623 00:32:02,830 --> 00:32:04,475 who were waiting for him. 624 00:32:04,550 --> 00:32:08,035 Detectives questioned the 30-year-old electrician. 625 00:32:08,110 --> 00:32:09,762 They had no reason to arrest him, 626 00:32:09,837 --> 00:32:13,955 but decided to keep Brudos under surveillance. 627 00:32:14,030 --> 00:32:16,315 Armed with a photograph of Brudos, 628 00:32:16,390 --> 00:32:18,315 detectives went to visit women who'd 629 00:32:18,390 --> 00:32:22,595 been attacked over the past 15 months in the Portland area. 630 00:32:22,670 --> 00:32:26,635 One of those was 24-year-old Sharon Wood. 631 00:32:26,710 --> 00:32:29,355 SHARON WOOD: So, they came out to my mother's house 632 00:32:29,430 --> 00:32:32,235 and they had, I guess you'd call 'em, mug shot? 633 00:32:32,310 --> 00:32:33,762 So I was looking through the book, 634 00:32:33,837 --> 00:32:38,435 and so I was able to identify him in that book. 635 00:32:38,510 --> 00:32:42,275 NARRATOR: Sharon wasn't the only person to identify Brudos. 636 00:32:42,350 --> 00:32:46,355 A 15-year-old girl who'd been attacked on the 22nd of April 637 00:32:46,364 --> 00:32:51,842 1969, the day after Sharon and the day before Linda Salee's 638 00:32:51,917 --> 00:32:55,195 murder, also picked him out. 639 00:32:55,270 --> 00:32:57,075 SHARON WOOD: He's very distinctive-looking. 640 00:32:57,150 --> 00:32:59,355 He had a sandy, really short hair, 641 00:32:59,430 --> 00:33:03,995 what I call eyes-- blue eyes, and this kind of really 642 00:33:04,070 --> 00:33:05,675 heavy-lidded little eyes. 643 00:33:05,750 --> 00:33:06,835 But he was a regular guy. 644 00:33:06,910 --> 00:33:08,075 He was an electrician. 645 00:33:08,150 --> 00:33:09,002 He was married. 646 00:33:09,077 --> 00:33:10,235 He had two kids. 647 00:33:10,310 --> 00:33:12,875 I mean, who knew? 648 00:33:12,950 --> 00:33:16,002 NARRATOR: On the 30th of May 1969, 649 00:33:16,077 --> 00:33:19,842 detectives made the decision to arrest Jerry Brudos. 650 00:33:19,917 --> 00:33:22,635 But when they tracked him down to the home of a friend 651 00:33:22,710 --> 00:33:26,235 in Corvallis, Oregon, he and his entire family 652 00:33:26,310 --> 00:33:28,475 were nowhere to be found. 653 00:33:28,550 --> 00:33:31,795 Investigators were going to charge him with assault, 654 00:33:31,870 --> 00:33:35,475 but they were certain he was also responsible for at least 655 00:33:35,550 --> 00:33:36,862 two murders-- 656 00:33:36,937 --> 00:33:40,315 Karen Sprinker and Linda Salee, whose bodies had been 657 00:33:40,390 --> 00:33:43,635 found in the Long Tom River. 658 00:33:43,710 --> 00:33:46,035 ROD ENGLERT: Number one, they are all tied the same way. 659 00:33:46,110 --> 00:33:50,435 Number two, they all had engine parts attached to their bodies. 660 00:33:50,510 --> 00:33:53,035 And number three, there were parts on the body 661 00:33:53,110 --> 00:33:56,035 that-- that led back to Brudos' home. 662 00:33:56,044 --> 00:34:01,962 So all of that indicated that this is the act of one person. 663 00:34:02,037 --> 00:34:05,635 The odds of it being two people doing the same kind of thing 664 00:34:05,710 --> 00:34:06,975 doesn't fit. 665 00:34:06,884 --> 00:34:09,122 It's like a fingerprint, you know. 666 00:34:09,197 --> 00:34:13,195 This is the work of one individual. 667 00:34:13,270 --> 00:34:15,955 NARRATOR: When the police finally intercepted Brudos' 668 00:34:16,030 --> 00:34:20,435 car, his wife Darcie was behind the wheel with her two children 669 00:34:20,510 --> 00:34:21,562 next to her. 670 00:34:21,637 --> 00:34:23,675 The 30-year-old killer was hiding 671 00:34:23,684 --> 00:34:25,355 under a sheet in the back. 672 00:34:25,430 --> 00:34:29,955 After three days of questioning, Brudos finally told detectives, 673 00:34:30,030 --> 00:34:32,235 in gruesome detail, how he'd killed 674 00:34:32,310 --> 00:34:35,075 three women in the workshop of his family home, 675 00:34:35,150 --> 00:34:38,715 and one in the basement of his previous home. 676 00:34:38,790 --> 00:34:41,435 GEOFFREY WANSELL: And on the 3rd of June 1969, 677 00:34:41,510 --> 00:34:43,755 Brudos confesses to the killings. 678 00:34:43,830 --> 00:34:45,762 He could hardly not. 679 00:34:45,837 --> 00:34:48,235 Because to be honest, he knew that once the police 680 00:34:48,310 --> 00:34:51,155 searched his house and his garage, 681 00:34:51,230 --> 00:34:53,122 there was no going back. 682 00:34:53,197 --> 00:34:54,875 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: And this is because he 683 00:34:54,950 --> 00:34:56,635 is proud of what he's done. 684 00:34:56,710 --> 00:34:58,515 He's committed all of these murders. 685 00:34:58,590 --> 00:35:01,035 He's caused so much harm, so much trauma, 686 00:35:01,110 --> 00:35:02,955 and he wants credit for it. 687 00:35:03,030 --> 00:35:04,435 But we have to be really cautious, 688 00:35:04,510 --> 00:35:06,202 because he's telling a story. 689 00:35:06,277 --> 00:35:09,435 He's telling a story that he wants other people to hear, 690 00:35:09,510 --> 00:35:12,395 so it won't be 100% truthful. 691 00:35:12,470 --> 00:35:14,235 There will be elements that we will 692 00:35:14,310 --> 00:35:17,242 never know in terms of what these victims experienced. 693 00:35:17,317 --> 00:35:21,635 But this was the narrative that he wanted to stick. 694 00:35:21,710 --> 00:35:24,955 NARRATOR: During the confession, Brudos also admitted 695 00:35:25,030 --> 00:35:27,195 to the attempted abductions of Sharon 696 00:35:27,270 --> 00:35:29,875 Wood and a 15-year-old girl. 697 00:35:29,950 --> 00:35:34,315 Detectives began a search of his home. 698 00:35:34,390 --> 00:35:35,835 ROD ENGLERT: Once he was arrested, 699 00:35:35,910 --> 00:35:37,515 items were found in his residence, 700 00:35:37,590 --> 00:35:41,755 such as the car keys and the apartment 701 00:35:41,830 --> 00:35:43,315 key that belonged to Whitney. 702 00:35:43,390 --> 00:35:45,355 What was he doing in possession of something-- 703 00:35:45,430 --> 00:35:47,795 of somebody he never knew? 704 00:35:47,870 --> 00:35:50,315 He never had contact with? 705 00:35:50,390 --> 00:35:53,555 NARRATOR: The car key fit the lock of Jan Whitney's car 706 00:35:53,630 --> 00:35:55,915 that Brudos had abandoned after killing 707 00:35:55,990 --> 00:35:57,882 her seven months previously. 708 00:35:57,957 --> 00:36:01,915 Investigators also searched the 30-year-old's workshop, 709 00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:04,082 the area of his Salem home that had 710 00:36:04,157 --> 00:36:07,075 been turned into his kill room. 711 00:36:07,150 --> 00:36:09,035 ROD ENGLERT: Numerous photographs were found there, 712 00:36:09,110 --> 00:36:11,835 fell back behind a workbench, because he's trying 713 00:36:11,910 --> 00:36:14,082 to hide all of this stuff. 714 00:36:14,157 --> 00:36:18,035 In one of the photographs itself was, uh, 715 00:36:18,110 --> 00:36:22,995 the one of Karen Sprinker, where she's in the nude. 716 00:36:23,070 --> 00:36:24,395 Very beautiful young girl. 717 00:36:24,470 --> 00:36:27,402 Her hair was long, she's very lithe, 718 00:36:27,477 --> 00:36:30,595 and she has on high-heel shoes, and she's standing 719 00:36:30,670 --> 00:36:32,955 there with the look like-- 720 00:36:33,030 --> 00:36:35,835 whatever, it's blank. 721 00:36:35,910 --> 00:36:39,315 NARRATOR: Police unearthed piles of lady's underwear, 722 00:36:39,390 --> 00:36:44,555 and in Brudos' attic, they found 40 pairs of high-heeled shoes. 723 00:36:44,630 --> 00:36:47,115 Amongst the pictures in his workshop 724 00:36:47,190 --> 00:36:52,315 was one that chillingly revealed the killer's face. 725 00:36:52,390 --> 00:36:54,035 ROD ENGLERT: He could look into the mirror, 726 00:36:54,110 --> 00:36:56,555 and then he could see the reflection 727 00:36:56,630 --> 00:36:58,595 from her groin area-- 728 00:36:58,670 --> 00:37:01,722 area-- of vaginal area, into the mirror. 729 00:37:01,797 --> 00:37:02,995 So he took a picture of it. 730 00:37:03,070 --> 00:37:06,555 Well, he also took a picture of himself. 731 00:37:06,630 --> 00:37:10,275 So you can actually see, it's actually Jerry Brudos. 732 00:37:10,350 --> 00:37:17,555 And that photograph was big, as far as a piece of evidence. 733 00:37:17,630 --> 00:37:20,035 LARS LARSON: I think Jerome Brudos took those pictures 734 00:37:20,110 --> 00:37:21,635 because it aroused him. 735 00:37:21,710 --> 00:37:24,915 And I think that having tortured a woman, 736 00:37:24,990 --> 00:37:28,195 he wanted to be able to go back and relive the torture, 737 00:37:28,270 --> 00:37:31,035 even though to camouflage his murders, 738 00:37:31,110 --> 00:37:33,915 he had to dispose of the body parts 739 00:37:33,990 --> 00:37:37,395 and dispose of these young women in the most horrific way. 740 00:37:37,470 --> 00:37:40,962 But having those photos allowed him to go back and look 741 00:37:41,037 --> 00:37:44,035 at the photos and relive the experience 742 00:37:44,110 --> 00:37:46,595 of torturing these women. 743 00:37:46,670 --> 00:37:50,155 NARRATOR: In June 1969, Jerry Brudos 744 00:37:50,230 --> 00:37:53,355 was arraigned for the murders of Jan Whitney, Karen 745 00:37:53,430 --> 00:37:56,075 Sprinker, and Linda Salee. 746 00:37:56,084 --> 00:37:59,275 Despite his confession, there was not enough evidence 747 00:37:59,350 --> 00:38:02,635 to charge him with the killing of his first victim, Linda 748 00:38:02,710 --> 00:38:03,715 Slawson. 749 00:38:03,790 --> 00:38:06,395 Her body has never been found. 750 00:38:06,470 --> 00:38:08,435 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Brudos' initially plea was not 751 00:38:08,510 --> 00:38:10,875 guilty by reason of insanity. 752 00:38:10,950 --> 00:38:14,442 And I think this is-- this is quite a sophisticated thing 753 00:38:14,517 --> 00:38:15,702 that he does. 754 00:38:15,777 --> 00:38:17,355 I think he has that understanding 755 00:38:17,430 --> 00:38:19,755 of his own deviance, of his own perversions. 756 00:38:19,830 --> 00:38:22,235 He knows that people are gonna look at his crimes and go, 757 00:38:22,244 --> 00:38:23,435 this guy's bonkers. 758 00:38:23,510 --> 00:38:24,715 He's crazy. 759 00:38:24,790 --> 00:38:27,435 So I think this is an attempt to try and secure 760 00:38:27,510 --> 00:38:30,275 a good outcome for himself. 761 00:38:30,350 --> 00:38:32,435 GEOFFREY WANSELL: And then a little later, 762 00:38:32,510 --> 00:38:35,755 he changed his plea to guilty. 763 00:38:35,830 --> 00:38:39,595 Because I think that the evidence 764 00:38:39,670 --> 00:38:43,475 was so overwhelming that there was little else that he could 765 00:38:43,550 --> 00:38:45,282 do. 766 00:38:45,357 --> 00:38:49,035 NARRATOR: On the 27th of June 1969, 767 00:38:49,110 --> 00:38:52,835 Jerry Brudos was given three life sentences. 768 00:38:52,910 --> 00:38:56,515 He would never be free again. 769 00:38:56,590 --> 00:39:02,395 23 years later in 1992, radio reporter Lars Larson 770 00:39:02,470 --> 00:39:05,035 was given the opportunity to interview 771 00:39:05,110 --> 00:39:07,875 the 53-year-old killer. 772 00:39:07,950 --> 00:39:09,402 LARS LARSON: They put us in a small room 773 00:39:09,477 --> 00:39:12,995 with a desk in it that was used as an overflow office, 774 00:39:13,070 --> 00:39:14,195 and they said, OK, go ahead. 775 00:39:14,270 --> 00:39:15,782 Do the interview. 776 00:39:15,857 --> 00:39:19,722 So we were face-to-face with him for a little over two hours. 777 00:39:19,797 --> 00:39:21,515 And it-- and it was creepy. 778 00:39:21,590 --> 00:39:23,555 Very, very creepy. 779 00:39:23,630 --> 00:39:26,835 NARRATOR: Lars found Brudos to be unremarkable, 780 00:39:26,910 --> 00:39:29,235 yet extremely callous. 781 00:39:29,310 --> 00:39:31,075 LARS LARSON: And the funny thing is, if you 782 00:39:31,150 --> 00:39:32,768 had passed him on the street-- 783 00:39:32,844 --> 00:39:36,435 he had a big round face, and he was kind of a heavyset guy, 784 00:39:36,510 --> 00:39:38,915 but he's big powerful guy, but he would have 785 00:39:38,990 --> 00:39:40,915 struck you as just Joe average. 786 00:39:40,990 --> 00:39:42,755 Just an average-looking guy. 787 00:39:42,830 --> 00:39:46,675 Nothing really all that distinguishing about him. 788 00:39:46,684 --> 00:39:49,435 But his affect was very strange. 789 00:39:49,510 --> 00:39:53,235 He would laugh about things that were completely inappropriate. 790 00:39:53,244 --> 00:39:57,282 He's talking about murdering, dismembering, and then dumping 791 00:39:57,357 --> 00:40:00,395 the bodies of young women attached to a piece of iron 792 00:40:00,470 --> 00:40:03,795 into a river to rot like a piece of garbage. 793 00:40:03,870 --> 00:40:05,675 And while he's talking about this, 794 00:40:05,750 --> 00:40:08,235 he's laughing about things. 795 00:40:08,310 --> 00:40:11,235 ROD ENGLERT: He loves talking about his cases. 796 00:40:11,310 --> 00:40:13,875 But he's also crafty enough to hide some that he 797 00:40:13,884 --> 00:40:15,635 may not wanna talk about. 798 00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:19,275 That being maybe, for him, even over the top. 799 00:40:19,350 --> 00:40:22,042 In my personal opinion, I have no facts or basis 800 00:40:22,117 --> 00:40:24,035 to know that he has other victims, 801 00:40:24,110 --> 00:40:26,795 but I know he tried others, and there may be some. 802 00:40:26,870 --> 00:40:28,308 Maybe. 803 00:40:28,284 --> 00:40:31,035 NARRATOR: Brudos was twice refused parole 804 00:40:31,110 --> 00:40:36,875 in 1977 and 1999, much to the relief of the people 805 00:40:36,950 --> 00:40:39,635 whose lives he ruined. 806 00:40:39,710 --> 00:40:43,282 BECKY NEW: I got mad when I got older. 807 00:40:43,357 --> 00:40:46,315 I was in junior high. 808 00:40:46,390 --> 00:40:51,795 We had prisoners from the Oregon State Penitentiary 809 00:40:51,870 --> 00:40:55,195 come and talk to the kids. 810 00:40:55,270 --> 00:40:58,395 I asked, do you know Jerome Henry Brudos? 811 00:40:58,470 --> 00:40:59,635 And they said, yeah, why? 812 00:40:59,710 --> 00:41:03,235 And I go, because he killed my sister. 813 00:41:03,310 --> 00:41:07,875 And you tell him, he'll never get out of prison alive. 814 00:41:07,950 --> 00:41:09,675 It just came out. 815 00:41:09,750 --> 00:41:12,395 I couldn't hold it in anymore. 816 00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:14,675 And I figured, that's the closest I'm gonna get 817 00:41:14,750 --> 00:41:17,035 to being able to talk to him. 818 00:41:17,110 --> 00:41:18,362 And so I did. 819 00:41:33,604 --> 00:41:37,835 SHARON WOOD: My hope in talking about this is that somebody, 820 00:41:37,910 --> 00:41:42,875 somewhere, just might hear how important it is to be aware 821 00:41:42,884 --> 00:41:45,315 of your circumstances. 822 00:41:45,390 --> 00:41:47,635 And I'm still very sad about it. 823 00:41:47,710 --> 00:41:51,322 Very sad that there are the parents of those girls who will 824 00:41:51,397 --> 00:41:54,355 never get to be grandparents. 825 00:41:54,430 --> 00:41:58,075 I have 11 grandchildren and a great grandson. 826 00:41:58,150 --> 00:42:00,875 And that would never be the experience 827 00:42:00,950 --> 00:42:04,002 of those young women's family. 828 00:42:04,077 --> 00:42:07,395 They-- they didn't get to have those things. 829 00:42:07,404 --> 00:42:10,235 NARRATOR: Jerry Brudos became the longest serving 830 00:42:10,244 --> 00:42:12,515 inmate in the state of Oregon. 831 00:42:12,590 --> 00:42:17,202 He spent 37 years in prison before he died of liver cancer 832 00:42:17,277 --> 00:42:22,075 in March 2006, at the age of 67. 833 00:42:22,150 --> 00:42:24,995 Those who had the opportunity to speak to him 834 00:42:25,070 --> 00:42:28,955 never saw any signs of redemption. 835 00:42:29,030 --> 00:42:31,075 ROD ENGLERT: I asked Brudos about the remorse 836 00:42:31,150 --> 00:42:32,275 that he had for the victims. 837 00:42:32,350 --> 00:42:33,735 He had no remorse, whatsoever. 838 00:42:33,644 --> 00:42:36,635 They were just-- they were expendable to him. 839 00:42:36,644 --> 00:42:39,355 LARS LARSON: Brudos hated women. 840 00:42:39,430 --> 00:42:42,682 To make them feel terrified while they were still alive, 841 00:42:42,757 --> 00:42:46,475 to take their life and then to take parts of them off, 842 00:42:46,550 --> 00:42:49,635 and then to keep them as sexual trophies, 843 00:42:49,710 --> 00:42:52,595 he clearly hated women with a passion. 844 00:42:52,670 --> 00:42:58,035 But it also sexually excited him that he could hurt women. 845 00:42:58,110 --> 00:43:00,275 NARRATOR: Brudos was a sexual predator 846 00:43:00,350 --> 00:43:04,075 who preyed not only on the women who happened to cross his path, 847 00:43:04,150 --> 00:43:06,155 but on the shoes they wore. 848 00:43:06,230 --> 00:43:09,115 His fetishism spiraled out of control 849 00:43:09,190 --> 00:43:11,882 and led to the most horrific murders-- 850 00:43:11,957 --> 00:43:15,035 to kill four young women and gruesomely 851 00:43:15,110 --> 00:43:18,195 desecrate their bodies for no other reason 852 00:43:18,270 --> 00:43:20,835 than his own self-gratification makes 853 00:43:20,910 --> 00:43:25,475 Jerry Brudos one of the "World's Most Evil Killers." 854 00:43:25,550 --> 00:43:28,802 [music playing]