1 00:00:06,117 --> 00:00:09,642 [suspenseful music] 2 00:00:11,030 --> 00:00:15,922 NARRATOR: On the 27th of October 1989, the body of a woman 3 00:00:15,997 --> 00:00:18,635 was found covered in cardboard and hidden 4 00:00:18,710 --> 00:00:22,235 under a bush behind the Maplewood YMCA 5 00:00:22,310 --> 00:00:24,915 in Rochester, New York. 6 00:00:24,990 --> 00:00:28,995 She was the fourth woman to be discovered in a tiny area 7 00:00:29,070 --> 00:00:31,235 by the banks of the Genessee River. 8 00:00:31,310 --> 00:00:33,835 Women didn't want to go out alone 9 00:00:33,910 --> 00:00:35,922 at night at this point in time. 10 00:00:35,997 --> 00:00:39,155 There was a real sense of fear. 11 00:00:39,230 --> 00:00:42,602 NARRATOR: The killer was 44-year-old Arthur Shawcross, 12 00:00:42,677 --> 00:00:47,395 a tall, imposing outsider whose deadly deeds had started over 13 00:00:47,470 --> 00:00:53,355 15 years before, 100 miles north in the small city of Watertown. 14 00:00:53,430 --> 00:00:54,882 KATHERINE RAMSLAND: He would not have stopped 15 00:00:54,957 --> 00:00:57,875 himself for any reason, and he didn't 16 00:00:57,884 --> 00:01:00,155 think of victims as people. 17 00:01:00,230 --> 00:01:03,035 It was business, business as usual. 18 00:01:03,044 --> 00:01:05,435 That was his attitude. 19 00:01:05,444 --> 00:01:09,315 NARRATOR: Back in October 1972, Shawcross 20 00:01:09,390 --> 00:01:12,195 had confessed to killing two young children 21 00:01:12,270 --> 00:01:14,435 and was convicted of manslaughter. 22 00:01:14,510 --> 00:01:16,002 LYNDE JOHNSTON: He offered no defense for him. 23 00:01:16,077 --> 00:01:18,515 I mean totally unemotional, totally 24 00:01:18,590 --> 00:01:22,202 unconcerned with anything that was going on. 25 00:01:22,277 --> 00:01:25,275 NARRATOR: Remorseless Arthur Shawcross once again 26 00:01:25,350 --> 00:01:29,195 started targeting innocent victims after he was released 27 00:01:29,270 --> 00:01:32,515 from prison, beginning a killing spree that would see 28 00:01:32,590 --> 00:01:37,075 the deaths of 11 women, making him one of the world's most 29 00:01:37,150 --> 00:01:38,035 evil killers. 30 00:01:38,044 --> 00:01:41,442 [dramatic music] 31 00:02:01,950 --> 00:02:06,795 On the 3rd of January 1990, detectives made a breakthrough 32 00:02:06,804 --> 00:02:10,195 in their hunt for a serial killer terrorizing 33 00:02:10,270 --> 00:02:12,435 the streets of Rochester. 34 00:02:12,510 --> 00:02:15,235 Senior investigator John MCCAFFREY 35 00:02:15,310 --> 00:02:18,915 spotted the perpetrator from a helicopter he was using 36 00:02:18,990 --> 00:02:21,315 to locate the missing bodies. 37 00:02:21,390 --> 00:02:22,675 Some people will say, well, you 38 00:02:22,750 --> 00:02:25,835 got lucky with the helicopter. 39 00:02:25,910 --> 00:02:27,155 Not really. 40 00:02:27,230 --> 00:02:30,635 We were doing good police work. 41 00:02:30,710 --> 00:02:34,435 NARRATOR: John and Rochester Police Captain Lynde Johnston 42 00:02:34,510 --> 00:02:37,395 tirelessly worked the case together in order 43 00:02:37,470 --> 00:02:39,675 to bring the killer to justice. 44 00:02:39,750 --> 00:02:43,075 When you don't work together, the bad guy wins, and that's 45 00:02:43,150 --> 00:02:44,955 totally unacceptable. 46 00:02:45,030 --> 00:02:46,635 NARRATOR: After he was apprehended, 47 00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:51,515 Arthur Shawcross went on trial, accused of 11 homicides. 48 00:02:51,524 --> 00:02:53,955 If convicted, the man later dubbed 49 00:02:54,030 --> 00:02:57,882 the Genessee River Killer would spend the rest of his life 50 00:02:57,957 --> 00:02:59,635 behind bars. 51 00:02:59,710 --> 00:03:01,995 The case is exceptional simply because this 52 00:03:02,004 --> 00:03:05,035 is all in one place, all at once, all 53 00:03:05,110 --> 00:03:06,622 in one short period of time. 54 00:03:06,697 --> 00:03:08,955 It's that relentlessness that makes it exceptional. 55 00:03:09,030 --> 00:03:12,242 [tense music] 56 00:03:15,684 --> 00:03:19,075 NARRATOR: This killer's story begins in Kittery, Maine 57 00:03:19,150 --> 00:03:22,922 on the 6th of June, 1945. 58 00:03:22,997 --> 00:03:26,035 Arthur Shawcross, also known as Art, 59 00:03:26,110 --> 00:03:30,155 was born to mother Betty and father Arthur, Sr. 60 00:03:30,230 --> 00:03:31,595 GEOFFREY WANSELL: His father was a corporal. 61 00:03:31,670 --> 00:03:36,515 And quite shortly after he was born, he and his mother 62 00:03:36,590 --> 00:03:41,195 moved to Watertown in New York State. 63 00:03:41,270 --> 00:03:44,235 His father wasn't around a lot, so he lacked 64 00:03:44,310 --> 00:03:46,715 the classic father figure. 65 00:03:46,724 --> 00:03:48,235 KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Shawcross said that he 66 00:03:48,310 --> 00:03:50,155 had been sexually abused. 67 00:03:50,230 --> 00:03:53,995 First, he said by his aunt, and then it was his mother, 68 00:03:54,070 --> 00:03:57,515 and then he added his sister, all of whom 69 00:03:57,524 --> 00:03:59,022 said that didn't happen. 70 00:03:59,097 --> 00:04:02,122 And in fact, the aunt's name, he didn't even get right. 71 00:04:06,030 --> 00:04:10,435 NARRATOR: The young Shawcross was labeled a loner at school. 72 00:04:10,510 --> 00:04:14,235 He was nicknamed as Oddy because he was regarded as so 73 00:04:14,310 --> 00:04:17,075 strange and difficult. And in a way, 74 00:04:17,150 --> 00:04:19,315 I think he took pleasure from that. 75 00:04:19,390 --> 00:04:22,635 I think he enjoyed being separate. 76 00:04:22,710 --> 00:04:24,802 He liked being the loner. 77 00:04:24,877 --> 00:04:26,875 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: There was also cruelty to animals 78 00:04:26,950 --> 00:04:28,455 in his childhood. 79 00:04:28,530 --> 00:04:32,475 So here is somebody who enjoys the suffering of others. 80 00:04:32,550 --> 00:04:34,835 And the fact that this is present in his childhood 81 00:04:34,910 --> 00:04:37,722 is very alarming, indeed. 82 00:04:37,797 --> 00:04:41,115 NARRATOR: Throughout his teens, Shawcross's violent 83 00:04:41,124 --> 00:04:45,595 and unruly behavior marked him out as different. 84 00:04:45,670 --> 00:04:48,162 LYNDE JOHNSTON: He never graduated from school up there. 85 00:04:48,237 --> 00:04:51,275 He was arrested for arsons and burglaries. 86 00:04:51,350 --> 00:04:53,435 And you know, he did some other time, 87 00:04:53,444 --> 00:04:55,715 and then he ended up getting married. 88 00:04:55,790 --> 00:04:58,722 [tense music] 89 00:05:00,470 --> 00:05:03,082 NARRATOR: At the age of 19, Shawcross 90 00:05:03,157 --> 00:05:05,515 married his first wife, Sarah. 91 00:05:05,590 --> 00:05:08,435 When I look at Shawcross's relationships with women, 92 00:05:08,510 --> 00:05:12,755 it's very clear to me that he's somebody who sees women 93 00:05:12,830 --> 00:05:15,195 as serving a purpose for him. 94 00:05:15,270 --> 00:05:16,762 So he doesn't see women as people 95 00:05:16,837 --> 00:05:20,155 to have mutual, respectful relationships with. 96 00:05:20,230 --> 00:05:22,722 They're there to serve a purpose. 97 00:05:22,797 --> 00:05:24,835 So Shawcross is a misogynist. 98 00:05:24,910 --> 00:05:28,555 That is his value system, and that informs so much 99 00:05:28,630 --> 00:05:29,982 of his behavior. 100 00:05:29,924 --> 00:05:34,475 His child is born in '65, and he gets caught again-- 101 00:05:34,550 --> 00:05:38,035 no master criminal-- for a second-degree burglary 102 00:05:38,110 --> 00:05:40,435 and gets six months probation. 103 00:05:40,510 --> 00:05:42,035 He's got all sorts of odd jobs. 104 00:05:42,110 --> 00:05:43,195 He's digging graves. 105 00:05:43,270 --> 00:05:44,635 He's laboring. 106 00:05:44,644 --> 00:05:46,242 He's an apprentice butcher. 107 00:05:46,317 --> 00:05:49,475 He is the proverbial square peg in a round hole. 108 00:05:49,550 --> 00:05:52,475 He doesn't fit in very much anywhere. 109 00:05:52,550 --> 00:05:57,235 NARRATOR: By August 1966, after just two years of marriage, 110 00:05:57,310 --> 00:06:00,035 Shawcross and Sarah separated. 111 00:06:00,044 --> 00:06:02,995 His wife eventually asked for a divorce 112 00:06:03,070 --> 00:06:05,315 not necessarily because of his unfaithfulness, 113 00:06:05,390 --> 00:06:08,675 though that was persistent, but more because he kept getting 114 00:06:08,750 --> 00:06:10,915 jobs and then losing them, and being laid off 115 00:06:10,990 --> 00:06:12,435 and not having anything to go-- 116 00:06:12,510 --> 00:06:16,035 he was just literally an unstable personality. 117 00:06:16,110 --> 00:06:17,795 But we're talking about the middle '60s. 118 00:06:17,870 --> 00:06:23,755 America is at war in Vietnam and everybody is being drafted 119 00:06:23,830 --> 00:06:28,762 NARRATOR: On the 7th of April 1967, at the age of 22, 120 00:06:28,837 --> 00:06:32,635 Arthur Shawcross was drafted into the American military. 121 00:06:32,644 --> 00:06:35,722 [tense music] 122 00:06:38,070 --> 00:06:41,675 Just five months later, unstable Shawcross 123 00:06:41,750 --> 00:06:44,235 married his second wife, Linda. 124 00:06:44,244 --> 00:06:48,035 He spent the first year of their marriage in Vietnam. 125 00:06:48,044 --> 00:06:51,395 He claimed he was subjected to Agent Orange, 126 00:06:51,470 --> 00:06:53,875 that he had killed almost three dozen 127 00:06:53,950 --> 00:06:58,195 people, that he had been part of the massacre of a village. 128 00:06:58,270 --> 00:07:01,395 He had killed some prostitutes and cannibalized them 129 00:07:01,470 --> 00:07:02,748 and all that. 130 00:07:02,824 --> 00:07:05,275 And then it turned out much of what he had described 131 00:07:05,350 --> 00:07:09,555 had come from novels about Vietnam and from a movie. 132 00:07:09,630 --> 00:07:11,835 Well, the truth of the matter was he 133 00:07:11,910 --> 00:07:14,635 was a supply clerk in Vietnam. 134 00:07:14,710 --> 00:07:16,355 He saw no combat. 135 00:07:16,430 --> 00:07:20,562 He was the one that stayed back in the supply room. 136 00:07:20,637 --> 00:07:23,435 He never saw combat. 137 00:07:23,510 --> 00:07:27,035 NARRATOR: In the spring of 1969, Shawcross 138 00:07:27,044 --> 00:07:31,042 received an honorable discharge from the Army. 139 00:07:31,117 --> 00:07:33,835 The fantasies he created in Vietnam 140 00:07:33,910 --> 00:07:37,915 now started to manifest as dangerous behaviors back home 141 00:07:37,990 --> 00:07:39,042 in the US. 142 00:07:42,390 --> 00:07:46,195 When he had come back to Watertown after the military, 143 00:07:46,270 --> 00:07:48,275 he had been arrested for burglary. 144 00:07:48,350 --> 00:07:49,915 He was an arsonist. 145 00:07:49,924 --> 00:07:52,642 His wife left him. 146 00:07:52,717 --> 00:07:56,195 Over the next three years, volatile Shawcross 147 00:07:56,270 --> 00:07:59,675 served time for burglary, divorced Linda, and 148 00:07:59,684 --> 00:08:02,275 married Penny, his third wife. 149 00:08:02,350 --> 00:08:07,355 Then, in 1972, Shawcross's dark desires suddenly 150 00:08:07,364 --> 00:08:09,675 took a more sinister turn. 151 00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:15,195 On the 7th of May, a young boy called Jack Blake went missing. 152 00:08:15,270 --> 00:08:18,595 He lived near the river in Watertown, and he 153 00:08:18,670 --> 00:08:19,968 was a typical 10-year-old. 154 00:08:19,844 --> 00:08:21,315 I think he went down near the Creek, 155 00:08:21,390 --> 00:08:25,002 and probably throwing stones in, and maybe even fishing. 156 00:08:25,077 --> 00:08:28,715 And that's where he ran across art. 157 00:08:28,790 --> 00:08:30,315 And art was fishing. 158 00:08:30,390 --> 00:08:32,675 And the assumption of the investigators 159 00:08:32,750 --> 00:08:35,755 was that the 10-year-old was annoying to him. 160 00:08:35,830 --> 00:08:37,955 LYNDE JOHNSTON: He claims that the kid kept following him. 161 00:08:38,030 --> 00:08:38,962 He told him, go home. 162 00:08:39,037 --> 00:08:40,302 Don't follow me. 163 00:08:40,377 --> 00:08:42,189 And he said he finally got angry with him 164 00:08:42,264 --> 00:08:44,875 and hit him once with his right hand right between the eyes. 165 00:08:44,950 --> 00:08:47,035 And he said he just left him there. 166 00:08:47,110 --> 00:08:49,122 Jack was reported missing. 167 00:08:49,197 --> 00:08:51,435 So they did a search, couldn't find the body. 168 00:08:51,510 --> 00:08:54,955 And Art was somewhat of a suspect 169 00:08:55,030 --> 00:08:57,122 because he was known to fish in the area. 170 00:09:00,230 --> 00:09:01,995 KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Shawcross was questioned. 171 00:09:02,004 --> 00:09:03,715 He didn't know. 172 00:09:03,790 --> 00:09:06,115 But the police didn't much care for Shawcross because he was 173 00:09:06,190 --> 00:09:09,275 known to harass the kids and sometimes he'd 174 00:09:09,284 --> 00:09:12,955 like to stuff leaves down their pants, which, you know, 175 00:09:13,030 --> 00:09:15,109 has sexual connotations. 176 00:09:14,684 --> 00:09:19,835 So they kind of kept an eye on him as a potential pedophile. 177 00:09:19,910 --> 00:09:20,915 JOHN MCCAFFREY: He just denied it. 178 00:09:20,990 --> 00:09:23,355 He just denied any involvement. 179 00:09:23,430 --> 00:09:26,275 And they didn't have enough to arrest him. 180 00:09:26,350 --> 00:09:28,275 NARRATOR: Then, four months later, 181 00:09:28,284 --> 00:09:30,515 another child disappeared. 182 00:09:30,590 --> 00:09:33,915 In September 1972, an eight-year-old 183 00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:36,995 girl called Karen Ann Hill goes missing 184 00:09:37,070 --> 00:09:38,695 when she's playing outside. 185 00:09:38,604 --> 00:09:41,635 Again, no one really knows what's happened. 186 00:09:41,710 --> 00:09:45,635 She's literally disappeared from the front yard. 187 00:09:45,710 --> 00:09:48,435 NARRATOR: It would be less than 24 hours 188 00:09:48,510 --> 00:09:51,402 before her lifeless body was located. 189 00:09:53,710 --> 00:10:00,235 Tragically, the following day, the police find Karen's body. 190 00:10:00,310 --> 00:10:02,275 She's been raped. 191 00:10:02,350 --> 00:10:05,075 She's been strangled, and mud and grass 192 00:10:05,150 --> 00:10:07,395 has been shoved into her mouth. 193 00:10:07,470 --> 00:10:09,235 It's a horrifying killing. 194 00:10:09,310 --> 00:10:13,195 And you have to say whoever committed it has to be 195 00:10:13,270 --> 00:10:17,035 the most depraved of minds. 196 00:10:17,110 --> 00:10:19,362 The fact that Karen Ann Hill is a girl 197 00:10:19,437 --> 00:10:21,435 is really significant here. 198 00:10:21,510 --> 00:10:23,395 And I think that tells us something 199 00:10:23,470 --> 00:10:26,155 about the difference between the murder of Jack 200 00:10:26,230 --> 00:10:28,195 and the murder of Karen Ann. 201 00:10:28,270 --> 00:10:30,675 When you're putting dirt, and twigs, and debris in there, 202 00:10:30,750 --> 00:10:33,475 you want to demean them and humiliate them. 203 00:10:33,550 --> 00:10:35,602 And I think that's what he's trying to achieve here. 204 00:10:40,310 --> 00:10:44,002 NARRATOR: Once again, 26-year-old Arthur Shawcross 205 00:10:44,077 --> 00:10:46,355 was brought in for questioning. 206 00:10:46,364 --> 00:10:49,202 The police immediately suspected Shawcross 207 00:10:49,277 --> 00:10:51,555 in the murder of Karen Ann Hill because he'd 208 00:10:51,564 --> 00:10:55,035 been linked to the disappearance of Jack earlier. 209 00:10:55,110 --> 00:10:57,282 And a member of the public had seen 210 00:10:57,357 --> 00:11:01,235 Karen close to a bicycle which matched the description of one 211 00:11:01,310 --> 00:11:03,275 that Shawcross owned. 212 00:11:03,350 --> 00:11:05,875 Now, Shawcross's is innate cunning 213 00:11:05,950 --> 00:11:08,755 comes into play because he realizes 214 00:11:08,830 --> 00:11:10,875 he's got to be a prime suspect. 215 00:11:10,950 --> 00:11:13,715 So he doesn't deal with the police. 216 00:11:13,790 --> 00:11:19,475 He says, OK, I'll admit to killing Karen hill, 217 00:11:19,550 --> 00:11:21,875 but I'll also take you to the remains 218 00:11:21,950 --> 00:11:26,235 of Jack Blake, which are now, I'm afraid, skeletonized. 219 00:11:26,310 --> 00:11:29,835 And he does that to lessen the charges. 220 00:11:29,910 --> 00:11:32,835 NARRATOR: With little physical evidence to connect him 221 00:11:32,910 --> 00:11:35,195 to either crime, detectives couldn't 222 00:11:35,270 --> 00:11:39,875 guarantee a murder conviction when the case went to trial. 223 00:11:39,884 --> 00:11:44,555 So on the 17th of October 1972, Shawcross 224 00:11:44,630 --> 00:11:49,115 pled guilty to manslaughter for the killing of Karen Ann Hill. 225 00:11:49,190 --> 00:11:52,115 He was not indicted with Jack's killing. 226 00:11:52,190 --> 00:11:54,635 So this sends out a message to Shawcross 227 00:11:54,710 --> 00:11:57,635 that actually, he's the one that's in control. 228 00:11:57,710 --> 00:11:59,202 He's the one that has power. 229 00:11:59,277 --> 00:12:02,355 And even though he's about to go down for a lengthy prison 230 00:12:02,430 --> 00:12:04,962 sentence, he feels on top of the world 231 00:12:05,037 --> 00:12:06,835 because he feels that he's the one who's 232 00:12:06,910 --> 00:12:08,035 pulling the strings there. 233 00:12:08,110 --> 00:12:10,715 [tense music] 234 00:12:10,790 --> 00:12:14,395 NARRATOR: Arthur Shawcross was given an indeterminate sentence 235 00:12:14,470 --> 00:12:17,242 of up to a maximum of 25 years. 236 00:12:19,710 --> 00:12:22,915 However, Shawcross once again demonstrated 237 00:12:22,990 --> 00:12:25,755 that he knew how to play the system when 238 00:12:25,830 --> 00:12:30,595 on April the 30th, 1987, he was released after serving 239 00:12:30,670 --> 00:12:32,675 just 14 and 1/2 years. 240 00:12:32,750 --> 00:12:36,122 [tense music] 241 00:12:39,310 --> 00:12:40,835 The reason he got out on parole 242 00:12:40,910 --> 00:12:44,642 is that he had met a woman by the name of Rose Walley 243 00:12:44,717 --> 00:12:48,515 while he was in prison, and they became pen pals. 244 00:12:48,590 --> 00:12:51,522 And all the ways you get paroled is not only 245 00:12:51,597 --> 00:12:53,555 being a model prisoner, but you have 246 00:12:53,630 --> 00:12:56,035 to have somebody in the community to find you 247 00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:58,395 a job and some place to live. 248 00:12:58,470 --> 00:13:01,042 So she provided that to him. 249 00:13:01,117 --> 00:13:02,355 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So he has this all 250 00:13:02,430 --> 00:13:04,275 set up for when he gets out. 251 00:13:04,350 --> 00:13:07,235 She's going to provide him with a veneer of respectability. 252 00:13:07,244 --> 00:13:09,922 But it doesn't quite work out that way initially 253 00:13:09,997 --> 00:13:12,115 because in the town that they move to, 254 00:13:12,190 --> 00:13:14,482 people get to know about his past. 255 00:13:19,644 --> 00:13:22,602 NARRATOR: 41-year-old Shawcross initially 256 00:13:22,677 --> 00:13:26,755 settled in the city of Binghamton in Upstate New York. 257 00:13:26,830 --> 00:13:28,635 JOHN MCCAFFREY: Basically, the people in the community, 258 00:13:28,710 --> 00:13:31,195 once they found out that a person who had killed two 259 00:13:31,270 --> 00:13:33,235 children were in the area, and they chased 260 00:13:33,310 --> 00:13:34,835 him out of the area, really. 261 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:36,995 And they relocated him to another town. 262 00:13:37,070 --> 00:13:38,635 That town did that. 263 00:13:38,710 --> 00:13:40,188 This is a child killer. 264 00:13:40,264 --> 00:13:43,355 Even today, I have to pinch myself to think that you do 265 00:13:43,364 --> 00:13:46,835 allow a child killer out after only 14 and 1/2 years 266 00:13:46,910 --> 00:13:49,275 to resume, quote, "a normal life." 267 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:52,475 NARRATOR: After being run out of two different towns, 268 00:13:52,484 --> 00:13:57,435 Shawcross found anonymity in the bustling city of Rochester, 269 00:13:57,444 --> 00:13:59,915 115 miles north. 270 00:13:59,990 --> 00:14:01,195 So it's a little larger city. 271 00:14:01,270 --> 00:14:02,755 So you're not as well known. 272 00:14:02,830 --> 00:14:06,235 I mean, some of the small towns, everybody knows everybody. 273 00:14:06,310 --> 00:14:07,995 He was a little bigger. 274 00:14:08,004 --> 00:14:10,042 He would probably just blend in a little more. 275 00:14:15,110 --> 00:14:17,395 NARRATOR: Shawcross found a job preparing 276 00:14:17,470 --> 00:14:22,315 food on the night shift at a company called G&G Cheese. 277 00:14:22,390 --> 00:14:25,515 And in his free time, he travels around, 278 00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:27,675 looking for prostitutes. 279 00:14:27,750 --> 00:14:32,355 He also, at this point, has a mistress, a woman named Clara. 280 00:14:32,430 --> 00:14:36,835 Clara Neal worked at a local nursing home, where Shawcross 281 00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:38,795 would often visit her. 282 00:14:38,870 --> 00:14:42,835 She's 56 and has had 10 children. 283 00:14:42,910 --> 00:14:44,682 He's 42. 284 00:14:44,757 --> 00:14:48,035 But nevertheless, he strikes up a relationship with her. 285 00:14:48,110 --> 00:14:49,355 It wasn't blissful. 286 00:14:49,430 --> 00:14:51,475 I mean, they argued and fought. 287 00:14:51,550 --> 00:14:53,635 And he would leave and come back, 288 00:14:53,710 --> 00:14:55,008 and she would throw him out. 289 00:14:55,084 --> 00:14:59,202 But it was a kind of stable relationship. 290 00:14:59,277 --> 00:15:02,435 So he's figured out that if he wants to kill again, 291 00:15:02,510 --> 00:15:05,195 he's going to have to change his approach. 292 00:15:05,270 --> 00:15:07,122 He wants easy victims. 293 00:15:07,197 --> 00:15:10,235 Kids who were easy, but they drew a lot of attention. 294 00:15:10,310 --> 00:15:12,362 He'll shift his victim type. 295 00:15:12,437 --> 00:15:18,035 We call that situational rather than preferential. 296 00:15:18,044 --> 00:15:21,155 NARRATOR: Things remained quiet for over a year. 297 00:15:21,164 --> 00:15:26,355 Then, on the 24th of March, 1988, the body of a woman 298 00:15:26,430 --> 00:15:27,802 was found. 299 00:15:27,877 --> 00:15:31,715 Detective Lynde was a captain with nearby Rochester Police 300 00:15:31,790 --> 00:15:33,122 at the time. 301 00:15:33,197 --> 00:15:35,795 I met Dorothy Blackburn, was found in Salmon Creek 302 00:15:35,804 --> 00:15:37,915 out Northampton Park. 303 00:15:37,990 --> 00:15:39,955 She was thrown into the water there 304 00:15:40,030 --> 00:15:42,555 by a little culvert or bridge. 305 00:15:42,630 --> 00:15:45,875 NARRATOR: Dorothy was last seen nine days earlier. 306 00:15:45,950 --> 00:15:48,402 Her disappearance was out of character, 307 00:15:48,477 --> 00:15:52,242 and her worried sister had reported her missing. 308 00:15:52,317 --> 00:15:56,562 The postmortem examination on the 27-year-old's body 309 00:15:56,637 --> 00:15:58,795 revealed that she'd been strangled 310 00:15:58,870 --> 00:16:01,315 and her genitals had been bitten. 311 00:16:01,390 --> 00:16:05,635 Her murder would remain unsolved for over a year. 312 00:16:05,710 --> 00:16:08,195 For a time, things go quiet. 313 00:16:08,270 --> 00:16:11,075 Shawcross has various problems. 314 00:16:11,150 --> 00:16:13,755 He has sexual problems, in particular. 315 00:16:13,830 --> 00:16:15,395 But other things get in the way. 316 00:16:15,470 --> 00:16:18,915 His on-off relationship with Clara comes and goes. 317 00:16:18,990 --> 00:16:23,595 For me, I believe he was profoundly unsettled 318 00:16:23,670 --> 00:16:28,835 and was simply a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. 319 00:16:28,910 --> 00:16:33,555 NARRATOR: On September the 11th, 1988, another body 320 00:16:33,630 --> 00:16:34,942 was discovered. 321 00:16:35,017 --> 00:16:37,235 LYNDE JOHNSON: When we first found in Anna Steffen, 322 00:16:37,310 --> 00:16:39,475 we really didn't even know who she was. 323 00:16:39,550 --> 00:16:40,835 She was skeletal. 324 00:16:40,910 --> 00:16:43,042 It appeared that she'd been hidden. 325 00:16:43,117 --> 00:16:46,035 Roofing shingles, brush put over her. 326 00:16:46,110 --> 00:16:48,195 Her tank top was around her wrist, 327 00:16:48,270 --> 00:16:50,115 and the pants she was wearing was down 328 00:16:50,190 --> 00:16:51,635 around where the ankle was. 329 00:16:55,190 --> 00:16:57,555 NARRATOR: 27-year-old mother of two 330 00:16:57,630 --> 00:17:03,475 Anna Steffen had been arrested in July 1988 for prostitution. 331 00:17:03,550 --> 00:17:05,955 She was pregnant at the time and had 332 00:17:06,030 --> 00:17:08,722 lost contact with her family. 333 00:17:08,797 --> 00:17:11,075 No one reported her missing. 334 00:17:11,150 --> 00:17:15,155 Anna has also been strangled and attacked and dumped 335 00:17:15,230 --> 00:17:18,115 in the Genessee River gorge, but her body isn't 336 00:17:18,190 --> 00:17:19,995 discovered for several months. 337 00:17:20,070 --> 00:17:22,715 We took the skull to a forensic pathologist 338 00:17:22,724 --> 00:17:24,275 down in Syracuse, New York. 339 00:17:24,350 --> 00:17:28,115 And he was able to do a reconstruction of a skull. 340 00:17:28,190 --> 00:17:30,835 We then photographed it and had it put in the paper. 341 00:17:30,910 --> 00:17:36,035 And we got a call from her father who identified her. 342 00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:37,275 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: And I think it 343 00:17:37,350 --> 00:17:39,155 was difficult in the beginning because he's 344 00:17:39,230 --> 00:17:41,355 targeting a population who are quite transient. 345 00:17:41,430 --> 00:17:43,795 Sex workers move around a lot. 346 00:17:43,870 --> 00:17:47,035 Very often, they will go off the radar for weeks or months, 347 00:17:47,110 --> 00:17:48,275 and that's not necessarily because they 348 00:17:48,350 --> 00:17:49,828 have been murdered. 349 00:17:49,804 --> 00:17:51,802 It's because they're in a different part of the country. 350 00:17:51,877 --> 00:17:54,035 GEOFFREY WANSELL: The police had very, very little to go on. 351 00:17:54,110 --> 00:17:55,195 No fingerprints. 352 00:17:55,270 --> 00:17:56,835 No fingernail scrapings. 353 00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:58,142 No semen. 354 00:17:58,217 --> 00:17:59,635 And it's impossible to know whether they 355 00:17:59,710 --> 00:18:02,915 were each individually raped before they were killed. 356 00:18:02,990 --> 00:18:05,395 But certainly, there's no clear evidence. 357 00:18:05,470 --> 00:18:08,275 [tense music] 358 00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:10,875 You would look at all the types of activity that 359 00:18:10,884 --> 00:18:12,795 happened at those crime scenes. 360 00:18:12,870 --> 00:18:14,275 Was he covering them up? 361 00:18:14,350 --> 00:18:15,755 Was he mutilating them? 362 00:18:15,830 --> 00:18:19,235 And then you'd start trying to prioritize all your tips. 363 00:18:19,310 --> 00:18:22,435 And then they found another one or two bodies, 364 00:18:22,510 --> 00:18:25,235 and some of the bodies had been mutilated. 365 00:18:25,244 --> 00:18:27,915 So by the time they got to the third and fourth body 366 00:18:27,990 --> 00:18:30,115 over the next few months, there were 367 00:18:30,190 --> 00:18:32,842 a lot of common denominators and similarities. 368 00:18:38,230 --> 00:18:41,802 NARRATOR: On the 27th of October 1989, 369 00:18:41,877 --> 00:18:43,875 Captain Lynde Johnston was called 370 00:18:43,950 --> 00:18:51,155 to the murder of another sex worker in Maplewood, Rochester 371 00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:54,515 in search of 25-year-old Patricia Ives. 372 00:18:54,590 --> 00:18:58,235 LYNDE JOHNSTON: When you stood at the scene of Patricia Ives 373 00:18:58,244 --> 00:19:01,715 and you look to your left and just down over the hill, where 374 00:19:01,790 --> 00:19:05,595 the body of Anna Steffan was found, then if you looked north 375 00:19:05,670 --> 00:19:07,802 and you went down to Seth Green Island, 376 00:19:07,877 --> 00:19:10,195 there was another body they found. 377 00:19:10,270 --> 00:19:13,075 So there was a tight bunch of them right-- all 378 00:19:13,150 --> 00:19:14,729 in the same area. 379 00:19:14,804 --> 00:19:17,395 Those were areas that fishermen frequented. 380 00:19:17,470 --> 00:19:21,202 There were brushy so that bodies could be hidden. 381 00:19:21,277 --> 00:19:23,915 There would be building materials from the river that 382 00:19:23,990 --> 00:19:27,315 would have washed up to shore, so he could cover the bodies up 383 00:19:27,324 --> 00:19:29,395 with those building materials. 384 00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:33,595 They weren't the places that the average person went to. 385 00:19:33,670 --> 00:19:36,315 And I got really nervous about that point 386 00:19:36,390 --> 00:19:38,995 that there was certainly something very unique 387 00:19:39,070 --> 00:19:40,635 going on here. 388 00:19:40,710 --> 00:19:43,355 NARRATOR: In just over a year and a half, 389 00:19:43,364 --> 00:19:48,195 detectives had found four bodies concealed, mutilated, 390 00:19:48,270 --> 00:19:53,075 and all within half a mile of each other. 391 00:19:53,084 --> 00:19:54,735 GEOFFREY WANSELL: The police, to their credit, 392 00:19:54,644 --> 00:19:58,875 decide that they must alert the community of sex workers 393 00:19:58,950 --> 00:20:00,915 that they are in danger. 394 00:20:00,990 --> 00:20:04,275 And so in the autumn of 1989, if you work 395 00:20:04,284 --> 00:20:07,235 as a sex worker in Rochester, it must have 396 00:20:07,310 --> 00:20:10,035 been a very frightening time. 397 00:20:10,110 --> 00:20:12,275 And then we, for a lack of a better word, 398 00:20:12,350 --> 00:20:14,155 we made what we call a war room. 399 00:20:14,230 --> 00:20:17,115 And what we did was we hung their photographs 400 00:20:17,190 --> 00:20:19,395 up because we want to remember who the victim is. 401 00:20:19,470 --> 00:20:21,915 You know, a lot of people don't care because they're 402 00:20:21,990 --> 00:20:23,308 apprised to other people. 403 00:20:23,384 --> 00:20:26,475 And they have mothers, fathers, sisters brothers. 404 00:20:26,550 --> 00:20:30,595 So we believed he was right down in that area of Lyell Avenue 405 00:20:30,670 --> 00:20:32,995 or West Main Street, all these areas 406 00:20:33,070 --> 00:20:36,235 where the prostitution activity took place. 407 00:20:36,310 --> 00:20:38,835 And we just needed to find them. 408 00:20:38,910 --> 00:20:41,802 This is a time when police investigations are becoming 409 00:20:41,877 --> 00:20:43,222 increasingly sophisticated. 410 00:20:43,297 --> 00:20:45,715 That drawing on a lot of different techniques. 411 00:20:45,790 --> 00:20:48,355 And I think that was the key thing in this case. 412 00:20:48,430 --> 00:20:52,235 It was the range of different evidence that was used. 413 00:20:52,310 --> 00:20:54,275 LYNDE JOHNSTON: We had certainly our surveillance teams out. 414 00:20:54,350 --> 00:20:56,835 People on roofs with the binoculars. 415 00:20:56,910 --> 00:20:58,955 Every traffic ticket was looked at, 416 00:20:59,030 --> 00:21:01,195 every parking ticket was looked at. 417 00:21:01,270 --> 00:21:04,202 Foot beats were put down there, extra patrols, and a lot 418 00:21:04,277 --> 00:21:06,635 of other covert activities that we 419 00:21:06,710 --> 00:21:09,915 did, which I won't discuss because we 420 00:21:09,990 --> 00:21:11,635 might use them again. 421 00:21:11,710 --> 00:21:13,802 NARRATOR: As part of the investigation, 422 00:21:13,877 --> 00:21:17,915 field interviews were conducted with some of the sex workers 423 00:21:17,990 --> 00:21:20,355 on Lyell Avenue. 424 00:21:20,430 --> 00:21:22,522 Detectives were informed a guy called 425 00:21:22,597 --> 00:21:26,355 Mitch, who worked at G&G Cheese, was often seen 426 00:21:26,364 --> 00:21:28,755 talking to women in the area. 427 00:21:28,830 --> 00:21:31,795 The unfortunate part there was when the police went there, 428 00:21:31,804 --> 00:21:35,035 they talked to management that worked during the day. 429 00:21:35,110 --> 00:21:38,082 Shawcross worked that night, and they really 430 00:21:38,157 --> 00:21:39,888 weren't connected to him. 431 00:21:39,764 --> 00:21:42,235 GEOFFREY WANSELL: We've now got multiple victims 432 00:21:42,310 --> 00:21:45,995 within a very small area of Upstate New York who 433 00:21:46,070 --> 00:21:48,635 are being killed relentlessly. 434 00:21:48,710 --> 00:21:53,155 Now the full weight of the police are brought to bear. 435 00:21:53,230 --> 00:21:56,362 It is a full-scale manhunt. 436 00:21:56,437 --> 00:21:59,115 And every day that we didn't find this person, 437 00:21:59,190 --> 00:22:00,755 somebody else might die. 438 00:22:00,830 --> 00:22:03,795 So there was a lot of internal pressure on ourselves. 439 00:22:03,804 --> 00:22:05,402 We put it on ourselves. 440 00:22:08,430 --> 00:22:10,835 NARRATOR: As more bodies were found along the banks 441 00:22:10,910 --> 00:22:14,475 of the Genessee River and women continued to disappear 442 00:22:14,550 --> 00:22:18,435 from the streets, Rochester detectives combined with forces 443 00:22:18,510 --> 00:22:22,195 from the New York State Police and threw everything they had 444 00:22:22,270 --> 00:22:25,202 at catching the mysterious killer. 445 00:22:25,277 --> 00:22:28,435 It wasn't long before he struck again. 446 00:22:28,510 --> 00:22:31,435 On the 11th of November, another body was 447 00:22:31,510 --> 00:22:34,195 found matching the killer's MO. 448 00:22:34,270 --> 00:22:36,835 Captain John McCaffrey coordinated 449 00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:38,675 the joint operation. 450 00:22:38,750 --> 00:22:41,835 We had done several investigations together. 451 00:22:41,910 --> 00:22:45,155 And it wasn't until the end of 1989 452 00:22:45,164 --> 00:22:47,595 when the Rochester Police Department thought 453 00:22:47,670 --> 00:22:50,755 there was a strong possibility that the unknown killer 454 00:22:50,830 --> 00:22:52,962 would start to deposit the bodies 455 00:22:53,037 --> 00:22:55,315 outside of their jurisdiction. 456 00:22:55,390 --> 00:22:57,115 So they invited the New York State Police 457 00:22:57,190 --> 00:23:00,795 in in the wake of these brutal killings, 458 00:23:00,870 --> 00:23:05,075 detectives became concerned that the perpetrator's behavior 459 00:23:05,150 --> 00:23:07,395 would continue to escalate. 460 00:23:07,470 --> 00:23:11,595 In October, late October 1989, a young woman 461 00:23:11,670 --> 00:23:15,955 called June Stott went missing, and her body was found 462 00:23:16,030 --> 00:23:18,515 months later in November 1989. 463 00:23:18,590 --> 00:23:21,682 [suspenseful music] 464 00:23:24,910 --> 00:23:28,835 NARRATOR: 30-year-old June had mild learning difficulties. 465 00:23:28,910 --> 00:23:32,115 She was found along the banks of the Genessee River 466 00:23:32,124 --> 00:23:34,242 at Turning Point Park. 467 00:23:34,317 --> 00:23:36,835 But this time, it was much worse. 468 00:23:36,910 --> 00:23:41,435 He has eviscerated June's body, cut it from sternum 469 00:23:41,510 --> 00:23:45,035 to pubic bone, removed some of the body parts 470 00:23:45,110 --> 00:23:48,115 in what's known locally as a deer hunter's cut. 471 00:23:48,190 --> 00:23:51,115 June was somebody Arthur Shawcross knew. 472 00:23:51,190 --> 00:23:52,955 They were on friendly terms. 473 00:23:53,030 --> 00:23:55,715 So when he targeted her, this is quite 474 00:23:55,724 --> 00:23:57,595 an interesting turn of events. 475 00:23:57,670 --> 00:24:00,875 He is targeting women who are available to him 476 00:24:00,950 --> 00:24:02,595 not just because they're sex workers, 477 00:24:02,670 --> 00:24:05,802 but because they're in his social circle. 478 00:24:05,877 --> 00:24:09,035 June Stott is probably the-- 479 00:24:09,110 --> 00:24:10,468 they're all tragic, but it really 480 00:24:10,544 --> 00:24:14,875 was a sad scene because she was a young girl, not 481 00:24:14,950 --> 00:24:16,515 a prostitute at all. 482 00:24:16,590 --> 00:24:19,035 I remember walking down the path with some 483 00:24:19,110 --> 00:24:21,915 of the other investigators, and we're just thinking, 484 00:24:21,990 --> 00:24:24,082 what's he going to do next? 485 00:24:24,157 --> 00:24:27,115 NARRATOR: As well as the mutilation and concealment 486 00:24:27,190 --> 00:24:30,235 of the bodies, another pattern had emerged 487 00:24:30,310 --> 00:24:32,362 linking all the victims. 488 00:24:32,437 --> 00:24:35,955 So we came up with a list of all these different categories 489 00:24:36,030 --> 00:24:37,675 that we wanted to start comparing. 490 00:24:37,750 --> 00:24:39,915 And then we were finding that most of them 491 00:24:39,990 --> 00:24:42,955 were found either in creeks or near water. 492 00:24:43,030 --> 00:24:44,522 The exception to that was a lady 493 00:24:44,597 --> 00:24:46,555 by the name of Elizabeth Gibson whose 494 00:24:46,630 --> 00:24:50,315 body was found out in an apple orchard in Wayne County. 495 00:24:53,510 --> 00:24:55,755 NARRATOR: With concern mounting for the safety 496 00:24:55,830 --> 00:25:01,315 of women across the city, an FBI profiler was brought on board. 497 00:25:01,390 --> 00:25:04,595 So during the 1980s, the concept of behavioral profiling 498 00:25:04,604 --> 00:25:08,235 became very prominent, looking at what we could see 499 00:25:08,310 --> 00:25:11,835 from a crime scene that would tell us about the personality 500 00:25:11,910 --> 00:25:13,302 of the killer. 501 00:25:13,244 --> 00:25:15,475 If we could have somebody else come in 502 00:25:15,550 --> 00:25:17,875 and just look at the cases to make 503 00:25:17,950 --> 00:25:19,995 sure we didn't miss anything, maybe 504 00:25:20,070 --> 00:25:22,155 offer them some suggestions. 505 00:25:22,230 --> 00:25:25,235 This is long before the full weight of the Behavioral 506 00:25:25,310 --> 00:25:28,675 Science Unit has grown into what we now recognize 507 00:25:28,750 --> 00:25:30,035 on television programs. 508 00:25:30,110 --> 00:25:32,955 This is the early days of profiling. 509 00:25:33,030 --> 00:25:35,155 But nevertheless, the FBI do come 510 00:25:35,230 --> 00:25:38,435 up with a preliminary profile. 511 00:25:38,510 --> 00:25:41,435 LYNDE JOHNSTON: A lone middle-aged man, 30s. 512 00:25:41,510 --> 00:25:45,035 They believed he was a medium-type worker, just a kind 513 00:25:45,110 --> 00:25:46,755 of guy that would be on the assembly line 514 00:25:46,830 --> 00:25:48,835 or doing some menial job. 515 00:25:48,910 --> 00:25:51,802 He drives a lot, which turned out to be the truth. 516 00:25:51,877 --> 00:25:54,955 He frequents the river area because he liked the fish. 517 00:25:55,030 --> 00:25:56,795 He was all around water. 518 00:25:56,870 --> 00:25:58,435 He was familiar with the river gorge, 519 00:25:58,510 --> 00:26:00,235 certainly, because of the fishing. 520 00:26:00,310 --> 00:26:03,235 He was capable of a relationship with a female. 521 00:26:03,310 --> 00:26:05,515 The relationships would be unstable. 522 00:26:05,590 --> 00:26:07,429 And certainly, it was. 523 00:26:07,004 --> 00:26:10,402 Possibly, it would be sexually dysfunctional, which he was. 524 00:26:10,477 --> 00:26:13,275 And he had the potential to return to the scene. 525 00:26:13,350 --> 00:26:15,195 Shawcross was not educated. 526 00:26:15,270 --> 00:26:17,155 He was not a good-looking guy. 527 00:26:17,230 --> 00:26:18,675 He was overweight. 528 00:26:18,750 --> 00:26:22,122 He was just a person out there that took advantage 529 00:26:22,197 --> 00:26:24,435 of the girls by befriending them, 530 00:26:24,510 --> 00:26:27,955 providing them with some food, and using 531 00:26:28,030 --> 00:26:29,082 that to get close to them. 532 00:26:33,244 --> 00:26:35,515 NARRATOR: By late December, detectives 533 00:26:35,590 --> 00:26:37,835 had linked seven bodies to the killer 534 00:26:37,910 --> 00:26:41,475 and a further three women were thought to be missing. 535 00:26:41,550 --> 00:26:43,435 We're talking about a relentless spate 536 00:26:43,510 --> 00:26:46,035 of killings within a six month period, 537 00:26:46,110 --> 00:26:48,035 preying on vulnerable women. 538 00:26:48,110 --> 00:26:49,835 There is no real explanation for it. 539 00:26:49,910 --> 00:26:53,435 You know, when it started escalating by the mutilation, 540 00:26:53,510 --> 00:26:56,875 his frequency of abducting and killing them 541 00:26:56,950 --> 00:27:01,035 escalated, and that's what really concerned everybody. 542 00:27:01,110 --> 00:27:03,882 NARRATOR: Then on New Year's Eve 1989, 543 00:27:03,957 --> 00:27:08,795 a uniformed trooper was handed a vital piece of evidence. 544 00:27:08,870 --> 00:27:10,215 It was a winter day. 545 00:27:10,290 --> 00:27:13,155 I was working in the office, and I received 546 00:27:13,230 --> 00:27:14,475 the call from the trooper. 547 00:27:14,550 --> 00:27:17,515 And he said that passing motorists had just 548 00:27:17,590 --> 00:27:21,475 located the pair of boots on the snow-covered highway 549 00:27:21,550 --> 00:27:24,675 in Northampton Park, so he went there. 550 00:27:24,750 --> 00:27:28,635 And in the field, he found a pair of blue jeans. 551 00:27:28,644 --> 00:27:33,635 And lo and behold, in the blue jeans, in the rear pocket 552 00:27:33,644 --> 00:27:37,035 was a birth certificate of a young lady 553 00:27:37,110 --> 00:27:40,995 by the name of Felicia Stevens. 554 00:27:41,070 --> 00:27:43,435 NARRATOR: 20-year-old Felicia Stevens 555 00:27:43,510 --> 00:27:48,515 was a sex worker in the Lyell Avenue area of Rochester. 556 00:27:48,590 --> 00:27:52,515 Her jeans were found 13 and 1/2 miles west, 557 00:27:52,590 --> 00:27:54,235 in Northampton Park. 558 00:27:54,310 --> 00:27:55,875 So I immediately called the Crime 559 00:27:55,950 --> 00:28:00,235 Analysis Unit with the RPD that was working this case. 560 00:28:00,310 --> 00:28:02,955 And I said to the investigator, is Felicia 561 00:28:03,030 --> 00:28:05,195 Stevens a missing person? 562 00:28:05,270 --> 00:28:07,275 Is she a subject of your investigation? 563 00:28:07,350 --> 00:28:08,835 LYNDE JOHNSTON: And we got people 564 00:28:08,844 --> 00:28:10,722 over to her mother's house. 565 00:28:10,797 --> 00:28:12,635 And she indicated she hadn't seen 566 00:28:12,710 --> 00:28:14,635 her since December the 26th. 567 00:28:14,710 --> 00:28:17,035 And she hadn't lived with Mom because they 568 00:28:17,110 --> 00:28:19,035 had a big falling out because of drugs 569 00:28:19,110 --> 00:28:21,235 and her being a prostitute. 570 00:28:21,244 --> 00:28:23,635 So at that point, we assume that it's 571 00:28:23,644 --> 00:28:25,035 connected to the case. 572 00:28:25,110 --> 00:28:28,075 And the state police started our own missing persons 573 00:28:28,150 --> 00:28:29,395 investigation. 574 00:28:29,470 --> 00:28:31,955 So all the agencies all got together 575 00:28:32,030 --> 00:28:34,435 and formed a massive search out in that area, 576 00:28:34,510 --> 00:28:38,475 bringing in the horses so you could see higher, canine dogs, 577 00:28:38,550 --> 00:28:40,955 troopers and city police walking the lines 578 00:28:41,030 --> 00:28:43,955 together, trying to find her. 579 00:28:44,030 --> 00:28:46,355 NARRATOR: As the ground search got underway, 580 00:28:46,430 --> 00:28:50,635 John and the New York State Police took to the skies. 581 00:28:50,710 --> 00:28:54,202 We have our own helicopter, and it was based in Rochester. 582 00:28:54,277 --> 00:28:57,995 So we immediately put the helicopter in the air. 583 00:28:58,004 --> 00:29:02,915 And for three days, we flew that area, searching for the body. 584 00:29:02,990 --> 00:29:04,122 And I told the pilot. 585 00:29:04,197 --> 00:29:07,235 I says, let's fly from Northampton Park 586 00:29:07,244 --> 00:29:10,555 back to where Felicia Stevens was last seen 587 00:29:10,564 --> 00:29:13,835 or would have been working on Lyell Avenue. 588 00:29:13,910 --> 00:29:15,915 That is Route 31. 589 00:29:15,990 --> 00:29:17,435 And the distance from Northampton Park 590 00:29:17,510 --> 00:29:21,435 back to the city is probably 12 or 15 miles. 591 00:29:21,510 --> 00:29:24,715 So as we left Northampton Park in the helicopter, 592 00:29:24,790 --> 00:29:27,515 we were only, probably, two minutes into the flight. 593 00:29:27,524 --> 00:29:29,835 As we're flying over Salmon Creek, 594 00:29:29,910 --> 00:29:36,835 underneath the bridge, frozen in the ice was a body. 595 00:29:36,910 --> 00:29:38,915 NARRATOR: John had a hunch this was 596 00:29:38,990 --> 00:29:41,955 a victim of the Genessee River Killer, 597 00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:45,675 but that wasn't his only discovery. 598 00:29:45,750 --> 00:29:49,315 Now, on top of the bridge was this gray Celebrity, 599 00:29:49,390 --> 00:29:51,315 and the passenger door was open. 600 00:29:51,390 --> 00:29:54,035 And this guy was actually urinating 601 00:29:54,110 --> 00:29:55,675 out of the passenger side. 602 00:29:55,750 --> 00:29:58,235 And as we flew over with the helicopter, 603 00:29:58,310 --> 00:30:00,155 he slid over into the driver's seat 604 00:30:00,164 --> 00:30:03,242 and proceeded in an easterly direction 605 00:30:03,317 --> 00:30:05,515 towards the village of Spencerport. 606 00:30:05,524 --> 00:30:07,515 LYNDE JOHNSTON: We had discussed with the profilers 607 00:30:07,524 --> 00:30:10,395 before, these guys like to come back to the scene. 608 00:30:10,470 --> 00:30:12,235 Of course, we didn't know who the body was yet, 609 00:30:12,310 --> 00:30:14,955 but we had a list of potentials. 610 00:30:15,030 --> 00:30:18,195 My immediate assumption was that because this 611 00:30:18,270 --> 00:30:20,435 was the first time that the state police had used 612 00:30:20,510 --> 00:30:22,435 the helicopter in the investigation, 613 00:30:22,510 --> 00:30:26,835 that possibly this person came back to relocate the body, 614 00:30:26,910 --> 00:30:31,995 so we couldn't find it because it was so easily seen. 615 00:30:32,070 --> 00:30:34,555 NARRATOR: John immediately scrambled troopers 616 00:30:34,630 --> 00:30:37,435 from Rochester to Northampton as he 617 00:30:37,510 --> 00:30:41,595 continued to follow the gray Celebrity car from the air. 618 00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:44,755 He pulled into the rear parking a nursing home, 619 00:30:44,830 --> 00:30:46,035 and we hovered. 620 00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:48,555 I had radioed for a uniformed trooper 621 00:30:48,630 --> 00:30:50,475 to come to the location. 622 00:30:50,550 --> 00:30:52,875 And as the person got out of the car, 623 00:30:52,950 --> 00:30:57,435 they just walked into the nursing home, in the back door. 624 00:30:57,510 --> 00:31:00,235 NARRATOR: With a potential suspect in sight, 625 00:31:00,310 --> 00:31:03,395 John waited for news from forces on the ground 626 00:31:03,470 --> 00:31:06,475 as the state trooper entered the nursing home. 627 00:31:06,550 --> 00:31:08,475 The trooper radioed and told me 628 00:31:08,550 --> 00:31:10,635 that the person that he was interviewing 629 00:31:10,710 --> 00:31:12,555 was Arthur Shawcross. 630 00:31:12,630 --> 00:31:16,195 And the first question any uniformed trooper usually ask 631 00:31:16,270 --> 00:31:19,035 is, can I see your license and registration? 632 00:31:19,110 --> 00:31:23,435 And Art told him, well, I don't really have a driver's license. 633 00:31:23,510 --> 00:31:24,322 I'm on parole. 634 00:31:24,164 --> 00:31:27,562 [dramatic music] 635 00:31:28,717 --> 00:31:30,795 NARRATOR: It didn't take long for investigators 636 00:31:30,870 --> 00:31:33,755 to learn that the man they had in front of them, 637 00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:38,115 44-year-old Arthur Shawcross, had killed two children 638 00:31:38,190 --> 00:31:41,515 in Watertown in the 1970s. 639 00:31:41,590 --> 00:31:45,762 This obvious red flag set alarm bells ringing for John 640 00:31:45,837 --> 00:31:49,195 and the team, who were hopeful this was the Genessee River 641 00:31:49,270 --> 00:31:52,275 Killer in their grasp at last. 642 00:31:52,350 --> 00:31:55,915 As New York state troopers conducted an initial interview 643 00:31:55,990 --> 00:31:58,395 with Shawcross, the forensics team 644 00:31:58,404 --> 00:32:02,115 got to work identifying the body under the bridge. 645 00:32:02,190 --> 00:32:05,482 [dramatic music] 646 00:32:07,244 --> 00:32:10,035 It was when we were on the ground there we discovered 647 00:32:10,110 --> 00:32:12,275 that the body underneath the bridge 648 00:32:12,350 --> 00:32:15,395 was not that of Lisa Stevens, but 649 00:32:15,470 --> 00:32:19,555 of another missing prostitute by the name of June Cicero. 650 00:32:19,630 --> 00:32:23,155 NARRATOR: 34-year-old June Cicero had been missing 651 00:32:23,230 --> 00:32:26,035 since the 17th of December. 652 00:32:26,110 --> 00:32:27,675 Now, the unique thing about Jun Cicero 653 00:32:27,750 --> 00:32:32,315 was she was kind of known as the queen bee of the prostitutes. 654 00:32:32,324 --> 00:32:34,995 She kind of controlled the whole area. 655 00:32:35,070 --> 00:32:37,122 Whatever corner she wanted to work on, 656 00:32:37,197 --> 00:32:38,635 the rest of the prostitutes would 657 00:32:38,710 --> 00:32:44,235 let her work there because she was mean and aggressive. 658 00:32:44,244 --> 00:32:47,795 NARRATOR: June's body had been cut to the bone on both sides 659 00:32:47,804 --> 00:32:49,915 of her crotch, and the killer had 660 00:32:49,990 --> 00:32:52,195 tried to remove her sex organs. 661 00:32:52,270 --> 00:32:54,395 And I think for sure, because she represented 662 00:32:54,404 --> 00:32:57,715 a bit of a challenge, actually, she is the kind of woman 663 00:32:57,790 --> 00:32:59,435 that he really despises. 664 00:32:59,510 --> 00:33:02,995 So I think this one was quite seminal, really. 665 00:33:03,070 --> 00:33:05,915 The fact that he'd gone back to the site, 666 00:33:05,990 --> 00:33:09,995 was that evidence of him taking pleasure in his trophies, 667 00:33:10,070 --> 00:33:12,315 thinking, what a clever boy I am? 668 00:33:12,390 --> 00:33:14,715 It's difficult not to think there might have 669 00:33:14,790 --> 00:33:17,235 been an element of that in it. 670 00:33:17,244 --> 00:33:19,435 NARRATOR: Whilst talking to state troopers, 671 00:33:19,510 --> 00:33:23,595 Arthur Shawcross claimed he knew nothing about the body 672 00:33:23,670 --> 00:33:24,995 under the bridge. 673 00:33:25,070 --> 00:33:26,635 LYNDE JOHNSTON: He said that he had to urinate. 674 00:33:26,710 --> 00:33:30,155 And he had a bottle, and he was starting to pee in the bottle. 675 00:33:30,230 --> 00:33:33,075 And the copter came, so he put the cap back on, 676 00:33:33,150 --> 00:33:36,755 swung around, and just drove down to where 677 00:33:36,830 --> 00:33:38,142 Clara Neal was working. 678 00:33:38,084 --> 00:33:39,242 He said, ah, I don't know why they're 679 00:33:39,317 --> 00:33:41,035 following me because all I was doing 680 00:33:41,110 --> 00:33:43,435 was taking a pee on the bridge. 681 00:33:43,510 --> 00:33:45,515 NARRATOR: Shawcross remained cool, 682 00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:49,355 shrugging off the initial suspicions of detectives. 683 00:33:49,430 --> 00:33:52,275 I think he thought he could kind of bluff his way. 684 00:33:52,350 --> 00:33:55,195 You know, just cooperate and not talk of anything 685 00:33:55,270 --> 00:33:57,315 of any real substance. 686 00:33:57,390 --> 00:33:58,588 JOHN MCCAFFREY: And the more he talked, 687 00:33:58,664 --> 00:34:01,362 the more viable of a suspect he became. 688 00:34:01,437 --> 00:34:04,522 We provided him with a lunch, actually took him 689 00:34:04,597 --> 00:34:07,555 to a restaurant, and bought him dinner. 690 00:34:07,630 --> 00:34:11,635 And all this time he was talking to us, unbeknownst to him, 691 00:34:11,710 --> 00:34:16,075 he was providing us a lot of significant information. 692 00:34:16,084 --> 00:34:17,922 NARRATOR: That evening, investigators 693 00:34:17,997 --> 00:34:22,635 conducted a preliminary search of Shawcross's apartment. 694 00:34:22,710 --> 00:34:26,355 We found under the sink these handy wipe dusting-type 695 00:34:26,430 --> 00:34:28,602 of material that was found at the scene 696 00:34:28,677 --> 00:34:32,315 of June Stott and also at the Dorothy Keeler scene. 697 00:34:32,390 --> 00:34:35,155 And overnight, we contacted the company 698 00:34:35,230 --> 00:34:37,035 in Ohio that manufactured them. 699 00:34:37,110 --> 00:34:39,275 And they told us that the only place in Rochester 700 00:34:39,350 --> 00:34:43,235 that has them was G & G Cheese, and that's the place he worked. 701 00:34:43,310 --> 00:34:46,435 NARRATOR: Detectives knew if they were to corner their man, 702 00:34:46,510 --> 00:34:51,835 they needed to conclusively link Shawcross to his victims. 703 00:34:51,910 --> 00:34:55,675 Lynde and the team went back over their old field interviews 704 00:34:55,750 --> 00:35:00,402 to see if anyone would be able to identify the killer. 705 00:35:00,477 --> 00:35:01,508 One woman. 706 00:35:01,584 --> 00:35:03,795 Another sex worker called Jo Ann Van 707 00:35:03,870 --> 00:35:06,715 Nostrand provided just that. 708 00:35:06,790 --> 00:35:10,475 So Jo Ann Van Nostrand said she saw this person 709 00:35:10,484 --> 00:35:13,995 in this car that went across the bridge 710 00:35:14,070 --> 00:35:17,195 with Elizabeth Gibson in the car. 711 00:35:17,270 --> 00:35:19,435 NARRATOR: 29-year-old Elizabeth Gibson, 712 00:35:19,510 --> 00:35:23,675 whose body had been found among some trees in neighboring Wayne 713 00:35:23,750 --> 00:35:26,235 County five weeks earlier. 714 00:35:26,310 --> 00:35:29,275 LYNDE JOHNSTON: Elizabeth Gibson was taken out to a vacant field 715 00:35:29,350 --> 00:35:31,595 with a small stream and strangled. 716 00:35:31,670 --> 00:35:34,002 When we finally knew who Arthur was 717 00:35:34,077 --> 00:35:36,915 and we got a hold of Van Nostrand again, 718 00:35:36,990 --> 00:35:40,315 she was able to identify his picture. 719 00:35:40,390 --> 00:35:43,115 NARRATOR: Now they had a positive identification 720 00:35:43,190 --> 00:35:46,035 of Shawcross, the investigation was really 721 00:35:46,110 --> 00:35:48,275 starting to come together. 722 00:35:48,350 --> 00:35:50,635 But the search team, meticulously going 723 00:35:50,710 --> 00:35:53,555 through the car that Shawcross was found driving, 724 00:35:53,630 --> 00:35:56,155 had also made excellent progress. 725 00:35:56,230 --> 00:35:58,835 LYNDE JOHNSTON: In the, car there was an earring. 726 00:35:58,910 --> 00:36:02,082 And that earring belonged to June Cicero. 727 00:36:02,157 --> 00:36:03,875 And the other one was on her body. 728 00:36:03,950 --> 00:36:07,435 And forensically, I believe they found some fibers that match 729 00:36:07,510 --> 00:36:09,882 from the Tyler, the bike that was in the back 730 00:36:09,957 --> 00:36:12,075 of the trunk of the car. 731 00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:15,042 There was just a variety of good physical evidence 732 00:36:15,117 --> 00:36:18,882 that linked him to these crimes. 733 00:36:18,957 --> 00:36:23,195 NARRATOR: The following morning, on the 4th of January 1990, 734 00:36:23,204 --> 00:36:27,682 44-year-old Shawcross was officially arrested. 735 00:36:27,757 --> 00:36:29,435 JOHN MCCAFFREY: So we took him to Rochester 736 00:36:29,510 --> 00:36:33,042 Police Department headquarters, put him in an interview room. 737 00:36:33,117 --> 00:36:35,635 And we had two teams of investigators. 738 00:36:35,710 --> 00:36:39,595 State police and RPD teamed up, and they 739 00:36:39,670 --> 00:36:41,435 started talking to art. 740 00:36:41,510 --> 00:36:43,275 What for me was the most striking moment 741 00:36:43,350 --> 00:36:46,315 of the entire case was when he was arrested 742 00:36:46,390 --> 00:36:47,955 and the period after that. 743 00:36:48,030 --> 00:36:49,148 He was very calm. 744 00:36:49,124 --> 00:36:51,282 He was emotionless about it. 745 00:36:51,357 --> 00:36:53,075 The turning point was they asked 746 00:36:53,150 --> 00:36:55,395 him, is your girlfriend, Clara Neal, 747 00:36:55,404 --> 00:36:57,435 involved in killing the girls? 748 00:36:57,510 --> 00:36:59,875 And he emphatically says, no. 749 00:36:59,950 --> 00:37:02,075 Clara is not involved. 750 00:37:02,150 --> 00:37:05,595 Well, you have to tell us, or we're going to think 751 00:37:05,670 --> 00:37:06,835 that Clara is involved. 752 00:37:06,910 --> 00:37:07,955 He said, no. 753 00:37:08,030 --> 00:37:08,995 Clara has nothing to do with this. 754 00:37:09,070 --> 00:37:09,875 It was me. 755 00:37:09,950 --> 00:37:13,242 [dramatic music] 756 00:37:15,430 --> 00:37:19,155 NARRATOR: After an investigation lasting nearly two years, 757 00:37:19,230 --> 00:37:23,515 thousands of hours in manpower, and many sleepless nights, 758 00:37:23,590 --> 00:37:28,355 the Genessee River Killer had been caught at last. 759 00:37:28,430 --> 00:37:31,915 But with women still missing, detectives needed 760 00:37:31,990 --> 00:37:34,515 Shawcross to start cooperating. 761 00:37:34,590 --> 00:37:37,842 They had all the photographs of the victims, 762 00:37:37,917 --> 00:37:40,755 and they put the photographs on the table. 763 00:37:40,830 --> 00:37:43,675 And Art picked the photographs up. 764 00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:45,835 And it was like a deck of cards. 765 00:37:45,910 --> 00:37:47,435 He says, I killed her. 766 00:37:47,510 --> 00:37:48,915 This is so-and-so. 767 00:37:48,990 --> 00:37:51,275 And he admits to 10 homicides. 768 00:37:51,350 --> 00:37:54,155 But every one of these, it was always their fault. 769 00:37:54,164 --> 00:37:56,475 They did something that made them die. 770 00:37:56,550 --> 00:37:59,915 Broke the gearshift of his car, tried to take his wallet, 771 00:37:59,990 --> 00:38:01,348 bit him. 772 00:38:01,424 --> 00:38:03,875 It was always somebody else's fault instead of his. 773 00:38:03,950 --> 00:38:05,355 Although he admitted them, I don't 774 00:38:05,430 --> 00:38:10,122 think he ever took full responsibility for why, though. 775 00:38:10,197 --> 00:38:13,275 NARRATOR: Arthur Shawcross agreed to assist the police 776 00:38:13,350 --> 00:38:15,755 with their remaining inquiries. 777 00:38:15,830 --> 00:38:19,955 After his confession, he said he wanted to take the police 778 00:38:20,030 --> 00:38:22,115 to recover the bodies of a couple 779 00:38:22,190 --> 00:38:23,715 that we haven't even found yet. 780 00:38:23,790 --> 00:38:26,835 And he took the police down to Island Cottage Road 781 00:38:26,844 --> 00:38:28,682 to recover the body of Maria Welch. 782 00:38:33,510 --> 00:38:37,875 NARRATOR: Investigators now had 11 victims they believed 783 00:38:37,950 --> 00:38:39,795 Shawcross had murdered. 784 00:38:39,870 --> 00:38:44,235 But despite his confessions, Arthur Shawcross wouldn't admit 785 00:38:44,310 --> 00:38:46,515 to killing Felicia Stevens. 786 00:38:46,590 --> 00:38:50,075 The only homicide that he would not admit to 787 00:38:50,084 --> 00:38:52,202 was that of Felicia Stevens. 788 00:38:52,277 --> 00:38:54,195 The unique thing about Felicia Stevens 789 00:38:54,204 --> 00:38:58,435 was that she was an Afro-American female. 790 00:38:58,510 --> 00:39:02,635 And we assume that he did not want to admit that he had 791 00:39:02,710 --> 00:39:06,035 had sex with an Afro-American. 792 00:39:06,044 --> 00:39:08,235 She had been strangled in the same manner 793 00:39:08,310 --> 00:39:11,435 that the other girls had. 794 00:39:11,444 --> 00:39:14,235 NARRATOR: Despite his denials, Shawcross was 795 00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:16,042 charged with Felicia's murder. 796 00:39:19,510 --> 00:39:24,915 His trial began on the 17th of September 1990. 797 00:39:24,990 --> 00:39:27,275 The world according to Arthur isn't actually 798 00:39:27,350 --> 00:39:28,502 probably all the truth. 799 00:39:28,577 --> 00:39:29,995 You got to be very careful about what 800 00:39:30,070 --> 00:39:32,235 Art says because we really believe 801 00:39:32,310 --> 00:39:34,235 he's a pathological liar. 802 00:39:34,244 --> 00:39:37,315 And he serves himself to make it look like it 803 00:39:37,390 --> 00:39:39,075 was other people's fault. 804 00:39:39,150 --> 00:39:40,955 JOHN MCCAFFREY: His defense was insanity, 805 00:39:41,030 --> 00:39:44,275 and that was easily disproved because he 806 00:39:44,350 --> 00:39:46,995 took us to the bodies that he had disposed of. 807 00:39:47,070 --> 00:39:49,602 So you couldn't be insane and know where you left the bodies. 808 00:39:49,677 --> 00:39:52,155 And at this point, he introduces the fact 809 00:39:52,230 --> 00:39:54,635 that his mother abused him as a child. 810 00:39:54,710 --> 00:39:56,875 It's all fantasy. 811 00:39:56,950 --> 00:39:59,235 I very much doubt he suffered anything 812 00:39:59,310 --> 00:40:02,835 at the hands of his mother just as he never saw any action 813 00:40:02,910 --> 00:40:04,475 in the jungle in Vietnam. 814 00:40:04,484 --> 00:40:07,435 It's just an excuse. 815 00:40:07,510 --> 00:40:10,795 NARRATOR: First assistant District Attorney Charles J. 816 00:40:10,870 --> 00:40:13,915 Siragusa led the prosecution. 817 00:40:13,990 --> 00:40:17,235 He systematically laid out the case 818 00:40:17,310 --> 00:40:21,075 of how each body was discovered, how 819 00:40:21,150 --> 00:40:24,835 each body had been killed, and tied to all the bodies 820 00:40:24,910 --> 00:40:26,108 together. 821 00:40:26,184 --> 00:40:28,602 The jury deliberated less than eight hours 822 00:40:28,677 --> 00:40:31,282 after two or three weeks of testimony 823 00:40:31,357 --> 00:40:34,602 and found him guilty of all 10 homicides. 824 00:40:38,844 --> 00:40:42,835 Shawcross is sentenced in the Monroe County cases 825 00:40:42,910 --> 00:40:47,075 to 25 years in prison for each of the 10 victims, 826 00:40:47,150 --> 00:40:51,355 a total of 250 years in prison. 827 00:40:51,364 --> 00:40:56,795 He is later to be tried for the one victim in Wayne County. 828 00:40:56,870 --> 00:41:00,195 NARRATOR: Arthur Shawcross received an additional life 829 00:41:00,270 --> 00:41:04,435 sentence in Wayne County for the murder of Elizabeth Gibson, 830 00:41:04,510 --> 00:41:08,075 on top of the 250 years he'd already 831 00:41:08,150 --> 00:41:10,555 been sentenced to in Monroe. 832 00:41:10,630 --> 00:41:13,595 This is all about the families of the girls. 833 00:41:13,604 --> 00:41:15,515 Just because a person becomes involved 834 00:41:15,590 --> 00:41:19,195 in drugs and a prostitute, they're still somebody's 835 00:41:19,204 --> 00:41:22,042 daughter, somebody's sister. 836 00:41:22,117 --> 00:41:26,155 So there was a great deal of satisfaction and relief 837 00:41:26,230 --> 00:41:29,835 that we had brought closure to these families. 838 00:41:29,910 --> 00:41:33,475 An unfortunate closure, but closures. 839 00:41:33,550 --> 00:41:37,515 NARRATOR: Shawcross was sent to Sullivan Correctional Facility 840 00:41:37,590 --> 00:41:39,635 in Fallsburg, New York. 841 00:41:39,710 --> 00:41:44,035 After complaining of leg pain, he died of a cardiac arrest 842 00:41:44,110 --> 00:41:49,035 behind bars in 2008, at the age of 63. 843 00:41:49,110 --> 00:41:50,755 LYNDE JOHNSTON: I didn't know how 844 00:41:50,830 --> 00:41:54,275 emotionally tied up you could be on something like this. 845 00:41:54,350 --> 00:41:57,555 I remember coming home after he was arrested, 846 00:41:57,630 --> 00:42:03,035 walking upstairs, and crying just because I was so tired. 847 00:42:03,044 --> 00:42:04,568 I put so much effort-- 848 00:42:04,644 --> 00:42:08,075 all of us put so much effort into this case. 849 00:42:08,150 --> 00:42:10,722 It was the only time in my career 850 00:42:10,797 --> 00:42:13,122 that I had those feelings. 851 00:42:13,197 --> 00:42:15,042 ELIZABETH YARDLEY: What really angers me about this case 852 00:42:15,117 --> 00:42:17,275 is that there was a chance to stop him. 853 00:42:17,350 --> 00:42:19,995 He killed two children and yet he was still 854 00:42:20,070 --> 00:42:23,675 released from prison it really saddens me to think that there 855 00:42:23,750 --> 00:42:26,395 are women who would still be walking around today 856 00:42:26,470 --> 00:42:31,235 had Shawcross been dealt with properly the first time around. 857 00:42:31,310 --> 00:42:34,282 NARRATOR: Arthur Shawcross was a dangerous loner 858 00:42:34,357 --> 00:42:37,115 who targeted vulnerable women in order 859 00:42:37,190 --> 00:42:39,882 to satisfy his deadly urges. 860 00:42:39,957 --> 00:42:44,475 He brutally murdered and mutilated 11 women. 861 00:42:44,550 --> 00:42:48,515 16 years before this depraved killing spree, 862 00:42:48,590 --> 00:42:52,115 Shawcross had also savagely taken the lives 863 00:42:52,190 --> 00:42:54,435 of two young children. 864 00:42:54,510 --> 00:42:57,635 Belligerent and unremorseful, Arthur Shawcross 865 00:42:57,710 --> 00:43:00,155 maintained his actions were entirely 866 00:43:00,230 --> 00:43:04,235 the fault of his victims, making him one of the world's 867 00:43:04,310 --> 00:43:05,635 most evil killers. 868 00:43:05,710 --> 00:43:07,722 [dramatic music] 869 00:43:31,790 --> 00:43:32,635 [whooshing] 870 00:43:32,644 --> 00:43:35,202 [jingling]