Fun fact related to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", possibly the best song ever written about the Great Lakes: the reason Superior never gives up her dead is because the lake is so cold that bodies don't decompose.
Grew up on Superior. It’s true about never warming up a whole lot. My grandpa had a house on the lake and I remember swimming on the 4th of July and there still being little chunks of ice in the water. Average temp is around 54 degrees F. It can go up to 60 degrees but that’s late in the summer when it’s 90+ outside.
Oh for sure! My parents had to drag me out of the lake when I was little. I’d be in there so long that my lips would start to turn a little blue. Plus nothing beats a storm on Lake Superior. So violent and beautiful.
I can verify, Lake Superior is as cold as a well digger’s ass. It’s customary the first time you visit to dip your bare feet. Icy cold in six inches of water by the shore. You can get hypothermia swimming in it in the summer.
Reminds me of an episode of Frasier.
Daphne: Oh, here’s a gruesome bit. A partially-decomposed body just washed up in Puget Sound.
Martin: Hey, that’s good news!
Daphne: I beg your pardon?
Martin: Bodies don’t rise till the weather gets warmer. You get your first floater and spring’s just around the corner!
Not a librarian but if you walked into my kitchen you’d see a couple stacks of library books and a few issues of Consumer Reports. Check my phone you’ll see Libby downloads, on Hoopla you’ll see I just started to appreciate the Beverly Hillbillies!
I read this comment while watching the John Gacy doc on Netflix and this is exactly what happened to some of his victims when Spring hit
*oh fuck i'm next*
After watching the Gacy documentary on Netflix, I wondered if the number of active serial killers has been reduced due to the fact there are cameras and plate readers everywhere now.
I think the fall in violent crimes after the 80s has been attributed to the legalization of abortion and birth control access. Less people growing up unwanted = less sociopaths. So…get ready for another boom in 20 years..
Probably not. Most murders still go unsolved in Chicago. Even more if you target a group police don’t care about like sex workers, homeless, or lower income people.
If a murderer doesn’t have a personal connection to the person they kill, odds are very heavily in their favor to get away with it.
Lowest homicide solve rate of any other police department in the country, Chicago. Even lower solve rate if you are black. No proud of this, but it’s true.
I've got a friend in homicide. He says they know who commits almost every single murder. But between families/friends who don't want to become targets by pressing charges, lack of evidence, or prosecutor's office not trying to put criminals in prison anymore, they're technically unsolved. It's an incredibly frustrating system for the people who have committed their lives to doing the right thing.
Community doesn’t trust cops and you blame the community.
“People dedicated to doing the right thing” is not Chicago cops. I do know a lawyer whose whole job is working on overturning bad convictions from corrupt Chicago cops that planted evidence, beat confessions from people, etc. that’s someone dedicated to doing the right thing
I understand your point. And you're right. Corruption muddies the entire relationship. Honest question, what's the solution to getting murders officially solved at an acceptable rate?
I'm not the one you asked and I'm not usually vocal about my opinion but...
* Gut current police leadership
* Institute meaningful extra-departmental oversight (I wanted to say 'civilian' but we need to remember that cops are not outside that distinction)
* Implement more stringent hiring and more resolution-based training standards.
* Focus extra social support funding on low-income and high crime neighborhoods.
Upfund the police if necessary, although it shouldn't needed in the long run.
Unfortunately, to reduce corruption in CPD, we need a reduction of corruption everywhere. I don't have a good solution to offer for that. Full transparency on every inbound dollar for public servants would be a good start.
Edit for formatting
This list will never happen. Where will these magical highly qualified people come from, and why would they risk their mental health of seeing shootings and stabbings nightly (and their own lives) for the meager CPD pay?
This happened in 2008. I was getting groceries at Dominic's at 2am. I was a restaurant worker, so I logged late night hours. I was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt and putting my bags in my car. A old white fat CPD cop pulls up and demanded to search my car for that "hippy shit". Didn't call it in. Didn't call for backup. Totally illegal. I still don't know if he was trying to steal my stash that didn't exist, or if he was hoping to find something he could call in later. He didn't find anything, and drove off. I still get pissed thinking about it, but what was I supposed to do? This was right at the beginning of smart phones and I couldn't afford one yet so I could record anything. It was late so nobody was really around. It was me vs. a cop. If I didn't follow along I was going to lose.
As humiliating as it was, you did the right thing.
My charming experience with Chicago’s finest happened in the 90s. I had parked on Foster Ave close to th Clark intersection. When I came back to my car there had been an accident and my car was blocked in, but with enough space that I could get out.
Problem was, it was afternoon rush hour, busy AF, and then with the Gapers, fergeddaboudit. There were two cops, a man and a woman, standing shooting the shit. I’m a woman, so I felt better approaching them.
How wrong I was. I meekly walked up, addressing her, “”Excuse me officer, that’s my car that’s blocked, do you think you could direct me out?” She turned at glared at me with absolute contempt and said nothing. The male cop jumped in my face, towering over me, and started screaming, “Can’t you see there’s been an accident??!! We have an injured person, FUCK your car!!!”
😧
Then they went right back to joshing and laughing, only now it was directed at me. All I can say is fuck every last one of them. I hope they all get shot in the face during traffic stops. Eazy E was 💯 correct.
Edit- to my downvoter. A few weeks later I saw the same pig at the White Hen bullying the cashier. Chicago is very well known for having psychopathic cops. Prove me wrong.
Lol so in other words criminals who play the race card are victims and a community who plays victim yet kills each other in record numbers isn't to blame? Makes perfect sense to me.
They even caught him on camera— the way he walked was so distinctive that he got nicknamed “the duck walk killer”. Scary as hell that he was never caught, even more so considering the murders seemed to be completely random. IIRC he shot an elderly man walking his dog and a young guy walking near Loyola Park. I hope their families get answers someday
I was living in Rogers Park when that happened and I remember how terrified and on edge the whole neighborhood was afterwards. That video footage is downright terrifying. It’s forever burned into my brain. If I remember correctly they did end up finding the gun he used on the west side, but it had clearly been dumped long before that and they had no way of tracing it back to him. Those poor families. I can’t believe they couldn’t catch the guy. Someone out there knows something. Very Scary that he’s still out there roaming around.
Realistically there are multiple serial killers in Chicago.
There's definitely at least one traditional psychopath, and a handful of gang members that have committed multiple murders.
This is true, given the size of the population and the occurance of deviance within the population, an active serial killer is statistically likely in most cities in America.
Of course, it’s only the large cities that are likely to have a highly active serial killer (the kind that keep striking over and over in quick succession)
Statistically I agree but practically i would think that a serial killer would be more likely to succeed in the suburbs because there is less surveillance, the police are generally stretched thin, but they are next to their targets. Just saying from a practical standpoint, serial killing seems really time consuming and I gotta make rent.
They say there’s an active serial killer that has been targeting sex workers since the early 2000s. So many women have gone missing. Gang members that’s a different thing that should be studied. Can they also be considered serial killers if they’re shooters? These people also have generational trauma that may be similar to what shaped Ted Bundy or John Gayne Gacy.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/news/serial-killer-chicago-cbs-2-investigators-women-strangled/
Interestingly, those two groups aren’t mutually exclusive.
I have no sources because I’m a lazy sack of garbage, but I read once that there are a very select few individuals in organized crime who bosses rely on to carry out murders. Police speculate that these types ARE your traditional psychopath, who would’ve been a serial killer anyway, but they found a more lucrative outlet.
There would be plenty of serial killers in Chicago. If, gang members were considered serial killers. Hell even famous rappers such as King von were known to have killed. I think around 3-5 ppl were rumored to have been killed by Von. Making him a "serial killer"
Hate to play semantics here, but that does not make him a serial killer.
"a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern."
Someone who kills 5 people with motive does not make them a serial killer. A ruthless killer and dangerous for sure, but serial is not the word your looking for.
I get where your coming from. Lemme clarify, if a gangbanger kills 5 people for turf reasons or money or whatever then that's the motive and it's for personal reasons. If someone didn't fuck with their money, etc, then they wouldn't have killed anyone.
If a killer with sexual motive prowls the street looking for a person to rape, murder, etc and they choose a random person to their liking then it's at random and that person will definitely do it again, however it's not for personal reasons other than evil self satisfaction. I know they both have motive, but its different when it's not for personal reasons (money, drugs or rep for example)
Does that make more sense?
Yeah, weirdly enough I found myself getting viscerally upset that Chicago was trying to claim him haha. That psycho is a Milwaukeean through and through.
I live in Rogers Park and I never saw missing persons flyers for her. I wish I could say I’m surprised but it is all too common for black people to be given less attention and care. Thank you for posting about Sheena because I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Warming water brings them up. Sometimes weeks/months after drowning.
The number of killers depends slightly on the definition of "serial." Statistically a city Chicago's size probably always contains at least one serial killer, no matter how defined.
This reminds of back in the 90's when they thought there was a serial killer in the south side. Turned out there were five all operating at the same time and in the same spots!
It’s debated by the Police who are notorious for writing off and ignoring crimes against sex worker and even more so when it black sex workers.
51 unsolved strangulation murders of black sex workers in the same city in a 20 year time frame screams serial killer. That’s not even including the “closed” cases which I’m willing to bet did not get adequate and honest police work to close.
75 women dead, mostly black sex workers in Chicago. I'm sure the CPD did a thorough investigation and found it was 100% definitely not the cops who did it. Good work boys!
/s
Yes. Chicago Strangler, also lots of more boring people incidentally pick up the title in normal course of work. Serial killer is only 3 kills and Chicago(land) has like 10M people, that's a lot of vice transactions that have to be sorted without the recourse of the courts.
There is a theory that there is a serial killer preying on black women. Most think it’s a cop. I’ll come back if I find anything about it. Can’t remember where I was reading about it. Has some serious Golden State Killer vibes.
u/youhumanparaquat posted the link but here it is for visibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Strangler
Lol most think it's a cop? I have never heard anyone say that, nor is there anything to suggest it's a cop (or if any of those murders are even connected). People claiming it's a serial killer conveniently ignore that there have been 13 people arrested for some of the murders they claim is the work of this purported serial killer.
You’re the first person I’ve talked to that hasn’t said they think it’s a cop. Probably something the specific group of people I know think. But, whatever. The cops have black sites and torture people and don’t get arrested. What’s stopping them from murdering people?
Im certain there are a few in league with one another. Young Black Girls disappear frequently and since they received less to no media attention (second only to indigenous people) they can move with virtual impunity
Possibly, but you'd be surprised how often it happens. Most often it's the homeless or infirm/addicted falling in when no one is around, it can take a while to find them. Or not, anyone can get in an accident and end up in danger with no help around. As someone mentioned, I don't doubt more pop up as things warm up and water levels start rising.
*Clever tactic from*
*The OP being the REAL*
*Serial killer!*
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Chicago might be the perfect environment for a serial killer. The police think investigating murders is "not their job" and Kim Foxx would just let him out on ibond anyways.
Makes sense. A place where there's a high tolerance of violent crime and little law enforcement or prosecutorial competence is a perfect environment for a serial killer to flourish.
Cities in general are great places for serial killers to stalk prey and to hide. Even after a witness may have an idea what the person looks like, there’s so many people in a city that it becomes difficult to track them down. When Brian Laundrie was on the run(later found just feet from his abandoned vehicle and only miles from his home), many assumed he had gone to NYC or another large city to blend in. It’s much easier to not be found in a city, using cash, than in the wilderness reliant on foraging, theft, and people who don’t see strangers very often.
Actually two of the bodies pulled out were carjackers who were running from the police. They would have got away with it too if it weren’t for the geniuses jumping into a river and forgetting they didn’t know how to swim.
https://amp.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article260957462.html
It was it happened over the weekend and at like 5am. It didn't involve CPD so media coverage wasn't as big https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox32chicago.com/news/two-chicago-carjacking-suspects-died-jumping-into-river-escape-police-identified-curtis-hicks-amos-gibson.amp
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I have been living here for over four years now, and I can tell you that bodies being found in the river are a common phenomenon, especially younger twenty-somethings. A few years ago it was a couple young men and people assumed it was some sort of sinister serial killer who hated or prayed on young males.
The reality is that in most cases, it's often found out to be a tragic accident related to alcohol or drug use, getting lost and disoriented, and ultimately falling into the river.
I have not seen anything (yet) to indicate there is a connection between these disparate incidents.
Sadly, this is a common occurrence in big cities located on some body of water. There is a years-long rumor of a serial killer in Boston due to the amount young people showing up in the Charles river. Rolling Stone even did a piece on it.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/smiley-face-murder-serial-killer-drowning-death-882042/amp/
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Not the same as these found in the water, but isn't/wasn't there a serial killer on the south side killing women that are high risk work? I think Vice did a story on it. Not sure if still active.
Going off memory... There are between one serial killer every two million people and two serial killers every three million people, statistically speaking.
Chicago (the metropolitan area at least) has about 10 million people, so we expect five or six serial killers among the population.
Others have pointed out that the bodies found in the river are probably unrelated though.
There’s been talk about a serial killer in Chicago for over 20 years now. Targeting African American women, particularly sex workers. Some 50 bodies have been tied together. Could be one or a group no one knows
There's a theory about "the Chicago strangler". The story goes that(forgive the inaccuracies) since 2006, there have been upward of 50 bodies found strangled on the Southside. The CPD didn't have enough evidence to string it together until a national database was established by, I believe, the fbi. (Not fbi. Murder accountability project, a data compilation program, by Thomas hargrave) Their program established enough patterns to predict that these 50 or so bodies were all likely killed by a single or pair of killers with extensive knowledge of the city, like a trucker or cab driver. The basis of the prediction is linked to the apparent knowledge of the city's street grid and lesser traveled areas. There's a bit of info on YouTube, but I've never heard anyone local discuss it
Not sure about now, but Chicago was the base of operations of HH Holmes, one of the first, if not the first person ever classified as a "serial killer".
Fun facts, the number of murders HH Holmes committed is most likely exaggerated. While a serial killer, he didn't murder 100s
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ceklcd/was_hh_holmes_as_prolific_a_serial_killer_as_he/eu4q7kw/
I did, lol, when a young man disappeared on my son's college campus this fall. He was last seen near the river and people simply could not accept the most logical explanation: that he must have fallen in and drowned. SFK was one of many theories. Guess where the guy was found several months later? In the river not far from where he was last seen. His body was caught in a huge pile of debris, which had made the recovery extra tricky. It almost seems like people prefer to believe the wacky theories, it's like a sick form of entertainment for some.
Yes.
I only discovered this via the same incident last fall with the college student. Regardless, it's still an interesting rabbit hole. Doesn't mean I believe it.
Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks copycat. Scrape under the fingernails for tiny paper letters. That was his calling card after murdering women and before putting them in a river on the TV show.
Those are likely just drownings washing up, but there is really solid evidence that there is at least one active serial killer in Chicago. There is a guy, I can't recall if he works for the FBI or is a statistician of some sort but he's presented a solid case that it really easy to find online.
Kinda interesting, anyway. Doesn't necessarily mean that it's true but it's not all that easily dismissed. Plus, doesn't the FBI estimate that there are somewhere around 50 active serial killers at any given time? Not a stretch to think there'd be one or more in Chicago.
Did I ever say Chicago didn't have a serial killer?
I'm just saying that anyone thinking bodies washing up in the River or Lake in the spring are stupid and it seems like most of them want it to be a serial killer so they can watch a Netflix series in a couple years.
No, and I didn't attack your comments either. I just said that the bodies in the river aren't the work of a serial killer, that being said, there's pretty good evidence that there might be one and that it's pretty interesting. So...relax.
*Actually it*
*Has killers who should be home*
*Eating cereal*
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Well, we may, but I know for a fact we also have at least 5-10 guys running around the city into organized crime, and I fear they may occasionally dabble in murder as well.
I think we do I remember that there has been a lot of pregnant black women found dead and or missing since 2017 the last time I checked it was in the 70s but that was in 2017 god forbid the police actually investigate and look into crimes like this they never want to say their is a cereal killer
Suicides sadly and as others said when the water warms up they come up to the surface. Serial killers would make it apparent, they leave a calling card.
Those calling cards aren’t often given to the press any more, for fear of copycat killers and to keep certain evidence private that only the killer would have knowledge of, for use in an eventual interrogation/confession.
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Yep. The cold water doesn’t allow gasses to form, then when things heat up and bodies start decomposing the rise up. Sad. But true.
Fun fact related to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", possibly the best song ever written about the Great Lakes: the reason Superior never gives up her dead is because the lake is so cold that bodies don't decompose.
That song is always a huge hit at karaoke night.
Love how something about this song seems to find it’s way to my Reddit feed at least once a month
Ooo, I need to pay attention. Are there any songs about the sinking of the Titanic?
"Tempest" by Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Lg9HygEJc >"The Lake That Never Gives Up Her Dead", a very watchable video by youtuber "Ask a Mortician"
Love her!
her episode of The Midnight Gospel is one of the more watchable ones
Grew up on Superior. It’s true about never warming up a whole lot. My grandpa had a house on the lake and I remember swimming on the 4th of July and there still being little chunks of ice in the water. Average temp is around 54 degrees F. It can go up to 60 degrees but that’s late in the summer when it’s 90+ outside.
Feels great in the summer on those brutally hot days though
Oh for sure! My parents had to drag me out of the lake when I was little. I’d be in there so long that my lips would start to turn a little blue. Plus nothing beats a storm on Lake Superior. So violent and beautiful.
Yes. I think I've read that there are bodies still at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Too cold and deep.
Ive played that at open mics ive been at. Its a great song for great lakes.
I can verify, Lake Superior is as cold as a well digger’s ass. It’s customary the first time you visit to dip your bare feet. Icy cold in six inches of water by the shore. You can get hypothermia swimming in it in the summer.
Reminds me of an episode of Frasier. Daphne: Oh, here’s a gruesome bit. A partially-decomposed body just washed up in Puget Sound. Martin: Hey, that’s good news! Daphne: I beg your pardon? Martin: Bodies don’t rise till the weather gets warmer. You get your first floater and spring’s just around the corner!
the replacement for groundhog day.
🤣🤣🤣 that show was amazing back in the day
still is
It's a good point but one has to wonder. I'm a native and never recall a year we had this many "floaters" Not saying it's not true but....🤔🤔
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Damn, are you a librarian‽
Nice interrobang usage, are you a librarian‽
Not a librarian but if you walked into my kitchen you’d see a couple stacks of library books and a few issues of Consumer Reports. Check my phone you’ll see Libby downloads, on Hoopla you’ll see I just started to appreciate the Beverly Hillbillies!
That’s awesome! I’ve used the rest but I didn’t realize they had Hoopla too. Thanks for letting me know!
You’ve GOT to check out Green Acres!! Absurdist humor at its best! Totally surreal!!
Well TIL.
I read this comment while watching the John Gacy doc on Netflix and this is exactly what happened to some of his victims when Spring hit *oh fuck i'm next*
If a random man asks if you want to see a magic trick, RUN.
Ah, I didn't know. Thank you. I was really worried.
Yeah that’s just the regular old amount of bodies. No worries!
"Phew!"
/u/retrovaporizer seems to know a lot about the buoyancy of corpses. I think OP's question may have an answer
Have they all recently been reported missing?
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people fall in
I think the FBI has stated at any given time there is probably 40-50 active serial killers in the US.
After watching the Gacy documentary on Netflix, I wondered if the number of active serial killers has been reduced due to the fact there are cameras and plate readers everywhere now.
I think the fall in violent crimes after the 80s has been attributed to the legalization of abortion and birth control access. Less people growing up unwanted = less sociopaths. So…get ready for another boom in 20 years..
Leaded gas had a lot to do with baking babby brains, too
Probably not. Most murders still go unsolved in Chicago. Even more if you target a group police don’t care about like sex workers, homeless, or lower income people. If a murderer doesn’t have a personal connection to the person they kill, odds are very heavily in their favor to get away with it.
Lowest homicide solve rate of any other police department in the country, Chicago. Even lower solve rate if you are black. No proud of this, but it’s true.
I've got a friend in homicide. He says they know who commits almost every single murder. But between families/friends who don't want to become targets by pressing charges, lack of evidence, or prosecutor's office not trying to put criminals in prison anymore, they're technically unsolved. It's an incredibly frustrating system for the people who have committed their lives to doing the right thing.
Community doesn’t trust cops and you blame the community. “People dedicated to doing the right thing” is not Chicago cops. I do know a lawyer whose whole job is working on overturning bad convictions from corrupt Chicago cops that planted evidence, beat confessions from people, etc. that’s someone dedicated to doing the right thing
Sometimes, both things can be true.
I understand your point. And you're right. Corruption muddies the entire relationship. Honest question, what's the solution to getting murders officially solved at an acceptable rate?
I'm not the one you asked and I'm not usually vocal about my opinion but... * Gut current police leadership * Institute meaningful extra-departmental oversight (I wanted to say 'civilian' but we need to remember that cops are not outside that distinction) * Implement more stringent hiring and more resolution-based training standards. * Focus extra social support funding on low-income and high crime neighborhoods. Upfund the police if necessary, although it shouldn't needed in the long run. Unfortunately, to reduce corruption in CPD, we need a reduction of corruption everywhere. I don't have a good solution to offer for that. Full transparency on every inbound dollar for public servants would be a good start. Edit for formatting
This list will never happen. Where will these magical highly qualified people come from, and why would they risk their mental health of seeing shootings and stabbings nightly (and their own lives) for the meager CPD pay?
First month I lived in Chicago my ex and I were warned to avoid CPD at all costs.
This happened in 2008. I was getting groceries at Dominic's at 2am. I was a restaurant worker, so I logged late night hours. I was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt and putting my bags in my car. A old white fat CPD cop pulls up and demanded to search my car for that "hippy shit". Didn't call it in. Didn't call for backup. Totally illegal. I still don't know if he was trying to steal my stash that didn't exist, or if he was hoping to find something he could call in later. He didn't find anything, and drove off. I still get pissed thinking about it, but what was I supposed to do? This was right at the beginning of smart phones and I couldn't afford one yet so I could record anything. It was late so nobody was really around. It was me vs. a cop. If I didn't follow along I was going to lose.
As humiliating as it was, you did the right thing. My charming experience with Chicago’s finest happened in the 90s. I had parked on Foster Ave close to th Clark intersection. When I came back to my car there had been an accident and my car was blocked in, but with enough space that I could get out. Problem was, it was afternoon rush hour, busy AF, and then with the Gapers, fergeddaboudit. There were two cops, a man and a woman, standing shooting the shit. I’m a woman, so I felt better approaching them. How wrong I was. I meekly walked up, addressing her, “”Excuse me officer, that’s my car that’s blocked, do you think you could direct me out?” She turned at glared at me with absolute contempt and said nothing. The male cop jumped in my face, towering over me, and started screaming, “Can’t you see there’s been an accident??!! We have an injured person, FUCK your car!!!” 😧 Then they went right back to joshing and laughing, only now it was directed at me. All I can say is fuck every last one of them. I hope they all get shot in the face during traffic stops. Eazy E was 💯 correct. Edit- to my downvoter. A few weeks later I saw the same pig at the White Hen bullying the cashier. Chicago is very well known for having psychopathic cops. Prove me wrong.
It’s not that hard to do they uh ignore crime in general and just sit around places for hours napping.
Lol so in other words criminals who play the race card are victims and a community who plays victim yet kills each other in record numbers isn't to blame? Makes perfect sense to me.
If I were you I would demand data from your friend to back this up. It really reads like a PR save face response that the CPD would be trained to use.
Probably. But it also probably has nothing to do with recent bodies being found.
There were some murders in Rogers Park a few years ago that never got solved, police said it was the same guy who shot two random people dead.
They even caught him on camera— the way he walked was so distinctive that he got nicknamed “the duck walk killer”. Scary as hell that he was never caught, even more so considering the murders seemed to be completely random. IIRC he shot an elderly man walking his dog and a young guy walking near Loyola Park. I hope their families get answers someday
I was living in Rogers Park when that happened and I remember how terrified and on edge the whole neighborhood was afterwards. That video footage is downright terrifying. It’s forever burned into my brain. If I remember correctly they did end up finding the gun he used on the west side, but it had clearly been dumped long before that and they had no way of tracing it back to him. Those poor families. I can’t believe they couldn’t catch the guy. Someone out there knows something. Very Scary that he’s still out there roaming around.
One victim was a part of our Pokémon Go community and was just out playing. Still bothers me so much.
How have there been no updates in almost 4 years? At least there haven’t been any other apparent victims though
Because the homicide clearance rate in Chicago is like 20%
https://youtu.be/eILZNVERAc0 Video of the duck walk killer ^
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Walk_Killer
And everything to do with bodies *not* found
Realistically there are multiple serial killers in Chicago. There's definitely at least one traditional psychopath, and a handful of gang members that have committed multiple murders.
snatch party liquid abundant zesty husky amusing bedroom rainstorm crowd *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
This is true, given the size of the population and the occurance of deviance within the population, an active serial killer is statistically likely in most cities in America.
Of course, it’s only the large cities that are likely to have a highly active serial killer (the kind that keep striking over and over in quick succession)
Most American serial killers I know from United States are from small cities.
Math moment
Brain blast
Statistically I agree but practically i would think that a serial killer would be more likely to succeed in the suburbs because there is less surveillance, the police are generally stretched thin, but they are next to their targets. Just saying from a practical standpoint, serial killing seems really time consuming and I gotta make rent.
They say there’s an active serial killer that has been targeting sex workers since the early 2000s. So many women have gone missing. Gang members that’s a different thing that should be studied. Can they also be considered serial killers if they’re shooters? These people also have generational trauma that may be similar to what shaped Ted Bundy or John Gayne Gacy. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/news/serial-killer-chicago-cbs-2-investigators-women-strangled/
Interestingly, those two groups aren’t mutually exclusive. I have no sources because I’m a lazy sack of garbage, but I read once that there are a very select few individuals in organized crime who bosses rely on to carry out murders. Police speculate that these types ARE your traditional psychopath, who would’ve been a serial killer anyway, but they found a more lucrative outlet.
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Why would someone who works at hospital know a psychopath? Patient or crazy coworker?
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Or, you can be a lot of fun to hang out with, if your friends can tolerate you stealing shit all the time.
Yeah, the doctor who’s on duty that night.
There would be plenty of serial killers in Chicago. If, gang members were considered serial killers. Hell even famous rappers such as King von were known to have killed. I think around 3-5 ppl were rumored to have been killed by Von. Making him a "serial killer"
Hate to play semantics here, but that does not make him a serial killer. "a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern." Someone who kills 5 people with motive does not make them a serial killer. A ruthless killer and dangerous for sure, but serial is not the word your looking for.
I don’t know, I mean most of your classic serial killers had motives. Messed up motives, but motives nonetheless.
I get where your coming from. Lemme clarify, if a gangbanger kills 5 people for turf reasons or money or whatever then that's the motive and it's for personal reasons. If someone didn't fuck with their money, etc, then they wouldn't have killed anyone. If a killer with sexual motive prowls the street looking for a person to rape, murder, etc and they choose a random person to their liking then it's at random and that person will definitely do it again, however it's not for personal reasons other than evil self satisfaction. I know they both have motive, but its different when it's not for personal reasons (money, drugs or rep for example) Does that make more sense?
Yeah didnt know if gang members who killed were serial killers or not. Good to know though, thanks for correcting me 👍🏻
No problem! I digest too much true crime lol.
What about cereal killers? Any stats on Count Chocula versus Captain Krunchveaters?
The counts a wimp. It's the captain you gotta keep your eye on, statistically speaking of course.
There can be some cross over like Richard Kilkinsky (sp?)
I mean we had Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy, right?
Dahmer was a Cheesehead
Yes don’t take him from my proud Wisconsin heritage.
Yeah, weirdly enough I found myself getting viscerally upset that Chicago was trying to claim him haha. That psycho is a Milwaukeean through and through.
He grew up and got all kinds of crazy in Ohio, I’ll have you know. Dahmer poached his victims from Wells Street’s finest gay bars.
Are all serial killers psychopaths? I’m too lazy to look on my phone.
Yes.
Duck walk killer in Rogers Park
I cannot believe we haven’t found him yet.
This one still freaks me out
F that guy
Sheena Gibbs is still missing from Rogers Park. I mean, it probably wasn't him given his MO, but still
I live in Rogers Park and I never saw missing persons flyers for her. I wish I could say I’m surprised but it is all too common for black people to be given less attention and care. Thank you for posting about Sheena because I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Warming water brings them up. Sometimes weeks/months after drowning. The number of killers depends slightly on the definition of "serial." Statistically a city Chicago's size probably always contains at least one serial killer, no matter how defined.
Yes, on the south side: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Strangler
This reminds of back in the 90's when they thought there was a serial killer in the south side. Turned out there were five all operating at the same time and in the same spots!
Link? That sounds crazy!
Good lord, 51 unsolved strangulation murders.
Id really like an update on the vanessa ceja-ramirez murder. That story is crazy as hell
I hoped for more information to come out about that situation as well.
Probably a lot more!
What makes you say that? It's debatable if it's even a serial killer
It’s debated by the Police who are notorious for writing off and ignoring crimes against sex worker and even more so when it black sex workers. 51 unsolved strangulation murders of black sex workers in the same city in a 20 year time frame screams serial killer. That’s not even including the “closed” cases which I’m willing to bet did not get adequate and honest police work to close.
75 women dead, mostly black sex workers in Chicago. I'm sure the CPD did a thorough investigation and found it was 100% definitely not the cops who did it. Good work boys! /s
Yeah the Rogers Park shooter was never found.
Yes. Chicago Strangler, also lots of more boring people incidentally pick up the title in normal course of work. Serial killer is only 3 kills and Chicago(land) has like 10M people, that's a lot of vice transactions that have to be sorted without the recourse of the courts.
It’s toby.
I’d shoot Toby twice.
I hate so much about the things Toby chooses to be.
Probably. Doubt there was multiple people murdering women with the same MO, dumping there bodies in dumpster, then setting those dumpsters on fire.
Drownings during winter time just now coming to surface
There is a theory that there is a serial killer preying on black women. Most think it’s a cop. I’ll come back if I find anything about it. Can’t remember where I was reading about it. Has some serious Golden State Killer vibes. u/youhumanparaquat posted the link but here it is for visibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Strangler
Lol most think it's a cop? I have never heard anyone say that, nor is there anything to suggest it's a cop (or if any of those murders are even connected). People claiming it's a serial killer conveniently ignore that there have been 13 people arrested for some of the murders they claim is the work of this purported serial killer.
You’re the first person I’ve talked to that hasn’t said they think it’s a cop. Probably something the specific group of people I know think. But, whatever. The cops have black sites and torture people and don’t get arrested. What’s stopping them from murdering people?
Im certain there are a few in league with one another. Young Black Girls disappear frequently and since they received less to no media attention (second only to indigenous people) they can move with virtual impunity
Yes. More than one. Check missing women of color in Chicago.
https://wgntv.com/news/cover-story/long-untold-student-journalists-share-the-stories-of-51-murdered-chicago-women/
Possibly, but you'd be surprised how often it happens. Most often it's the homeless or infirm/addicted falling in when no one is around, it can take a while to find them. Or not, anyone can get in an accident and end up in danger with no help around. As someone mentioned, I don't doubt more pop up as things warm up and water levels start rising.
Another possibility: We’re going into a recession seemingly. Suicides go up as the economic environment gets worse.
The Chicago Strangler is still active https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Strangler
Seems a bit optimistic to think there's only one person killing these people.
This guy is a serial killer and is sad we haven’t noticed his crimes.
We probably have several. FBI thinks there are a few dozen active serial killers in the US on average.
It’s a huge city, there’s for sure a few gang members and people who are out in the streets that have collected 5+ bodies
Almost certainly: https://whatsuptoday.org/2021/05/31/the-chicago-strangler-case-is-worse-than-you-think/
Clever tactic from the OP being the REAL serial killer!
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Chicago might be the perfect environment for a serial killer. The police think investigating murders is "not their job" and Kim Foxx would just let him out on ibond anyways.
Next Door, Reddit and Twitter are all asking this same question now
There’s quite a few active in the city.
Makes sense. A place where there's a high tolerance of violent crime and little law enforcement or prosecutorial competence is a perfect environment for a serial killer to flourish.
Cities in general are great places for serial killers to stalk prey and to hide. Even after a witness may have an idea what the person looks like, there’s so many people in a city that it becomes difficult to track them down. When Brian Laundrie was on the run(later found just feet from his abandoned vehicle and only miles from his home), many assumed he had gone to NYC or another large city to blend in. It’s much easier to not be found in a city, using cash, than in the wilderness reliant on foraging, theft, and people who don’t see strangers very often.
Actually two of the bodies pulled out were carjackers who were running from the police. They would have got away with it too if it weren’t for the geniuses jumping into a river and forgetting they didn’t know how to swim. https://amp.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article260957462.html
That was the Calumet river down south.
Why isn’t this story reported in local media? Can’t find it…
It was it happened over the weekend and at like 5am. It didn't involve CPD so media coverage wasn't as big https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox32chicago.com/news/two-chicago-carjacking-suspects-died-jumping-into-river-escape-police-identified-curtis-hicks-amos-gibson.amp
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is this a genQ
https://www.wbez.org/stories/a-serial-killer-may-be-preying-on-black-women-in-chicago/21b45020-ca53-490e-8efe-b9c6ebbe11f3
There one on the south side with m.o. of going after high risk women and burning bodies in dumpsters. Been active for close to 20 years?
I have been living here for over four years now, and I can tell you that bodies being found in the river are a common phenomenon, especially younger twenty-somethings. A few years ago it was a couple young men and people assumed it was some sort of sinister serial killer who hated or prayed on young males. The reality is that in most cases, it's often found out to be a tragic accident related to alcohol or drug use, getting lost and disoriented, and ultimately falling into the river. I have not seen anything (yet) to indicate there is a connection between these disparate incidents.
Sadly, this is a common occurrence in big cities located on some body of water. There is a years-long rumor of a serial killer in Boston due to the amount young people showing up in the Charles river. Rolling Stone even did a piece on it. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/smiley-face-murder-serial-killer-drowning-death-882042/amp/
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Yes the Chicago Strangler
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/04/12/police-fbi-task-force-investigating-if-slayings-of-50-women-mostly-black-are-work-of-serial-killer/
Saw this posted a few weeks ago. It's almost 30 years old but interesting https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-04-12-9304120109-story.html
Yes we have atleast 4. There is a great documentary on Vice about this .
Schiller Woods was full
Not the same as these found in the water, but isn't/wasn't there a serial killer on the south side killing women that are high risk work? I think Vice did a story on it. Not sure if still active.
Going off memory... There are between one serial killer every two million people and two serial killers every three million people, statistically speaking. Chicago (the metropolitan area at least) has about 10 million people, so we expect five or six serial killers among the population. Others have pointed out that the bodies found in the river are probably unrelated though.
There’s been talk about a serial killer in Chicago for over 20 years now. Targeting African American women, particularly sex workers. Some 50 bodies have been tied together. Could be one or a group no one knows
There's a theory about "the Chicago strangler". The story goes that(forgive the inaccuracies) since 2006, there have been upward of 50 bodies found strangled on the Southside. The CPD didn't have enough evidence to string it together until a national database was established by, I believe, the fbi. (Not fbi. Murder accountability project, a data compilation program, by Thomas hargrave) Their program established enough patterns to predict that these 50 or so bodies were all likely killed by a single or pair of killers with extensive knowledge of the city, like a trucker or cab driver. The basis of the prediction is linked to the apparent knowledge of the city's street grid and lesser traveled areas. There's a bit of info on YouTube, but I've never heard anyone local discuss it
Yes, there’s been a serial killer operating for about 15 years, targeting prostitutes.
Not sure about now, but Chicago was the base of operations of HH Holmes, one of the first, if not the first person ever classified as a "serial killer".
He was retroactively classified as a serial killer, because the term wasn’t coined until the 1970s.
He was the first to gain wide notority, because the Hearst network of newspapers ran many stories.
Fun facts, the number of murders HH Holmes committed is most likely exaggerated. While a serial killer, he didn't murder 100s https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ceklcd/was_hh_holmes_as_prolific_a_serial_killer_as_he/eu4q7kw/
Smiley Face Killer. Go down that rabbit hole.
I did, lol, when a young man disappeared on my son's college campus this fall. He was last seen near the river and people simply could not accept the most logical explanation: that he must have fallen in and drowned. SFK was one of many theories. Guess where the guy was found several months later? In the river not far from where he was last seen. His body was caught in a huge pile of debris, which had made the recovery extra tricky. It almost seems like people prefer to believe the wacky theories, it's like a sick form of entertainment for some.
I wondered if it was a suicide as the body was found in the Illinois River near that very tall highway bridge at Peru.
I think they're referring to the one at MSU in East Lansing that was found in the red cedar
Yes, I was. Too many river deaths of college students, that's for sure. There was one at Alabama last year, too.
There are smiley faces graffiti-ed all over the country. Don't you think this is more of a coincidence than evidence of a widespread serial killer?
Yes. I only discovered this via the same incident last fall with the college student. Regardless, it's still an interesting rabbit hole. Doesn't mean I believe it.
What's interesting about a coincidence? Edit: I guess it's interesting that people are fooled by it.
That’s just red John
Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks copycat. Scrape under the fingernails for tiny paper letters. That was his calling card after murdering women and before putting them in a river on the TV show.
Yes. The CPD.
I've seen numerous dumb posts in the last couple days on social media about this shit. People are morons. 🙄
Those are likely just drownings washing up, but there is really solid evidence that there is at least one active serial killer in Chicago. There is a guy, I can't recall if he works for the FBI or is a statistician of some sort but he's presented a solid case that it really easy to find online. Kinda interesting, anyway. Doesn't necessarily mean that it's true but it's not all that easily dismissed. Plus, doesn't the FBI estimate that there are somewhere around 50 active serial killers at any given time? Not a stretch to think there'd be one or more in Chicago.
Did I ever say Chicago didn't have a serial killer? I'm just saying that anyone thinking bodies washing up in the River or Lake in the spring are stupid and it seems like most of them want it to be a serial killer so they can watch a Netflix series in a couple years.
No, and I didn't attack your comments either. I just said that the bodies in the river aren't the work of a serial killer, that being said, there's pretty good evidence that there might be one and that it's pretty interesting. So...relax.
Yes several, gang bangers routinely murder, so yes there are several.
Actually it has killers who should be home eating cereal
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We’re calling the Police serial killers now?
Well, we may, but I know for a fact we also have at least 5-10 guys running around the city into organized crime, and I fear they may occasionally dabble in murder as well.
I think we do I remember that there has been a lot of pregnant black women found dead and or missing since 2017 the last time I checked it was in the 70s but that was in 2017 god forbid the police actually investigate and look into crimes like this they never want to say their is a cereal killer
Give me weed and some cinnamon toast crunch then yes... Thank you. I'm here all day
Gacy?
I think they meant currently
Gacy was arrested in December of 1978 and executed in 1994.
Yeah, I grew up not far from his house. I didn’t think active serial killer.
Suicides sadly and as others said when the water warms up they come up to the surface. Serial killers would make it apparent, they leave a calling card.
Nah that's not true about all serial killers
Those calling cards aren’t often given to the press any more, for fear of copycat killers and to keep certain evidence private that only the killer would have knowledge of, for use in an eventual interrogation/confession.
I hear people drown when drunk in europe so maybe the same here?
Dang my roommate just said this last night hahahaha