Ohio Serial Killers
ColdCaseIndex documents 10 serial killers whose murders took place in Ohio, with first known killings from 1935 to 2007. 9 of them were caught; 3 linked case files document their victims. The earliest series is Cleveland Torso Murderer (1935) and the most recent is Anthony Sowell (2007). Profiles are added in order of public interest, so this page is not a complete census of the state.
All 10 profiles
Cleveland Torso Murderer
The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run
Unidentified. An unknown offender decapitated and dismembered 12 officially counted victims in Cleveland, Ohio, between 1935 and 1938, most found in or near Kingsbury Run.
Donald Harvey
Angel of Death
Pleaded guilty in 1987 and 1988 to 37 murders of hospital patients and others in Ohio and Kentucky between 1970 and 1987; claimed as many as 87.
Samuel Little
Samuel McDowell
Died in prison. Samuel Little was convicted of eight murders in California, Texas and Ohio. He confessed to 93 killings from 1970 to 2005, and authorities said nearly 60 were confirmed. He died in December 2020, aged 80.
Paul John Knowles
The Casanova Killer
Killed. Paul John Knowles, the Casanova Killer, was linked to at least 18 killings across several states in 1974 after escaping a Jacksonville jail.
Edward Wayne Edwards
Ed Edwards
Died in prison. Edward Wayne Edwards pleaded guilty in 2010 and 2011 to five murders in Ohio and Wisconsin committed between 1977 and 1996.
Joseph Paul Franklin
James Clayton Vaughn Jr. (birth name)
Executed. Joseph Paul Franklin, a white supremacist sniper, was convicted of eight murders in Utah, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio and Tennessee committed between 1977 and 1980.
Jeffrey Dahmer
The Milwaukee Cannibal
Died in prison. Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys in Ohio and Wisconsin between 1978 and 1991. A jury found him sane on 15 counts in 1992; he received 16 life terms and was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994.
Herb Baumeister
Herbert Richard Baumeister
Died by suicide before charges. Indianapolis thrift-store owner whose Westfield estate, Fox Hollow Farm, yielded the remains of at least 11 men in 1996; sheriffs later linked him to nine more deaths along I-70.
Shawn Grate
On Ohio's death row. Shawn Grate was convicted of killing five women in Ashland, Richland and Marion counties between 2006 and 2016; a captive's 911 call from his Ashland house led to his arrest in September 2016.
Anthony Sowell
The Cleveland Strangler
Convicted by a Cuyahoga County jury in 2011 of 11 aggravated murders after the remains of 11 women were found at his Cleveland home in October 2009; sentenced to death, affirmed on appeal, died in state custody in February 2021.
At a glance
| Name | Alias | State | Active | Convicted | Confessed | Suspected | Legal status | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Torso Murderer | The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run | Ohio | 1935 to 1938 | — | — | 12 officially counted (7 men, 5 women); some researchers suggest 20 or more | Unidentified | Unknown |
| Donald Harvey | Angel of Death | Ohio, Kentucky | 1970 to 1987 | 37 | 87 | No official attribution beyond the 37 he pleaded guilty to; Harvey's own claims ranged from about 50 to 87 | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Samuel Little | Samuel McDowell | California, Florida, Ohio, Texas | 1970 to 2005 | 8 | 93 | about 60 confirmed by the FBI, of 93 confessed | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Paul John Knowles | The Casanova Killer | Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Connecticut, Virginia | 1974 | — | — | 18 to 35 | Died before trial | Killed |
| Edward Wayne Edwards | Ed Edwards | Ohio, Wisconsin | 1977 to 1996 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Joseph Paul Franklin | James Clayton Vaughn Jr. (birth name) | Utah, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee | 1977 to 1980 | 8 | — | 8 to 22 | Convicted | Executed |
| Jeffrey Dahmer | The Milwaukee Cannibal | Wisconsin, Ohio | 1978 to 1991 | 16 | 17 | 17 | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Herb Baumeister | Herbert Richard Baumeister | Indiana, Ohio | 1980 to 1995 | — | — | At least 11 at Fox Hollow Farm (coroner estimates up to 25 or more), plus 9 deaths in Indiana and Ohio from 1980 to 1990 linked by sheriffs in 1998 | Died before trial | Suicide |
| Shawn Grate | — | Ohio | 2006 to 2016 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Convicted | Imprisoned |
| Anthony Sowell | The Cleveland Strangler | Ohio | 2007 to 2009 | 11 | — | 11 | Convicted | Died in prison |
Serial murder case files from Ohio
Victim-centred case pages from the cold case index, with their own timelines and sources.
Anthony Sowell Victims
Anthony Sowell was convicted of murdering 11 women in Cleveland whose bodies were found in and around his home in 2009. He preyed on vulnerable women in his neighborhood.
Cleveland Torso Murders
At least 12 people were killed, decapitated and dismembered in and around Cleveland's Kingsbury Run between September 1935 and August 1938. Only two victims were positively identified and no one was ever convicted.