115 - The Houston Decapitator

[@kateglazier3726]

Why aren’t there more subscribed to trace evidence. In my opinion it’s one of the best podcasts out there deservedly of a million subscribers.

[@samanthaquinlan4126]

Trace Evidence and Casefile are the best true crime podcasts out there.

[@doneldamacdonnell8602]

Samantha Quinlan ... right ?? No flashing lights, no gun shot sounds between every other sentence, no zooming in and out on someone’s ear, no repetition of facts. It’s just so well done !!

[@kristenrose1283]

Unfound is awesome too

[@samanthaquinlan4126]

@@kristenrose1283 Thanks, I will give it a listen. I work in a bar in London so it's not like I will be busy for a while. By the way, thankyou to EVERYONE working through this pandemic, I can't imagine how stressful and tiring it must be for you all.

[@AllenMQuinn]

And The Trail Went Cold

[@daphne4983]

@@samanthaquinlan4126 I do my number crunching from home :)

[@kiki1573]

Mary Michael Calcutta’s case is going to haunt me for a while. I can’t even begin to fathom the fear she must have felt when she met her killer. *She was already worried about her safety from Alice Rankin’s murder.* Christ there’s no words that can describe how terrible I feel for her and the victims of that sadistic monster. I hope their spirits haunt that creep well into his afterlife.

[@elperrobermudez4481]

She need it to get a dog and a Gun for her own safety

[@DouglasvanderMooren]

È6⁶

[@kiki1573]

The Houston DECAPITATOR? Now I have the sudden urge to check my locks and my windows. This sounds absolutely horrific yet I couldn’t pass this up.🥶

[@rullmourn1142]

lol

[@katerryjackson749]

Sounds gruesome based on the title

[@kiki1573]

Katerry Jackson I know right. Real horrific

[@neuralmute]

How have I never heard of this? How has something this awful stayed so obscure?

[@daphne4983]

Never heard of this one. I'll sleuth him.

[@katerryjackson749]

The name Ottis Toole still creeps me out. I know he would later recant, but I still believe he abducted and decapitated John Walsh's son Adam

[@kristenrose1283]

John Walsh is the man. Greatest advocate for missing and exploited children ever!

[@jackiekelly4776]

Katerry Jackson You're right, Otis Toole did kill Adam Walsh.

[@nikkibest5010]

Yep. He was pure evil.

[@janeE011]

Yes and even John Walsh has said he believes that it was Otis Toole as well.

[@doriswashington9708]

They proved Otis O'Toole killed Adam Walsh beyond a doubt.

[@itiswhatitis2671]

Steve, you do a great job, Thank you! It’s unnerving to think there are such sick, dangerous murdering creeps out in the world.

[@secularbelt]

Just think, some of the murderers may watch these types of videos and comment/chat with you and others

[@scottmills1799]

@@secularbelt of course they do. Some of them watch these because they like the taste of cat food.

[@dickdiamonds3410]

@@scottmills1799 cat food is good tho

[@spicyspinach9899]

Sure is

[@samdoors5132]

It’s nothing new this has been going on since the beginning of mankind just check out Cain and Abel same old story

[@Dr.Gunsmith]

Your the best on KZbin, you should absolutely have more respect and recognition and way more subscribers.

[@susanprebilsky6233]

The guy could have lived in the Orchard apts.

[@johnackermann9146]

I agree with you, this is the best show on KZbin . I’m shocked more viewers haven’t caught on.

[@ilkkarautio2449]

^ They will, since the quarantine will continue quite a while. 😳👍

[@rullmourn1142]

2020 is a hell of a year.

[@itiswhatitis2671]

💯 Heck yeah, that’s an understatement.

[@spicyspinach9899]

It will get better

[@X1GenKaneShiroX]

The thing I loved the most about the channel called Trace Evidence Podcast is that he covers these very intriguing & disturbing cases and the way he talks really keeps me watching more of his long videos. The pictures of the crimes being shown and his theories presented clearly is an extra bonus. Wouldn’t be surprise if he reaches 200K subscribers by the end of 2020. Best podcast ever!

[@iman11nami]

My favorite podcast...wish they would cone out sooner but I know he research a lot for these podcasts...THANK YOU!!!

[@missingpieces-stolendreams5061]

One of my favorites also. He does a phenomenal job researching and putting these together.

[@nikkibest5010]

How did none of the apartment neighbors hear anything? Especially with Mary's murder. If she fought so hard for her life it had to be loud. Weird.

[@Anita-k]

Agree, that's totally unusual; there had to be lots of noise! I'm having a hard time to believe, she didn't shout, cry and scream for help...

[@brainsareus]

One, people can be afraid to get involved; plus, a ferocious struggle does not always translate to a huge amount of noise. A fight for one's life can be very muffled, as one is concentrating on surviving, not screaming.

[@gailjackson8941]

Right!

[@NightOwl701]

@@brainsareus Agreed. Plus, in apartment buildings you can hear fights a lot and think it is nothing. Then there is the case of the woman in NY who was killed while her neighbors turned their backs on her. She screamed for help, but they ignored her pleas. People not wanting to get involved or thinking they will be next if they help.

[@francalcutta2764]

Mary’s next door neighbor heard her screaming but didn’t do anything as she was having an affair while her husband was away. Hard to believe she admitted she didn’t help someone.

[@theavandenberg6876]

Well another one that will stick with me for a while. It's disgusting that such a horrible murderer has so far evaded justice.

[@elijahrojasshow141]

Karen Soo right, would an exhumation help? I know it’s a horrible thing for her family to have to go through but I just can’t help but wonder.

[@daphne4983]

@@elijahrojasshow141 would be helpful!

[@cadaverdog1424]

Using a guillotine would be much easier, much cleaner and more humane. But it is obviously impossible for a killer to travel with one.

[@Necron990]

Those cops that checked that porch after that call, WTH?! Teenager prank?! Firecrackers?! Missed the blood on the porch?! Damn!

[@rockstarofredondo]

TypicaI Houston PD tbh.

[@HUKIT.]

I’ve never heard of this so thank you for another well done video. It’s nice not seeing the same cases regurgitated over and over.

[@nicoledoubleyou]

Yeah I always wonder why true crime people do the same cases all the time, there's obviously a ton of cases going on at any given time, why do we only hear a select few over and over again

[@katherinephillips5640]

True

[@xulupopo9288]

I think the killer was a maintenance man for the apartment, it would explain why there was no forced entry especially with respect to the second victim who was already so scared it was unlikely she would have opened her door for a stranger. It would also explain why he used the victims' own knives (he knew they were there because he had been there before) and why he took his time without any fear of being discovered or being out of place.

[@TerrestrialTiff]

I agree 100% it was someone who had access to that complex. I think he may have been close enough to over hear or eavesdrop through the wall. I think he knew Alice & Mary were having company come by. I think he wanted to show off & be found. These 2 woman had "dates" of sorts coming by. Alice, a co worker giving her a ride & Mary had a date - he felt slighted by these woman. The killer definitely had access to that building & he knew them.

[@jerrymarbury9365]

Surely the cops would've ran maintenance man thru the wringer,Prob more like a person dressed as a cop or some official looking dude.

[@StLMikie]

I wonder if it were a security guard, exterminator, or maintenance guy. They would all probably have a key that would allow them access into any apartment in the complex. Either of those two would also be able to kill and appear as if they belonged on the premises at any given time. Kinda hiding in plain sight kinda deal.

[@victorformosa2825]

it's plausible, but surely they would have been interrogated and cleared by the police don't you think?

[@StLMikie]

victor formosa maybe they are the one person of interest they couldn’t get the evidence on in the beginning?

[@neuralmute]

@@victorformosa2825 Even if they had the appropriate uniforms it would have worked back then.

[@victorformosa2825]

@@neuralmute it's a theory I could go along with.

[@dustinmeritt5593]

I agree, apartments even today are not secure, i did contract work fixing drywall and what not and went to the apartment office said the company i worked for, they didn't verify, gave me a key and told me just put it under a flower pot when i was done because they were about to go home for the day, made me uncomfortable so when i was done i called their maintenance guy(i Met earlier that day) to give it back, also door locks in the u.s. are a joke compared to European locks, they use locks for residential front doors that Americans only use at high security facilities or on military munitions

[@deploribusunum3894]

Those women had to know the killer or he had a key. The second one was being cautious and wouldn't have opened the door to anyone she didn't know. I'm thinking a maintenance man.

[@RepentfollowJesus]

Maintenance man was my first thought too. I grew up in Houston and turned 16 that year and I was all over the place daily in 79. There but for the grace of God go I. Only other thing is he may have pretended to be a cop.

[@daphne4983]

Or fake cop

[@inmydarkesthour2278]

I think it's dangerous and counteractive to assume that killers use the same method every time especially if they are new at it....

[@daphne4983]

Or disorganized

[@sarahholland2600]

Agree. All the psych research says serial killers evolve, adapt & change their methods. Interestingly , stalking plays a part in 70% of murders. That shows logic, planning, forethought & premeditation. Psychopath traits.

[@vernrogers2041]

With your videos ,I hit "like" before I even watch, because I already know it's going to be good!!! Keep up the good work and cheers from Canada.

[@RawOlympia]

Houston , we have a problem here.

[@georginasmith441]

this did make me lol !

[@TylerSane5]

Better call the Chamillitary! Lol

[@loredanadincu7930]

It seems strange that all the murders happend thursday night or thursday morning, all of them have been murderd thursday and found the same day or friday, odd

[@elijahrojasshow141]

Probably his day off work or family works giving him privacy. Interesting though.

[@carolinemanuel5996]

@@elijahrojasshow141 great point

[@daphne4983]

His day off. Or a work day but no family around.

[@loredanadincu7930]

I thought that thursday may have a meaning for him, like in that day something may have happend to trigger his killings, but the day off of work or the day when he was alone with enyone around seems legit either.

[@tporchia7751]

I think it was a guy who had Thurs, and Friday off work. Unless, he was unemployed and whose wife played bingo on Thursday.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

Awesome job as usual, this is such an obscure series of cases! One of the few times I've read about these murders was in one of my encyclopedias on unsolved crimes, other than that this is a very very obscure story that is fascinating to discover. Big thank you for sharing, buddy. 👍✌

[@tracieday8661]

I'm at a family get together and I snuck inside to hear my man lol.

[@kristinereed8388]

Lol

[@daphne4983]

Good for you :)

[@chiapets2594]

Wack

[@jennylynny]

💯

[@andreaturnquist4855]

Love your channel! Thank you!

[@LadyVesuvius]

LOVING your content!! So well done and thorough!

[@Audiojack_]

My hunch is that the perpetrator actually picked the locks.

[@wildershoney2439]

Just found you. Thank you for telling people about everyday people and not just the high profile cases. These people have families and I would want my son's/daughters/niece/nephew life to be remembered. Cautionary tales help others and help people connect.

[@cdd4248]

I just purchased a couple of Trace Evidence T-Shirts and this is probably silly; but, I am excited about the first person that recognizes the logo and we share a secret handshake! Hahahaha!

[@hkbabel]

Was happy to see you over on John Lordan's channel - y'all raised a lot of money for a great cause!

[@TylerSane5]

I'm in love with John Lordans work! I've watched him since he started covering Murders & Mysteries or Murder Mysteries! He is very respectful and a very caring person.

[@hkbabel]

@@TylerSane5 Very much agree

[@maroonforsyth7011]

Yessss i love this podcast

[@cherrycoke6253]

The killer is so brazen. To return to the same place, and continue his crimes, even though there was heat on him. And probably took the head of victim, to keep as some kind of trophy or for god knows what. He seem like he got a thrill, from the risk of getting caught.

[@Samshmu]

With this kind of savagery & brutality Im shocked at the lack of media coverage for these murders. So horrendous and tragic for the victims and their families. Hopefully some day the families can get closure and some amount of peace.

[@DIVISIONINCISION]

You don't know Houston!

[@SellieM6970]

I was your 700th like, hope all is well with you, trace evidence boo! 🥰

[@jenniferashley99]

Relaxing today and about to listen to this podcast..great Saturday

[@warshipsatin8764]

isnt it great when people get decapitated?

[@joycedickens6729]

Exactly like how is this relaxing while people are getting their heads cut off.

[@katerryjackson749]

Whoever killed Alice and Mary is the same person. There may have been a stalker around that apartment complex. As far as Doris, it could have been someone she knew. The young couple could have been killed by Henry Lee Lucas but yeah he has lied about his victims many times. Very complicated case

[@razminfox1787]

I’m kinda leaning to that could be one they did Especially sense they did often mislead on purpose for cases they did commit

[@GeneralFukzamatayu]

The Boss Deity of The Whole Entire Cosmos is The Boss of Me and My Whole Entire Cosmos

[@noraabdin6434]

Sitting here in Houston late at night...listening.

[@Dougfresh7919]

Sick person who did this!!!

[@kiki1573]

An absolute sicko

[@smm855]

Dang you went deep with that bus schedule stuff O_O. I would never have thought of that.

[@rickravenrumney]

I just started listening to this case. It may be answered by the end but is this the case where the killer used the attic and entered the two woman's apartments through a trapdoor in their bedroom closets. The woman from the same complex.

[@nikkibest5010]

No. It's a different one but I've heard of the one you're talking about. That's absolutely horrifying.

[@TylerSane5]

Yeah I've lived in a old apartment building with roofs like that! One time I even let my neighbor climb through my attic to unlock his door cause he lost his keys! Wasn't worried cause there's always atleast 5 ppl at my house at all times cause we're quite popular lol

[@katatonia8784]

I moved out of an apartment with these ceiling access doors and heard about that afterwards. Had hindsight anxiety about it for a while. 😅

[@mongomanproductions1049]

Could you do that one on Dennis Martin? The boy who disappeared while playing hide and seek in one of the national forests. That's gotta be one of the creepiest cases of a disappearing person I've ever heard. Ps I love these videos and love how you always look at the logical side and never stray to the paranormal bs side of things keep it up man 🤘

[@daphne4983]

Missing 411

[@NightOwl701]

That child was taken by something supernatural. The Missing 411 cases are not normal cases. The boy was seen clear up a mountain side being carried by a bigfoot, by by standers. No human can scale up a mountain side that fast. It is not bs.

[@bobstacks8405]

You're delusional.

[@mongomanproductions1049]

@@NightOwl701 lol no I'm talking about a real investigation.

[@robertschumann7737]

Barking up the wrong tree with the bus connection. This killer was comfortable in these homes. He had a connection of some kind. Locksmith maybe. Handyman maybe. Contractor of some kind (roto rooter, electrician etc.) the killing of the teenagers is absolutely connected. He seemed to view his victims as weak and decapitated the two that proved that point. The two that didn’t fight back. The victims that fought back were left with their heads. It’s painfully obvious that he has a connection to the apartments like I said earlier. He still assaulted the second victim after the loud fight. That says he has a very valid excuse for being there had he been caught at the scene. Some connection he could turn to and say I heard a fight and found this scene. Also, he set the first victims head on the ground to prepare himself to leave. He had to be covered in blood so he either swiped a jacket he found there or changed into clothes he brought with him. In either case that explains the head being set on the ground for a bit of time. Nobody has the balls to go out into public covered in blood. Maybe just to leave the apartment but he obviously had to go somewhere and might have randomly been pulled over along the way. I feel this case would be easily solved today. Not just with modern forensics but more modern approaches the police use in investigation. The late 70’s was the end of the safe and secure days of America. A time when people say the best in their neighbors and would never imagine a friend or co-worker being capable of a crime like this. It seems like today people are itching to throw a neighbor or even a family member under the bus. It’s amazing how just a few decades of saturation by crime centered television shows has made America so paranoid of being assaulted.

[@jadetaylor2443]

Could have been the apartment owner or manager.

[@genedemarco1048]

Thank you Colombo for your insight

[@charlescherris6548]

Nice job with this sir! You have a new subscriber,

[@wendym.7648]

I’m saving this one for tonight. 😬

[@avicemcintyre9579]

Love all ma pod casts, they help me go to sleep at nite as I find it hard to sleep.

[@enriquemireles8947]

I wonder if they have submitted the dna to the genealogical labs or testing. You said the first two ladies were assaulted . The killer was sloppy carrying in the head without trying to hide. Would believe he was arrested for another murder.

[@blazefairchild465]

I am halfway through & had to take a break whew ! This is plumb crazy , a thought came to me, I wonder if this guy took the heads either for Santaria or to later sell the skulls. I have heard thats one reason creeps Rob graves. Skulls are used in some rituals & real ones fetch a high price. He must have worn some type of uniform to gain trust . This will give me nightmares for weeks to come! Well researched ,I had never heard this story thank you.

[@warshipsatin8764]

magic isnt real but serial killers are

[@mattkaustickomments]

Where was Danny Rolling during all of this?

[@marissavallejo2987]

Yep

[@NightOwl701]

Great question. The Gainsville Ripper could have been in Houston in 1979.

[@jessyjulie5506]

Exactly what I was thinking, so similar. Even with killing multiple victims who live in the same apartment building

[@tporchia7751]

If that one victim had her front door barricaded, she obviously opened the door for someone she recognized, which leads me to bed its somebody who's known to all the residents. Management, handyman, yard worker, etc.

[@jessyjulie5506]

Or a cop.

[@christopherseverett]

In 1978, I was 9 years old living with my single Mom at 1508 Early Ln in Houston, TX. Or, the same home Doris Lynn Threadgill would later be killed in. My Mom got engaged and married at which time we moved to far west Houston into my then step father's home on Briar Forest. I will never forget seeing my Mother's face when reading the Houston Post or Chronicle, can't remember which now, she read the short clipping of her murder and realizing it was the same home we'd moved out of less than a year earlier. As a child, I hated that house. It sat on the end of a dead end street and backed up to a long dark drainage ditch running the length of the street. At night, the yard was eerily dark as you could not see the fence line. The entrance to the house was behind a privacy fence, composed of a brief covered walk from the garage to the front door. My room used to sit just above thay entrance on the second story. Facing the front door at night the north side of the house to the right disappeared into the dark around the corner to the back yard. It creeped me out immensely and I often wonder if Threadgill's murderer sat in wait for her in the black void. She'd have never known. I was never happier to move than when we left that townhouse. My mother loved old Spring Branch and often wanted to make an offer to buy it. Now at 78, she remarks how a decision to marry might have saved her and my life.

[@FREEDOMImFree]

Wow… that’s creepy for sure😮

[@overlycaffeinatedsquirrel779]

He placed the head down while taking a quick breather. It wore him out. He left the knife likely because it was hers. He had his trophy, in a sick way stealing wasn't his goal. Seems strange all the time this took. The way he was so nonchalant about carrying the head, that's weird for first time killer. Why a knife when there are easier ways? Chances are the killer did bring a knife to the other killings. Using a knife the victims owned was obviously important part the ritual. We know serial killers try to recreate the first killing all over. Chasing that high

[@daniiiakasha4711]

I live in Houston, and I’ve never heard of this. I moved here in 2002.

[@samkadiddlehopperesq.6404]

I lived there 30 years ago and I never heard of this one either!

[@rockstarofredondo]

I lived there 10 years ago and never heard of it.

[@therose8521]

Thanks Vic, or Steve. You have an assortment of crimes, victims and crime scenes. I can't follow this story with GPS please come back when you have a single event/crime. Out of a 115 episodes this is the only one that confuses me. Sometimes I'm slow, not the smartest person on the internet.

[@cherylnelson3554]

I know exactly the feeling he is talking about.I used to get it when I was little and would come home from elementary school. I am 62 and I still get that feeling in a strange place.

[@J3006K]

Your work on these videos are nothing short of amazing. Thank you so much for your hard work. I will donate as soon as I have a free paycheck you have definitely earned it.

[@missdolittle]

Man, you really thought about this one! Very impressive!

[@David-ch5zl]

I remember when this happen. Although i did not know Bobby Spangenberger. I saw him driving his red Nova 2 or 3 weeks in the back parking lot of Spring Branch High School before he was murdered.

[@redsammy7789]

I knew him to, he had the coolest car like starsky and hutch, I was at spring Branch high school in 79 and knew Bobby and his sister and Joann.

[@johnrandolph6121]

I graduated in '81. I didn't know him but I remember him and of course vividly remember when he was killed. Andr, I did slightly know his sister, Brenda.

[@poppinandrottin]

I haven`t hear of this decapitator. I think a remembered a decapitator. He did what Bundy did to the heads he "stole"

[@poppinandrottin]

He/she had a urge for some "head". Pardon the pun, so bad so bad.

[@StLMikie]

ignacio meteors HEEEYYYYY OOOHHHH!

[@RawOlympia]

wow, like that out of control sunset strip killer couple where the lady would put lipstick on the head kept in the freezer and then yeah, her boyfriend had a wicked sense of humor

[@RawOlympia]

@@poppinandrottin meow!

[@mellyray3017]

Omg the thought of him being in her house waiting for her (Mary) is so freaking creepy! I wonder if it was someone both women knew and trusted or someone who lived in the complex, how did he know Mary would be finally home that night? With her being so vigilant he either was in the house first or he was the owner/someone close to the owners or a maintenance man with keys able to get in without forced entry.

[@maruzencentral]

Time to start my work day right 👌 listening to a Golden State Killer audiobook after this

[@Sophina_]

If the medical examiner didn’t have Alice Rankin’s head, how did he determine she died of asphyxiation? All telltale evidence of suffocation like petechial hemorrhaging would be on the head

[@ginexkasachstan]

The Park police officers are so awful and lazy. Couldnt believe what i have just heard. The perp could have been caught, maybe

[@rockstarofredondo]

I lived in Houston for awhile, and unless something has changed in the last 10 years, HPD are notoriously lazy. I don’t know if it’s the heat or what, but when it comes to investigating actual crimes, they are useless.

[@ginexkasachstan]

@@rockstarofredondo thats awful, especially in those horrendous cases you expect them to do everything and beyond.

[@xs6819]

43:07 Maybe the killer worked at the mechanic shop and thus knew her details..

[@rockstarofredondo]

I had a car stolen because of that once.

[@shawndouglass2939]

@@rockstarofredondo did someone from a mechanic garage steal it from you?

[@rockstarofredondo]

shawn douglass Yes.

[@daphne4983]

You just doxxed Criminally Listed.

[@katherinephillips5640]

Both channels are very good ! Its through criminally listed that this channel popped up in my suggestions big props to BOTH CHANNELS kept me entertained and gave me the detective bug again i live and breathe researching unsolved cases.

[@NightOwl701]

He probably had permission to use CL's name.

[@C.O._Jones]

It’s Mangum Road, not Magnum.

[@emiiimm7436]

it’s really not that serious lol

[@amandareyakaamandarey4928]

Great video 🧡✌🏻

[@nicholassiple7838]

Awesome podcast. I believe the perp likely has priors in B & E and maybe even a peeping Tom before escalating to sexual assult & murder. Its also very likely he had been watching them and was hiding inside which would explain getting a weapon from the apt and no forced entry. Im not sure its the same suspect involved with the other murders after Alice & Mary. Great Content sir.

[@bigfootsasquatch-sl2mn]

I was born and raised in Houston.

[@warshipsatin8764]

thats amazing

[@skreemqueen756]

Wow. Great work. I’m baffled and horrified by this one.

[@80v84]

I lived right off long point drive by a elementary school and few blocks down to what is now the plaza apartments, only a few years ago but I would say as I have worked in several places in Houston while living there that it is the area pretty much one or two exits away from 610 coming from the heights pass 610 and take the second exit and drive down to the first major road and you have long point I believe the killer might have lived in the heights area and took a little drive just outside their neighborhood or possibly lived in spring branch at the time. There are so many houses and other little neighborhoods around but I’m so saddened that no dna was able to be recovered I’m sure the guy who did this has passed already, so frustrating.

[@victorformosa2825]

Wow, what a heavy and disturbing case this was, and with no clues to finding the killer/killers.

[@qntkka]

Strangulation is almost always sexual, and it is quite common among serial killer methodologies.

[@deborahrodriguez1119]

Is there any way to investigate Amy Lynn Bradley, no one seems to have much interest. I feel so bad for her family, you seem to very good at finding information that others can't. Thanks, Deborah

[@emmas1082]

If it stopped suddenly, maybe he died? Maybe the guy who went around shooting everyone, then killed himself, was the killer and the police never investigated him

[@BRIDGETTattoo]

Thank you Steven ❤

[@Betterlaylow1]

No one heard the struggles in that apartment with the women fighting for their lives?

[@chuckspangenberger3105]

My name is Charles Spangenberger.. I’m the brother of Robert Spangenberger. If you have any questions regarding the case, PM me

[@tphvictims5101]

You really ask the right questions in your closing. 👍🏻

[@tporchia7751]

Plus, hide your butcher block. Take it to your barricaded bedroom while sleeping.

[@graceatwood1275]

I googled this case tonight after watching the Texas Killing Fields series on Netflix. When this was going on, I lived right across from the Orchard Apartments at Napoleon Square. In those days, these were the happening apartment complexes for young singles in Houston. They each had their own popular nightclubs on site. I often went with friends to The Orchard Club. I was so scared at that time, my boyfriend loaned me a 9mm Pistol that I slept with under my pillow and had a dining chair up under the doorknob of the bedroom door and a stick keeping the bedroom window from being opened for the outside. I took the bus to work downtown and the stop was used by both Orchard and Napoleon Square residents. One morning as I was leaving my apartment to walk to the bus stop, a woman walking her dog stopped me because she had also been walking her dog late the night before and saw a man standing outside my bedroom window. He saw her and ran off. Maybe it was an average old peeping Tom, but within the month I moved to another part of town. This case has haunted me since then.

[@victoriadangelo2634]

I lived in Houston and was a personal friend of Doris Threadgill. Around the time of her death, I had just moved to New York City. My understanding was Doris' murder was not related, but a "copycat" murder after a fight with her estranged husband, the reason she was not fully decapitated, and why she was not sexually violated or a murder weapon found. unlike the prior two murders in the Orchard Apartments, where it was rumored the suspect in the decapitation murders was a maintenance person. I had not seen her picture in many years, but I happened upon this podcast. She was a lively, happy gal, we spent a lot of time at the beach (where her Irish Setter ran off on one visit) as she adjusted to separation from her husband. The last time I saw her was when we attended a wedding for a friend, Marvin. We all went to the wedding together. My boyfriend at that time, Nathan Smith, moved to California. I lost touch with Doris and Texas friends. I find it interesting there is still speculation that her death seems separate from the others. Until listening to this podcast, I had no additional information about this series of murders!

[@tporchia7751]

He wasn't intelligent at all. He was sloppy, and in a frenzy, and I'd say in his late teens to mid 20'S due to the energy it took.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

People just cant keep their heads around sickos like that

[@malpaul]

Regarding the killer using the victims’ knife, could it have been that he knew from previous visits that the victims’ knives would be sufficient so didn’t need to bring his own. Just a thought.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Its Mangum not Magnum

[@mspotatohead6705]

What if the killer is watching this? Kind of a creepy thought.

[@jdearing46]

I'm going to say that Mary was killed by someone she knew and the amount of stab wounds tells me that it was as personal as it was violent. So I'm gong to say that it was a different killer than the first. The last murders that took place were done by the person who killed Alice. The others were not related despite being similar in appearance.

[@thecatatemyhomework]

I've been listening to the older podcasts. Something is different with the sound now. Sorry, but it sounded better in the past.

[@DavidBrown-jk2pm]

Yes. It sounds muffled and frequency range sounds way out of balance.

[@Adriel1819]

He must have had some familiarity with the first two victims, after all, you wouldn't visit two nearby apartments on the off chance that two single women would be there alone! The two women in the Orchard apartments had been dating the same psychology undergraduate!

[@Adriel1819]

Apparently, the guy was always calling the police asking them how the investigation was proceeding, almost taunting them.

[@Adriel1819]

One of the women said that he had strange sexual predilections. If it was someone who knew his way around the kitchen (like an ex-boyfriend), he'd know not to bring a knife, he may also have a front door key, hence no sign of a break-in.

[@b.griffin317]

Better name "The Houston Head Hunter."

[@heidih3048]

Instead of citing Robert from Criminally Listed as a source of info, it would be more sound to cite the resource from which Robert obtained his info (if available).

[@13crazydaisies]

With their "profile" description, I get the sense that they released it to get the killer to come forward by stroking his ego, relieving any fears perps commonly have of being viewed as a r*pist, and trying to get to any guilt he might repressing. They likely really wanted to get him and knew how little they had to go off of.

[@samanthaalexandra8631]

Super well done podcast! If anyone is interested I also make true crime videos.

[@daphne4983]

Is this the same guy of the Loredan (sp) channel?

[@rockstarofredondo]

No

[@Decgyrrl]

I came of age in the 1970s. We had so many serial killers from the mid to late 60s into the 70s, I used 2 call it "the decade of the serial killer." It's really unimaginable, what 1 human being will do 2 another. It's simply frightening. Be careful out there ppl, just b/c the 70s are gone.....does not mean evil went with it. ✌😔 So sorry 4 those who met up with that horror. I hope they're at peace.☮🕊

[@iveyivey1298]

I think it was someone who lived in the complex that could keep an eye on the women there maybe in the maintenance department but he had to watch these women and since there was no forced entry he could have been in there Apartments like you had mentioned, he seemed to calm and too laid-back like he was extremely familiar with that apartment complex, they had to be able to see these women somewhere in order to follow them to where they lived or had to live where they lived to know they were there, the guy that just got caught after like 40 years in California for all those murders who was an ex-cop that's why he was so calm and collected in the area because he patrolled the area and he could be out at night and not cause any notice or suspicion of himself who knows it might have been a cop

[@qntkka]

He left the knife behind because he was an environmental killer, one who uses the victim's own household items and environment to commit the crime. Had the perpetrator taken the knife as a trophy, that would be unusual and it would add to the risk of being caught. If the killer had taken the blade to the scene, it is more likely that he would have an attachment to it as a possible phallic symbol as well as a preferred tool for killing.

[@Tsumami__]

Binford thinking he’s in a damn Tom Clancy novel, come on now. That man was not sitting perched on the roof of the apartments with NIGHT VISION GOGGLES waiting for the killer to come back. It’s actually hilarious he said that to a newspaper journalist and they published it.

[@Icrshou]

Two of the victims lived directly above/below each other right? And one of them was attacked in the tub. My question, was there a floor in between them? Maybe a next door neighbor could hear the water running so he could strike? And he could tell when the other one went to sleep (hole in wall?). Just my guess

[@margueritegalimitakis805]

We were living in Houston then. We heard about this Serial killer!