True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Stories Part VI

Genessee River Killer: Arthur Shawcross

Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 – November 10, 2008), also known as the Genesee River Killer, was an American serial killer active in Rochester, New York from 1972 through 1989. Shawcross's first known murders took place in his hometown of Watertown, New York, where he killed a young boy and a girl. Under the terms of a plea bargain, he was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of manslaughter, for which he served 14 years of a 25-year sentence.

Shawcross killed most of his victims in 1988 and 1989 after being granted early parole, which later led to controversy. A food service worker, Shawcross trawled the streets of Rochester in his girlfriend's 1984 Dodge Omni (later using her 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity), looking for prostitutes to kill. Shawcross died on 10 November 2008, while serving a prison sentence of 250 years for his crimes, at the age of 63. Dr. Michael H. Stone, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and an authority on violent behavior, identified Shawcross as "one of the most egregious examples of the unwarranted release of a prisoner" in his book The Anatomy of Evil.

Early life

Arthur John Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine, the first of four children of Arthur Roy Shawcross and Elizabeth "Bessie" ("Betty") Yerakes Shawcross. His family moved to Watertown, New York when he was young.

Shawcross said throughout his childhood, he was a frequent bed-wetter (which is one part of the Macdonald triad). He later claimed his mother performed oral sex on him for several years starting when he was aged 7, and that during junior high school, he had sexual relations with his sister. Shawcross had a reputation at school as a bully and would frequently act out violently. He dropped out of high school in 1960.

In April 1967, at age 21, Shawcross was drafted into the United States Army. At this time he divorced his first wife and gave up his rights to their 18-month-old son, whom he never saw again. He served one tour of duty with the 4th Supply and Transport Company of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. He later boasted of grotesque combat exploits, such as "beheading mama-sans and nailing their heads to trees as a warning to the Vietcong" and engaging in cannibalism; in reality, he never served in a combat position.

After the war, Shawcross was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, as an armorer. His second wife Linda experienced several aspects of his disturbing behavior, especially his penchant for starting fires; an Army psychiatrist told her that Shawcross derived sexual arousal from setting fires, another part of the triad.

Return to New York

After his discharge from the Army, Shawcross moved with Linda from Oklahoma to Clayton, New York. Linda would soon divorce him, after which he began committing crimes such as arson and burglary. Shawcross's offenses earned him a five-year sentence at Attica Correctional Facility and later Auburn Correctional Facility. After serving 22 months, he was granted an early release in October 1971, in part due to his role in the rescue of a correctional officer during a prison riot. Shawcross returned to his hometown of Watertown, New York, eventually getting a job with the Watertown Public Works Department and marrying for the third time.

On May 7, 1972, he raped and killed his first known victim, 10-year-old Jack Owen Blake, after luring the boy into a wooded area in Watertown. Blake's body was not found until authorities received a tip by telephone on September 5. On September 2, just before the body's discovery, Shawcross raped and killed eight-year-old Karen Ann Hill, who had been visiting Watertown with her mother for the Labor Day weekend. He was arrested the next day.

A grand jury indicted Shawcross for murder in Hill's death. On October 17, 1972, he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter for both deaths and was sentenced to an indeterminate term with a maximum of 25 years at Attica Correctional Facility. In November he was transferred to Green Haven Correctional Facility.