[Abstract] Allan L. Branson. “African American Serial Killers: Over‐Represented Yet Underacknowledged”, in Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, February 2013.
‘Can you name an African American (black) serial killer?’ In the US, the answer is often silence. For those who can remember, it might be Wayne Williams, the so‐called ‘Atlanta child murderer’. More astute individuals could mention the more recent D.C. Snipers who, while not comparable to the traditional media portrayals of serial killers, do qualify as such, based on the FBI’s assessment. The existence of African American serial killers is a fact that appears to have escaped the attention of the American public. Previous research has identified 90 black serial killers beginning in 1945, yet their notoriety and celebrity are absent from America’s popular cultural landscape. Despite the fact that numerous television shows, news reports and films address serial murder in fictional and non‐fictional portrayals, there remains a dearth of information and portrayals regarding black serial killers. This is an interesting conundrum. The media show little reticence in portraying black males as low‐level criminals, but rarely portray them as serial killers. This article suggests that the unquestioned ethnocentric profile of the serial killer as a white male in the US was created by the FBI, and subsequent media portrayals have reinforced this myth. Consequently, the predominant media portrayals of serial murderers are white male perpetrators. The impact of race‐based assumptions among law enforcement agencies and the public regarding the criminality of any group poses a danger to that whole society.
Known African American Serial Killers (by Date, number of victims and states in which they killed people) 1915-2009
Sydney Jones, before 1915; victims: 13; state(s): AL
Jake Bird, 1920s-1947; victims: 40+; state(s): WA
Jarvis Catoe, 1935-1941; victims: 8; state(s): Washington, DC area
Clarence Hill, 1939-1942; victims: 6; state(s): PA, NJ
Monroe Hickson, 1946; victims: 4; state(s): SC
Lemuel Warren Smith, 1958-1977; victims: 5; state(s): NY
Devernon Legrand, 1963-1970 or later; victims: 6+; state(s): NY
Steven Legrand, 1963-1970 or later; victims: 6+; state(s): NY
Winston Moseley, 1963-1964; victims: 3; state(s): NY
Vaughn Greenwood, 1964-1976; victims: 11; state(s): CA
Clarence Walker, 1965; victims: 14; state(s): TN, OH, MI
Posteal Laskey, 1965-1966; victims: 7; state(s): OH
Winford Stokes, 1969-1978; victims: 3; state(s): MO
Lester Harrison, 1970-1973; victims: 7; state(s): IL
David Roberts, 1971-1974; victims: 4; state(s): IN
Tony Ables, 1971- 1987; victims: 4+; state(s): FL
John Floyd Thomas jr, 1972-1989; victims: 30+; state(s): CA
Calvin Jackson, 1973-1974; victims: 9+; state(s): NY
Anthony Cook; Nathaniel Cook, 1973-1981; victims: 8+; state(s): OH
Eddie Lee Mosley, 1973-1987; victims: 16+; state(s): FL
Ray Dell Sims, 1974-1977; victims: 5; state(s): CA
Coral Watts, 1974-1982; victims: 13+, possibly 80; state(s): TX, MI, Canada
Howard Arthur Allen, 1974-1987; victims: 3; state(s): IN
Charles ‘Junior’ Jackson, 1975-1982; victims: 8; state(s): CA
John Henry, 1975-1985; victims: 3; state(s): FL
Carlton Gary, 1977-1985; victims: 7; state(s): GA, NY?
William Hance, 1977-1978; victims: 4; state(s): GA, IN
Bobby Joe Maxwell, 1978-1979; victims: 10; state(s): CA
Vincent Groves, 1978-1988; victims: 14; state(s): CO
Gerald Parker, 1978-1979; victims: 5; state(s): CA
Wayne Williams, 1979-1981; victims: 5+; state(s): GA
Caesar Francesco Barone, aka Adolph James Rode, 1979-1993; victims: 5+; state(s): FL, OR
Donald Murphy, 1980; victims: 5+; state(s): MI
Michael Darnell Harris, 1980-1982; victims: 9; state(s): MI
Vernon Brown, 1980-1986; victims: 5+; state(s): IN, MO
Thomas W. Hawkins Jr, 1980-1989; victims: 3; state(s): PA
Reginald Wendell Perkins, 980-2000; victims: 4; state(s): TX, OH
David Bullock, 1981-1982; victims: 6; state(s): NY
Beoria Simmons, 1981-1983; victims 3; state(s): KY
Brandon Tholmer, 1981-1983; victims 12+; state(s): CA
Wilbur Jennings, 1981-1986; victims 5+; state(s): CA
Norman Bernard, 1983; victims 3; state(s): NC, CA
Milton Johnson, 1983; victims 17; state(s): IL
Kevin Haley; Reginald Haley, 1983-1984; victims 8; state(s): CA
Anthony Joyner 1983-1984; victims 6; state(s): PA
Alton Coleman; Debra Brown 1984; victims 9; state(s): OH, IN, IL
Horace Kelly, 1984; victims 3; state(s): CA
Anthony Wimberly, 1984-1985; victims 3; state(s): CA
Wilbur Jennings, 1981-1986; victims 5+; state(s): CA
Nathaniel Code, 1984-1987; victims 8; state(s): LA
Louis Crain, 1984-1987; victims 5; state(s): CA
Timothy Spencer, 1984-1987; victims 4; state(s): VA
Melvin Johnson, 1984-1988; victims 3; state(s): IL
Jeffrey Gerard Jones, 1985; victims 4; state(s): CA
Anthony Mcknight, 1985; victims 5+; state(s): CA
Robert Rozier, 1985-1986; victims 7+; state(s): FL, NY, MD
Curtis Don Brown, 1985-1986; victims 3+; state(s): TX
Michael Terry, 1985-1986; victims 6; state(s): GA
Lonnie Franklin jr, 1985-2007; victims 11; state(s): CA
John Brooks, 1986; victims 6+; state(s): LA
Michael Player, 1986; victims 10; state(s): CA
Harrison Graham, 1986-1987; victims 7; state(s): PA
Ronald Gray, 1986-1987; victims 4; state(s): NC
Morris Solomon, 1986-1987; victims 7; state(s): CA
Ivan Jerome Hill, 1986-1994; victims 8; state(s): CA
Alexander Wayne Watson Jr, 1876-1994; victims 5+; state(s): MD
Walter E. Ellis, 1986-2007; victims 8; state(s): WI
William Howard Davis, 1986- 2008; victims 3+; state(s): GA
Clinton Bankston, 1987; victims 5; state(s): GA
Yusef Rahman, 1987-1988; victims 4; state(s): KS, NY
Chester Turner, 1987-1988; victims 11; state(s): CA
Patrick Baxter, 1987-1990; victims 3; state(s): NY
Elton Jackson, 1987-1996; victims 12; state(s): VA
Anthony Kirkland, 1987-2009; victims 5; state(s): OH
Ray Shawn Jackson, 1989-1990; victims 6; state(s): MO
Sam Chinn, 1989-1995; victims 3; state(s): NY, TX
Timothy Hawkins, 1989- 2001; victims 3; state(s): MD
Christopher Peterson, 1990; victims 7; state(s): IN
Cleophus Prince, 1990; victims 6; state(s): CA
George Russel, 1990; victims 3; state(s): WA
Henry Louis Wallace, 1990-1995; victims 9; state(s): NC
Edward George Mcgregor, 1990-2006; victims 4; state(s): TX
Eugene Broxton, 1991; victims 5; state(s): TX
Earl Richmond, 1991; victims 5; state(s): NJ, NC
Benjamin Atkins, 1991-1992; victims 11; state(s): MI
Jerome Dennis, 1991-1992; victims 5; state(s): NJ
Nathaniel Whitie, 1991-1992; victims 6; state(s): NY
Gregory Cleepper, 1991-1996; victims 8; state(s): IL
Arohn Kee, 1991-1998; victims 3+; state(s): NY
Alfred Lee Robinson, 1991-before 2007; victims 4; state(s): FL
Samuel Ivery, 1992; victims 4+; state(s): CA, AZ, IL, AL
Bryan Maurice Jones, 1992 or before; victims 4+; state(s): CA
Micheal Hughes, 1992-91993; victims 8; state(s): CA
Lorenzo Fayne, 1992-1994; victims 5; state(s): MO
Ralph Harris, 1992-1995; victims 6; state(s): IL
Charles Lendelle Carter, 1992- 2007; victims 4+; state(s): GA
James E. Swann, 1993; victims 4; state(s): DC
David Middleton, 1993-1995; victims 3; state(s): CO
Andre Crawford, 1993-1999; victims 10; state(s): IL
Hubert Geralds, 1994-1995; victims 6; state(s): IL
Johnny Ray Johnson, 1994-1995 4; state(s): TX
Anthony Balaam, 1994-1996; victims 4; state(s): NJ
Eugene Britt, 1995; victims 9; state(s): IN
Robert Lee Parker, 1996; victims 4; state(s): WA, GA
John Williams jr, 1995-1997; victims 5; state(s): NC
Kendall Francoism 1996-1998; victims 8; state(s): NY
Charles Lee Duffy, 1997; victims 3; state(s): GA
Elroy Chester, 1997; victims 5; state(s): TX
Alfred Gaynor, 1997-1998; victims 4; state(s): MA
Dewayne Lee Harris, 1997-1998; victims 3; state(s): WA
Paul Durousseau, 1997-2003; victims 7; state(s): GA, FL
Lorenzo Gilyard, 1997-2004; victims 12; state(s): MO
Lucious Boyd, 1998; victims 3+; state(s): LA
Ivan L. Page, 1998-2001; victims 3; state(s): MI
Juan Covington, 1998-2005; victims 3; state(s): PA
Vincent Johnson, 1999-2000; victims 6; state(s): NY
Edward Charles Wilkins jr, 1999-2006; victims 3; state(s): GA
Daniel O. Jones, 1999-2001; victims 5; state(s): MO
Jeffery Lee Guillory, 1999-2002; victims 3; state(s): LA
Donald E. Younge jr, 1999-2002; victims 7; state(s): UT, MO
Raymond Hopewell, 1999-2005; victims 5; state(s): MD
Robert Franklin Smallwood jr, 1999-2006; victims 3; state(s): KY
Rodney Troy Bixler, 2000; victims 3; state(s): KY
Geoffery Griffin, 2000; victims 7+; state(s): IL
Maury Travis, 2000-2002; victims 17+; state(s): MO, IL
Dellmus Colvin, 2000-2005; victims 5; state(s): OH
Marc Sappington, 2001; victims 4; state(s): KS
Kevin Taylor, 2001; victims 4; state(s): IL
Willie James Hodges, 2001-2003; victims 3; state(s): FL, OH, AL
Shelly Andre Brooks, 2001-2006; victims 7; state(s): MI
Quincy Javon Allen, 2002; victims 4; state(s): SC, NC
Howard Milton Belcher, 2002; victims 4; state(s): GA
John Mohammed, 2002; victims 11+; state(s): VA, MD, DC, LA, AL, WA
Lee Malvo, 2002; victims 11+; state(s): VA, MD, DC, LA, AL, WA
Derrick Todd Lee, 2002-2003; victims 5+; state(s): LA
Henry Lee Jones, 2002-2003; victims 4+; state(s): FL, TN
Cory Morris, 2002-2003; victims 5; state(s): AZ
Terry A. Blair, 2003-2004; victims 9; state(s): MO
Emerson Tucker, aka John Turner, 203-2007; victims 3; state(s): IL, NY, NJ
Vincent Hudson, 2004; victims 3+; state(s): IL
Mattew Emanuel Macon, 2004-2007; victims 7; state(s): MI
David Lance Bruce, 2005; victims 3; state(s): OH
Gary Sinegal, 2005; victims 4+; state(s): TX, LA
Nichaolas Wiley, 2005; victims 3; state(s): NY
Mark Goudeau, 2005-2006; victims 9?; state(s): AZ
Antwan Pittman, 2005-2009; victims 5+; state(s): NC
Joshua Julius Anderson, 2006-2007; victims 5; state(s): OK
Samuel James Cooper jr, 2006-2007; victims 5; state(s): NC
LaMarques Devon Mcwilliams, 2006-2007; victims 10; state(s): TX
Anthony Sowell, 2008-2009; victims 11; state(s): OH