Frankford Slasher

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Frankford Slasher
Born
Leonard Christopher (convicted of one of the murders)
Criminal penaltyLife (Leonard Christopher)
Details
Victims8–9
Span of crimes
August 19, 1985 – September 6, 1990
CountryUnited States
State(s)Pennsylvania
Date apprehended
May 5, 1990 (Leonard Christopher)

The Frankford Slasher is the name given by the media to a possible

Frankford in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1990. Leonard Christopher was convicted in the murder of one of the nine supposedly linked victims, but the others remain unsolved. All of the victims were sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. Several of the victims were seen with a middle-aged white man shortly before their murders.[1][2]

Possible victims

  • Helen Patent, 52, killed August 19, 1985
  • Anna Carroll, 68, killed January 3, 1986
  • Suzanna Olszef, 64, killed December 25, 1986
  • Jeanne Durkin, 28, killed January 8, 1987
  • Catherine M. Jones, 29, killed January 1987 (connection to other murders is disputed)
  • Margaret Vaughan, 66, killed November 11, 1988
  • Theresa Sciortino, 30, killed January 19, 1989
  • Carol Dowd, 46, killed April 29, 1990 (Leonard Christopher was convicted of her murder)
  • Michelle Dehner, 30, killed September 6, 1990 (Occurred while Leonard Christopher was in jail)

Leonard Christopher

During the investigation into the death of Carol Dowd, Leonard Christopher, an employee at a nearby

life in prison.[3] He has since died of cancer, maintaining his innocence since the beginning.[4]

Also noteworthy is the fact that a ninth victim, Michelle Dehner, was stabbed to death in the same fashion as the other women while Christopher was being held without bail on his murder charge. However, Dehner's murder was ruled a "copycat killing" by detectives.[5]

See also

General:

References

  1. ^ Ramsland, Katherine. "Frankford Slasher". truTV Crime Library. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011.
  2. ^ Swierczynski, Duane (August 25–31, 2005). "Under the El". Philadelphia citypaper. Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007.
  3. ^ "Pennsylvania: Frankford Slasher | Unsolved". sites.psu.edu. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "'Frankford Slasher' Case Still Haunts Philadelphia, Remains Unsolved". February 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "The Frankford Curse — the Frankford Slasher — Crime Library".