Joseph Christopher
Joseph Christopher | |
---|---|
Racism[1] | |
Conviction(s) | Murder (3 counts) |
Criminal penalty | 60 years (overturned) Life imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | 19 (12 killed, 7 survived) |
Span of crimes | September – December 1980 |
Country | United States |
State(s) | New York, Georgia |
Date apprehended | January 1981 |
Joseph Gerard Christopher (July 26, 1955 – March 1, 1993) was an American
Early life
Joseph Gerard Christopher was born in
He enrolled in the automotive mechanics program at
Christopher, diagnosed with
Murders
Christopher's murder spree began on September 22, 1980, when he killed three black men and one boy in the space of 36 hours with a
He committed two more murders on October 8 and October 9, both times bludgeoning his victims to death and then cutting their hearts out.
Collin Cole, 37, was attacked in a Buffalo hospital on October 10. A white man matching the description of the .22 Caliber Killer tried to strangle him to death. Cole said the man snarled, "I hate niggers" at him before trying to kill him. He was saved by the arrival of a nurse, and though severe damage had been done to his throat, he survived the attack.
These initial murders went unsolved at first, and Christopher enlisted in the
Christopher then returned to Buffalo and fatally stabbed another black man, 31-year-old Roger Adams, on December 29 and 26-year-old Wendell Barnes in Rochester on December 30. He committed three additional attacks in Buffalo on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (Albert Menefee, Larry Little, and Calvin Crippen), but all three victims survived. Christopher then returned to Fort Benning in January 1981.
When back at Fort Benning, Christopher attacked a fellow black soldier with a paring knife in what was described as an unprovoked attack on January 18. The soldier survived the attack and Christopher was placed in the fort's stockade, where he attempted suicide by cutting himself with a razor. In a subsequent psychiatric session, he told a psychiatrist that he "had to" kill blacks.[1] This admission caused Christopher's home to be searched by the police. There the police found evidence linking Christopher to three murders, which led to his indictment in April 1981 and his transfer back to Buffalo for his trial on May 8.
Victims
# | Name | Age | Date | Location | Method | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glenn Dunn | 14 | September 22, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | Shot | Killed |
2 | Harold Green | 32 | September 23, 1980 | Cheektowaga, NY | ||
3 | Emmanuel Thomas | 30 | September 23, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | ||
4 | Joseph McCoy | 43 | September 24, 1980 | Niagara Falls, NY | ||
5 | Parler Edwards | 71 | October 8, 1980 | Amherst, NY | Bludgeoned | |
6 | Ernest Jones | 40 | October 9, 1980 | Tonawanda/Buffalo, NY | ||
7 | Collin Cole | 37 | October 10, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | Strangled | Survived |
8 | John Adams | 25 | December 22, 1980 @ 11:30am | Manhattan, NY | Stabbed | |
9 | Ivan Frazier | 32 | December 22, 1980 @ ~1:30pm | |||
10 | Luis Rodriguez | 19 | December 22, 1980 @ 3:30pm | Killed | ||
11 | Antone Davis | 30 | December 22, 1980 @ 6:50pm | |||
12 | Richard Renner | 20 | December 22, 1980 @ ~10:50pm | |||
13 | Carl Ramsey | ? | December 22, 1980 @ ~11pm–12am | |||
14 | Roger Adams | 31 | December 29, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | ||
15 | Wendell Barnes | 26 | December 30, 1980 | Rochester, NY | ||
16 | Albert Menefee | 32 | December 31, 1980 | Buffalo, NY | Survived | |
17 | Larry Little | January 1, 1981 | ||||
18 | Calvin Crippen | 23 | January 1, 1981 | |||
19 | Leonard Coles[7] | ? | January 18, 1981 | Fort Benning, GA | Slashed/stabbed |
Trial, imprisonment and death
He pleaded not guilty to the three murders and refused counsel by lawyers hired by his mother, opting instead to represent himself. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to 60 years in prison, but this ruling was overturned as the trial judge had barred the defense from presenting expert psychiatric testimony about Christopher's ability to stand trial.[8] He was later found competent to stand trial, and appeared in court again in 1985 under various charges which led to him being sentenced to life imprisonment. While imprisoned at the Attica Correctional Facility, Christopher claimed that he committed 13 killings.[9] Christopher would ultimately be convicted of three .22 caliber killings, those being Glenn Dunn, Harold Green and Emanuel Thomas.[10] He died in prison due to a rare form of male breast cancer on March 1, 1993, at the age of 37.[11]
Media coverage
The Discovery Channel cable network television show The FBI Files first aired its Joseph Christopher investigation, on May 9, 2000, titled the ".22 Caliber Killer".[12]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Farber, M. A. (16 May 1981). "BUFFALO SUSPECT'S FRIENDS ARE MYSTIFIED". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ a b Warner, Gene (2 July 2016). "A new look at the .22-Caliber Killer". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ "So-called Midtown Stabber kills his first victim". History.com. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
- ^ Profile of Joseph Christopher Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, frankedobson.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ Profile of Joseph Christopher, brucecorris.blogspot.com, September 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: .22 Caliber Killer | FULL EPISODE | The FBI Files – via YouTube.
- ^ "Soldier may be suspect", Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, April 24, 1981, p1
- ^ "BUFFALO MAN GUILTY IN '80 KILLING". The New York Times. 24 October 1985.
- ^ Profile of Joseph Christopher, Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database. Retrieved December 9, 2014
- ^ "People v. Christopher". casetext.
- ^ Profile of Joseph Christopher Archived 2014-12-20 at the Wayback Machine, artvoice.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ "The FBI Files". TV Guide. 30 May 2000. Retrieved 22 January 2017.