The Bible Belt Strangler
This killer was so named for a string of killings between 1978 and 1992, believed to be anywhere from six to eleven, that took place in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. However, that moniker would change as more victims were discovered.
The first murder linked to the killer occurred in 1983 near Littleton, West Virginia when an elderly couple stumbled upon the body along one of the area’s highways. Sadly, investigators were unable to identify the woman.
As more bodies were discovered along the major highways of the five states, investigators believed that the victims had either been hitch-hiking or were involved in the sex trade. Of note, and what would give the killer a new name, was the fact that all of the victims had red or reddish hair. These crimes would come to be know as The Redhead Murders.
The final victim attributed to this unidentified perpetrator was Elizabeth Lamotte whose body was found in 1985 in Greeneville, Tennessee with evidence of a stab wound and severe blunt-force trauma.
Of the six to eleven suspected victims in the Redhead Murder case, only four have been positively identified. Although two suspects were interviewed by police in connection to these deaths, no charges were filed, leaving the identity of the killer unknown to this day.
