Clifford Olson
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Clifford Robert Olson Jr (born January 1, 1940 in Vancouver, Canada) is a serial killer who killed two children as well as nine youths in the early 1980s.
Despite being raised in a reportedly stable home with no signs of abuse (unlike many other serial killers) he soon showed signs of delinquency. He skipped school frequently, and was first arrested for theft at the age of 13. He was known as a bully and a show-off, and was rumoured to torture and kill animals. In adulthood, he picked up dozens of convictions for crimes ranging from fraud, armed robbery and firearms offences, and he spent a great deal of time in prison, although he escaped on several occasions.
On November 17, 1980, Olson abducted 12-year-old Christine Weller in Surrey, British Columbia. She was found on Christmas day, strangled with a belt and stabbed repeatedly. On April 16, 1981, Colleen Marian Daignault, 13, vanished. It was five months before her body was found. By then, Olson had abducted Daryn Todd Johnsrude, 16, smashed the boy's head in with a hammer and tossed him into a ditch.
In May 1981, Olson got married. Around this time he was accused of molesting a local 5-year-old girl, although he was not charged, owing to lack of evidence.
Just four days after his wedding, on May 19, Olson abducted and murdered 16-year-old Sandra Wolfsteiner. The following month he killed Ada Court, 13.
Olson claimed six victims in quick succession in July 1981: Simon Partington, 9, abducted and strangled on the second day of the month; Judy Kozma, 14, whom Olson raped and strangled a week later, taking her address book and calling her friends and threatening them with taunts such as "You're next"; Raymond King Jr., 15, whom Olson abducted on July 23 and bludgeoned to death; Sigrun Arnd, an 18-year old German tourist, whom Olson raped and battered to death with a hammer the following day; and Terri Lyn Carson, 15, whom Olson raped and strangled.
Olson had now killed 2 children and 8 youths. Because the victims were of both sexes and varying ages, and only three bodies had been found with the other seven missing children tentatively listed as probable runaways, the cases were not initially linked by authorities. By now, however, the police in British Columbia realized they had a serial killer on their hands, and a major investigation was soon under way. They were too late to save Louise Chartrand, 17, whom Olson battered to death with a hammer on July 30, burying her corpse in a shallow grave.
Because of his lengthy criminal record, Olson became the prime suspect. He was questioned, but there was not enough evidence to hold him. However, on August 12, Olson was arrested for attempting to abduct two girls.
Olson eventually came up with a controversial deal: he would confess to the 11 murders and show police where the bodies of those not recovered were buried, and in return he wanted $10,000 paid to his wife for each victim. The authorities were outraged at first, but, as they had little evidence to tie Olson to the killings and the families of the missing children were desperate to give their loved ones a decent burial, the agreement was eventually made. In January 1982, Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder and was given 11 concurrent life sentences; as of 2002, he is incarcerated in Canada's maximum-security Special Handling Unit. As agreed, $100,000 was actually paid to his wife; Clifford Olson wanted $10,000 for each of his 10 victims and agreed to give authorities the location and details of the 11th murder "for free".
In Canada, inmates convicted of first-degree murder are eligible for parole after a maximum of 25 years. Olson has reached this limit and applied for parole.[1] After a hearing on Tuesday 18 July 2006 in a Montreal-area prison, Olson was denied parole. The decision by the three-member panel was not considered a surprise. It was reported on CBC radio that during his hearing, Olson claimed that the hearing had no jurisdiction over him because the United States had given him clemency due to his having information about the September 11th attacks.
Under Canadian law, Olson is now entitled to make a case for parole every two years.
