Timothy Krajcir

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Timothy Krajcir
Background information
Birth name: Timothy Wayne Krajcir[1]
Born: November 28, 1944 (1944-11-28) (age 63)
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Penalty: 13 consecutive life terms[1]
Killings
Number of victims: 9
Span of killings: 1977 through 1982
Country: United States
State(s): Missouri
Illinois
Pennsylvania

Timothy Wayne Krajcir[1] (pronounced /KRY'-chur/)[2](born November 28, 1944) is a convicted American serial killer from Allentown, Pennsylvania[3] who has confessed to killing over nine women, five in Missouri and four others in Illinois and Pennsylvania.[4]

Contents

[edit] Background

After a stint of two years in the Navy, Krajcir first entered the Illinois prison system in 1963 on a rape conviction. Since then, he has spent most of his adult life behind bars for sex crimes, except for a brief period of freedom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Krajcir has been incarcerated since 1982.[3]

[edit] Murders

Krajcir would travel to various towns that he had no connection to, stalk his victims, and then break into their homes and wait for them to arrive[5]. In 1977, Krajcir was released from prison after serving time for rape when he enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a condition of his parole. There, in 1981, he earned a degree in Administrative Justice with a minor in psychology which taught him how police investigated crimes.[6] Ironically, Krajcir used this knowledge to elude police for decades.

The victims were often found in their beds, bound, raped and shot in the head, often with little evidence to connect any of the murders together or to any one person.[5][4]

[edit] Known and suspected victims

  • Deborah Sheppard
  • Mary Parsh
  • Brenda Parsh, 27[7]
  • Sheila Cole
  • Virginia Lee Witte
  • Myrtle Rupp, 51
  • Joyce Tharp, 29[5]
  • Mildred Wallace, 65 [4]
  • Margie Call, 57[7][8]

[edit] Sentencing

Krajcir was finally connected to a murder because of DNA evidence left at the crime scene, which at the time, was still considered new technology and not available. Krajcir was sentenced on December 10, 2007 to 40 years in prison for the 1982 killing of Southern Illinois University Carbondale student Deborah Sheppard and, in addition, has been charged with five counts of murder and three counts of rape against women in the Cape Girardeau area from 1977 to 1982.[5][6][9]

On January 18, 2008, Krajcir pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 40 years in prison for the 1978 killing of Marion resident Virginia Lee Witte. The new sentence will be served consecutively with the 40-year sentence he received in December 2007.[10] On April 4, 2008, Krajcir pleaded guilty to the murder of five women in Cape Girardeau, to seven sexual assaults, and one robbery. He was then sentenced to an additional 13 consecutive life terms. Relatives of the victims agreed to the plea bargain, which took the death penalty off the table.[1]

At his sentencing in April, Krajcir stated, "I don't know if I could have been so generous if I were in the same situation. Thank you for sparing my life."[1]

Krajcir is currently held at the Tamms Correctional Center located in Tamms, Illinois.

[edit] See also

United States Navy Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Serial killer gets 13 life terms", United Press International, April 5, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. 
  2. ^ "Krajcir to be arraigned Friday in Cape Girardeau", WTHI-TV / Associated Press, April 3, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. 
  3. ^ a b Hawkins, Matt. "Killer tied to another cold case in Marion", Lincoln Courier, December 15, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. 
  4. ^ a b c Estrada, Ismael. "How serial killer stumped cops for decades", CNN, December 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  5. ^ a b c d Byers, Christine. "Killer held in isolation, speculation on final victim swirls", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 15, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  6. ^ a b United Press International. "Serial killer learned methods in college", United Press International, December 18, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. 
  7. ^ a b Cassidy, CJ. "The Krajcir Connection in Cape Girardeau - Neighborhoods Living in Fear", KFVS-TV, December, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. 
  8. ^ DiCosmo, Bridget; McNichol, Peg; Sanders, Matt. "Timothy Krajcir a suspect in two more '70s murders", Southeast Missourian, December 14, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  9. ^ Associated Press. "Blunt seeks expedited extradition for Krajcir", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  10. ^ Krajelis, Bethany. "Krajcir gets another 40 years for 1978 Marion murder", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.