Jerome Henry Brudos, one of the nation’s first known serial killers, died yesterday in the Oregon State Penitentiary at 67, The Oregonian reports. Brudos was serving three consecutive life sentences for the murders of three woman; he later confessed to two other murders. “He was one of the true monsters of the United States or the world perhaps,” said James Stovall, the Salem detective who tracked him down.
Married with two children, Brudos either lured or kidnapped young women, sometimes with a uniform and badge. Long before she told the story of serial killer Theodore Bundy, Ann Rule studied Brudos. At the time, law enforcement knew little about serial killers, Rule said, adding that “the FBI behavioral science unit kind of chose Brudos as the perfect poster boy for lust murder, which is a step beyond serial murder because sexual torture is involved.”
Link: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1143570310269340.xml&coll=7&thisp