Inside The Story of The Southside Strangler : Timothy Wilson Spencer

Timothy Wilson Spencer, also known as The Southside Strangler, was a convicted American serial killer. Born on March 17, 1962, he committed three brutal rapes and murders in Richmond, Virginia, and one in Arlington, Virginia, during the fall of 1987.

Unfortunately, he is also believed to have been responsible for another murder in 1984, which led to the wrongful conviction of a man named David Vasquez. Spencer had a troubled upbringing in Arlington, Virginia, and harbored a deep-seated hatred for women.

He channeled this hatred into a life of crime, breaking into his victims' homes to lay in wait, before binding, raping, torturing, and ultimately murdering them. In total, he was linked to at least nine rapes and five murders in both Richmond and Arlington, Virginia. Notably, Spencer was the first serial killer in the United States to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence.

THE BRUTAL CRIMES OF TIMOTHY SPENCER.

Spencer's horrific crime spree began in January of 1984, when he raped and murdered Carolyn Hamm in her Arlington, Virginia home. He tied her up, hanged her in her garage's indoor entryway, and left her naked body face down. Unfortunately, another man, David Vasquez, was wrongfully convicted of Hamm's murder and spent five years in prison before Spencer was finally caught.

Spencer resumed his killing spree in September of 1987, when he murdered his first victim, Debbie Dudley Davis, who was 35 years old at the time. Spencer raped and strangled Davis in her apartment, leaving her naked body lying on the bed. He used a ligature and a ratchet-style device to carry out the heinous act.

Two weeks after Davis' murder, Dr. Susan Hellems was found dead in her bedroom wardrobe. She, too, had been raped, strangled, and gagged, much like Davis. Semen stains were found in both cases, linking them to the same perpetrator.

The third victim, Diane Cho, was only fifteen years old and a high school student. Her murder took place in her Richmond suburb apartment on November 22nd while her family slept nearby. Cho's hands were shackled, and she was strangled with a rope. The killer used duct tape to cover her mouth to muffle her cries. Cho was also raped, and the sheets were stained with semen.

Susan Tucker was Spencer's final victim. She was reported missing in December, and a week later, her body was found in her apartment lying across her bed. She was naked, with only a sleeping bag covering her. Tucker had been dead for several days, and a rope made from Venetian blinds was wrapped around her arms and neck. Like the other victims, she had been raped and strangled. Tucker's injuries convinced detectives that the "Southside Strangler" had struck again. Her murder bore many similarities to the previous ones, and she lived in the same neighborhood where Carolyn Hamm had been killed.

THE INVESTIGATION AND EXECUTION OF TIMOTHY SPENCER

On January 20, 1988, Timothy Wilson Spencer was arrested by Arlington County police for the rape and murder of Susan Tucker in her Arlington home. It was established that Spencer had traveled from Arlington during the time of Tucker's death to spend Thanksgiving with his mother, who lived about a mile from Tucker's home.

He was charged with the murders of Debbie Davis, Susan Hellams, and Diane Cho. At the time of the Richmond murders, Spencer had been staying at a halfway house within walking distance of both Davis's and Hellams' residences.

Spencer was first tried on July 11, 1988, in Arlington, Virginia, for the rape, burglary, and murder of Susan Tucker. He was convicted and sentenced to death, marking the first case in Virginia in which DNA evidence was successfully used to prove an offender's identity.

Spencer was then tried for the murder of Debbie Davis in Richmond, where DNA evidence was found to be consistent with Spencer's DNA. He was also tried for the rape, burglary, and murder of Susan Hellams in January 1989 and was again sentenced to death after DNA evidence linking him to the scene of the crime was presented.

Following the successful conviction of Spencer for the Tucker, Davis, and Hellams murders, his DNA was compared with samples collected at other crime scenes, including both open and closed cases. It was determined that DNA evidence linked him to the 1984 murder of Carolyn Hamm, a crime for which David Vasquez had been wrongfully convicted.

Spencer's appeals to overturn his convictions for the murders of Susan Tucker, Debbie Davis, and Susan Hellams were denied. The United States Court of Appeal affirmed that the use of DNA evidence was sound in obtaining Spencer's conviction.

Spencer was executed on April 27, 1994, at Greensville Correctional Centre in Jarratt, Virginia, via the electric chair. He declined to give a final statement before his execution and was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m. EST.