The Chilling Confessions of Samuel Little: America's Worst Serial Killer

Experts label him a psychopath, and the FBI refers to him as the worst serial killer in the United States. Samuel Little was charged with triple murder in 2014 and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. However, at the time, no one could have guessed the dark secrets hidden by this former amateur boxer.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Samuel Little claims to have been born while his mother, who worked as a prostitute, was serving time in prison. He spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in Ohio. Even in school, he displayed issues with authority and struggled to fit into social groups. In 1956, he was arrested for the first time and sentenced to juvenile detention. After completing high school, he only worked sporadically, resorting to thefts and robberies to survive. Following a three-year prison sentence for a burglary at a furniture store, his life seemed to spiral out of control. When not living on the streets, he called brothels or homeless shelters his home. He led a nomadic lifestyle, constantly traveling from city to city. By the mid-1970s, he had committed crimes in 26 different states, ranging from theft and attempted rape to assaulting law enforcement officers.

MURDER CHARGES

In 1982, Little was arrested for the murder of a prostitute in Mississippi. However, a jury decided that the evidence was insufficient for an indictment. He was then transferred to Florida, where he faced another murder charge. Witnesses placed Little with the victim on the night of the murder, but conflicting statements led to his acquittal once again.

ARREST AND CONVICTION

In September 2012, Little was arrested in a homeless shelter in Kentucky. He was charged with three murders committed in 1987 and 1989, with DNA evidence linking him to the crimes. In 2014, he was found guilty and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. Even though the FBI was investigating him for additional "Cold Cases" at that time, he continued to deny any involvement.

The turning point came with Texas Ranger James Holland, who was also investigating an unsolved murder case involving Little. He promised to transfer the ailing Little to a prison with better medical facilities. However, this alone didn't make the 1.90-meter-tall criminal talk. It was only when Holland realized that Little wanted to be seen as a murderer rather than a rapist that he began to open up about his life.

THE WHOLE TRUTH

Little confessed to 93 murders of women that he claimed to have committed from the early 1970s to 2005. While he couldn't recall a single victim's name, he provided many details: hair color, hairstyle, the bus stop where he picked up a woman, the tree where he dumped and half-buried one of the bodies. Often, he spoke about the murders with a smile on his face, showing no remorse. He believed that God had created him that way, and thus, he acted in God's name. Over weeks of conversations, gruesome details emerged. He silenced his victims with a single blow, followed by strangulation in most cases.

Little frequently made drawings of the victims, which the FBI released to the public to identify the individuals. So far, he has been linked to 60 murders, making him the worst serial killer in US history based on the number of victims. Little mainly targeted African American women from difficult backgrounds, believing they wouldn't be missed. His constant movement between places prevented the police from connecting him to the crimes.

Had the 80-year-old Little not started confessing to his horrific murders, they would likely have remained in the shadows forever.

On December 30, 2020, Samuel Little passed away, with the cause of death unspecified.