Man who confessed to 90 murders indicted in connection with two more
Samuel Little, 78, was indicted on Friday in connection with strangulation deaths
Authorities identified the two women as Mary Jo Peyton, 21, and Rose Evans, 32
He had already confessed to killing more than 90 women across United States
Prosecutors said Little confessed to killing Peyton in 1984 and Evans in 1991
If all 90 confessions are confirmed, Little would be the deadliest known US serial killer, surpassing the likes of Ted Bundy and Green River's Gary Ridgway
Samuel Little, 78, who has confessed to killing 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago
Samuel Little, 78, who has confessed to killing 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago
A man who has confessed to killing more than 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said 78-year-old Samuel Little has confessed to killing 21-year-old Mary Jo Peyton in 1984 and 32-year-old Rose Evans in 1991 in Cleveland.
He has been charged with four counts of aggravated murder and six counts of kidnapping.
'There are no words to describe the pure evil that exists within Samuel Little,' O'Malley said in a statement.
'His heinous disregard for human life is incomprehensible.'
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If all 90 confessions are confirmed, Little would be the deadliest known US serial killer, surpassing the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy and Green River's Gary Ridgway.
He told authorities he killed five women in Ohio, including three who lived around Cleveland, during a murder spree that began in 1970 when he was 30 years old and ended in 2005, O'Malley said.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Office's Cold Case Unit was able to identify Peyton and Evans as Little's victims and is trying to determine with other law enforcement agencies the identity of the third woman, O'Malley said.
The FBI in February released sketches drawn by Little of some of his victims based on his memories of them.
Agents who have interviewed Little said he remembers his victims and the killings in great detail, including where he was and what car he was driving.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said Little has confessed to killing 32-year-old Rose Evans (pictured) in 1991 in Cleveland
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said Little has confessed to killing 32-year-old Rose Evans (pictured) in 1991 in Cleveland
Little also confessed to killing 21-year-old Mary Jo Peyton (pictured) in 1984, authorities said
Little also confessed to killing 21-year-old Mary Jo Peyton (pictured) in 1984, authorities said
The FBI said Little targeted 'vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs'.
The FBI has been working with federal, state and local agencies to match Little's confessions to unsolved murders across the country.
Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland in Odessa, Texas, said 50 cold homicide cases have been closed as a result of Little's confessions and that most of the remaining unsolved slayings occurred in California.
'He's talking about things, cases that happened up to 50 years ago, and he's giving details on all these different murders, and none of the statements he's made have proven to be false.'
Little was convicted in California of three slayings in 2013 and pleaded guilty to another killing last year in Texas, where he's currently incarcerated.
In December 2018, it was reported that Little pleaded guilty to the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa - the case that initially led to his extradition to Texas and spurred him to confess.
Rosie Hill was 20 years old at the time of her death
Rosie Hill was 20 years old at the time of her death
Hill was killed in 1982
Hill was killed in 1982
In 2014, Pearl Nelson, 38, (left) held the photo of her mother and victim Audrey Nelson, as she is hugged by Mary Louise Frias, whose Godmother, Guadalupe Apodaca Zambrano was also Little's victim, shortly after he was convicted
In 2014, Pearl Nelson, 38, (left) held the photo of her mother and victim Audrey Nelson, as she is hugged by Mary Louise Frias, whose Godmother, Guadalupe Apodaca Zambrano was also Little's victim, shortly after he was convicted
Serial killer Samuel Little confesses to more than 90 killings
At the time, authorities said Little used the confession as a bargaining chip because he wanted to move from the California jail to one in Texas, though they did not give his reasons for wanting the transfer.
In September 2018 Little was transferred to Texas to face trial for Brothers' murder
Authorities also said Little admitted to the Texas murder after Bland agreed to waive the death penalty in that case, a concession made 'to gain his trust,' the prosecutor said.
His murder spree took place across a dozen states. The former boxer also known as Samuel McDowell was first arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky in 2012 and extradited to California to face drug charges.
The former boxer also known as Samuel McDowell was first arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky in 2012 and extradited to California to face drug charges
The former boxer also known as Samuel McDowell was first arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky in 2012 and extradited to California to face drug charges
Once there, DNA evidence linked him to three cold cases and he was convicted in 2013 of murdering three women in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1989.
All three had been beaten and strangled.
Agents say Little, who uses a wheelchair and is in poor health, will likely remain incarcerated in the state until he dies.
When Little first requested his transfer he only mentioned the Brothers murder, but his attitude changed after he met Texas Ranger James Holland, who was dispatched to extract the confession.
The two men formed an unlikely bond and what followed were a series of near-daily admissions in which Little often recalled the exact car he was driving during the murder, and even sketched some of the victims.
Little usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches before he strangled them while masturbating.
'With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes,' the FBI said in a statement in November 2018.
That, coupled with queries over the dates, means it is proving difficult to connect Little to some of the killings.
In the case of the 1972 murder of an unidentified Jane Doe, Little described the signs he saw, the dirt roads he drove and the U-turn he took, and then explicitly pinpointed the spot where he left the woman's body, all of which was on point with what police knew about the murder site.
'The FBI is working with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Texas Rangers, and dozens of state and local agencies to match Little's confessions with evidence from women who turned up dead in states from California to Florida between 1970 and 2005,' the report read.
Little grew up in Ohio, dropped out of high school and lived a 'nomadic life,' shoplifting or stealing to buy alcohol and drugs, the FBI said. His criminal record dates back to 1956 with arrests for shoplifting, fraud, drugs and breaking and entering
Little grew up in Ohio, dropped out of high school and lived a 'nomadic life,' shoplifting or stealing to buy alcohol and drugs, the FBI said. His criminal record dates back to 1956 with arrests for shoplifting, fraud, drugs and breaking and entering
'Little's run-ins with the law date back to 1956, and there are clear signs of a dark, violent streak among his many shoplifting, fraud, drug, solicitation, and breaking and entering charges. But law enforcement has only recently begun unraveling the true extent of his crimes.'
In one murder confession of a 20-year-old Florida woman, Little told an investigator 'God put him on this earth to do it.'
During the course of an interview in May 2018, Little 'went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place,' FBI crime analyst Christina Palazzolo said.
'Jackson, Mississippi - one; Cincinnati, Ohio - one; Phoenix, Arizona - three; Las Vegas, Nevada-one...' Palazzolo said.
On November 15, the Marion County, Florida Sheriff's Office closed the cold case of the 1982 homicide of Rosie Hill, 20, after Little also confessed to that killing, the agency announced in a Facebook post.
Prior to Little's confessions, the deadliest known US serial killer was believed to be Gary Ridgway, the so-called 'Green River Killer' convicted of 49 murders who is serving a life sentence in Washington state.
Little grew up in Ohio, dropped out of high school and lived a 'nomadic life,' shoplifting or stealing to buy alcohol and drugs, the FBI said.
His criminal record dates back to 1956 with arrests for shoplifting, fraud, drugs and breaking and entering.
He was accused of murdering women in Mississippi and Florida in the early 1980s but was not convicted.
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Serial killer who confessed to 90 murders is indicted in connection with two more Ohio cold cases
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