Confessed Serial Killer May Have Two More Victims in Louisiana
Louisiana investigators say confessed serial killer Samuel Little from Lorain, may be linked to two more unidentified cold case victims in the state. Little has drawn haunting portraits from memory of women the FBI believes he murdered. The FBI has released the pictures in hopes some of the victims can be identified. Little, 78, says he killed 94 women from 1970 to 2005. Police have confirmed more than 36 cases so far, a tally that puts Little among the deadliest serial killers. He pled guilty to a Texas woman’s death in January and has been convicted in the deaths of three women from California.
Little was arrested on September 5, 2012, at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, after authorities used DNA testing to establish that he was involved in the murder of Carol Elford, killed on July 13, 1987; Guadalupe Apodaca, killed on September 3, 1987; and Audrey Nelson, killed on August 14, 1989. All three of their bodies were found dumped in the streets of LA. He was extradited to Los Angeles, where he was charged on January 7, 2013. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in September 2014.
Months later, police said that Little was being investigated for involvement in dozens of murders committed across 14 states between 1970 and 2005. On November 9, 2018, Little confessed to the 1996 fatal strangulation of Melissa Thomas. In December 2018, Little pled guilty to the 1994 murder of Denise Christie. confessed to the 1979 murder of 23-year-old Brenda Alexander whose body was found in Phenix City. Little also confessed to the 1977 murder of an unidentified woman and the 1982 strangling murder of 18-year-old Fredonia Smith.
According to authorities, he also confessed to the 1982 murder of 55-year-old Dorothy Richards, the 1996 murder of 40-year-old Daisy McGuire, the 1978 murder of 36-year-old Julia Critchfield, the 1978 murder of 19-year-old Evelyn Weston, the 1982 murder of 20-year-old Rosie Hill and the 2005 murder of 46-year-old Nancy Carol Stevens. Police have linked him to the 1981 murder of 23 year old Linda Sue Boards. He has also been linked to two murder victims who remain unidentified.
Little confessed to strangling all his victims and dumping their bodies in wooded areas. Without a gunshot or knife wound, many of the deaths were blamed on overdoses or accidents and murder investigations were never opened. The victims were often involved in prostitution or addicted to drugs and their bodies sometimes went unidentified. According to the FBI, Little remembers his victims and the killings in great detail. He remembers where he was and what car he was driving but is less reliable with remembering dates.
Little began making the confessions in exchange for a transfer out of the Los Angeles County prison in which he was being held. The FBI says Little is in very poor health and will stay in prison until his death. He uses a wheelchair, and suffers from diabetes and a heart condition. Little has confessed to dozens of murders and has drawn 26 portraits of some of his alleged victims. One of his victims has been identified from the portraits so far. Martha Cunningham of Knox County, Tennessee who was 34 years old when Little murdered her in 1975. The agency is releasing these photos now to identify his victims and provide closure and justice in unsolved cases. If you have any information that can help, call 800-634-4097.
