Date apprehended July 12, 2007 Bruce Mendenhall (born April 14, 1951) is a convicted murderer and accused. He was arrested in Tennessee in July 2007 – and found guilty in 2010 – for the June 26, 2007 murder of Sara Hulbert. The body was found by the security guard on duty that night. A long haul trucker, his truck was found to contain the blood of numerous other murdered or missing women. He has been charged with the murders of three other women at truck stops in, and Tennessee.
He is still under investigation for murders in, and —some of which carry the death penalty. Contents.
Biography Mendenhall grew up in. He was married to Linda, and they had two daughters.
Linda, who has since died, had reportedly gone from. Mendenhall never had problems with the law, though his wife and friends knew he kept a gun illegally in his truck. Arrest A resident of, Mendenhall was arrested at the TA truck stop on Interstate 24 in on July 12, 2007 after Detective Sgt. Pat Postiglione spotted a truck that matched footage from the night Sara Nicole Hulbert was murdered at the same truck stop. Upon inspection of the vehicle, a large quantity of bloody clothing and identification and personal effects of an Indianapolis woman, who went missing the day before, was found in a plastic sack along with blood spots scattered around the inside of his cab to include the steering wheel and even on his hands when arrested and Mendenhall was taken into custody.
Police catalogued 300 items from the truck including a rifle, knives, handcuffs, gloves, several weapons cartridges, black tape, a nightstick, and. Sampling of these items turned up the of five different women. On August 2, 2007, Mendenhall waived his right to a. Victims Mendenhall's victims were primarily young, usually found shot, though detectives have determined that his method of killing may have changed over the years. During questioning, he implicated himself in the shooting death of Hulbert, whose body was found on June 26, 2007. He has also implicated himself in the shooting death of Symantha Winters, whose body was found June 6, 2007 in a trash can at a truck stop in. She had a criminal record showing at least one previous charge of prostitution.
On August 17, 2007, a Mendenhall for the murder of Winters. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life. Another victim killed on July 11, 2007 at a truck stop on Interstate 465 in was recently found. Carma Purpura, a 31-year-old mother of two, was last seen at the far-southside truck stop. On April 10, 2008, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi charged Mendenhall with murder in the case.
DNA tests link a large quantity of the blood from Mendenhall's truck cab to the woman's parents. Investigators also found her cell phone, ATM card and clothing she wore on the day she disappeared. Four years later her remains were discovered just off I-65 in Kentucky. On July 28, police in, charged Mendenhall with the murder of Lucille 'Gretna' Carter, who was found nude in a trash bin with a plastic bag taped around her head on July 1. She was shot with a weapon.
Investigators said Mendenhall was initially cooperative, but subsequently ceased to implicate himself in other murders. Police are investigating the possibility that Mendenhall is responsible for other murders in the region including:. Fire emblem akatsuki no megami jpn iso file. Deborah Ann Glover, an prostitute whose body was found near a in on January 29, 2007. Police are certain that Mendenhall was in on the day Glover was shot.
Sherry Drinkard, a prostitute from whose body was found naked in a snow embankment. Tammy Zywicki, a student who was found stabbed to death on September 2, 1992. She vanished from near nine days before, after dropping off her brother.
Robin Bishop, a prostitute who was run over at a Flying J truck stop on in on July 1, 2007. Belinda Cartwright, a hitchhiker who was run over at a truck stop in Georgia in 2001. A composite police sketch made of the suspect based on information from witnesses bears a striking resemblance to Mendenhall. Until August 2009, Mendenhall was considered in the murder of Jennifer Smith, a prostitute found nude at a truck stop in in April 2005.
DNA evidence in 2009 proved that she was the second victim of killer John Wayne Boyer. Related Crimes While he was in jail, Mendenhall's wife died of natural causes and he came upon some insurance money. He separately approached two inmates with offers to pay them $15,000 to murder the three associates that Mendenhall had implicated in his original statement to police. One of the murders was to be performed in a 'copycat' fashion to lead police to believe the killer was still at large. For the crime of conspiracy to commit murder he was convicted and sentenced to an additional 30 years. Mendenhall was also initially accused of solicitation of the murders of the two detectives involved in his arrest and questioning.
Those charges were later dropped. References. ^ Wells, Len (2017-02-15). Retrieved 2017-05-08. ^ Greg Giuffrida (2007-07-12). Archived from on 2007-09-27. ^ Jeremy Finley (2007-07-31).
Archived from on 2007-09-27. Archived from on 2007-09-27. Lebanon Democrat. Dana Kozlov (2007-07-13). Archived from on 2007-07-14. Christian Botorff (2007-07-18). Len Wells (2007-07-31).
External links. Tennessee Offender Management Information System Identification (TOMIS ID): 00465896.
Reporter: New Media Producer: Update, Sun 4:00 PM: The search is over at the Albion, Illinois home of a suspected serial killer, but the investigation is just picking up. Illinois State Police finished searching Bruce Mendenhall's home Saturday afternoon. The truck driver was arrested in Nashville Thursday on murder charges after police found blood on his hand and in his truck cab. Mendenhall has implicated himself in the murders of six women, and police believe there may be more victims. Tennessee officials say Mendenhall could be responsible for the death of 25-year-old Jennifer Smith. Her body was found at a truck stop two years ago. They're analyzing DNA evidence to see if they can link Mendenhall to the crime. New Media Producer: Previously: 56-year old truck driver Bruce Mendenhall, of Albion, Illinois, was arrested Thursday afternoon in Nashville, and police say he has implicated himself in at least six murders in four states, including two in Indiana.
Investigators found blood in the cab of Mendenhall's truck and Friday the investigation's focus shifted to Mendenhall's Albion home. Edwards County Sheriff's Deputies stood guard at Mendenhall's home Thursday night while waiting for state investigators to secure the warrant they need to begin searching every square inch of the property for evidence that might link Bruce Mendenhall to six murders.
Thomas Oliverio, of the Illinois State Police, says, 'A case like this, we wanna make sure we have it right, and the State's Attorney is gonna double check that.' Investigators won't say whether they're looking for specific evidence, but do expect the search process to take hours, if not days with three to four acres to cover. Thomas Oliverio, says, 'We'll utilize our crime scene services people to go through meticulously, and it'll be time consuming.
We don't wanna get in a hurry, there's no sense in rushing it, and that's the way we'll do it.' Mendenhall's arrest is the talk of the small town of 2,000 where the suspected serial killer was known for being eccentric. Ryan Hallam, Albion Mayor, says, 'I think that maybe he was a little different, but what's different? He seemed a little different than most of the people around here, but we never suspected it would be anything like this. Nobody ever suspected him of being a killer or anything like that.' With Mendenhall in jail, some neighbors are worried for his wife Linda and two daughters who must now grapple with the unthinkable.
Randy Hallam, says, 'Course it's a small town, everybody knows everybody. Knew his family for a long time, and they're good people.' Illinois State Police began serving the search warrant Friday afternoon.
New Media Producer: Previously: Nashville police arrest an Illinois truck driver they say, may have killed at least a half dozen women in five states. Fifty-six-year-old Bruce Mendenhall of Albion, IL made his first court appearance in Nashville Thursday night. A police detective visiting a truck stop in Nashville Thursday saw Mendenhall's yellow truck, which matched the description of one seen at the same stop on June 25th, a day before the body of a Nashville woman' was found. When Mendenhall stepped out of the cab Thursday, the detective says he saw blood inside. Mendenhall was arrested and investigators say he confessed to five deaths other than the Nashville woman, two of them in Indiana.
He appeared before a judge Thursday night in a video link from the jail and he's been ordered to be held without bond. Edwards County Sheriff Scott Meserole says, 'The circumstances really surprise me. I didn't picture him doing that. He was always mouthy and arrogant, but I never expected this.' Thursday family and friends went to Mendenhall's home in Albion to turn keys over to police and remove half a dozen animals from the house.
Mendenhall's wife is reportedly in poor health and reacting body to the news. She's staying with family and trying to come to terms with what's happened. The Albion sheriff says Mendenhall's wife, Linda, would frequently ride with her husband in the truck. The same vehicle that may have been the scene where multiple murders took place. A very interesting side note, Mendenhall ran for mayor of Albion in 1997 however, he received few votes and was said by neighbors to be quote 'half-crazy.' New Media Producer: Previously: A Southern Illinois truck driver is behind bars Thursday suspected of being a serial killer. Nashville police arrested, 56-year-old, Bruce Mendenhall of Albion, Illinois after officers say they found blood in the cab of his truck. Mendenhall is a suspect in the shooting death of a Tennessee woman last month.
Investigators say Mendenhall also implicated himself in five other deaths including two in Indiana. Authorities did not say where in Indiana. He appeared before a judge Thursday night in a video link from the jail. The judge ordered him held without bond. Mendenhall said very little just mentioning he worked for a trucking company and lived in Albion.
Tennessee Serial Killer Jeremiah Lexer
Previously: An Albion, Illinois truck driver has been arrested as a suspected serial killer. Bruce Mendenhall, 56 years old, is in custody in Nashville, Tennessee after being arrested at a truck stop.
Nashville police say Mendenhall implicated himself in a recent Nashville murder and also murders in Indiana, Alabama and Georgia. This is a developing story and we'll have more as information becomes available.
Jeremiah Lexer (June 6, 1826 – July 5, 1902), was a 19th-century East Tennessee plantation owner who, along with Hezekiah Hamblen, was a key factor in establishing before becoming controversially involved in disappearances and murders of local residents and travelers at the turn of the century. History Jeremiah Lexer lived on a massive plantation on the outskirts of Hamblen County in with his extended family from 1826-1902.
Records show that he was a seemingly upstanding member of the community. In 1887, missing people cases began to be reported to Hamblen County Sheriff J. Hayes and continued until 1902. These reports were considered unlinked and attributed to dangerous mountainous wildlife or becoming lost in the massive. On July 5, 1902 Jeremiah Lexer took his own life after a brutal killing-spree that left his entire family slain. After his plantation was searched, the gruesome discoveries of over 30 bodies was a shock to the community. It was later discovered that in his old age, Lexer suffered from undiagnosed and.
With the economy of Hamblen County struggling, and a push by government officials to populate the under-funded county, local media and law enforcement were bribed to cover-up the murders, so as not to dissuade potential residents and business owners from moving to the county. Once the bribes were received, most information and evidence collected from the plantation was destroyed by law enforcement and the remaining bits were sealed.
The local newspaper, The Morristown Gazette, wrote almost nothing about the story. The Lexer files were officially released in 1987 with a court order from.
Contents. Occupation and murders Gohl was employed as a union official at the. Before this he had been employed as a bartender after returning broke from the.
Already an accomplished criminal, Gohl was suspected of being responsible for many of the large numbers of deceased that were found washed up on shore during his tenure as a bartender, as well as a number of other crimes. In 1905 during the great waterfront strike Gohl was charged with 'assembling men under arms' and is also alleged to have forcibly abducted non-union crewmen from the schooner Fearless for which he was fined $1,250 in the Superior Court. As a union official, Gohl used his reputation and intimidating size to discourage strikes and 'recruit' new union members.
The Union building proved to be a location that was ideal for his crimes, both in providing victims, and in concealing the evidence of their murders. Sailors arriving in the port of Aberdeen would usually visit the Sailor's Union building soon after disembarking. There they could collect their mail and, if they wished, set some money aside in savings. Gohl would usually be on duty, alone. Typically, Gohl would ask if the sailors had any family or friends in the area. Then he would turn the conversation to the topic of money and valuables. If the sailor was just passing through, and would not be missed by anyone in the area, and had more than a trivial amount of cash or valuables on hand, Gohl would choose him as his next victim.
Gohl would kill most of his victims in the union building by shooting them. Then after relieving them of their money and valuables, he would dispose of them in the, which ran behind the building and into. According to some reports, there was a chute which descended from a in the building directly into the river. Other reports state that Gohl would use a small to murder his victims and dump the bodies directly in the harbor.
Serial Killers In Tennessee
Though suspected of being responsible for the large number of sailors who would disembark in Aberdeen and disappear, nothing was done to stop him until an accomplice, John Klingenberg, was brought back to Aberdeen after trying to jump ship in to escape prosecution, or possibly to escape Gohl. Arrest Klingenberg was able to testify to seeing Gohl alone with a sailor, Charles Hatberg/Hatteberg, whose body had recently been found in the harbor at Indian Creek February 2, 1910, soon after his disappearance on December 21, 1909.
Hatberg had been shot with a.38 Automatic pistol which had been found in the salt flats by his body; the ownership was traced to Gohl. The motive according to Klingburg's confession was that Gohl claimed Hatberg had told a detective Miller that Gohl had shot a cow the previous summer. Gohl had already been arrested in February 1910 for the Hatberg murder and was convicted of two counts of murder, though suspected of 41 or more, found guilty May 12, 1910 and sentenced to and taken to the State Prison June 13, 1910. Besides Hatberg, the second count was for the murder of John Hoffman, a witness to the Hatberg murder who was shot and injured by Gohl on the night of the murder, and killed the next day by Klingenberg, for which he was sentenced to 20 years. (Hoffman had been killed December 23, 1909 after the Hatberg killing and had been robbed of $400.00 and also disposed of in the Harbor near Indian Creek. In July 1910 a human skeleton was found in Indian Creek; however, it is not known whether these were the remains of Hoffman. ) Gohl was later transferred to an for the criminally, where he died in 1927.
He is buried in an open field above West Medical Lake, Eastern State Hospital Notes – Little is known about Gohl's early life though at one point as an adult, he went to the Yukon chasing gold. He was unsuccessful, and on his return to Aberdeen he took on work as a bartender.
During this time it's believed he may have been responsible for numerous murders.The bodies of migrant workers were found after washing up the shores, robbed of any valuable or money they were known to have. Allegedly from 1905 to 1910, 40 bodies were found floating near Aberdeen. It is alleged Gohl started a fire that burned an Alaskan saloon and that a man and woman who lived in a cabin owned by Gohl 'vanished'. In March 1912 a human skull was found buried near a cabin owned by Gohl; another skull had previously been found near the same spot on a beach and was thought to have been of 'Red' Miller who had 'disappeared' and was believed to have been a victim of Gohl. Other corpses found in the Grays Harbor area were suggested to be victims of Gohl, including the body of Carl O. Carlson found on April 27, 1910 floating in the harbor. References.
^ Hughes, John; Beckwith Ryan. On the Harbor: From Black Friday to Nirvana.
Stephens Press. ^ Lane, Brian; Wilfred Gregg.
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Berkley Books. ^ Morgan, Murray C. The Last Wilderness. University of Washington Press. The Colfax Gazette.
February 11, 1910. May 12, 1910.
The San Francisco Call. June 14, 1910. The San Francisco Call, April 7, 1910. The San Francisco Call. July 25, 1910. P. 2, at foot. The Spokesman-Review - Mar 6, 2004.
'May Lynch Suspect'. The Tacoma Times: and. February 4, 1910. The Tacoma Times. February 5, 1910.
Aberdeen Herald March 7, 1912. The San Francisco Call. 28 April 1910 (p. Retrieved April 24, 2013. Check date values in: date= At the Library of Congress. Further reading.
Osborn, Andrew (December 2013). Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences History (Bachelor of Arts in History).
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