Date of Discovery: July 22, 1936
Location of Discovery: Brooklyn, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Estimated Date of Death: 2-3 months prior
State of Remains: Decomposed
Cause of Death: Homicide by decapitation
Estimated Age: 40 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: Unknown, described as small
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Unknown color, but noted to be long.
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: Found nude. Cheaply made clothing of an unknown description was found near the remains.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
The severely decomposed, decapitated remains of a white male were located in the sparsely populated Big Creek area of Brooklyn near a homeless camp, west of Cleveland. This was the only known West Side victim of the Cleveland Torso Murderer.
The police conducted a thorough search of the area and found the man's head, which was little more than a skull at that point. Cheaply made, bloodstained clothing was found nearby. The pathologist discovered a large quantity of dried blood that had seeped into the ground beneath the man's body, indicating he was killed at the location. For the first time, the murderer had gone way across town from Kingsbury Run, and instead of transporting the victim had killed him in the place he was discovered. The victim's long hair, his poor clothing, and the location of the body near a hobo camp suggested he was one of the many hobos who rode in and out of the city on the nearby railroad tracks.
The unidentified male became known as "Victim 5". The Cleveland Torso Murderer was an unidentified serial killer active in the Cleveland, Ohio, area in the early 20th century. The official toll of the murderer was 12, killed between 1935 to 1938, but some believe that there may have been as many as 40+ victims in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, area between the 1920s and the 1950s. Two strong candidates for addition to the list of those killed are an unidentified victim known as "Lady of the Lake," found on September 5, 1934, and Robert Robertson, found on July 22, 1950.
The other unidentified victims believed to be related to this case are 885UFOH, 1788UMOH, 121UMOH, 1790UMOH, 886UFOH, 1791UMOH, 888UFOH, 887UFOH, 1792UMOH, and 889UFOH.
Agency Name: Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 216-721-5610 or 216-698-4267
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Victim 5
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Not entered
Former Hot Case Number: 249
Cleveland Police Museum
Torso Murders - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Wikipedia: Cleveland Torso Murderer
Cleveland Torso Murders
Crime Library: The Kingsbury Run Murders or Cleveland Torso Murders
The Maniac in the Bushes
Torso by Steven Nickel
Added: 2/27/07; Last Updated: 3/5/18
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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