Date of Discovery: February 23, 1937
Location of Discovery: Euclid Beach, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Estimated Date of Death: 2-4 days prior
State of Remains: Partial remains with soft tissues
Cause of Death: Homicide
Estimated Age: 25-35 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: Unkown
Weight: 100 to 120 lbs.
Hair Color: Medium brown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: It is believed that she lived in a city due to the dirt in her lungs and evidence of moderate emphysema. She had been pregnant at least once.
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: None.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
The upper portion of the victim was found washed up on the beach at Euclid Beach on 156th Street, on February 23, 1937. This is almost the same place where portions of the "Lady of the Lake," discovered in 1934, had been found.
Like the other victims, she was headless. Her arms had been amputated and the torso bisected. While the torso was taken to the morgue, detectives followed what looked like a trail of blood and questioned the residents in the area. As in the 1934 murder, the question remained: was she dumped in Lake Erie where she washed up on the beach or did her body float from Kingsbury Run into the Cuyahoga River and then into the lake? More than two months later, the lower portion of the woman’s torso was found floating off East 30th Street, much closer to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. The arms, legs, head and clothing were never found. The unidentified female became known as "Victim 7."
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 serial killings officially stopped in 1938. The last victim, the so-called Victim Ten, was killed in April of 1938 even though remains of so-called Victims Eleven and Twelve were found in mid-August of that year.
The other unidentified victims believed to be related to this case are 885UFOH, 1788UMOH, 121UMOH, 1789UMOH, 1790UMOH, 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 7
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Not listed
Former Hot Case Number: 251
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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