Samuel Little

Samuel Little (born June 7, 1940 in Reynolds, Georgia) is an American serial killer. He was charged with the murder of three women in California between 1987 and 1989. After his conviction, the Californian authorities announced that he might have been involved in serial killing in 9 states since 1982.

Biography

Samuel Little was born on June 7, 1940 in Reynolds, Georgia. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Ohio. He grew up in Lorain, being mainly brought up by his grandmother. He attended the Hawthorne Junior High School and had problems with discipline and achievements,^[1] but was involved in sports. In 1956, while still a high school student, Little was first arrested for breaking and entering into someone else's property in Omaha, Nebraska, for which he was convicted and held for some time in an institution for juvenile offenders.^[2] After high school, Samuel did not continue his education, spending most of his free time on the streets, engaging in petty theft and periodically working part time as a day laborer.

Crimes

In 1961, Little was arrested and sentenced to 3 years in prison for breaking into a furniture store in Lorain, being released in 1964. After his release, he left Ohio and shuttled between different states for the following few years, making a living through robbery and theft, for a long time without stopping anywhere. In the late 1960s, Little moved to Florida, where he lived with his mother. At this time he worked as a paramedic, and later as a cemetery worker. Having a good physique, Samuel took up boxing during prison time and acquired skills. For some time he earned a living through boxing, participating in some boxing matches.^[3] Until 1975, Samuel was arrested 26 times in 11 states for crimes such as theft, assault, attempted rape, fraud and attacks on government officials.^[4] A lot of time he spent around prostitutes and pimps. In the early 1980s, Little moved to the south of the country, where, in 1982 in the city of Pascagoula, Mississippi, he was arrested and charged with the murder of 22-year-old prostitute Melinda LaPree, who was missing since September 1982. While under investigation, he was transferred to Florida, where he was brought to trial for the murder of 26-year-old Patricia Mount, whose body was found in the fall of 1982, and who, according to the prosecution witnesses on the night before the disappearance, spent time with a person who was identified in court as Samuel Little. Because of the difficulties in determining the time of the murder and mistrust of witness testimonies, Little was acquitted of these murders in January 1984.^[5] Avoiding punishment in these crimes, Little moved to California, where he stayed in the vicinity of the city of San Diego.^[6] In October 1984, Little was arrested for attacking and beating two prostitutes and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. He was released in February 1987 and soon moved to Los Angeles, where, according to the investigation, he committed several murders.^[7] In 2009, Little was arrested for possession of drugs, but he was not convicted and soon disappeared.

Exposure

Samuel Little was arrested on September 5, 2012, at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, after using DNA testing to establish that he was involved in the murder of Carol Elford, who was killed on July 13, 1987; Audrey Nelson, who was killed on August 14, 1989 and Guadalupe Abodacha, who was killed on September 3, 1987. All three women were killed and later found in the streets of Los Angeles. Little was extradited to Los Angeles, where he was charged on January 7, 2013.^[8] A few months later, the police said that Little was being investigated for involvement in dozens of murders committed in the 1980s, which until then had been undisclosed. In connection with the new circumstances in the state of Mississippi, the case of the murder of LaPree was reopened, in which Little was acquitted in 1984.^[9] In total, Samuel was tested for involvement in 60 murders of women committed in the territory of many US states.^[10]

Trial

The trial of Samuel Little began in September 2014. The main evidence base was the results of the DNA testing and testimony of witnesses who were attacked by the accused in different years of his criminal career.^[11][12] The accused himself during the investigation and throughout the trial did not admit his guilt and continued to insist on his innocence.^[13] On September 25, 2014, Samuel Little was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. On the day of the verdict, Little continued to insist that he was innocent.^[14] As of 2016, Little is serving a sentence in the prison of Lancaster, California.^[15]

References