Serial Killer Arthur Shawcross Dead At 63

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Nov. 11, 2008

Was serving life sentence for strangling 11 women in Rochester, N.Y., area

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AP file - Arthur J. Shawcross, then 44, is shown in this police booking photo in 1990.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Serial killer Arthur Shawcross, who was serving life in prison for strangling 11 women in the Rochester area, has died at 63.

Shawcross died late Monday at an Albany hospital, where he had been taken after complaining of leg pain earlier in the day at the Sullivan Correctional Facility, Corrections Department spokesman Erik Kriss said Tuesday. The cause of death was still under investigation, he said.

Shawcross' 13-week trial in 10 of the killings included graphic testimony about mutilation and cannibalism.

Shawcross, also known as the Genessee River Killer, was blamed for a wave of slayings discovered between 1988 and 1990 in the downtown Rochester area. Authorities said he preyed primarily upon prostitutes, raping and mutilating his victims before dumping their bodies in out-of-the-way locations throughout the city.

At the time, he was on parole after serving 15 years in prison for killing two children in northern New York's Watertown in 1972.

Shawcross was arrested in January 1990, a day after state police spotted him near the frozen body of one of his victims.

In December 1990, he was convicted of killing 10 of the women after jurors deliberated only 6 1/2 hours. Jurors rejected defense arguments that he was legally insane at the time of the killings because of brain damage, abuse during childhood and his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.

Three months later, Shawcross pleaded guilty to strangling a woman whose body was found Nov. 27, 1989, in woods in neighboring Wayne County.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27665929/

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By Katherine Ramsland

The Genesee River Strangler

The Genesee River Gorge outside Rochester, New York, is a scenic vacation and recreation spot that features three picturesque waterfalls along the Genesee River. The area offers activities for hikers and picnickers, as well as people out fishing and hunting. Twenty-two miles long and fairly deep, the Gorge is touted as the "Grand Canyon of the East." No one ever thought about murder there. At least, not until 1988.

It was a hunter and his companions at Salmon Creek along Route 31 who came across a sight that they would never forget. It was nearing the end of winter on March 24 and the ice had broken over the water. Rising to the surface and covered in silt was the body of a dead woman, clad in jeans and a sweatshirt. At first they thought she was a discarded mannequin, but one look at her frozen face told them otherwise.

• Article Continued

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/s...ss/life_1.html

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Web Extra: Shawcross Jail Interview

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For years after his death, Arthur Shawcross's name will probably be said with disdain in Rochester. For others (who likely weren't in town when the man known as the Genesee River Killer was on the loose), Shawcross is a subject of fascination, for people who are interested in bizarre crimes and serial killers.

Shawcross, who killed 11 women in Rochester in the span of about one year, has been the subject of a novel and had a chapter of a documentary series devoted to him.

We found in our archives a very early TV interview with Shawcross, who among other things talked about being in love (he married his girlfriend while in prison), and being behind bars with the "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz.

To see it for yourself, click the "Watch" button.

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http://rochesterhomepage.net/content...ext/?cid=46251

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Murderer's death can be a grim lesson

The death Monday of serial killer Arthur J. Shawcross aroused bad memories for some area residents who encountered the psychopath briefly more than 20 years ago.

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http://www.thedailystar.com/opinion/...secondarystory

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Serial Killer Arthur Shawcross Dead

VIDEOS
• Arthur Shawcross Dies in Prison
• File Footage: Arthur Shawcross Verdict
• File Footage: Arthur Shawcross
• Archival Video: Prostitutes Found Dead in Monroe County
• Archival Video: Frances Brown's Body Discovered
• Archival Video: Police Search the Gorge
• Archival Video: Police Search for Connections
• Archival Video: Warnings from Police
• Archival Video: Arthur Shawcross Arrest Press Conference
• Archival Video: 13WHAM Reports Arthur Shawcross' Arrest

REALTED LINKS
• “He Was a True Sociopath”
• Woman Worked With Shawcross--Recalls Ordeal
• Shawcross' Victim’s Mother: Remember the Victims--Not the Killer
• Neighbors of Shawcross Victims Lived in Fear

• Article - Links - Videos - Photos of Victims @ Below Link

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/sto...b-4ca2b3929bb9

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Arthur Shawcross (Photos & Video) Dead at 63

The infamous serial killer Arthur Shawcross, who was serving life in prison for strangling 11 women in New York, has died at 63.

Shawcross was pronounced dead last night at Albany Medical Center, where he had been taken after complaining of leg pain earlier in the day at the Sullivan Correctional Facility.

According to a spokesperson with the New York State Department of Corrections, 63-year-old Arthur Shawcross was pronounced dead at 9:50pm. The cause of death was still under investigation, he said.

Shawcross was the subject of an extensive Biography Channel special, where he became known to most of the world.

BIO has a complete profile here.

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http://www.postchronicle.com/news/or...12185485.shtml

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Woman Worked With Shawcross--Recalls Ordeal

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(Rochester, N.Y.) - Even as his crimes were unfolding, Arthur Shawcross lived and worked alongside people who had no idea he was a murderer.

Word of his death has some wondering whether they could have noticed something that might have made a difference.

"We were very sad…because he was the person who was causing all of the grief to other people," said Eileen Goldman Perry who worked with Shawcross.

Shawcross had only worked for her former husband's company for about 6 months when three detectives showed up asking to see his timecards.

Perry said, "They said, ‘We think he's a suspect in the serial killings.’ It was shocking!"

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http://www.13wham.com/news/local/sto...2-e48bb5d8dade

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I-Team 10 investigation: Letters from a serial killer

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Shawcross was not shy when it came to talking about his crimes. He was featured in several documentaries, granting interviews from prison. He wrote letters and poems, sending them to I-Team 10 Investigator Brett Davidsen who also covered the Shawcross trials.

The poems are bizarre, sometimes eloquent, and sometimes disturbing. They also failed to show any regret for what he did.

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http://www.whec.com/article/stories/....shtml?cat=566

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Shawcross case timeline

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...0342/1002/NEWS

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Shawcross's ties to NNY spanned decades

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This story from Sept. 7, 1972, was part of the continuing coverage of the murders of two young children that were eventually attributed to Arthur Shawcross, who died in prison Tuesday.

I certainly didn't realize it then, but on Sept. 5, 1972, I was looking at a man who would become the most infamous man ever to come out of Jefferson County.

Security was unusually tight outside Watertown City Court, where in a few minutes, Arthur John Shawcross, 27, a city employee at the landfill off Pearl Street, was about to be arraigned for murdering an 8-year-old girl, Karen Ann Hill, who, with her mother, had been visiting here.

I had been a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times for about 15 months, and part of my job was daily attendance for calendar call in City Court. But on this day, I was just like anybody else, being frisked by police before being granted admission to the courtroom. Police explained that death threats targeting Shawcross had been received overnight.

The exposure of Shawcross, previously an arsonist, as a killer quickly brought to an end a mystery about another child, 10-year-old Jack O. Blake, who had disappeared four months earlier. A day after the arraignment, sheriff's deputies and city police followed leads that brought them into a wooded area adjacent to routes 81, 37 and 12.

"Gordy Spinner (a city detective) shouted that he saw a shirt," retired Deputy Sheriff Thomas P. Belden recalled Tuesday, and quickly, the two officers were finding skeletal remains. Murder victim Jack Blake had been found.

• Article Continued

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/a...panned+decades

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Shawcross' Victim’s Mother: Remember the Victims--Not the Killer

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. . . . . Liz Vigneri and Brad Miller, Maria Welch's mother and son.

(Rochester, N.Y.) -- Liz Vigneri’s daughter, 22-year-old Maria Welch, vanished in November 1989. Two months later, Arthur Shawcross took police to Island Cottage Road to show them where he dumped Welch's body.

Vigneri said when she heard that Shawcross had died, “I really didn't care one way or the other. No matter where he is, it won't bring my daughter back.”

For Vigneri, it will never really be over.

“The sadness will always be there. Not as bad, of course, as it was in the beginning, but on certain dates, and anniversaries, certain things you see, you know? There's sadness,” she said.

Vigneri also blames the state in a way for her daughter’s death.

She believes that if Shawcross had not gotten out on parole after he murdered two children in Watertown, her daughter could still be alive today.

“Remember the victims--not the killer," she said.

When Welch died, she left behind a five-month-old son, Brad Miller. Vigneri raised him telling him bits and pieces of the story as he grew.

Miller said, “I was sad to grow up without a mother, but there was nothing I could do about it.”

Miller, now 19, has a tattoo that reads "RIP Maria" on his arm.

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/sto...c-cbb3cbc06f2a

[Super Volcano]

Originally Posted by odette

Shawcross' Victim’s Mother: Remember the Victims--Not the Killer

. . . . .
. . . . . Liz Vigneri and Brad Miller, Maria Welch's mother and son.

(Rochester, N.Y.) -- Liz Vigneri’s daughter, 22-year-old Maria Welch, vanished in November 1989. Two months later, Arthur Shawcross took police to Island Cottage Road to show them where he dumped Welch's body.

Vigneri said when she heard that Shawcross had died, “I really didn't care one way or the other. No matter where he is, it won't bring my daughter back.”

For Vigneri, it will never really be over.

“The sadness will always be there. Not as bad, of course, as it was in the beginning, but on certain dates, and anniversaries, certain things you see, you know? There's sadness,” she said.

Vigneri also blames the state in a way for her daughter’s death.

She believes that if Shawcross had not gotten out on parole after he murdered two children in Watertown, her daughter could still be alive today.

“Remember the victims--not the killer," she said.

When Welch died, she left behind a five-month-old son, Brad Miller. Vigneri raised him telling him bits and pieces of the story as he grew.

Miller said, “I was sad to grow up without a mother, but there was nothing I could do about it.”

Miller, now 19, has a tattoo that reads "RIP Maria" on his arm.

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/sto...c-cbb3cbc06f2a

Odette, thank you for posting thse most interesting stories for us. I for one, am relieved for the world to be rid of an evil monster. It was a blessing for the victim's families that this puke finally kicked the bucket. Even with him gone, it sends chills down my spine to look at his pictures. One down, a hundred or so to go, and counting.

[rph3664]

Only 15 years for killing two children? Nowadays, he would never have been let out.

[Super Volcano]

Originally Posted by rph3664

Only 15 years for killing two children? Nowadays, he would never have been let out.

Yea. Lucky for us, and everyone on the planet, he died before he could even get the chance to be let out.

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Blood Clot Killed Shawcross

We know what killed Arthur Shawcross, the serial killer who killed 11 women in the Rochester area over the course of a year.

Initial reports said cardiac arrest felled Shawcross, who died Tuesday at the age of 63. The Albany County coroner told News 8 Friday that his heart stopped because of a blood clot in his leg.

Shawcross, who was jailed in Sullivan County, was the most infamous killer in Rochester history, and arguably Upstate New York history.

http://rochesterhomepage.net/content...ext/?cid=47131