Cleveland Torso Murderer - Victims

Victims

Most researchers consider there to be 12 definite victims, although new evidence militates for including a woman dubbed "The Lady of the Lake." Only two victims were positively identified; the other ten were six John Does and four Jane Does.

Order of discovery Victim Date found Location Autopsy report Estimated time of death Date of murder Probable order of murder
1 John Doe I September 23, 1935 Jackass Hill area of Kingsbury Run (near East 49th and Praha Avenue) Male body was never identified. Decapitated but head recovered. Initial estimates were seven to ten days. It was later revised to three to four weeks. August/September 1935 1
2 Edward W. Andrassy September 23, 1935 Jackass Hill area of Kingsbury Run Andrassy was found lying about 30 feet (9.1 m) from John Doe I. He had been decapitated. His head was recovered. Two to three days September 1935 2
3 Florence Genevieve Polillo
(alias Martin)		 January 26, 1936 Between 2315 and 2325 East 20th Street in downtown Cleveland. Her body had been chopped up. Her head was never found. Two to four days January 1936 3
4 John Doe II June 5, 1936 Kingsbury Run The victim was decapitated while alive. His head was recovered. † Two days June 1936 5
5 John Doe III July 22, 1936 Big Creek area of Brooklyn, west of Cleveland The victim was dismembered while still alive. His head was recovered. This unidentified male body was the only known West Side victim. Two months May 1936 4
6 John Doe IV September 10, 1936 Kingsbury Run Only half the torso was found. Nothing remained below the hips. The head was never found or the body identified. Two days September 1936 7
7 Jane Doe V February 23, 1937 Euclid Beach on the Lake Erie shore The unidentified female body was found at the same spot as the 1934 noncanonical victim nicknamed "The Lady of the Lake" (see below). The head was never found. Three to four days February 1937 8
8 Jane Doe VI June 6, 1937 Beneath the Lorain-Carnegie bridge Only black victim. The body was decapitated and missing a rib. The head was recovered. ‡ One year June 1937 6
9 John Doe VII July 6, 1937 Pulled out of Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland Flats Body of this male was recovered but the head was never found. Two to three days July 1937 9
10 Jane Doe VIII April 8, 1938 Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland Flats Only the lower leg was recovered. Both the head and the rest of the body were never found. Only victim to have drugs in her system. Three to five days April, 1938 12
11 Jane Doe IX August 16, 1938 East 9th Street Lakeshore Dump Decapitated female body. Head recovered. Four to six months February to April 1938 11
12 John Doe X August 16, 1938 East 9th Street Lakeshore Dump Discovered at the same time as Jane Doe IX. Male decapitated body. Head was found in a can. Victim never identified. Seven to nine months November 1937 – January 1938 10

^ †: The victim had six unusual tattoos on his body. One included the names "Helen and Paul" and another had the initials "W.C.G." His undershorts bore a laundry mark indicating the owner's initials were J.D. Despite morgue and death mask inspections by thousands of Cleveland citizens in the summer of 1936 at the Great Lakes Exposition, the "tattooed man" was never identified.
^ ‡: Victim was possibly "Rose Wallace." Dental work was considered a close match by police and her son (who felt certain that the victim was his mother). Exact identification could not be achieved because the dentist who carried out the work had died years before. Doubts remained because the body was estimated to have been dead for a year whereas Wallace had only been missing for 10 months.

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