Henry Lee Lucas - Drifter

Drifter

Lucas drifted around the American South, working a number of mostly short-term jobs. In Florida, he made the acquaintance of Ottis Toole in 1976 and had a sexual relationship with Toole's 9-year-old niece, Frieda Powell, who had escaped from a juvenile detention facility. Lucas and Toole both called Powell "Becky," partly to disguise her identity and because Powell preferred it over her given name. In 1978, Lucas and Toole formed what has been called a "homosexual crime team" and embarked on a cross-country murder spree. Lucas would later claim that during this period he had killed hundreds of people, with Toole assisting him in 108 murders. The trio left Florida and eventually settled in Stoneburg, Texas, at a religious commune called "The House of Prayer." Ruben Moore, the commune owner and minister, found Lucas a job as a roofer and allowed Lucas and Powell to live in a small apartment on the commune.

Powell became homesick, so Lucas agreed to move to Florida with her. Lucas said they argued at a Bowie, Texas truck stop and claimed that Powell left with a trucker. Lucas would eventually be charged with Powell's murder, although a waitress at the truck stop supported Lucas's account in court. Lucas allegedly carried out many of his later murders with Toole as an accomplice.