Date of Discovery: July 6, 1937
Location of Discovery: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Estimated Date of Death: 2 days prior
State of Remains: Partial remains with soft tissues
Cause of Death: Homicide
Estimated Age: 40 years old
Race: Unknown
Sex: Male
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: He had well groomed fingernails
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: None.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
On July 6, 1937, the upper portion of a man’s torso, plus his two thighs, floated in the Cuyahoga River just below Kingsbury Run. For the next week, pieces of the victim floated downstream. Just about everything was retrieved except for the head. The unidentified male became known as "Victim 9."
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, 886UFOH, 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 9
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Not listed
Former Hot Case Number: 253
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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