Date of Discovery: September 5, 1934
Location of Discovery: Bratenahl, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Estimated Date of Death: 3-4 months prior
State of Remains: Partial remains with soft tissues
Cause of Death: Homicide
Estimated Age: 33-37 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Not available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Unknown.
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
The lower half of a women’s torso, thighs still attached, but amputated at the knees, washed up on the shores of Lake Erie just east of Bratenahl in Cuyahoga County, Ohio on September 5, 1934. A subsequent search yielded only a few other body parts. The head was never found.
she referred to as “The Lady of the Lake.”
The coroner noted some sort of chemical preservative on the skin which had turned it red, tough and leathery. It wasn’t until two years later that this victim was included in the official killing total and thus became known as victim #0 in The Cleveland Torso murders, AKA the Kingsbury Run murders. It would be another year before the case began officially, and then it would be in another part of the city-the now infamous Kingsbury Run.
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. Another strong candidate for addition to the list of those killed is 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 1788UMOH, 121UMOH, 1789UMOH, 1790UMOH, 886UFOH, 1791UMOH, 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 0
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Not entered
Former Hot Case Number: 247
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
Added: 2/27/07; Last Updated: 3/4/18
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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