Timothy Krajcir

Timothy Krajcir
Born (1944-11-28) November 28, 1944
West Mahanoy Township, Pennsylvania
Criminal penalty 13 consecutive life terms[1]
Conviction(s) Murder,
Rape
Killings
Victims 9
Span of killings
 1977–1982
Country United States
State(s) Missouri
Illinois
Pennsylvania

Timothy Wayne Krajcir[1] (pronounced /ˈkraɪtʃər/)[2] (born Timothy Wayne McBride; November 28, 1944) is a convicted American serial killer from West Mahanoy Township, Pennsylvania[3][4] who has confessed to killing over nine women: five in Missouri and four others in Illinois and Pennsylvania.[5]

Childhood

Krajcir was born Timothy Wayne McBride in West Mahanoy Township, Pennsylvania to Charles McBride and Fern Yost on November 28, 1944.[6] In 1945, when Timothy was around 1 year old, Charles abandoned the family, leaving Fern to raise him on her own.[6] In 1949 or 1950 when Timothy was either 5 or 6, Fern met and married Bernie Krajcir.[6] Timothy was legally adopted by Bernie in 1953 and Timothy's surname was legally changed from McBride to Krajcir.[6] At the age of 10, Timothy began to develop an unhealthy sexual and emotional obsession with his mother, and by the age of 13 he had become a voyeur and exhibitionist.[6]

Criminal background

Krajcir's first encounter with the law took place on July 7, 1951 when he was charged with the petty theft of a bicycle in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[6] His second encounter with the law took place in 1960, when at the age of 15 he was charged with petty theft in New Milford, Pennsylvania.[6] After a stint of just 14 months in the Navy, he was dishonorably discharged in 1963 for sexual assault.[3] Krajcir first entered the Illinois prison system in 1963 on a rape conviction. Since then, he has spent most of his adult life behind bars for sex crimes, except for a brief period of freedom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Krajcir has been incarcerated since 1982.[4]

Murders

In carrying out his crimes, Krajcir would travel to various towns that he had no connection to, stalk his victims, and then break into their homes and wait for them to arrive.[7] In 1977, Krajcir was released from prison after serving time for rape, and as a condition of his parole, he was required to enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. There, in 1981, he earned a degree in Administrative Justice with a minor in psychology.[8]

Some victims were found tied up in their beds. Others were kidnapped and transported across state lines before they were killed. Most of them were raped and forced to perform sexual acts. Some were killed by a gunshot to the head. Others were stabbed or asphyxiated. There was little evidence pointing to any of the rapes or murders being linked or to them having been committed by the same person.[5][7] The lack of forensic and DNA technology at the time and the multiple methods of murder made it difficult for investigators to link all the crimes to a single suspect.

Known and suspected victims

Sentencing

Krajcir was finally connected to a murder because of DNA evidence left at the crime scene. At the time of the commission of the crime, DNA testing was not available, but as DNA analysis advanced, testing became possible. Krajcir was sentenced on December 10, 2007 to 40 years in prison for the 1982 killing of Southern Illinois University Carbondale student Deborah Sheppard and, in addition, has been charged with five counts of murder and three counts of rape against women in the Cape Girardeau area from 1977 to 1982.[7][8][11]

On January 18, 2008, Krajcir pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 40 years in prison for the 1978 killing of Marion resident Virginia Lee Witte. The new sentence will be served consecutively with the 40-year sentence he received in December 2007.[12] On April 4, 2008, Krajcir pleaded guilty to the murder of five women in Cape Girardeau, to seven sexual assaults, and one robbery. He was then sentenced to an additional 13 consecutive life terms. Relatives of the victims agreed to the plea bargain, which took the death penalty off the table.[1]

At his sentencing in April, Krajcir stated, "I don't know if I could have been so generous if I were in the same situation. Thank you for sparing my life."[1]

Krajcir is currently held at the Pontiac Correctional Facility in Pontiac, Illinois.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Serial killer gets 13 life terms". United Press International. April 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  2. ↑ "Krajcir to be arraigned Friday in Cape Girardeau". WTHI-TV / Associated Press. April 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  3. 1 2 Patterson, Bonney Hogue (2010). Hunted in the Heartland: A Memoir of Murder. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-60911-907-2.
  4. 1 2 Hawkins, Matt (December 15, 2007). "Killer tied to another cold case in Marion". Lincoln Courier. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  5. 1 2 3 Estrada, Ismael (December 17, 2007). "How serial killer stumped cops for decades". CNN. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Campbell, Jessica; Lynn, Samantha; McCarthy, Ryan. "Timothy Wayne Krajcir" (PDF). Maamodt.asp.radford.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Byers, Christine (December 15, 2007). "Killer held in isolation, speculation on final victim swirls". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  8. 1 2 "Serial killer learned methods in college". United Press International. December 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  9. 1 2 Cassidy, CJ (December 2007). "The Krajcir Connection in Cape Girardeau - Neighborhoods Living in Fear". KFVS-TV. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  10. ↑ DiCosmo, Bridget; McNichol, Peg; Sanders, Matt (December 14, 2007). "Timothy Krajcir a suspect in two more '70s murders". Southeast Missourian. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  11. ↑ "Blunt seeks expedited extradition for Krajcir". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 17, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  12. ↑ Krajelis, Bethany (January 18, 2008). "Krajcir gets another 40 years for 1978 Marion murder". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
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