FBI Confirms Samuel Little is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. History
FBI Confirms Samuel Little is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. History
The FBI confirms that Samuel Little, 79, is the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. To date, Little has confessed to 93 murders. The FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) can also confirm that Little has been matched to 50 cases, with many more pending final confirmation.
In 2012, Little was arrested and extradited to California on a narcotics charge. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) obtained DNA that connected Little to three unsolved homicides that occurred in 1987 and 1989. In 2013, the LAPD notified ViCAP, which initiated a full background investigation and found an alarming pattern that linked Little to many more murders. Little was charged with three counts of murder and ultimately convicted and sentenced in 2014 to three consecutive life terms without parole.
In May 2018, the Texas Rangers and the FBI were able to obtain detailed information on additional murders across the country that Little voluntarily provided.
“The FBI is grateful for the Texas Rangers and state and local law enforcement partners who have worked diligently to confirm these cases,” said John Selleck, assistant director of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group. “Strong cooperation and information sharing between the FBI and its partners resulted in successful connections to Little’s crimes, ultimately bringing him to justice and helping victims’ families through the closure process.”
ViCAP continues to work with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Texas Rangers, and dozens of state and local law enforcement agencies as they remain dedicated to searching for cases that match Little’s confessions. ViCAP is committed to identifying the additional victims and providing closure and justice for the victims’ families in the remaining unsolved cases.
F ive years after analysts with the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) began linking cases to convicted murderer Samuel Little—and nearly 18 months after a Texas Ranger began to elicit from him a breathtaking number of confessions—the FBI has confirmed Little to be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.
Little has confessed to 93 murders, and FBI crime analysts believe all of his confessions are credible. Law enforcement has been able to verify 50 confessions, with many more pending final confirmation.
Little says he strangled his 93 victims between 1970 and 2005. Many of his victims’ deaths, however, were originally ruled overdoses or attributed to accidental or undetermined causes. Some bodies were never found.
“For many years, Samuel Little believed he would not be caught because he thought no one was accounting for his victims,” said ViCAP Crime Analyst Christie Palazzolo. “Even though he is already in prison, the FBI believes it is important to seek justice for each victim—to close every case possible.”
The FBI is asking for the public’s help in matching the remaining unconfirmed confessions. ViCAP, with the support of the Texas Rangers, has provided additional information and details about five cases in hopes that someone may remember a detail that could further the investigation.
If you have any information linked to Little’s confessions, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit at tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
“The FBI believes it is important to seek justice for each victim—to close every case possible.”
Christie Palazzolo, ViCAP crime analyst
In the Words of a Killer: Video Confessions and Case Details
Please note: Samuel Little’s recollection of dates is not always accurate. He also sometimes struggles to remember the exact clothing worn by a victim. Any potential links should not be dismissed based on these two factors alone. The videos of Little contain references to violent acts. Viewer discretion is encouraged. Each video is accompanied by Little’s drawing of the victim.
Unmatched Confession: Miami, Florida, 1971 or 1972
Little recounted that in 1971 or 1972 he met an attractive 18- to 19-year-old transgender woman in Miami, Florida. Little recalled her name was Marianne or Mary Ann. Little said Marianne was between 5’6” – 5’7” tall and approximately 140 pounds. Little first met Marianne at a bar known as The Pool or Pool Palace near 17th Avenue in Miami. A few days later, they met again at a bar in Overtown, where Little offered to give her a ride home. Little stated Marianne lived with several other roommates between Brownsville and Liberty City. When they arrived there, one of Marianne’s roommates asked them to buy a can of shaving cream, so they returned to Little’s car—a gold 4-door Pontiac LeMans. Little drove Marianne north on Highway 27 and killed her on a driveway, possibly near a sugarcane field. He then drove further down Highway 27, into the Everglades, and turned down a dirt road that led to a river or a swamp. Little dragged Marianne’s body approximately 200 yards into the thick, muddy water. He does not believe the body was ever found.
Unmatched Confession: North Little Rock, Arkansas, 1992–1994
Little said he encountered a black female in a transient area of Little Rock, Arkansas, between 1992 and 1994. He remembered it was cold and possibly snowing when they met. He described the woman as 24 years old, 5’5” – 5’7” tall, and approximately 200 pounds. Little stayed with her on and off for about three days. He reportedly shoplifted with the woman, then she sold the merchandise. Little remembers being arrested for shoplifting in a North Little Rock Kroger grocery store. (Records indicate that Little was in fact arrested by North Little Rock Police Department for shoplifting from a Kroger on April 20, 1994.) According to Little, he was released after approximately three hours so that he could move his vehicle, a 1978 yellow Cadillac El Dorado (or possibly a yellow Dodge), off the grocery store’s property. Little stated that when he returned to his vehicle, the woman was sleeping inside. He first drove the woman to meet her ex-boyfriend, a man called “Bear” (Little believes Bear is now deceased), then drove her back to her residence. He returned the following day and drove with her toward Benton or Bentonville, Arkansas. When they were outside Little Rock, Little drove down a dirt road and manually strangled the woman to death. Little stated he placed the woman’s body on a pile of branches and old cornstalks in or near a corn field. He believes the woman’s name may have been Ruth and that her mother lived in North Little Rock.
Little stated that in approximately 1984, possibly in the summertime, he was driving his Lincoln Continental Mark III from Loraine, Ohio, to Cincinnati. While en route, he met a 25-year-old white female outside a strip club. He remembers her as being 5’6” – 5’7” tall and 130-170 pounds. Little describes her as having short blonde hair and blue eyes with a “hippie” appearance. She approached him and asked for a ride to Miami, Florida, saying her mother lived there. Little said he and the woman drove south on Interstate 75. When they reached Cincinnati, the two of them spent time downtown on Vine Street. They continued driving together, across the river into northern Kentucky. Little described driving to a hilly area not far from I-75. He drove up a small dirt road to the top of a “little round hill,” where he strangled the woman in the backseat of his car. He left her body on the top of the hill.
for more and To report potential case links to Samuel Little, contact the FBI’s main tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You can find additional case details at fbi.gov/SamuelLittle.