Sean Gillis
Sean Vincent Gillis committed his ritualistic murders after stalking and kidnapping his victims, whom he raped before killing and afterward mutilated their bodies. But he remains almost unknown. Gillis committed his crimes in Baton Rouge during the same time frame another serial killer was active in the area, Derrick Todd Lee. When Lee was arrested the killings in the areas did not stop, leading authorities to realize there was a second serial killer at work. Because Lee was arrested first, Gillis became known as “The Other Baton Rouge Killer.”
Gillis blamed his early murders on “stress” and later described himself as “pure evil.” His first victim, a woman in her eighties, was stabbed more than fifty times. He stalked his second as she jogged for three weeks before running her down with his car, wrapping her in plastic, raping and murdering her, and then disposing of her body in a ditch. A later victim was severely mutilated, including the gouging out of a tattoo which Gillis found offensive, removed while she was still alive. He began to take pictures of his victim’s bodies after mutilating them, and collected body parts to keep as souvenirs. All of Gillis’s known victims were women, ranging in age from 29 to 81, killed over a period of ten years.
Gillis was eventually tracked down using tire and other forensic evidence collected at a crime scene and after DNA evidence tied him to three murders he was convicted and given life in prison. Following this conviction, Gillis confessed to five additional murders and provided evidence which supported his conviction, including photographs.
Gillis has written that he doesn’t know why he committed any of the murders, and claimed to be shocked at the level of violence shown, including the dismemberment of bodies.
Sources For Further Reading:
Discovery Magazine – Female Serial Killers Exist, But Their Motives Are Different
All That is Interesting – The 8 Most Painful Torture Devices of The Middle Ages
Ranker – The Untold Story of Peter Niers, The Cannibal Magician Who Killed 500 People
John Lynch, the Berrima Axe Murderer – HeadStuff
Vegabomb – 10 Women Who Killed for Money, Power, Love and More
Radio Times – Dark Angel: How were Mary Ann Cotton’s Terrible Crimes Uncovered?
The Sun – For 10 Years, ‘Jolly Jane’ Poured Her Poison
Criminal Historian – Jolly Jane: (Mis)Understanding A Female Serial Killer
Irish Central – The deadly Irish American serial killer nurse Jolly Jane
All That Interesting – The Story Of Henri Landru, France’s Charming Bluebeard Serial Killer