Summary
Jack Owen Spillman III (born August 30, 1969)[3] is an American serial killer from Spokane, Washington. He is known as the Werewolf Butcher.
Jack Owen Spillman III | |
|---|---|
 Spillman's WADOC Inmate Photo | |
| Born | Roy Wilson[2] August 30, 1969 |
| Other names | The Werewolf Butcher |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (3 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without parole |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | 1994–1995 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Washington |
Date apprehended | April 19, 1995[1] |
| Imprisoned at | Washington State Penitentiary |
Crimes edit
Spillman was convicted of the April 1995 murders of Rita Hoffman, 48, and her daughter Mandy, 15, and the 1994 murder of Penny Davis, 9.
Hoffman and her daughter were both found in their East Wenatchee, Washington home, sexually mutilated and posed in provocative positions.[4] Spillman's black pickup truck matched the description of a vehicle seen in a parking lot near the victims' home on the night of the murder. Also, Spillman's pickup was stopped by an East Wenatchee police officer in the parking lot of a VFW hall nearby that evening, and subsequently, a 12-inch knife covered in blood was recovered there. It appeared to match a knife set in the victims' house. Before his arrest, Spillman was kept under surveillance for a week while laboratory tests were performed.[5]
Under threat of the death penalty, Spillman later would admit to killing Davis, of Tonasket, Washington. Six months after her September 1994 disappearance, her body had been found in a shallow grave some twelve miles from her home.[6] She also had been posed in a provocative position.[4] Spillman later told a cellmate that he stalked his victims prior to killing them as he imagined himself as a werewolf.[7]
To avoid a possible death sentence, Spillman pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison in 1996.[6] He is serving his sentence at Washington State Penitentiary.
Prior criminal history edit
According to court documents, "Spillman would declare to [cellmate Mark] Miller that he wanted to be the world’s greatest serial killer". At the time that he pleaded guilty to the three murders, reports stated that Spillman was facing additional charges of first-degree rape, robbery, and burglary. He and a friend were arrested for rape in 1993, but those charges were eventually dropped.[6][8]
In the media edit
The case was covered by two Investigation Discovery TV shows:
- In 2015 Most Evil analyzed his crimes in an episode titled "Predators". He was ranked at level 22, the highest rank on the scale.[9]
- In 2020 Spillman's two sisters (April Steele and May Sullivan) told their experience about "Roy" in an episode of Evil Lives Here.[10]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Double Killing suspect arrested". Tri-City Herald. April 20, 1995. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "An escalating evil: Seeds of deviancy planted in childhood, experts say". 24 April 2005.
- ^ Wardell, Carol A. (1 July 1996). "Report of the Trial Judge" (PDF). Retrieved 17 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Ramsland, Katherine; McGrain, Patrick Norman (2009). Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators. ABC-CLIO. p. 33. ISBN 9780313379611.
- ^ Brandt, Aviva L. (21 April 1995). "Suspect Seen Near Site Where Knife Was Found Police Encountered Spillman Two Hours After Double Murders". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press.
- ^ a b c "Spillman Pleads Guilty To Killing Mother, Daughter Former Spokane Man Also Confesses To Murder Of Okanogan County Girl". The Spokesman-Review. 1 May 1996. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ Geberth's Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, pg 445.
- ^ "Man Pleads Guilty to Mutilation Slayings". The Seattle Times. 30 April 1996. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Watch Most Evil Season 3 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ Sarkar, Deepra (2021-01-23). "Where is Jack Owen Spillman Today?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
External links edit
- Katherine Ramsland. "The Werewolf Syndrome: Compulsive Bestial Slaughterers". truTV Crime Library. Retrieved 9 May 2012. A couple of pages of this article deal with Spillman; it is a more overall look at the werewolf issue in crime.