The exact number of victims of the serial killer Henry Lee Lucas can not be called. His involvement in eleven murders was fully proved. The criminal himself called a much larger number of victims. Researchers of the psychology of serial killers are interested in studying each individual case and finding in it similarities and patterns with other atrocities.
Born in a dysfunctional family
Henry Lee Lucas was born on 08/16/1936 in Blacksburg. The family was far from ideal. Mother was Viola. She was engaged in prostitution. Father's name was Anderson. It is known that he lost his legs while working on the railway. As a result, the man became disabled and an alcoholic.
The head of the family was the mother. She abused her son, however, as did her husband. The boy often beat her. Once she hit him on the head with a blackboard so hard that Henry lay unconscious all day. The woman not only did not hide her craft, but also forced her household to watch it during work. All information is known from the memoirs of the criminal.
Girl dress instead of school uniform
Mother decided that Henry Lee should be like a girl. He had long, uncut hair. When it was time to go to elementary school, she forced her son to wear a dress. This led to peer attacks on the boy.
The teacher decided to cut the boy. Mother's reaction was instant. She stated that he did not have the right to interfere in family affairs. Nevertheless, the position of the school forced the woman to adhere to generally accepted clothing rules.
Once friends of the father gave the boy a mule. The child is attached to the animal. Mother didn’t like it, she killed a mule in front of her son. She did not want him to have affection for anyone.
The father treated his son well, but with his vision of the world. He treated the boy to moonshine of his own production. By the age of ten, Henry became heavily dependent on alcohol.
Once, the half-brother injured Lucas' eyes during another brawl. The boy was not provided with timely medical care, the eye had to be removed. He was replaced with a prosthesis. The young man was very complex about this. A hole in his head and a glass prosthesis did not add confidence to him.
Even in childhood, he showed a craving for zoosadism. He enjoyed the mockery of animals. He did not stop there.
First kill
For the first time, Henry Lee took his life in 1951. A young girl was killed. At the same time, he was detained by the police for breaking into. He was placed in a juvenile colony. Lucas spent a year there, addicted to drugs.
After his release, he took the life of an old prostitute by hitting a woman with a hammer on the head and moving a wagon. He was soon arrested for attempted robbery. He was sentenced to four years in prison. The criminal did not serve his sentence; he managed to escape from prison in 1956. He was engaged in car theft until he was arrested. He was sent to Ohio Federal Prison.
Killing mother
In 1959, Henry Lee was released. He settles in Michigan, cohabiting with his sister. Viola's mother comes to them. In another quarrel, the son kills her with a knife. While the woman was bleeding, he went for a walk around the city. At this time, Viola was taken to the hospital, where she died. Lucas was sentenced to forty years.
After a year, the offender is transferred to a psychiatric hospital. He is diagnosed with schizophrenia, psychopathy, sexual aberration, and other problems.
In the hospital, he makes several attempts to commit suicide. But every time the workers saved him. Then he decides to live in order to destroy the maximum number of people.
After a while he was returned to prison. There he receives permission to use the local archive. Henry studies criminal cases, he delves into the specifics of police work. The criminal thinks out the options for killing, so as not to be caught.
Release from prison
In 1970, representatives of the state of Michigan decided to release Henry Lee, despite disagreement from the prisoner. The reason for this decision was the conclusion of psychiatrists that Lucas is healthy. He is forced to leave prison by force. Henry was furious, after a couple of hours he kills a young girl.
Meeting with Ottis Tool
Next, the killer Henry Lee Lucas met with Ottis Tool. It was he who offered all kinds of crime options. A new friend had a niece named Frida Powell. However, everyone called her Becky. So the criminal trio was formed.
They put into effect the most terrible plans of Tula. For this, a victim was selected, who moved to another state to change her residence. So people did not rush to search immediately.
The crime was committed according to the following algorithm:
- rape;
- murder;
- post-mortem intercourse;
- dismemberment of a corpse;
- cooking his meat for consumption.
Criminals even managed to earn extra money on their craft. They became mercenaries in a satanic community called the Hand of Death. The sectarians paid them ten thousand US dollars to kill people in the area, causing panic. The police could not find traces of this cult. It is known that Satanists used the bodies of the victims for their rites, and after that they ate them.
Relationship with becky
In 1981, Frida was arrested and sent to a juvenile colony in Florida. Men help her escape. At this time, Henry and Becky, who was twelve years old, became lovers. It is known that the initiator of such changes was a girl. She accused him of homosexuality until he changed his views on her.
In 1983, Becky wants to return to the colony to serve his time and start life anew. She asks Lucas to help her with this. He agrees, although not immediately. They leave their shelter in one of the Protestant sects and set off by car. The girl did not reach the destination. In one of the quarrels, Henry kills her with a knife. He removes the ring from her finger, the body dismembers and buries in the ground. This greatly changes the inner world of the criminal. He no longer hides the traces of the murders committed.
Confession
Back in 1982, he killed an elderly woman who was his good friend. There was a fit of anger with him, as a result of which he stabbed her with a knife. On the victim’s chest, he carved an inverted cross and performed a posthumous intercourse. He hid the corpse in a drainpipe. A year after Becky’s death, police arrested Henry on suspicion of killing an elderly woman. Psychiatrists revealed a lot of abnormalities in him. The strongest intoxication of the brain contributed to this, as the offender smoked five packs of cigarettes during the day.
A few weeks after his arrest, he confesses to numerous killings. He plays with the police, providing information about new bodies every five to six days. Several dozen victims of Henry Lee Lucas were discovered. He could not always remember the circumstances of the killings.
The court required irrefutable evidence. The charge was made up of eleven cases. For them, the serial killer received a sentence, although there were more than forty victims. Some claim that they are hundreds of corpses. It is impossible to verify this.
World fame
Information about the brutal criminal stirred up the whole of America and Europe. His actions were discussed on television shows. Photos of Henry Lee Lucas were in all newspapers. He even got fans.
The trial lasted a long time. It was held in Texas. During this time, Ottis Tool died from cirrhosis in a Florida prison. He was sentenced to six life sentences.
Finally, in 1998, the offender was sentenced to death. Texas Governor then was George W. Bush. He abolished the execution, since it was not proven that at least one murder occurred on state territory. In 1999, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment.
End of the way
The life of the tramp Henry Lee Lucas ended on March 13, 2001 in the sixty-fifth year of his life. The cause of death was heart failure.
About the life and violent crimes of Lucas, many programs were created. Over the years, three feature films have been released. The last picture appeared on the screens in 2009. The main role in the thriller was played by Antonio Sabato.
A person deprived of parental love did not see anything in his life except bullying and violence. Since childhood, accustomed to alcohol, drugs, he grew up asocial animals. He had flashes of humanity, but they did not last long. The society that gave birth to such a person made her famous, and then closed herself behind the iron bars.