This Day in Crime History: JANUARY 27, 1978 : THE SO-CALLED DRACULA KILLER

On this day in 1978, Richard Chase, who becomes known as the “Dracula Killer,” murders Evelyn Miroth and Daniel Meredith, as well as Miroth’s 6-year-old son andanotherwoman,in Sacramento, California. Chase sexually assaulted Miroth with a knife before killing her and mutilating her body. He removed some of the organs of the body and filled them with blood before taking them with him. Meredith was found shot in the head.

The previous year, the 28-year-old Chasehad been found in a field, naked and covered in cow’s blood. His behavior did not come as a complete surprise to those who knew him. As a child, he had been known to kill animals, drinking the blood of a bird on one occasion. He had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for most of his life. A year prior to the killings, Chase was released because his psychiatrist found that Chase had a handle on his problems.

Upon his arrest, police found that Chase’s home was filled with human blood. It was found in the blender and in the sinks, suggesting that Chase had been drinking it for some time.

In 1979, Chase went to trial and his attorney argued that he was insane. However, a jury found that he was sane, convicted him of six counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. Chase killed himself in his cell at San Quentin on December 26,1980.

Article Details:

January 27, 1978 : The so-called Dracula killer

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  January 27, 1978 : The so-called Dracula killer

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-so-called-dracula-killer

• Access Date

  January 27, 2016

• Publisher

  A+E Networks

This Day in Crime History: JANUARY 26, 1936 : SO-CALLED MAD BUTCHER TERRORIZES CLEVELAND

The dismembered body of Florence Polillo is found in a basket and several burlap sacks in Cleveland. The 42-year-old woman was the third victim in 18 months to be found dismembered with precision. It sparked a panic in Cleveland,where the unknown murderer was dubbedthe “Mad Butcher.”

In June 1936, another head, and later a headless body, turned up and police were unable to identify the victim. Even when a replica mask of the victim’s face was displayed at the Great Lakes Exposition, the victim remained a mystery, while the Mad Butcher continued killing.

By the summer of 1938, with the body count into double digits, the Cleveland police were desperate to find the Mad Butcher. One suspect, an actual butcher named Frank Dolezal, was interrogated for 40 straight hours until he confessed to killing Florence Polillo. However, he subsequently changed his story many times and killed himself in his cell before his guilt could be determined.

In reality, though, few authorities believed Dolezal was actually the killer—it is believed that the real suspect was relatively prominent and politically connected, and as a result the police department trumped up the case against Dolezal. All official police records of the matter have been destroyed.

The Mad Butcher’s attack stopped in Cleveland after the Dolezal’s suicide. The true identity of the Mad Butcher remains a mystery to this day.

Article Details:

January 26, 1936 : So-called Mad Butcher terrorizes Cleveland

• Author

  History.com Staff

• Website Name

  History.com

• Year Published

  2009

• Title

  January 26, 1936 : So-called Mad Butcher terrorizes Cleveland

• URL

  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/so-called-mad-butcher-terrorizes-cleveland

• Access Date

  January 26, 2016

• Publisher

  A+E Networks