William George Heirens (November15, 1928 – March 5, 2012) was an American serial killer convictedof murder who confessed (under police torture) to three murders in1946. Heirens was called the Lipstick Killer after a notoriousmessage scrawled in lipstick at a crime scene. At the time of hisdeath, Heirens was reputedly Chicago's longest-serving prisoner,having spent 65 years in prison.
He spent the later years of hissentence at the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, Illinois. Thoughhe remained imprisoned until his death, Heirens had recanted hisconfession and claimed to be a victim of coercive interrogation andpolice brutality.
Charles Einstein wrote a novel calledThe Bloody Spur about Heirens, published in 1953 which was adaptedinto the 1956 film While the City Sleeps by Fritz Lang.
On March 5, 2012, Heirens died at theage of 83 at the University of Illinois Medical Center fromcomplications arising from diabetes.
Early life
Heirens grew up in Lincolnwood, asuburb of Chicago, Illinois, United States. He was the son of Georgeand Margaret Heirens. George Heirens was the son of immigrants fromLuxembourg and Margaret was a homemaker. His family was poor and hisparents argued incessantly, leading Heirens to wander the streets toavoid listening to them. He took to crime and later claimed that hemostly stole for fun and to release tension. He never sold anythinghe had stolen.
At 13 years of age, Heirens wasarrested for carrying a loaded gun. A subsequent search of theHeirens' home discovered a number of stolen weapons hidden in anunused storage shed on the roof of a nearby building along with furs,suits, cameras, radios, and jewelry he had stolen. Heirens admittedto 11 burglaries and was sent to the Gibault School for wayward boysfor several months. Soon after, he was arrested for theft andsentenced to three years at the St. Bede Academy, where he was anexceptional student. He was accepted into University of Chicago'sspecial learning program just before his release in 1945 at 16 yearsold. To pay his expenses he worked several evenings a week as anusher and docent, but also resumed committing burglaries. Aclassmate remembers him as being popular with girls.
Murders
Josephine Ross
On June 5, 1945, 43-year-old JosephineRoss was found dead in her Chicago apartment. She had been repeatedlystabbed, and her head was wrapped in a dress. Dark hairs wereclutched in hand. No valuables were taken from the apartment. Police were unable to identify a dark-complected man reportedly seenloitering nearby or running away.
Frances Brown
On December 10, 1945, Frances Brown wasdiscovered with a knife lodged in her neck and bullet wound to thehead in her apartment. Nothing was taken, but a message was writtenin lipstick on the wall: "For heavens Sake catch me Before Ikill more I cannot control myself".
Police found a bloody fingerprintsmudge on the doorjamb of the entrance door. A witness heard gunshotsabout 4 am, and the building's night clerk said a nervous man of 35to 40 years old, and weighing 140 pounds, got off the elevator andleft. At one point Chicago Police said they had reason to believethe killer was a woman.
YOU ARE READING
Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III
Non-FictionReal crime stories, paranormal stories, and conspiracy theories are discussed.
