Unsolved 1962 Houston Torso Murder
CHARLES COX a 32 year old Artesia school teacher who was reported missing by his mother and stepfather whom he lived with on December 3, 1960. His body was found by immigrant farm worker Cruz Almodorer December 6, 1960 under a pile of rocks and dirt in a cornfield on Lloyd Belyeu's farm one mile west of Dexter, NM. His head had been "broken" (blunt force trauma) but not removed, his legs crudely cut off, his penis severed, and he was disemboweled. He was last seen having a drink with an unidentified man at a the Nickson Hotel bar around 10pm on the 3rd but reportedly left alone. He is believed to have died the same day he went missing. It is believed he was killed elsewhere and placed in the field due to lack of blood. Police almost instantly linked his murder to dismembered torso found in a suitcase in the Rio Grande just the year before in 1959. Cox was 6'2" and 250 lbs.
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UNIDENTIFIED JOHN DOE on June 20, 1959 the headless, limbless torso of a white male was found in a suitcase in the Rio Grande near El Paso, TX. The man's body parts were found downstream in a sandwich box. No head was found. He was estimated to be about 35-40 years old, 5'5"-5'7", 150-165lbs, with brown hair.
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JOHN C. JACKSON the torso of a 20 year old male was found in Sylvester, Georgia on January 31, 1962. His arms and legs were found in Highland, Florida just the day before on January 30th. His head and fingers were missing. A 41 year old man from Cincinnati, Ohio named John Arnold Cooper (the victim's stepfather) confessed to the murder. He was charged with first degree manslaughter and mutilation of a dead body. Police originally linked his murder to the unidentified woman found outside Houston, an unidentified man found near El Paso, and a murdered teacher near Roswell.
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PHILADELPHIA JANE JOE the headless body of a 5 year old girl was found in the Schuykill River in South Philadelphia on May 3, 1962. Her body was wrapped in clear blue plastic, covered with an apron, and placed inside a wooden milk box weighted with bricks. A newspaper dated March 11, 1962 lay under her. Her ring finger on her right hand was partially amputated and wrapped in dressing and adhesive tape. Her head had been severed with a sharp instrument. She also had burns on the bottoms of her feet indicating the suspect may have attempted to incinerate her first.
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EDWARD GERMAIN the torso of this 69 year old man (former Assistant Secretary of the Navy during WWII) from Buffalo, NY was found floating in a shipping channel on September 4, 1963. He had been missing since June 11, 1959 after attending a bankers meeting at the exclusive Buffalo Club. Police believe he drove his vehicle into the channel. Cause of death is unknown.
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UNIDENTIFIED JOHN DOE the headless, decomposing body of an unidentified man was found in a field near Midland, TX on September 1, 1962. His head was found 5 ft from his body. The only identifying feature was the name "Travis R. Hicks" inscribed on a set of false teeth.
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JUDY MAE ANDERSON the torso of this 15 year old girl from Chicago was found in an oil drum floating in the Montrose Harbor in August of 1958
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JOCELYN CARR the torso and limbs of the 32 year old woman was found in 2 separate locations in New York in October 1964
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EARL & RUTH BOWLIN a farmer was found shot to death in his home in April 1963 just outside of Wichita, Kansas. His wife's torso and legs were found in a shallow grave in a field less than a mile away. Her hands, head, and feet were missing. James L. Otney was a suspect in this case, but Thomas L. McCorgary was ultimately convicted of their murders in 1974.
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EMMETT & LEE HARPER two male torsos found along Highway 11 in Gadsden, Alabama in June 1959. Their arms and legs were missing and had severe head trauma. Viola Hyatt was charged with killing her boyfriend Lee Harper and his brother Emmett Harper.
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KENNETH JAMES LECKIE 21 year old ex-convict found along a 2-mile stretch of the Mississippi River levee outside of New Orleans. His head, left arm, legs, and intestines were removed. Melvin Keith Daitsch and one other man was arrested for his murder.
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FRED & EDWINA ROGERS the dismembered bodies of an elderly couple was found in the icebox of their Houston home on June 23, 1965. Their son, Charles Rogers (the main suspect) has never been found.
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DAVID HENRY FLOTH the headless, limbless torso of a Lincoln, CO man was found under a bridge at Castlewood Canyon State Park on April 7, 1965
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ELINOR KAHN a 21 year old woman's dismembered body was found stuffed in two suitcases and shoved into a culvert near San Gregorio Beach in California on Tuesday, March 3rd, 1964. Police arrested Jean Toman, mother of 6, in connection to her murder.
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JOHN DOE a headless, limbless torso of a white male was found in Pineville, WV on December 7th, 1963 off of Route 15. He was wrapped in a piece of canvas tied with wire. Six other dismembered bodies were found in the Oak Hill area and were believed to be the victims of the same killer nicknamed "The Mad Butcher".
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DAISY EVELYN SHELTON dismembered body parts of the 43 year old woman were found near Tipp City, Ohio in June 1964.
