Richard Chase
| Richard Chase | |
|---|---|
Chase's mugshot
|
|
| Born | May 23, 1950 Santa Clara, California, United States |
| Died | December 26, 1980 (aged 30) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by overdose |
| Other names | The Dracula Killer The Vampire of Sacramento The Vampire Killer |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Motive | Blood drinking |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 6 |
|
Span of killings
|
1977–1978 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California |
|
Date apprehended
|
January 27, 1978 |
Richard Trenton Chase (May 23, 1950 – December 26, 1980) was an American serial killer who killed six people in a span of a month in Sacramento, California. He was nicknamed "The Vampire of Sacramento" because he drank his victims' blood and cannibalized their remains.
Chase was born in Santa Clara, California. He was abused by his mother, and by the age of 10, exhibited evidence of the Macdonald triad: enuresis, arsonism, and cruelty to animals. In his adolescence, he was known as an alcoholic and a chronic drug abuser.
Chase developed hypochondria as he matured. He often complained that his heart would occasionally "stop beating", or that "someone had stolen his pulmonary artery". He would hold oranges on his head, believing Vitamin C would be absorbed by his brain via diffusion. Chase also believed that his cranial bones had become separated and were moving around, so he shaved his head in order to watch this activity.
After leaving his mother's house (believing she was attempting to poison him), Chase rented an apartment with friends. Chase's roommates complained that he was constantly intoxicated on alcohol, marijuana, and LSD. Chase would also walk around the apartment nude, even in front of company. Chase's roommates demanded that he move out. When he refused, the roommates moved out instead.
Once alone in the apartment, Chase began to capture, kill, and disembowel various animals, which he would then devour raw, sometimes mixing the raw organs with Coca-Cola in a blender and drinking the concoction. Chase believed that by ingesting the creatures he was preventing his heart from shrinking.
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