Arthur Shawcross
| Arthur Shawcross | |
|---|---|
Mug shot of Shawcross
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|
| Born |
Arthur John Shawcross June 6, 1945 Kittery, Maine, United States |
| Died | November 10, 2008 (aged 63) Albany, New York, United States |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest |
| Other names | The Genesee River Killer, The Monster of the Rivers, The Rochester Strangler |
| Criminal penalty | Life in prison without parole |
| Conviction(s) | Arson, Burglary, Manslaughter, Second degree murder |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 14 |
|
Span of killings
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May 7, 1972–December 28, 1989 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) |
Rochester, New York Watertown, New York |
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Date apprehended
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January 5, 1990 |
Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 – November 10, 2008), also known as the Genesee River Killer, was an American serial killer active in Rochester, New York. He killed most of his 11 victims after being paroled early following a conviction in the manslaughter of two children, which led to criticism of the justice system. A food service worker, Shawcross trolled the streets of Rochester in his girlfriend's 1984 sky blue Dodge Omni (he later used her 1987 Chevy Celebrity) looking for prostitutes to abduct. Michael H. Stone, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and an authority on violent behavior, identified Shawcross as "one of the most egregious examples of the unwarranted release of a prisoner."
Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine, the first of four children of Arthur Roy Shawcross and Elizabeth Shawcross. His family moved to Watertown in New York State when he was young. While several later tests showed Shawcross' intelligence to be sub-normal or even "borderline retarded", he received As and Bs in his first two years of grade school, but was later tested to have an I.Q. of 86, signifying low average intelligence. However, when tested in the army, Shawcross scored just above average in intelligence tests, scoring 105 upon entry and 108 at discharge. This was also the case with the intelligence tests he underwent while on trial in 1990, scoring 107.
Shawcross said throughout his childhood, he was a frequent bed-wetter. He later claimed his mother would insert foreign objects into his rectum, that his mother performed oral sex on him when he was 9, and that during junior high school he had sexual relations with his sister. Shawcross had a reputation at school as a bully and would frequently act out violently. He dropped out of high school in 1960.
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