Charles Schmid

Charles Howard 'Smitty' Schmid, Jr. (July 8, 1942 – March 30, 1975), also known as "The Pied Piper of Tucson," was an American serial killer. His crimes were profiled by journalist Don Moser in his article "The Pied Piper of Tucson", featured in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life magazine and are the basis for "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. In 2008, The Library of America selected Moser's article for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime.

Charles Schmid was an illegitimate child who was adopted by Charles and Katharine Schmid, owners and operators of Hillcrest Nursing Home in Tucson, Arizona. He had a difficult relationship with his adoptive father, whom Katharine Schmid later divorced. When Schmid tried to meet his birth mother, she angrily told him never to come back.

He did poorly in school, but was described as good-looking, intelligent and well-mannered. An accomplished athlete, he excelled at gymnastics and even led his high school to a State Championship, but quit the team his senior year.

Just before graduating, Schmid stole tools from the school's machine shop, and was subsequently suspended. He never returned to school. He began living in his own quarters on his parents' property and received an allowance of $300 a month. His parents left him to run on his own with a new car and a motorcycle. He spent much of his time on Tucson's Speedway Boulevard, picking up girls and drinking with friends, although he tended to be a loner. His best friends were Paul Graff, who lived with him, John Saunders, and Richie Bruns.

Schmid was a short man who wore cowboy boots stuffed with newspapers and flattened cans to make him appear taller. He used lip balm, pancake makeup and created an artificial mole on his cheek. He was said to have been related to Bob Dylan. He also stretched his lower lip with a clothespin to make it resemble Elvis Presley's. He was called the "Pied Piper" because he was charismatic and had many friends in the teenage community of Tucson. Women liked him and he frequently met them at the Speedway area of Tucson. For a time, the members of his teenage coterie would keep the secrets of his murders.

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