Gerard John Schaefer

Gerard John Schaefer
Ex-Deputy Sheriff Gerard Schaefer
Born	Gerard John Schaefer, Jr. March 25, 1946 Wisconsin
Died	December 3, 1995(1995-12-03) (aged 49) Florida State Prison in Bradford County, Florida
Cause of death	Multiple stab wounds
Other names	Jerry Shepherd
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Spouse(s)	Martha Fogg (m. 1968, div. May 1970) Teresa Dean (m. September 1971, div. November 1973)
Conviction(s)	Murder
Killings
Victims	2-30+
Span of killings	1969–1973
Country	United States
State(s)	Florida
Date apprehended	April 7, 1973
Imprisoned at	Florida State Prison

Gerard John Schaefer, Jr. (March 25, 1946 – December 3, 1995) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer from Florida. He was imprisoned in 1973 for murders he committed as a Martin County, Florida, Sheriff's deputy. While he was convicted of two murders, he was suspected of many others. Schaefer frequently appealed against his conviction, yet privately boasted — both verbally and in writing — of having murdered more than 30 women and girls.

Schaefer was the first of three children born to Catholic parents, Gerard and Doris Schaefer. He was born in Wisconsin and was raised in Atlanta, Georgia where he attended Marist Academy until 1960, when he and his family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Schaefer did not get along well with his father, who he believed favored his sister. In his teens, Schaefer became obsessed with women's panties and also became a peeping tom, spying on a neighbor girl named Leigh Hainline. (In 1969, Schaefer murdered Hainline (see below).) He would later admit to killing animals in his youth and cross dressing, although at other times he claimed the latter was solely to avoid the draft into the Vietnam War (which he did).

After graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1964, Schaefer went to college, during which time he got married. In 1969 he became a teacher, but was soon fired for "totally inappropriate behavior," according to the principal. After being turned down from the priesthood, Schaefer turned to law enforcement as a career, graduating as a patrolman at the end of 1971, at the age of 25.