Ira Einhorn

Ira Einhorn
1979 mugshot and a 2001 mugshot taken upon his return to the U.S.
Born	Ira Samuel Einhorn (1940-05-15) May 15, 1940 (age 76) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Other names	The Unicorn Killer The Unicorn
Criminal charge	Murder
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Criminal status	In prison

Ira Samuel Einhorn (born May 15, 1940), known as "the Unicorn Killer", is an American environmental activist convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Holly Maddux. On September 9, 1977, Maddux disappeared following a trip to collect her things from the apartment she and Einhorn had shared in Philadelphia. Eighteen months later, police found Maddux's partially mummified body in a trunk in his closet. It had been packed with Styrofoam pellets, air fresheners, and newspapers.

After his arrest, Einhorn fled the country and spent 23 years in Europe before being extradited to the US. He took the stand in his own defense, claiming his ex-girlfriend had been killed by CIA agents who framed him for the crime because he knew too much about the agency's paranormal military research. He was convicted and is currently serving a life sentence.

His moniker, "the Unicorn", came from his name, Einhorn — unicorn in German.

Born into a middle-class Jewish family, Einhorn studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He became active in ecological groups and was part of the counterculture, anti-establishment, and anti-war movements of the 1960s and 1970s. He called himself "the Unicorn," because Einhorn and Unicorn translate as "One Horn".

Einhorn participated in the first Earth Day event in Philadelphia in 1970. He later claimed to have been instrumental in the creation of Earth Day and launching the event, but other event organizers dispute his account. Einhorn actually did little to no organising of the event but ended up as MC for the live broadcast of Philadelphia's Earth Day.

Einhorn had a five-year relationship with Holly Maddux, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College who was originally from Tyler, Texas. In 1977, Maddux broke up with Einhorn. She went to New York City and became involved with Saul Lapidus. On Sept. 9, 1977, Maddux returned to the apartment she had once shared with Einhorn to collect her things, and was never seen again. Several weeks later, the Philadelphia police questioned Einhorn about her disappearance. He claimed that Maddux had gone out to the neighborhood co-op to buy some tofu and sprouts, and never returned.