Cincinnati Strangler

Overview

The Cincinnati Strangler is the chilling moniker given to an American serial killer responsible for the brutal murders of seven women in Cincinnati, Ohio, between December 1965 and December 9, 1966. This case sent shockwaves through the city, as a local resident, Posteal Laskey Jr. (June 18, 1937 – May 29, 2007), emerged as the main suspect. Arrested on December 9, 1966, for one of the murders, Laskey was ultimately convicted. Yet, intriguingly, he was never charged with the other killings. The media and law enforcement linked him to the other deaths, inferring that the murders ceased after his apprehension.

Quick Facts

• Born: Posteal Laskey Jr.
  June 18, 1937, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

• Died: May 29, 2007 (aged 69), Pickaway Correctional Institution, Scioto Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, U.S.

• Occupation: Former cab driver

• Conviction: First-degree murder

• Criminal Penalty: Initially sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment

• Victims: 7 (1 conviction)

• Span of Crimes: 1965–1966

• Country: United States

• State: Ohio

• Date Apprehended: December 1966

The Murders

The Cincinnati Strangler’s victims were predominantly women aged between 31 and 81, living in various low-income housing complexes throughout Cincinnati. The brutality of these crimes was shocking; in five of the seven murders, the victims were sexually assaulted.

The Victims

1. Emogene Harrington (56 years old) – Strangled to death on December 2, 1965.

2. Lois Dant (58 years old) – Found on April 4, 1966, in her ground-floor apartment, having been strangled, raped, and beaten. She had just hung up a phone call when her killer knocked on her door.

3. Matilda Jeannette Messer (56 years old) – Attacked on June 10, 1966, in a park. After being beaten, raped, and strangled, her dog was shockingly tied to a tree near her body.

4. Barbara Bowman (31 years old) – On August 14, 1966, she was returning from a bar when she was attacked by a cab driver, stabbed seven times, and died shortly after police arrived. Witnesses provided compelling descriptions and even recorded the cab's license plate number, but initially, her case was misclassified due to her age and the nature of her murder.

5. Alice Hochhausler (51 years old) – Murdered on October 11, 1966.

6. Rose Winstsel (61 years old) – Found beaten and strangled in her apartment on October 20, 1966.

7. Lula Kerrick (81 years old) – The final victim, attacked in her elevator on December 9, 1966, where she was beaten and strangled with one of her own stockings.

Investigation

The murders sparked widespread panic in Cincinnati, leading to a surge in weapon and lock sales. Women’s confidence plummeted, prompting the police to launch a dedicated operation to capture the Strangler. Notably, Halloween celebrations were moved to Sunday afternoons for two consecutive years to ensure public safety.

On the same day that Kerrick was murdered, a 22-year-old woman named Sandra Chapas reported a terrifying encounter, claiming she had been followed by a suspicious man who attempted to assault her. She, along with other witnesses, provided the police with the license plate number of the car the attacker drove.

This car belonged to Posteal Laskey Jr., a 29-year-old laborer living with his mother. Laskey had ambitions of becoming a musician and had recently rented an apartment with a friend. The police, upon digging into his past, discovered that he had a previous conviction for attacking a woman in 1965 and had worked as a taxi driver for the Yellow Cab Company, where he had driven the same cab that was reported stolen shortly before Barbara Bowman's murder.

Witnesses at the bar identified Laskey as the cab driver who had picked up Bowman, leading to his swift arrest.

Further Evidence

After his arrest, additional victims came forward. Delle Ernst (69) reported that Laskey had robbed her on October 4, 1966, and Virginia Hinners recounted a similar robbery on September 21 of the same year. These testimonies added to the growing circumstantial evidence against him.

Aftermath

In April 1967, Posteal Laskey Jr. was convicted of the murder of Barbara Bowman and sentenced to death by electric chair, scheduled for execution on July 8, 1968. However, Laskey's legal team appealed, arguing that the intense media scrutiny had compromised his right to a fair trial. While the court dismissed the appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in June 1972, commuting Laskey's sentence to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

Laskey was shuffled between various penitentiaries over the years. Despite multiple parole applications, he was denied each time. His final request in February 2007 was also rejected, and he was banned from applying again until 2017. Ultimately, he passed away on May 29, 2007, after spending over 40 years behind bars.

Conclusion

The Cincinnati Strangler case remains a haunting chapter in true crime history, capturing the fear and chaos that engulfed a city during a time when serial killers were becoming an alarming reality. Posteal Laskey's story serves as a reminder of the complexities of justice and the societal impact of such heinous crimes.

Sources

• "Offender Details". appgateway.drc.ohio.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
• "Laskey hearing granted". Dayton Daily News. June 12, 1968.
• Jim Rohrer (December 6, 2010). "Strangler terrorized Cincinnati in 1960s". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
• "Living with the Cincinnati Strangler". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 6, 1985.
• George Hahn (August 12, 1977). "Terror in New York Brings To Mind Fearful Days Of Cincinnati Strangler". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
• "Bowman Case Murder Charge Looms Today". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 13, 1966.
• "Suspect Quizzed In 6th Strangling; Spinster Victim". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 10, 1966.
• "Laskey Murder Trial Opening Statements". The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 4, 1967.
• "Posteal Laskey Jr., a suspect in six strangulations of middle-aged and elderly women, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 17, 1966.
• "14 From County Escape Death Penalty". The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 30, 1972.
• Kimball Perry (March 1, 2002). "Outrage grows to release of killer". The Cincinnati Post. Archived from the original on 2005-03-09.
• "Suspected 'Cincinnati Strangler' Serial Killer Dies of Natural Causes in Jail". Fox News. June 12, 2007.
• Townsend, J. T. (August 1997). "The Legacy of the Cincinnati Strangler". Cincinnati. 30 (11): 30–36. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
• Townsend, J. T. (2012). "Terror in the Gaslight District: Alice Hochhausen Falls Victim to the Cincinnati Strangler: 1966". Queen City Gothic: Cincinnati's Most Infamous Murder Mysteries (revised ed.). Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. pp. 327–362. ISBN 9781467057127. OCLC 891380967.