The Casanova Killer: The Story of Paul John Knowles

Early Life of Paul John Knowles

Born in the heart of Orlando, Florida on April 25, 1946, Paul John Knowles emerged into a world that would soon become familiar with his notorious pseudonym, "The Casanova Killer." His early years were challenging and unstable, marked by a series of foster homes. By the age of 19, he found himself behind bars for the first time. Fast forward to early 1974, and Knowles was serving time in Raiford Prison, Florida (today's Florida State Prison). It was here that he struck up a correspondence with Angela Covic, a divorcee from San Francisco. Their communication blossomed into an engagement. Covic, captivated by Knowles despite his incarceration, funded his legal representation. Yet, upon his release and subsequent flight to California, their engagement ended abruptly. Covic, haunted by an "aura of fear" surrounding Knowles, called off the wedding. In a chilling claim, Knowles later confessed to murdering three people on the streets of San Francisco that night, though evidence to support this claim remains absent. He returned to Jacksonville, Florida, where a violent altercation with a bartender led to his arrest. However, his propensity for escape was soon demonstrated when he picked the lock of his detention cell, disappearing into the night on July 26, 1974.

A Trail of Terror: The Crime Spree Begins

With newfound freedom, Knowles embarked on a four-month crime spree that spanned multiple states. Initially unconnected, his crimes later came to light through audiotaped confessions he mailed to an attorney. These tapes, reviewed by a grand jury in 1975, were never made public and were ultimately destroyed after flood damage at the Federal Courthouse in Macon, Georgia.

His chilling crime spree began the night of his escape. In Jacksonville, Florida, Knowles broke into the home of 65-year-old Alice Heneritta Curtis. He gagged and robbed her, leaving her to choke to death. His next victim, according to his taped confessions, was a teenage girl named "Alma," later identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as 13-year-old Ima Jean Sanders. She vanished from Warner Robins, Georgia on August 1, 1974, with her remains discovered in April 1976.

That same day, Knowles claimed responsibility for the disappearance of 11-year-old Lillian Annette Anderson and 7-year-old Mylette Josephine Anderson outside Jacksonville. Despite his confession, investigators believe this claim to be false. The following day, he met Marjorie Howie in Atlantic Beach, Florida. She was found strangled in her apartment, her television missing.

Knowles' path of destruction led him to Musella, Georgia on August 23, 1974, where he strangled 24-year-old Kathie Sue Pierce, sparing her three-year-old son. In Ohio, the murder of 32-year-old William Bates on September 3 revealed Knowles' presence. Bates was last seen with a redheaded man, and his body was later found strangled in the woods. Knowles, now driving Bates' car, continued his spree.

September 18 saw the brutal murders of campers Emmett Alexander Johnson and Lois Mildred Johnson near Ely, Nevada. By September 22, the body of Ebon Charlynn Hicks, raped and strangled, was found near a Texas rest stop. Ann Jean Dawson, whom Knowles met in Birmingham, Alabama, disappeared on September 23. Her remains would not be found until years later.

In October, the violence escalated. In Marlborough, Connecticut, Karen Wine and her daughter Dawn Marie were raped and strangled. Doris Hosey was shot with her husband's rifle in an eerie scene where the weapon was left beside her body. Knowles eluded capture in Miami, Florida, despite driving a stolen vehicle, and continued his journey of terror.

The murders of Edward Hillard and Debbie Griffin near Macon, Georgia on November 2, 1974, further darkened Knowles' path. By November 6, he had murdered Carswell Hall Carr Sr. and attempted necrophilia on Carr's daughter, Amanda Beth Carr, in Milledgeville, Georgia. As he continued to evade capture, Knowles met journalist Sandy Fawkes in Atlanta. Though they spent days together, Fawkes would escape unharmed, a rare survivor in Knowles' wake.

The Final Acts and Capture

In West Palm Beach, Florida, Knowles invaded the home of Beverly Mabee, abducting Barbara Mabee Abel. He raped Abel before releasing her, an ordeal she later recounted in her book, "ONE SURVIVOR." On November 16, Knowles' luck ran thin when Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Eugene Campbell identified his stolen vehicle. In a brazen move, Knowles took Campbell and motorist James Meyer hostage, ultimately executing them in a Georgia woodland.

Knowles' spree ended after a high-stakes car chase with Henry County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Hancock. Crashing through a police roadblock, he fled on foot. A chaotic pursuit ensued, culminating in his capture on November 17, 1974, by David Clark, a Vietnam War veteran who held Knowles at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived.

Death and Legacy

On December 18, 1974, while being transported by Sheriff Earl Lee and Agent Ronnie Angel, Knowles attempted to seize Lee's handgun. In the ensuing struggle, Angel shot and killed Knowles in the vehicle. Thus ended the reign of terror perpetrated by Paul John Knowles, the Casanova Killer, whose murderous legacy continues to haunt the annals of American crime history.

Sources

• Paul John Knowles on Wikipedia