The Chilling Case of William Dale Archerd: A Tale of Insulin and Murder

The Man Behind the Murders

William Dale Archerd was born on May 5, 1912, in Dardanelle, Arkansas. His life, which ended on October 29, 1977, in Vacaville, California, would become infamous for a sinister series of events that would mark him as a notorious American serial killer. Archerd became the first person in the United States to be convicted of using insulin as a murder weapon, a chilling distinction that involved the deaths of at least three individuals between 1956 and 1966 in Northern California. His story is steeped in suspicion, with authorities believing he may have been responsible for up to six deaths.

A Troubled Life

Archerd's fascination with medicine was evident early on, but a lack of discipline and financial resources prevented him from pursuing a formal career in the field. Instead, he found work in the early 1940s as an assistant at the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. There, he witnessed the power of insulin firsthand, as patients underwent insulin shock therapies.

However, Archerd's life took a dark turn in 1950 when he was sentenced to five years of probation for possession of morphine in San Francisco. His inability to adhere to the law led to the revocation of his parole following another conviction. Attempting to escape his fate, he fled from a minimum-security prison in Chino, only to be rearrested and placed in San Quentin Prison. By 1953, he was released on probation and settled in the Alhambra region of the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, California.

The Arrest and Conviction

On July 27, 1967, the law finally caught up with Archerd in Los Angeles, where he was arrested for a trio of murders. The victims, all closely tied to him, paint a grim portrait of his life:

• Zella Archerd, his fourth wife, died on July 25, 1956, just two months after their wedding.
• Burney Archerd, his nephew, met his end on September 2, 1961, in Long Beach.
• Mary Brinker Post, his seventh wife, passed away on November 3, 1966.

Each of these victims displayed symptoms consistent with hypoglycemia, raising suspicions of insulin overdose. But the list of suspected victims did not end there; Archerd was also thought to be involved in the deaths of:

• William Jones Jr., who died on October 12, 1947, in Fontana.
• Juanita Plum Archerd, his fifth wife, who died on March 13, 1958, in Las Vegas.
• Frank Stewart, who died on March 17, 1960.

In a courtroom drama that captivated the nation, Archerd was sentenced to death on March 6, 1968, for the murders of Zella, Burney, and Mary. However, the prosecution faced challenges due to the lack of awareness of a then-recently developed assay for measuring blood insulin levels. Developed by Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital, this technique was not utilized, leading the prosecution to rely on unproven laboratory evidence that should have been inadmissible in court.

The Legal Journey

Despite the questionable evidence, the California Supreme Court upheld Archerd's death sentence in December 1970. However, in a twist of fate, the United States Supreme Court intervened in 1972, commuting his sentence to life imprisonment. The decision saved Archerd from execution, but his life ended behind bars when he succumbed to pneumonia in 1977 at the age of 65.

Conclusion

William Dale Archerd's case remains a haunting chapter in the annals of American crime. His cunning use of insulin as a weapon and the subsequent legal proceedings set a precedent in the judicial system. Today, Archerd's story serves as a grim reminder of the potential for evil that can lurk beneath a seemingly ordinary life.

Sources

• Marks, V; Richmond, C (February 2008). "William Archerd: a serial matrimonialist killer". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 101 (2): 63–66. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2007.071001. PMC 2254464. PMID 18299624.
• "Six Persons Died Mysteriously; Suspect Booked on Three Counts". Tucson Daily Citizen. July 28, 1967. p. 33.
• Michael Newton (June 16, 2006). The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816069873.
• Newton, Michael: An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans. 5th edition, Stocker, Graz 2009, ISBN 978-3-85365-240-4 (Source, unless specified directly)