Prosecutor: More Than 60 Deaths Now Linked to Serial Killer

Prosecutor: More Than 60 Deaths Now Linked to Serial Killer
The FBI says 78-year-old Samuel Little, who has confessed to some 90 killings nationwide spanning nearly four decades, offered his confessions as a bargaining chip to be moved from a California prison. (Ector County Texas Sheriff's Office via AP)

DALLAS—A Texas prosecutor said on June 7 that investigators have linked more than 60 killings in at least 14 states to a 79-year-old California inmate who may be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.

Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland said Samuel Little continues to cooperate with investigators from around the country who interrogate him in prison about cold case killings dating back to the 1970s. In February, he put the number of killings that had been linked to Little at 50.

Little was convicted of killing three Los Angeles-area women and pleaded guilty to killing a Texas woman, and he’s serving life sentences in California. Little, who lived a nomadic lifestyle, claims to have killed 93 women as he crisscrossed the country over the years.

Bland said Little is in failing health and has exhausted his appeals, leading him to be forthcoming with investigators.

“At this point in his life I think he’s determined to make sure that his victims are found,” he said.

During Little’s 2014 trial in Los Angeles, prosecutors said he was likely responsible for at least 40 killings since 1980. Authorities at the time were looking for possible links to deaths in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Texas.

But Little was not forthcoming with information at the time and Bland credits Texas Ranger James Holland with gaining Little’s trust and eventually eliciting a series of confessions.

Holland traveled to California last year to speak with Little about cold cases in Texas. That led Little to be extradited to Texas and his guilty plea in December in the 1994 strangulation death of Denise Christie Brothers in the West Texas city of Odessa. But Holland’s conversations with Little have continued, even after Little was returned to California to serve his sentences there, said Bland, who received an update from Holland this week.

Information provided to Holland was then relayed to law enforcement agencies in several states, leading to a revolving door of investigators who traveled to California to corroborate decades-old deaths. It was Holland who determined from his conversations with Little that he was responsible for 93 deaths, Bland said.

He explained that Little’s victims often were suffocated or strangled, in many cases leaving few physical marks and leading investigators to determine the women died of overdoses or of natural causes.

“There’s still been no false information given,” Bland said. “Nothing has been proven to be false.”

Gary Ridgway, the so-called Green River Killer, pleaded guilty to killing 49 women and girls, making him the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history in terms of confirmed kills, though he said he killed 71.

Courtroom Video Shows Son of Murdered Woman Trying to Attack Suspected Killer

While appearing in court Monday, June 3, a Michigan man accused of shooting his wife to death was nearly attacked by the woman’s son.

Vashon Flowers, 46, is being charged with open murder for the May 19 shooting of Jamie Thomas-Flowers, 50, at her home in Muskegon Heights, Michigan, reported MLive. An open murder charge means he could end up facing either first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or even manslaughter charges.

The Murder

According to Muskegon Heights Police Chief Joseph E. Thomas Jr., the suspect kicked in the door and shot his wife several times around 6:30 a.m. on the morning of May 19, MLive reported.

Approximately four hours before the incident occurred, police were called to the home to mitigate an argument the couple was having over cigarette smoking. At that time the husband agreed to leave, but later returned.

The victim, Jamie Thomas-Flowers, was reportedly on the phone with police at the time of the shooting. Police say she was shot four times in the torso with a handgun. The suspect then fled on foot but later turned himself in to Muskegon Heights police.

The Attempted Attack in the Courtroom

The video from MLive shows the victim’s son, London Thomas, jumping up from his seat and leaping over a courtroom barrier, at which point he ran towards the suspect, who at the time was seated in a jurors box, in an attempt to attack him.

Thomas was quickly apprehended by courtroom police and then arrested.

According to police, Thomas was later brought before Muskegon County District Judge Raymond Kostrzewa where he was held in civil contempt of court and barred from any future proceedings in the courtroom.

Prior Arrests

The suspect was charged as a habitual offender, earlier convictions include carrying a concealed weapon, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Epoch Times reporter Justin Morgan contributed to this report.

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