Jerry Brudos
Encyclopedia
Jerome Henry "Jerry" Brudos (January 31, 1939 – March 28, 2006) was an American
serial killer
and necrophiliac, also known as "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer".
, and was the youngest of four sons. His mother had wanted a girl and would dress Brudos in girl's clothing. She would also constantly belittle him and treat him with disdain, as well as abuse
him. As a child, Brudos and his family would move into different homes in the Pacific Northwest
, before settling in Salem, Oregon
.
He had a fetish
for women's shoes from the age of five, after playing with spike-heeled shoes at a local junkyard. He also reportedly attempted to steal the shoes of his first grade teacher. He also had a fetish for women's underwear, and had claimed that he would steal underwear from female neighbors as a child. He spent his teen years in and out of psychotherapy
and mental hospital
s. He began to stalk
local women as a teenager, knocking down or choking them unconscious, and fleeing with their shoes.
At age 17, he abducted and beat a young woman, threatening to stab her if she did not follow his sexual demands. Shortly after being arrested, he was taken to a psychiatric ward of Oregon State Hospital
for nine months. There it was found his sexual fantasies
revolved around his hatred and revenge against his mother and women in general. He also underwent a psychiatric evaluation, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia
. Despite being institutionalized, he still graduated from high school with his class in 1957. Shortly after graduation, Brudos became an electronics technician.
In 1961, he married a 17-year-old girl, with whom he would father two children, and settled in a Salem, Oregon
suburb
. He asked his new bride to do housework naked except for a pair of high heels while he took pictures. It was at about this time, however, that he began complaining of migraine
headaches and "blackouts", relieving his symptoms with night-prowling raids to steal shoes and lace undergarments. He kept the shoes, underwear, and (for a time) the bodies of his victims in a garage that he would not allow his wife to enter without first announcing her arrival on an intercom
that Brudos had set up.
was witness sightings of a large man dressed in women's clothing. In the garage of his Salem, Oregon
home, Brudos kept trophies from his victims, expressly two pairs of amputated breast
s that were used as paperweights and the left foot of a 19-year-old girl named Linda Slawson (his first murder victim) which he used to model the shoes he collected. After committing a murder, he would dress up in high heels and masturbate
. Police investigation and interviews of local coeds led them to Brudos, who described the murders in detail. He had confessed to murdering Linda Slawson, Jan Whitney, Karen Sprinker and Linda Salee, and was sentenced to life in prison.
While incarcerated, Brudos had piles of women's shoe catalogues in his cell — he wrote to major companies asking for them — and claimed they were his substitute for pornography
. He lodged countless appeal
s, including one in which he alleged that a photograph taken of him with one of his victim's corpses cannot prove his guilt
, because it is not the body of a person he was convicted of killing.
Brudos died in prison on March 28, 2006 from liver cancer
. At the time of his death, Brudos was the longest incarcerated inmate in the Oregon Department of Corrections.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and necrophiliac, also known as "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer".
Early life
Brudos was born in Webster, South DakotaWebster, South Dakota
Webster is a city in and the county seat of Day County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,886 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Webster is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, and was the youngest of four sons. His mother had wanted a girl and would dress Brudos in girl's clothing. She would also constantly belittle him and treat him with disdain, as well as abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
him. As a child, Brudos and his family would move into different homes in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, before settling in Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
.
He had a fetish
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
for women's shoes from the age of five, after playing with spike-heeled shoes at a local junkyard. He also reportedly attempted to steal the shoes of his first grade teacher. He also had a fetish for women's underwear, and had claimed that he would steal underwear from female neighbors as a child. He spent his teen years in and out of psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
and mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
s. He began to stalk
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
local women as a teenager, knocking down or choking them unconscious, and fleeing with their shoes.
At age 17, he abducted and beat a young woman, threatening to stab her if she did not follow his sexual demands. Shortly after being arrested, he was taken to a psychiatric ward of Oregon State Hospital
Oregon State Hospital
Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, United States, is the primary state-run psychiatric hospital in the state of Oregon since Dammasch State Hospital closed in 1995. The facility is best known as the filming location for the Academy Award-winning film based on Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over...
for nine months. There it was found his sexual fantasies
Fantasy (psychology)
Fantasy in a psychological sense is broadly used to cover two different senses, conscious and unconscious. In the unconscious sense, it is sometimes spelled "phantasy".-Conscious fantasy:...
revolved around his hatred and revenge against his mother and women in general. He also underwent a psychiatric evaluation, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. Despite being institutionalized, he still graduated from high school with his class in 1957. Shortly after graduation, Brudos became an electronics technician.
In 1961, he married a 17-year-old girl, with whom he would father two children, and settled in a Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
. He asked his new bride to do housework naked except for a pair of high heels while he took pictures. It was at about this time, however, that he began complaining of migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
headaches and "blackouts", relieving his symptoms with night-prowling raids to steal shoes and lace undergarments. He kept the shoes, underwear, and (for a time) the bodies of his victims in a garage that he would not allow his wife to enter without first announcing her arrival on an intercom
Intercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
that Brudos had set up.
Criminal career
Between 1968 and 1969, Brudos bludgeoned and strangled four young women. The only initial evidenceEvidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
was witness sightings of a large man dressed in women's clothing. In the garage of his Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
home, Brudos kept trophies from his victims, expressly two pairs of amputated breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s that were used as paperweights and the left foot of a 19-year-old girl named Linda Slawson (his first murder victim) which he used to model the shoes he collected. After committing a murder, he would dress up in high heels and masturbate
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. Police investigation and interviews of local coeds led them to Brudos, who described the murders in detail. He had confessed to murdering Linda Slawson, Jan Whitney, Karen Sprinker and Linda Salee, and was sentenced to life in prison.
While incarcerated, Brudos had piles of women's shoe catalogues in his cell — he wrote to major companies asking for them — and claimed they were his substitute for pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
. He lodged countless appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s, including one in which he alleged that a photograph taken of him with one of his victim's corpses cannot prove his guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
, because it is not the body of a person he was convicted of killing.
Brudos died in prison on March 28, 2006 from liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
. At the time of his death, Brudos was the longest incarcerated inmate in the Oregon Department of Corrections.