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Arthur Shawcross, also known as the “Genesee River killer” or the “Rochester strangler”, killed 13 people across two killing sprees. He killed and sexually assaulted 2 children in 1972 and was jailed. Upon his release from prison he then murdered 12 prostitutes and young women.
Childhood
Before moving forward with this section it is important to note that all the below claims were made by Shawcross himself and his family deny these comments.
Born on June 6th 1945, Arthur Shawcross had a chaotic childhood. At the tender age of just 9 years old his aunt performed oral sex upon him. If this is true there is no telling the damage this could have done on a 9 year-old boy. He then went on to state he had sexual relations with his sister, something his domineering mother found out about and threatened to castrate him. Shockingly Arthur also claimed his mother would sodomize him with objects. He also claimed to have engaged in beastiality at some point in his childhood. If all these claims are true it is hard to see how this would not have had a profound effect on him later in life. Again it comes back to a question of nature vs nurture, however these things alone do not in any way excuse any of his crimes.
Throughout school he was known as a trouble maker and a bully to his other classmates. He dropped out of school at the age of 19 and married a woman before having a child with her. At the age of 21 he was drafted into the army where an army psychiatrist would later state he gained ‘sexual enjoyment’ from fire setting. Other than these disturbing comments he had an uneventful time in the army and eventually left the army to move away with his current wife. However after this move Shawcross began committing crimes such as arson and burglary.
The Murders
In May 1972 Shawcross committed his first murder. In a horrible predatory act Shawcross killed and sexually assaulted Jack Black. Arthur was familiar with him and had taken Jake and his brother on fishing trips, so it seems it was all too easy for Arthur to lure Jack into the woods before committing the horrifying crime. There are several different reports on when Jack’s body was found but when it was found he had been sexually assaulted and suffocated.
Shawcross then killed his second victim in September of 1972, 8 year old Karen Ann Hill. Her body was found under a bridge, sexually assaulted and strangled. Shawcross was later brought in for questioning and was persuaded to confess. Arthur later plead guilty to the charge of manslaughter of Karen Ann Hill whilst the charges for Jack’s murder were dropped. This seems to be a sickening miscarriage of justice given he was able to plead guilty to manslaughter and not murder, this also meant a lighter sentence of 25 years. As if not bad enough Shawcross was then released after just 14 and a half years in prison.
Unfortunately shortly after his release Arthur began killing prostitutes in Rochester. Going by the name of ‘Mitch’ Shawcross would pick up prostitutes before strangling them, one of the reasons he gave for the killings was she bit his penis too hard during oral sex. Despite the fact his MO remained the same for most kills, 26 year old June Scott was different. She was not a prostitute however she was subjected to horrific acts post mortem. She was anally mutilated, her labia were removed and she had been gutted. It was clear Shawcross had no regard for the lives of these women and had not been reformed by his earlier stint in prison.
With the increasing death toll the police were struggling for evidence and suspects until Shawcross was spotted urinating under the same bridge a body had been dumped two days prior. Confronted by police Shawcross gave his details to police who learned of his horrifying prior crimes, however police became unsure given that pedophiles rarely change their victim type. The suspicions of the police were further bolstered by the testimony of prostitutes who identified him as the ominous ‘Mitch’. Further evidence was then collected by police ,such as items of jewelry, and they were certain that Shawcross was their man.
In 1990 Shawcross was tried for 10 counts of murder of which he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He would tell gruesome stories from his time in Vietnam which he claimed caused a severe form of PTSD, these stories often involved cannibalism however this was never proven. His old commanding officer was tracked down who said Arthur was just a supply clerk and was never actually sent out on any missions.
Given all the evidence Shawcross was found guilty of 10 counts of murder and sentenced to 250 years in prison.
The interviews
In the interviews that followed his arrest he told tall tales of cannibalism in vietnam and gave some reasoning for his crimes. He would happily talk about the murders in Rochester however would answer no questions on Watertown and proceeded to say ‘ i ain't talking about it’, before walking out when asked another question.
Arthur also spoke on his mother claiming ‘she gave me oral sex’. He later said how it was obvious she would deny his claims but that these things did happen. In a further interview were he had been hypnotised he can be seen holding his penis and saying ‘mummy no’ and telling the interviewer she was performing sexual acts on him. Further doctors have also commented saying they would be incredibly shocked if he hadn't been sexually abused.
When talking about the 11 murders in Rochester Arthur gave the reason for the killing and mutilation as he said ‘that was a fit of anger’. He also stated that he thought he had been given HIV by one of the women so went back and killed them all. He also stated that he ‘took the vagina and ate it’. This is a shocking comment and hasn't been proven by the police. When further speaking on the murder he casually stated ‘i snapped her neck’, the lack of emotion here just highlights how little he cared for the lives of his victims. Further to this point he talks about pushing one of his victims bodies out of his car as if she were a piece of litter. Shawcross was later asked how he felt about the crime and plainly stated ‘I have no remorse’. This again just highlights his lack of any emotion towards his victims.
Overall the interview is a shocking highlight of the lack of care and emotion that Shawcross had towards any of his victims.
See below a compilation of his most interesting interview moments.
All in all this is a shocking case that has destroyed so many lives. Thankfully Arthur was brought to justice but since passed away in 2008.
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