How Many Victims Did 'Gorilla Man' Earle Nelson Have?

Publish date: 2024-04-15

Most of Earle Nelson's victims were older women who were renting out rooms in their houses or buildings. He would arrive with a Bible in hand, pretending to be a quiet Christian man looking for a temporary place to stay. In most cases, he would wait until he gained the landlady's trust before attacking; other times, he would make a move as soon as he was alone with them inside the building (per Find a Grave). Most of his victims were then strangled and their bodies hidden somewhere on the property. He also raped many of the women after killing them.

Nelson killed his first victim in February 1926. He asked to see a room for rent, then killed 60-year-old Clara Newman and left her body behind in the apartment. Less than two weeks later, at the beginning of March, he also killed landlady Laura Beale. In 1926 alone, Nelson murdered than 10 victims. These are just the confirmed cases police were able to link directly to him, but in March 1926, several other women were attacked by men who would potentially have been Nelson. Then in November, Mrs. H.C. Murray survived an encounter with "Gorilla Man" and was able to provide the police with a description. Worried that he might be identified, Nelson moves on to another state (via Serial Dispatches).

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