Lorenzo Gilyard
Lorenzo Gilyard, (born c.1951), is an alleged American serial killer.
The trial
A former trash company supervisor, Gilyard is currently on trial in Kansas City, Missouri. He is accused of the rape and murder of 13 women and girls in a period spanning 1977 to 1993. Most, if not all of the victims were prostitutes. All were found shoeless and dumped in secluded spots around Kansas City. Most had cloth or paper towels stuffed into their mouths and ligature marks around their necks.
The evidence
Although suspected of 13 murders, he is currently being tried on only 7 first-degree murder charges. The prosecution maintains that the trial will focus mainly on DNA evidence that criminal forensics experts shows he had sex with the victims around the time they were killed. "All the victims have several things in common: All were found dead during the same one and a half year period, all were left in secluded or obstructed locations, all were strangled, all showed signs that they were involved in a struggle, all were missing their shoes and all but one showed distinct signs of sexual intercourse," Prosecution Attorney Jim Kanatzar said in opening statements to the court. If convicted on even only one count, Gilyard could face life in prison without parole.
Gilyard has previously served time for child molestation. Probation records show that from 1969 to 1974 he was suspected of five rapes, but was never convicted. Gilyard became a suspect in 1987 in the murder of Sheila Ingold. A crime lab later linked all 13 victims to one killer using DNA testing. A blood sample Gilyard provided in the 1987 investigation led to the murder charges.
Suspected Victims
Gilyard is currently being tried in the murders of: Catherine M. Barry, 34 Naomi Kelly, 23 Ann Barnes, 36 Kellie A. Ford, 20 Angela Mayhew, 19 Sheila Ingold, 36 Carmeline Hibbs, 30.
The other victims (who constitute the remaining six charges of murder) were identified as: Stacie L. Swofford, 17 Gwendolyn Kizine, 15 Margaret J. Miller, 17 Debbie Blevins, 32 Helga Kruger, 26 Connie Luther, 29.
External Links
San Francisco Chronicle article regarding the charges.[1]
Blog site with details regarding the victims and crime scenes. [2]
Crime Library article [3]