Paul John Knowles (April 17, 1946 - November 18, 1974) was an American spree killer tied to the deaths of eighteen people in 1974, though he claimed to have taken thirty-five lives.
Early Life
Born in Florida in 1946, he was first convicted at the age of nineteen, and in the years following he spent more time in prison. In 1974, he was granted parole and sought to marry Mrs. Angela Covic, with whom he had corresponded from prison. Allegedly because of something a psychic told her, she ended the relationship. After this rejection, Knowles went on a murderous spree across northern Florida. He was eventually caught in Georgia, but while he was claiming to assist officers in finding the officer's pistol he had used in his last two murders, he tried to escape and was shot dead by a police officer.
The murders
- Alice Curtis was a 65-year-old resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Knowles gagged her on July 26, 1974, while stealing her belongings. She choked to death on her gag.
- Lillian and Mylette Anderson, aged eleven and seven respectively, were strangled early August 1974 and subsequently dumped in a nearby swamp.
- Marjorie Howe lived in Atlantic Beach, Florida. She was strangled with a nylon stocking. The motive, apparently, was that Knowles stole her television.
- Victim #5 remains unnamed. She was a hitchhiker, who Knowles raped and strangled.
- Kathy Pierce was strangled with the cord of her telephone on August 23, 1974. Her three-year-old son, who was also present, remained unharmed.
- William Bates met his fate on September 3, after having shared some drinks with Knowles in Lima, Ohio. His body was not discovered until October. His car, money and credit cards were all taken by Knowles.
- Emmett and Lois Johnson were out camping in Ely, Nevada, where Knowles murdered both on September 18, 1974.
- Charlynn Hicks was a woman whose motorcycle broke down in Sequin, Texas. Knowles raped her before strangling her and dragging her body through some barbed wire. This was on the 21st of September.
- Ann Dawson, from Birmingham, Alabama, met Knowles on September 23. They travelled together for a while, until Knowles killed her on the September 29. Her body was never found.
- Karen Wine and her 16 year old daughter, were killed on October 16, bound, raped, and strangled with a nylon stocking. They were discovered by Wine's older daughter Cheryl. A tape recorder was missing from their home.
- Doris Hovey was fifty-three years old and lived in Woodford, Virginia. She was shot dead by Knowles with her husband's rifle on October 19, 1974.
- Carswell Carr and his daughter met Knowles on November 6 in Macon, Georgia, and invited him over to his house. Subsequently, Knowles stabbed Carr but is said to have had a heart attack before Knowles strangled his fifteen-year-old daughter. He attempted to have sexual intercourse with her body, but failed.
- Edward Hilliard and Debbie Griffin were hitchhiking near Milledgeville, Georgia, on November 2. Hilliard's body was found in nearby woods, but Griffin's remains were never discovered. Knowles was not proven to have murdered them, but he was under very strong suspicion.
- Trooper Charles Eugene Campbell Trooper Campbell was abducted while on patrol and shot by Knowles in Pulaski County, Georgia.
- James Meyer was a businessman who was taken hostage along with Trooper Campbell. Knowles handcuffed them to a tree and shot them with the trooper's gun.
References
- J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who
- Sandy Fawkes, Killing Time
- Georgina Lloyd, One was not enough
See also