Henry Lee Lucas Research Paper

Murder is a gruesome topic that everyone finds interesting. From unsolved cases to solved cases, people have looked up at least one. Who is the most prolific serial killer though? A man convicted of eleven murders is in the top five but is he the number one serial killer around? The man in question is Henry Lee Lucas. Henry, also known as the Highway Killer, was born in 1936 and started his murder spree in 1951. He grew up in a rough family home in Michigan with eight siblings. His mother was an alcoholic prostitute who made Henry cross-dress and watch her with her clients. His father was of no help as he was an alcoholic, beaten by his wife, and soon found himself dead. He had lost his legs in a railroad accident and was out drinking in the

However, the only evidence any of them had on Henry was a matchbook found at a motel which came back inconclusive. None of the bodies had any physical evidence such as hair, fibers, or fingerprints. (“Henry) Here’s the real kicker though, one police officer went into the police records to see Henry’s past only to come up with no records on him. This police officer went on to see if he had any traffic violations, which he did, and discovered that at least 30 of the murders he confessed to could not have been him. He brought this up to some fellow officers. When he went back a few weeks later to check on the traffic records again to see if anymore murders couldn’t have been Henry, he found that the records had been wiped clean. Many people believed it was an inside man who wiped these records simply to wrap up cold cases (29,

All anyone who wasn’t around in the late 1980’s would know is why he was tried, the only convicting evidence, and the outcome. Firstly, he was tried as a serial killer despite many people believing it was only three people. Secondly, the only information from his trial is they convicted him on a recording of his confessions and nothing else. During one of his confessions, Henry admitted what his true feelings during his killing spree were. He said, “I didn’t have any emotions, I had no feelings for the people themselves, or any of my crimes. I’d pick them up hitchhiking, running and playing, stuff like that. We’d get to going and having a good time. First thing you know, I’d killed her and throwed her out somewhere. I don’t know how to really explain why I kept on. It was just, ;like I say, as though I left my body. And just as though the more you look at them, as though that person wasn’t dead. And you just stabbing them and imagining that person’s not dying”