Sweeny Vs. Dolezal: Who Was The Murder?

How does anyone get away with the murders of nearly twenty people? Well for the Cleveland Torso murderer carrying out these intolerable acts just came easy to him. To this day there is still no lead on the supposed killer. However, there were two prime suspects who came into the discussion of who was the killer. Dr. Francis Sweeney and Frank Dolezal were both under suspicion while in authorities hands. Dolezal actually confessed to the killings, but when he was in custody he constructed a makeshift noose before he could actually clear his name. Sweeny on the other hand failed two lie detector tests, however it was not admissible as evidence. Through various amounts of research Dolezal committed these crimes, Dolezal blended himself into the

Because of his physique it made it easier to manipulate and carry out the murders. The detective that made these assumptions, “ Elliot Ness believed that the killer was an individual with some medical training who would be found among Cleveland society. He also believed that the killer was a large man, able to overpower his victims quickly. At one of the ‘on site’ murders, a large footprint, later identified as a size twelve shoe, was found on the ground around the victim” (Cleveland Torso Murders). The police found a lead on the footprint for the killer, but there was no further evidence that could be submissible. This made this more difficult moving forward because of the fact that there was no

This specific murder helped connect leads and motives to unmask the killer. In September of 1935, “Two teenagers wandering through Kingsbury Run came across the body of a man stripped nude save for a pair of socks. Washed clean and drained of blood, the man’s wrists showed signs of rope burn. Both his head and genitalia had been removed. Lucky for police, the victim could be identified via fingerprints as Edward Andrassy—a drifter who had prior arrests”(Casale). Edward Andrassy helped provide a motive for the police to identify. Dolezal really pursued the lower ranks of society to attack his victims. Maybe Dolezal had certain views of those people behind his killings. Not a far distance away, “From Andrassy remains were those of another male victim. A bit older, he had also been decapitated and fully castrated. This corpse, however, had likely been dead for far longer, and his skin was covered in the same chemical burn as the Lady of the Lake from 1934”(Casale). The second half of this double murder helped put the pieces together and connect a previous important murder. The male of this murder could not be identified, however it contributed to finding Dolezal for both murders including others as well. It is important to recognize these murders because it is vital in the