Shoe Fetish/Lust Killer: Jerry Brudos Part II

 

Karen Elena Sprinker

Sprinker was an 18-year-old Oregon State University chemistry student abducted at gunpoint from a parking lot outside a Meier & Frank department store while en route to meet her mother for lunch on March 27, 1969. Brudos — dressed in women's clothing at the time of this abduction — had impulsively driven his station wagon into the parking lot after observing a young woman wearing high-heeled shoes and a miniskirt at this location. Having parked his car and attempted to chase this individual, Brudos soon lost sight of her. En route back to his vehicle, he observed Sprinker exiting her car and walking toward the department store. She was forced at gunpoint to enter his vehicle and accompany him to his home, with Brudos promising not to harm her.

According to Brudos, Sprinker repeatedly pleaded with him not to hurt her, adding that once taken inside his workshop she stated she would do anything he wanted provided he did not kill her. In response, Brudos asked if she was a virgin; Sprinker replied she was, adding she was experiencing her period. Brudos then forced her to undress before proceeding to rape her on the workshop floor. Sprinker was then forced to pose in differing high-heeled shoes and underwear as Brudos photographed her.

Brudos then bound Sprinker's hands behind her back before placing a rope around her neck. He then asked her if the rope was too tight; Sprinker replied that it was. In response, he threw the rope over a ceiling beam and pulled, causing Sprinker to be winched from the ground, whereupon she "kicked a little and died".

Over the following hours, Brudos repeatedly engaged in acts of necrophilia with Sprinker's body; he also severed her breasts so he could form plastic molds with the organs. That evening, Sprinker's body was lashed to a six-cylinder engine component and thrown into the Willamette River.

Attempted abductions

In April 1969, Brudos attempted to abduct two young women on consecutive days. Both escaped and reported their ordeal to authorities. The first of these women, 24-year-old motorist Sharon Wood, encountered Brudos in the basement stairwell of a parking garage in Portland on April 21, 1969. Wood later recalled feeling a tapping motion on her shoulder, only to turn around to observe Brudos pointing a pistol at her face and ordering her not to scream.

Although Brudos attempted to restrain the young woman with an armlock, Wood fiercely fought her assailant by both biting and kicking him and twisting his wrist as she attempted to divert the pistol muzzle away from herself and toward her attacker while simultaneously biting deeply into Brudos's hand, causing him to slam her head into the concrete floor before fleeing the scene.

The following day, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, Gloria Jean Smith, was forced at gunpoint to accompany Brudos to a green Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, with Brudos informing her: "I want you to come with me. I won't hurt you ... I won't rape you." He then grabbed the rear of Smith's coat and forced her to accompany him, but agreed to the child's request to let go of her coat as she walked alongside him. When Smith observed a woman working on her front lawn, she yelled and ran towards the woman, causing Brudos to flee from the scene.

Smith described her abductor as being in his early thirties, approximately 6 ft (1.83 m) in height, weighing 200 pounds and wearing dark glasses. All known sex offenders matching this description were investigated, but eliminated as suspects.

Linda Dawn Salee

Salee was a 22-year-old removal firm secretary and part-time Portland State University student from Beaverton, Oregon, whom Brudos abducted from the grounds of the Lloyd Center shopping mall late in the afternoon of April 23, 1969. Salee had purchased a pair of slacks and a watchband as birthday gifts for her fiancé from the mall and was returning to her vehicle when approached by Brudos, who deceived her into believing he was a police officer by displaying a fake police badge and informing her she was being arrested for shoplifting. Although Salee protested her innocence, she agreed to accompany Brudos to his vehicle, where she was informed she was being kidnapped for ransom.

Brudos then drove toward his home; he parked inside his garage and ordered Salee to follow him across the yard to his home, believing his wife and children to be with relatives. At this moment, his wife appeared on the porch to inform him she had prepared the family dinner. In response, Brudos — over ten feet from the porch — signaled to Salee to stand still. He informed his wife he would be in the house in a few moments, then returned Salee to the garage, where she was bound with cord. Brudos then entered the house alone to eat with his family.

Upon returning to the garage, Brudos discovered Salee had freed herself from her binds, but had made no further efforts to escape. She attempted to resist his immediate efforts to place a leather strap around her neck and "pull her off her feet" — asking the question, "Why are you doing this to me?" Salee then began to scratch and kick Brudos as he lifted her from the ground by the leather strap, although she soon became unconscious. Brudos then proceeded to strangle Salee to death as he raped her.

Salee's body was then hung by the neck upon the same workshop pulley as Brudos had his previous two victims; he then placed a hypodermic needle into her rib cage beneath each armpit through which he ran an electrical current in an effort to animate her body. Disappointed the experiment failed to produce dancing- or seizure-like symptoms but simply singed her flesh at the point of entry, Brudos rapidly abandoned this experiment. He retained Salee's body for twenty-four hours, engaging in necrophilia on one occasion, before binding her body to a vehicle gearbox and discarding her in the Willamette River.

Although Brudos created a mold of Salee's breasts, he did not mutilate this section of her body as he had with previous victims as he believed her nipple areolae were too pink.

Discoveries

On May 10, 1969, two fishermen discovered what they believed to be a large parcel floating beneath the surface of the water in a shallow section of the Long Tom River. Upon closer inspection, they discovered the parcel was actually the bound, bloated body of a young woman, clad in a coat, weighed down by a large gearbox with copper wiring twisted in a manner in which electricians trim electrical lines. The body was identified as that of Linda Salee. Due to the extent of decomposition, a subsequent autopsy was unable to determine whether she had been raped, although the coroner did rule her death as being due to strangulation. In addition, her autopsy revealed needle marks encircled by burning on each side of her rib cage close to her armpits, which had evidently been inflicted after death.

Two days later, an underwater search and recovery unit discovered the body of Karen Sprinker approximately 20 yards from where Salee's body had been found. Her body was similarly weighted to the river bed — in this case by a six-cylinder head — and she had been bound with precisely the same cord and copper wire as Salee's body had been. Sprinker's autopsy determined she had died of either smothering or strangulation, and both her breasts had been severed from her body after death. Although Sprinker was discovered wearing the same green skirt and sweater she had worn on the day of her disappearance, the size 38 D bra upon her body was many sizes too large for her, and had been stuffed with brown paper toweling in an apparent effort to simulate a much larger breast size.

Investigation

The most predominant factors in linking the deaths of Salee and Sprinker to the same perpetrator were the facts both young women had been bound with the same brand of electrical flex and that both had been weighted with car components, suggesting their murderer may have been an electrician or mechanic. In an effort to trace the origin of the auto components, several officers questioned employees and proprietors of all garages and junkyards in western Oregon. Upon formally identifying both women, investigators also began questioning their family members and acquaintances.

Police questioning of Sprinker's fellow students at Oregon State University revealed several female students had received phone calls in recent months from a man claiming to be a Vietnam veteran who had asked to take them on dates. This man had used various aliases. Almost all had either refused or simply hung up the phone; however, one had recently taken a degree of pity and allowed the man to take her on a date. She described this man as being Caucasian, in his late twenties or early thirties, slightly overweight, with thinning "blondish-red" hair and freckles; his vehicle had been a dirty station wagon "with kids' clothes in it", leading her to believe he had actually been married.

The date itself had been a largely unpleasant experience, and Brudos had sensed the student's increasing unease in his presence, at one point indicating she had reason to be wary, stating: "Think of those two girls who were found in the river." Upon driving her home at the end of the date, he had asked her why she had changed her mind and agreed to accompany him, to which she replied she had been curious. According to the student, Brudos replied: "How did you know I wouldn't take you to the river and strangle you?"

Suspect

Despite her desire to never accompany Brudos on another date, the student had not outwardly told him of this intention, and investigators asked her to contact them if this man ever again called her to ask for a date. The girl agreed. One week after the discovery of Salee's body, on May 18, Brudos again contacted the young woman; he was arrested as he walked toward the agreed rendezvous that evening.

Brudos provided police with his correct name, age and occupation, but gave a false address. With no legal basis to detain him, he was soon released from custody, although a background check revealed his history of physical and sexual violence towards women and a search of vehicle database records revealed he had resided in the district of Portland where Linda Slawson had last been seen alive and, upon discovering Brudos's actual address, investigators discovered he currently resided just blocks from the department store where Karen Sprinker had been abducted. Furthermore, although Brudos did not drive a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, investigators discovered his mother owned such a vehicle and that he had been in possession of the car on April 22 — the date of the attempted abduction of Gloria Smith. Smith herself positively identified Brudos as the man who had attempted to abduct her. This information was deemed sufficient probable cause to obtain a search warrant of Brudos's property.

Search of Brudos's property

Eight days after Brudos's initial arrest, on May 26, a search of his property was conducted. Stowed within his garage, authorities discovered a large cache of women's lingerie and footwear, a list of phone numbers of sorority houses and college girls' living quarters and numerous Polaroid photographs of young women — some alive; some obviously deceased. Almost all the photographs had been taken within Brudos's garage, including several depicting a deceased woman hanging from the garage pulley with a mirror laid horizontally upon the floor directly beneath her feet. In one image, the reflection within the mirror depicted Brudos holding his Polaroid — indicating he had taken the photographs. One of the individuals depicted in these photographs was rapidly identified as Karen Sprinker; she was depicted standing nude save for high-heeled slippers with an expression of stern fear, contemplation and/or apparent resignation on her face. A severed female breast, coated with epoxy, was also discovered upon a mantel in the living room.

Police also discovered a coil of copper wiring determined to be of precisely the same type used to bind the bodies of Linda Salee and Karen Sprinker to engine components prior to their disposal in the Long Tom River. One length of rope confiscated by investigators was tied in precisely the same manner used to bind the victims' bodies. In addition, numerous engine components were scattered and stowed around the garage. These discoveries were deemed sufficient to place Brudos under constant surveillance.

Arrest

By May 29, 1969, investigators had amassed sufficient evidence relating to the attempted abduction of Gloria Smith to arrest Brudos for this offense as inquiries into the murders continued. He was discovered by highway patrol officers hiding beneath a blanket in the rear of the family station wagon as his wife drove the vehicle toward Portland. The following evening, Brudos placed a phone call to his wife asking her to destroy further incriminating evidence, although his wife refused this request.

Following this second arrest, Brudos was extensively questioned with regards to developments pertaining to the discoveries within his garage and his connection with regards to the missing and murdered young women — three of whom investigators had positively identified as Whitney, Sprinker, and Salee. He initially denied involvement with any of the cases — dismissing the evidence as circumstantial — before, after several days, gradually divulging his erotic fetishes and outlining how deeply ingrained they had become within his psyche and subsequently severely impacted his daily life.

Confession

By early June, Brudos had provided investigators with a full confession to all four murders, which he subsequently outlined for police and, later, psychologists. He began by outlining the opportunistic murder of Linda Slawson (whose name he was unable to recollect), which had not been linked to him and which he admitted had been instigated largely because of the attractive high-heeled shoes the young woman had been wearing when she had accidentally entered his property to sell encyclopedias, before outlining each of his subsequent murders and attempted abductions.

Although Brudos acknowledged ultimate responsibility for his crimes, he remained somewhat resistant when questioned with regards to aspects of reasoning and premeditation, simply stating at one stage, "There must be something wrong with me." He denied harboring a hatred of women, but admitted the act of killing enabled him to "let off steam". The psychiatrists who examined Brudos concluded he was unable to achieve satisfaction from normal intercourse and that the overriding motive behind his crimes was lust, adding that, even in cases where Brudos had killed women he had encountered in moments of opportunism, he had known he would ultimately murder his victim.

Photographs Brudos had taken of two of his victims were conclusively matched to the victims discovered in the Long Tom River, and his description of Whitney and her abduction matched sufficiently the circumstances surrounding her November 1968 abduction to identify her as his second murder victim, although Slawson initially remained known as a Jane Doe. He was appointed an attorney named Dale Drake and an arraignment hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 4, 1969.

Formal charges

Brudos was formally charged with the murders of Whitney, Sprinker and Salee on June 4. In response to an entered plea of not guilty by reason of insanity at his initial arraignment, Brudos was subjected to a battery of psychiatric examinations by several doctors who unanimously concluded that he was sane and thus competent to stand trial. As such, Brudos was informed his trial was to be held on June 30.

Conviction

On June 27, 1969, three days before his trial was scheduled to commence, Brudos formally entered a plea of guilty to three counts of first-degree murder before Marion County Circuit Court Judge Val D. Sloper; he was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life imprisonment with possibility of parole, to be served in Oregon State Penitentiary. Brudos repeatedly appealed his conviction, although every appeal was unsuccessful.

Despite Brudos's insistence his wife had known nothing about any of his crimes and his insistence he had forced her to drive the family station wagon from their home on the date of his arrest as he hid within the vehicle, on August 7, 1969, Ralphene Brudos was formally indicted for the first-degree murder of Karen Sprinker. These charges were initially filed in relation to an eyewitness account from an individual who claimed to have seen Brudos's wife assisting him in forcing a blanket-covered young woman into their property on the date of Sprinker's disappearance. Ralphene denied all knowledge of the crime, and the eyewitness's account was refuted by other witnesses at her September 1969 trial. She was acquitted of all charges the following month.

Incarceration

In the years following his incarceration, Brudos became a model prisoner. Assigned clerical duties by the 1970s, he later utilized his electronics skills to maintain the prison's computer record system and install a cable television network in addition to being entrusted with stocking, repairing, and maintaining the prison vending machines. As a convicted sex offender, Brudos is known to have endured several physical assaults by fellow inmates, although in each instance, he refused to name his assailants.

 

Brudos was also permitted to order mail-order catalogs depicting women modeling high-heeled shoes and underwear; he used this material to fuel his erotic and masturbatory fantasies.

Aftermath

Brudos attended numerous parole hearings throughout his confinement, although family members of his victims repeatedly attended these scheduled parole hearings in which they requested he remain incarcerated for the duration of his life; he was informed on June 21, 1995, that he would spend the remainder of his life in prison. Nonetheless, Brudos continued to attend informal parole hearings every two years for the remainder of his life.

While incarcerated, Brudos granted several interviews to numerous individuals of varying professions. One of these individuals was a former Marion County detective named Jim Byrnes, who later recollected a conversation between himself and Brudos regarding compassion and remorse in which he asked the question: "Do you feel some remorse, Jerry? Do you feel sorry for your victims, for the girls who died?" In response, Brudos picked up a section of paper from the table between the two; he crunched the section of paper into a ball, then threw the ball onto the floor, replying: "That much ... I care about those girls as much as I care about that piece of wadded-up paper." Psychiatrist Michael H. Stone identified Brudos as having a psychopathic personality, noting his callousness and lack of remorse for his crimes.

Brudos died of liver cancer while incarcerated within the Oregon State Penitentiary at 5:10 a.m. on March 28, 2006. At the time of his death, he was 67 years old and the longest incarcerated inmate in the Oregon Department of Corrections, having served a total of almost 37 years' imprisonment.

Upon receipt of news of Brudos's death, the younger sister of Jan Whitney informed a reporter: "As soon as I heard he was dead, I started crying, and it wasn't for him; it was for our family. He put our family through hell. You're never really the same." This sentiment was echoed by one of the detectives assigned to the case, James Stovall, who stated: "I'm satisfied he has died ... it's just good riddance. He was a true monster."

Shortly after Brudos's arrest, his wife, Ralphene, was charged with being an accessory to murder in one of her husband's crimes, despite his insistence his wife held no knowledge of any of his abductions and murders. The Brudos children were taken into state care, and Theresa Brudos (age 7) was later instructed to undergo questioning at her mother's upcoming trial.

Following her October 1969 acquittal, Ralphene Brudos regained custody of her children. She divorced and ultimately severed all contact with her husband, changed her name and relocated to an undisclosed state, although Brudos professed his love for her for the remainder of his life.

Brudos was never brought to trial for the murder of Linda Slawson. Though he confessed to Slawson's murder and several Polaroid photographs discovered in his garage corroborated his admissions to have photographed her appendages, he was never tried for her murder due to insufficient real evidence because although Brudos had retained photographs of her lower legs, ankles, and feet, he had not photographed other areas of her body after death. As such, the photographs could not be proven to have been taken in life or death.

Jan Whitney's body was found submerged in the Willamette River close to Independence, Oregon, exactly one month after Brudos's conviction. Her body was recovered approximately one mile downstream from the location Brudos had indicated to investigators he had disposed of her body, and was identified via dental records. The body of Linda Slawson was never found.

Media

Literature

Rule, Ann (1994). Lust Killer. New York: Signet Books. ISBN 0-4511-6687-6.

Television

Most Evil S01E06 "Deadly Desires" (2006). Narrated by Tim Hopper, this episode was first broadcast in August 2006.

Jerome Brudos: The Lust Killer (2008). Directed by Jeffrey Woods, this hour-long documentary was first broadcast in June 2008.

Most Evil Killers S05E03 "Jerry Brudos" (2021). Narrated by Fred Dinenage, this episode was first broadcast in February 2021.

Notes

 According to Brudos, he still had only a basic knowledge of sexual intercourse at the time he constructed this tunnel, and his purpose in constructing the lair was not to rape his captive — he simply wished to possess a young female.

 Brudos's justifications to his wife for forbidding his family from entering the garage workshop were that his Polaroid photographs were developed in this location and he did not wish the photographic development process to be compromised in addition to the tools of his mechanical and engineering occupations being a safety hazard for his family.

 Slawson had begun selling encyclopedias door to door following her 1967 high school graduation in order to fund her college education.

 Slawson's body was never found.

 Subsequent police inquiries revealed a man dressed in female clothing had been seen loitering in the vicinity of the department store parking lot on the morning of Sprinker's disappearance. Brudos would later confess to being this individual.

 Brudos's wife and children were not present in the family home on this date.

 This incident occurred upon or shortly after sunset. Ralphene Brudos would later insist she had not seen Salee behind her husband. The layout from the garage workshop to the porch of the Brudos household would have obscured Salee from Ralphene's peripheral vision for much of the route from the garage workshop to the household porch.

 Brudos would later inform investigators his inspiration for performing this experiment upon Salee's corpse sourced from a near-fatal incident dating from 1967 in which he had accidentally electrocuted himself in the basement of the house in which he had previously resided.

 The Long Tom River is a tributary of the Willamette River.

 Two months prior to the discoveries of Salee and Sprinker, a fisherman had discovered the decomposed body of a 15-year-old Forest Grove girl named Stephanie Vilcko in Gales Creek. Vilcko had been missing since July 27, 1968. The circumstances surrounding Vilcko's disappearance, murder and discovery initially led investigators to connect her death to those of Salee and Sprinker. Her death was later determined to be unrelated to the case.