Robert Berdella (January 31,
1949 – October 8, 1992) was an American serial killer in Kansas City,
Missouri
who raped, tortured and killed at least six men between 1984
and 1987.
Early life
He was
enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute
from 1967 to 1969. During this time he was
convicted but received a suspended sentence for selling
amphetamines. He was later arrested for possession of LSD and
marijuana but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. In
1969 he bought the house at 4315 Charlotte which would be the scene
of the crimes. He worked as a chef and eventually opened Bob’s
Bizarre Bazaar.
Crimes
Berdella was apprehended in the spring of 1988 after a victim he
had been torturing for a week jumped naked from the second story of
his house and escaped. Berdella had detailed torture logs and large
numbers of
Polaroid pictures he had taken
of his victims. Volumes of pictures were recovered by the Kansas
City Police Department, and remain in their possession. He claimed
that he was trying to "help" some of his victims by giving them
antibiotics after torturing them. He tried to gouge one of his
victims eyes out, all 'to see what would happen'. He buried one
victim's skull in his backyard, and put the dismembered bodies out
for the weekly trash pickup. The bodies were never recovered but
left in the landfill.
He claimed that
the film
version of
John Fowles'
The Collector, in which the
protagonist kidnaps and imprisons a young woman,
had been his inspiration when he was a teenager.
Victims
| Name |
Age |
Date of disappearance |
| Jerry Howell |
20 |
July 5, 1984 |
| Robert Sheldon |
18 |
April 19, 1984 |
| Mark Wallace |
20 |
June 22, 1985 |
| James Ferris |
20 |
September 26, 1985 |
| Todd Stoops |
21 |
June 17, 1986 |
| Larry Pearson |
20 |
July 9, 1987 |
|
Employment
Berdella owned and operated a novelty shop in the Westport Flea
Market/Bar & Grill in Kansas City, Missouri. He named his booth
"Bob’s Bazaar Bizarre" and catered to
occult-type tastes.
Death
Berdella died of a
heart
attack in 1992 after writing letters to a minister claiming the
prison officials were not giving him his heart medication. His
death was never investigated.
Film
The Northeast Film Group released a feature film based on Bob
Berdella in September 2009.
Chicago
death metal band Macabre's song
"Diary of Torture" on the
Murder Metal
album is about Robert Berdella, and gives details of his abductions
and killings.
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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