Bruce Alan Davis

Bruce Alan Davis (September 3, 1948 – December 12, 1988) was an American serial killer who was convicted of killing three people in Illinois and the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1982, but confessed to thirty additional murders committed across the country. A majority of these confessed crimes were never confirmed, and Davis later hanged himself while serving his life term.

Biography Little is known of Davis' early life. He was born on September 3, 1948, in Toledo, Ohio, but his family moved to rural Fayette County, West Virginia, in the early 1950s. In 1961, the 13-year-old Davis became the victim of sexual abuse, from which he developed an intense hatred towards pedophiles and homosexuals.

Aside from this incident, he was renowned for his passions for music and singing, to which he was so dedicated that his schoolwork suffered as a result. Because of this, Davis decided to drop out of school and move to New York City, where he settled in Manhattan and planned to become a singer. While he managed to graduate from Washington Irving High School, he failed to kickstart a profitable career and instead became a drifter who survived by doing low-skilled labor, odd jobs and the occasional petty thefts. At the trial, his attorneys convinced the jury that the killing was not premeditated, due to which Davis was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with a chance of parole after five years.

While serving his sentence, prosecutors from Chicago charged him with the murder of 44-year-old Reverend Carlo Barlassina, who was killed in a hotel on June 29, 1971, and several checks and $1,000 were stolen from him.

Escape from Menard During his incarceration, Davis was considered a model inmate due to his good behavior and participation in various rehabilitation programs. Due to this, he had his sentence reduced in the early 1980s, and was even allowed to work as a loader and handyman on the prison farm on a sector with minimal security. Using this to his advantage, he attempted to escape on October 24, 1982, by cutting a hole in the prison fence and breaking through it. On the way, he used an axe to kill 52-year-old Joseph Cushman, a warden, before stealing his truck and escaping the prison.

Arrest and confessions In the days following his escape, Davis fled to Smithers, West Virginia, but was soon arrested on October 31 after he was caught attempting to steal a car. At the same time, other parts of his claims were questioned: for example, he claimed that he had either wounded or killed four gay men in separate incidents near the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington County, but investigators were unable to uncover any such cases. According to Davis himself, he spent most of his free time frequenting neighborhoods and gay bars where, using his good looks and charm, he convinced patrons to let him stay at their apartments before inevitably killing them. In mid-November 1982, Daniel F. McMahon, a detective with the NYPD, confirmed that Davis had indeed provided details only the killer would have known. Because of this, he was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. He was never charged with any additional murders.

After his conviction, Davis was transferred to the Chester Mental Health Center, the state's only maximum-security psychiatric facility. While he received proper treatment and medication, his mental state continued to rapidly decline. On December 12, 1988, Davis was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself through improvised means.