David Van Dyke

David Allen Van Dyke (born January 14, 1959) is an American serial killer who bludgeoned, beat, and stabbed six people to death at their residences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between July 1979 and April 1980. He was arrested in May 1980 after an attempted burglary and subsequently connected to the murders through fingerprints. He was convicted of the murders in 1981 and received six terms of life imprisonment as well as an additional 40 years. He is now imprisoned at a maximum security penitentiary in Waupun.

Early life Van Dyke was born on January 14, 1959. One of five children, he was raised by his grandmother until she died when he was six. He then moved in with his mother, who had trouble raising him. He refused to attend school, dropping out after seventh grade; broke windows; beat up weaker children; threatened his niece with a knife; and often threatened to harm his mother. Additionally, he stole money from his mother's purse and paid stronger children not to beat him up. He also used the money to buy a canary, which he strangled to death while laughing. Van Dyke was often teased about his obesity. He once punched a woman for calling him a fat pig. However, he later lost 40 pounds through a weight reduction program. As an adult, Van Dyke never held a job. He earned about $600 a month as a pool shark and a burglar. He often lived in cars and abandoned buildings. In April 1979, he was paroled for a burglary conviction.

Crimes Between July 1979 and April 1980, Van Dyke murdered four women and two men at their residences in the same area of northern Milwaukee. Gaining entry into his victims homes by asking to use their telephone or bathroom,

Van Dyke's first victim, 69-year-old Della Mae Liggens, was stabbed to death on July 19, 1979.

On August 10, 1979, Van Dyke stabbed 78-year-old Florence Burkard in her North Side home 43 times with a pair of scissors, the fatal wound being to her heart. Her body was discovered by two volunteers of a service organization for the elderly, who were there to deliver her a hot meal. Although the attack began in her kitchen, Burkard's body was found at the bottom of her basement stairs.

Van Dyke beat 79-year-old Helen Wronski to death in the living room of her East Side home. He then covered her body with a sheet and walked into her bedroom, where he rummaged through the drawers of her dresser. However, he did not steal anything from there. Her body was discovered by her son on November 9, 1979, and she had last been seen alive one day earlier. Investigators found partial fingerprints, but failed to match them to any known suspects.

Arrest and prosecution Investigators linked the murders together, and compared the fingerprints found at the two murder scenes to every local burglary suspect. On May 23, 1980, Van Dyke was arrested for an attempted burglary and his fingerprints matched. He was subsequently taken to an interrogation room and questioned for hours until he confessed, at times crying. He was charged with six counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of armed robbery. At the time, Van Dyke was sentenced to the longest term in state history, surpassing mass murderer Douglas Dean, who had been given five life sentences. He is now imprisoned at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin. He will be eligible for parole in 2048, when he is 89-years-old.