John Rodney McRae

John Rodney McRae (November 20, 1934 – June 28, 2005) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. McRae was officially convicted of two sexually motivated murders of young boys, one committed when he was 15, but is the prime suspect in at least three more. He never admitted his guilt and died in prison while serving a life sentence. In 1948, McRae and a friend ran away from home, for which missing persons reports were filed, only to later be found in an auto repair shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where McRae had been working as a day laborer. Housey's jugular vein and carotid artery, as well as blood vessels on both wrists, had been slashed with a dull paring knife, after which he had been hit on the head several times with a rock. Like most local teenagers, he was interrogated by the officers as part of procedure, but quickly became a suspect after he alleged that he "accidentally" discovered the location of a beam headlight Housey had been playing with the day he disappeared. McRae also stated that shortly before he escaped, he had confessed the killing to his mother and father, who later confirmed this claim. At the request of his attorney, a psychiatric exam was conducted in late October of that year, which found him to be completely sane and aware of his actions. Later on, when reporters asked him for comments, he simply said: "I'm disgusted, that's all." During his incarceration, he never exhibited violent tendencies, was never disciplined and was considered a model prisoner. McRae was paroled from prison on February 2, 1972, after spending 21 years behind bars. He then moved to Crystal, Michigan with his mother where, with the support of his mother, he soon found housing and work. In 1973, he married Barbara Ann Heckman, who gave birth to his son Martin in 1974. The following year, McRae was finally allowed to leave Michigan, moving to Brevard County, Florida, to work as a guard at a juvenile detention facility.

For the remainder of his stay in Florida, McRae came under police suspicion several times in connection with the disappearances of local children. On April 28, 1977, 13-year-old Keith Fleming vanished from Cocoa Beach after last being seen on the highway near a beach, just a few hundred yards from McRae's house. The teenager was a close friend of McRae's son and had even visited his trailer a few times. McRae was questioned, but at the time, no evidence implicating him was found. Months after Laufer vanished, McRae and his family left Michigan and moved to Mesa, Arizona.

In August 1997, Clinton Goodenow, a hired hand who was digging a hole to get rid of junk on McRae's property, found the skeletal remains of what appeared to be a young boy. His attorneys appealed the decision on the grounds that McRae had been provided ineffective assistance counsel, which the court granted. Again, he was found guilty, and was re-sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Death In the early 2000s, McRae began having health problems, eventually being diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. On June 28, 2005, just thirteen days after the conclusion of his retrial, he died from complications relating to his ailment at the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility in Jackson.