Miami Strangler

The Miami Strangler is the name attributed to an unidentified serial killer who murdered at least nine women in Miami, Florida, between 1964 and 1970. Despite the nickname, not all victims were strangled, and some died from bludgeoning and smothering. Although no victim was directly sexually assaulted, the murders appear sexually motivated given how the victims were posed. Investigators had a suspect in the case, a felon, but he was never charged in any of the crimes.

Murders On August 17, 1964, Mary E. McGreevy, 64, was smothered to death in her home with a pillow.

Six months later, at about 9:00 p.m. on March 8, 1965, 38-year-old Sylvia Valdez left her workplace, walked to the parking lot and discovered her car had a flat tire. At 10:30 p.m., a parking lot attendant changed the tire and saw Valdez speak with two Cuban men as he walked away. Valdez was found dead in her car the next morning. A black silk scarf was wrapped around her neck, and her skirt was pulled over her head. She was also shot twice behind the right ear with a .22 caliber pistol. Although her purse, shoes, and car keys were stolen, the perpetrator did not steal other valuable items such as her diamond ring. It was determined that Valdez had not been sexually assaulted.

Sherivon Dolores Wooten, a 21-year-old woman, was the next victim. On August 16, 1969, her dead body was found on a dirt road between two homes. Like the previous victims, she was strangled to death, and her clothes were hiked over her breasts. There were also fingernail marks on her neck. Wooten was last seen leaving her house the night before her body was found.

On May 5, 1970, 64-year-old Mary Louise Clark Danford was found strangled to death in her home by worried friends who came to check on her after she stopped answering phone calls. Danford was found on her bed with her sweater pushed up and her underwear missing. She was last seen buying groceries a few hours earlier. The perpetrator entered the home through a small window.

Investigation Police linked the murders through their similarities. All but one of the victims were white; the crimes occurred in downtown Miami; the victims died from either strangulation, smothering, or bludgeoning; and the murders appeared sexually motivated. Investigators believed that the perpetrator was a sexual sadist with a fetish for attacking vulnerable women alone in their homes. However, the perpetrator's modus operandi was inconsistent, and he did not always exhibit the same behaviors in every murder.

Police questioned Calvin Jones Jr., a truck driver who had been recently released from prison following a conviction for his fourth felony. Jones was the parking lot attendant that changed Sylvia Valdez's tire and also knew Patrice Newkirk. However, Jones was never charged with any of the murders.