Tracy Housel

Tracy Lee Housel (May 7, 1958 – March 12, 2002) was a Bermudian-American murderer and serial killer. Convicted and later executed for murdering a woman in Norcross, Georgia, during a six-week crime spree across four states, Housel was also responsible for at least two other murders and two non-fatal attacks. Shortly before his execution, Housel confessed that he had killed 17 people in his lifetime, a claim which remains uncorroborated.

His case and subsequent execution sparked controversy, as the British government and several advocacy groups attempted to have Housel's death sentence commuted due to his dual nationality and alleged diminished responsibility.

Crimes Confirmed Salinas robbery Housel's first notable crime occurred on March 16, 1984, when he robbed 27-year-old Sophia Love Lewis in Salinas, California. He had invited her over to a motel, where he then threatened her with a knife and stole $100 and left. Lewis was able to give a detailed description of him and his vehicle, leading to his arrest only hours later. After spending most of the night drinking together, he sodomized and then bludgeoned Smith to death with a hammer, before dumping his body at a Union 76 outside Rose City. Housel offered to drive him there, but on the way, he pulled out a knife and stabbed Kennedy four times, cut his throat and then left him to bleed out in a ditch near the I-80, stealing his car and wallet beforehand.

Just three days later, on April 6, Housel found himself at a Union 76 in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where he began conversing with 44-year-old Carolyn Jean Dellinger Drew, a local woman who sometimes sought to speak to strangers to alleviate her loneliness. After leaving the bar together, Housel brought Drew to a driveway in Norcross, where he proceeded to rape, strangle and then beat her to death with a stick. He then stole Drew's credit card and 1981 silver Ford Mustang, and drove to Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was arrested on April 15 after attempting to pay a bill using her credit card. While inspecting his belongings, officers noticed that Housel was missing a ring he was known to wear on one of his fingers, which was later found next to the body of Jean Drew.

Disproven and suspected Soon after his arrest, investigators from states around the country began inquiries to see if they could connect Housel to any recent unsolved crimes in their area. As he was last known to reside in Tulare, California, authorities initially suspected that he might be involved in the murder of 44-year-old Dixie Lee Ricks, who had been sexually assaulted and strangled in Visalia on January 28. While the murder shared similarities with that of Drew, investigators were unable to place Housel in the vicinity of the crime and the case went unsolved at the time.

Two other murders for which Housel was investigated took place in Tulare: the 1981 murder of Michael James Morgan and the 1983 murder of Eligio "Eli" Zamorano. On December 30, 1981, 31-year-old Morgan, a truck driver from Lakeside, was resting at a Travelodge when he answered a knock on his door and was fatally stabbed in the heart by an unknown assailant. The latter murder took place on October 31, 1983, when the 29-year-old Zamorano, the head cook of a local Vejar's, was stabbed and beaten to death under unclear circumstances.

Trial and death sentence While he had outstanding warrants on various charges in four states, it was first decided that Housel would be tried in Georgia, where the Gwinnett County District Attorney Tom Lawler was seeking the death penalty against him.

During trial proceedings, the prosecution procured a tape in which Housel willingly confessed and described in detail how he carried out his crimes, with him crying during the recording and whilst it was being played in the courtroom. Notably, he claimed that Kennedy had made unwanted sexual advances at him and that he had stabbed him in self-defense. As a result, Justice George Culpepper sentenced Housel to death, as well as 20 years imprisonment on the theft charge. Upon hearing the verdict, Housel sat down in his chair and began to cry. Among them were Labour MP for Redcar Vera Baird, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and attorney Clive Stafford Smith, who argued that Housel - a dual British-American national born in Paget Parish, Bermuda - should be spared because of his abusive childhood, severe case of hypoglycemia and his lawyer's many mistakes during his original trial. His last words consisted of his apologizing to his victim's family, his mother, and ultimately mouthing the Lord's Prayer.