William Guatney

William J. "Freight Train" Guatney (February 14, 1922 – March 31, 1996) was an American criminal and suspected serial killer who was accused of killing 15 boys in four states from 1969 to 1981. A drifter who frequently traveled by train, Guatney confessed to three murders after his arrest, but was deemed unfit to stand trial and detained at a mental institution until his death.

Early life William J. Guatney was born on February 14, 1922, in Pekin, Illinois. His birth mother abandoned him shortly after his birth and he was soon adopted by Bert and Ruby Guatney, inheriting their surname. Guatney spent his childhood and youth in small, rural communities in Kansas such as Fredonia and Treece, where his father worked in the coal mines.

In late 1933, his adoptive father became very ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia, from complications of which he died on January 24, 1935, at only 35 years of age. The death greatly affected Guatney, who soon left Treece and moved in with his grandparents, after which he lived in the house of his brother and his wife for some time. As he lacked a formal education, he resorted to doing low-skilled labor and changed numerous occupations. From 1937 onward, owing to his alcohol addiction, he was jailed on numerous occasions for theft, public drunkenness, passing bad checks and indecent exposure.

In 1942, Guatney was drafted into the Army, and for the next two years, he fought in several locations across Europe in a tank division.

Beginning in the late 1950s, Guatney severely limited his relationships with acquaintances and social contact with his relatives, most of whom knew nothing of his fate for 20 years. During this period he maintained relationships only with his brother and his wife, occasionally visiting them at their house in Neosho Falls, Kansas. The pair had gone missing on August 30, 1975, after attending the Nebraska State Fair – Surber's body was found nine days later south of the fair's grounds, his body bearing multiple stab wounds. Simpson's body was found in a closed hopper car on September 22. The investigation revealed that the wagon had been moved by a railroad train to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and then returned to Lincoln a few days later. Following his arrest, he was extradited to Topeka, Kansas, where he was charged with the murder of 12-year-old John Hanrahan Jr., who was killed on May 20, 1979, shortly after leaving a bowling club.

After pleading not guilty, Guatney was extradited to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was charged with the murders of Surber and Simpson. He was also among the prime suspects for the murder of 9-year-old Mark Helmig in his hometown of Pekin, Illinois, as well as the murder of 14-year-old Marty Lancaster near the fairgrounds in Normal. During interviews with friends and acquaintances, several of them corroborated his testimony, stating that shortly before his arrest, Guatney had told them he had mental health issues and that an alter ego was killing young boys.

In spite of this diagnosis, however, Guatney's mental state began to rapidly deteriorate in mid-1981. Psychiatrists conducted various tests on him and determined that he suffered from delusions and, as a consequence, had trouble differentiating reality from fiction. Guatney gradually developed delusions and then hallucinations, leading his attorneys to petition for a new trial in August. This was granted yet again, and when he was examined for a second time at the Lincoln Regional Center on September 2, Guatney was found to be unfit to stand trial. As a result, all charges against him were dismissed on the grounds of insanity.

Guatney was interned at a mental facility in December 1981, but escaped from it just two weeks later. He was found wandering near some railroad tracks on December 17, and quickly returned to the facility. The staff and management were charged with dereliction of duty, after which, by court order, Guatney was once again placed in the Lincoln Regional Center. In mid-1983, he managed to leave the facility undetected and resumed his previous lifestyle, but was soon arrested in Nebraska on suspicion of murder in Bellevue. Ultimately, he was ruled out, but Guatney was soon placed in a psychiatric hospital to resume treatment. He spent his last years at a mental institution in eastern Kansas, where he died on March 31, 1996. His guilt in the murders remain a subject of debate.