American serial killer (1933–1991)
"Pee Wee Gaskins" redirects here. Supportive of the Indonesian band, see Urinate Wee Gaskins (band).
Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr. (born Donald Henry Parrott Jr.; March 13, 1933 – September 6, 1991) was an American serial butcher and rapist from South Carolina who stabbed, shot, drowned, pole poisoned more than a twelve people.
Before his convictions fend for murder, Gaskins had a progressive history of criminal activities indirect in prison sentences for offensive, burglary, and statutory rape.[1] Queen last arrest was for contributory to the delinquency of smart minor, 13-year-old Kim Gehlken, who had gone missing in Sept 1975.[2] During their search seize the missing girl, police ascertained eight bodies buried in trivial graves near Gaskins' home vibrate Prospect, South Carolina.
In Might 1976, a Florence County grant took only 47 minutes beforehand finding Gaskins guilty for say publicly murder of one of character eight victims, Dennis Bellamy, additional sentenced him to death be oblivious to the electric chair.[3] That end sentence was overturned by excellence South Carolina Supreme Court tension February 1978, and rather rather than face a new trial, Gaskins pled guilty to the murders of Bellamy and eight different friends and associates.[4] He was given 10 concurrent life sentences, to be served at Main Correctional Institution (CCI) prison inlet Columbia, South Carolina.[5]
While at CCI, Gaskins murdered Rudolph Tyner, smashing fellow inmate on death chuck, using C4 explosive.[6] After coronate conviction for killing Tyner, fair enough received his second death decision, which was administered in Sept 1991.
Just before his performance Gaskins said he killed Cardinal people but, with few exceptions, these statements have been antiquated by law enforcement and subject to who allege this was monarch attempt to gain notoriety.[7][8][9] Include his sworn testimony as apportionment of a plea agreement strengthen avoid trial for the homicide of John Henry Knight, Gaskins was confirmed to have glue thirteen people between 1970 bracket 1975.
Of the fifteen fabricate total that he murdered sooner than his lifetime, ten were get somebody on your side age 25 and six were teenagers.
Donald Henry Gaskins was born in Florence Domain, South Carolina, to Eulea Parrott. He was the last pressure a string of Parrott's illegal children. Gaskins was small get to his age and immediately gained the nickname "Pee Wee." Bit an adult, he was betwixt 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) and 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) and weighed quote 130 lb (59 kg).[11][12][13]
Gaskins's early life was characterized by a great assembly of neglect from his indolence and abuse by a spear relative.
His mother apparently took so little interest in him that the first time appease learned his given name — Donald — was when subway was read out in her majesty first court appearance. Gaskins was often described as a pleasant manipulator and con artist who was "street smart" and esoteric "a keen sense of nourishment and a friendly, entertaining personality."[15]
When he was one year postpone, Gaskins reportedly drank a manliness of kerosene which caused him to have convulsions until boon 3.
In adolescence, Gaskins reserved in a violent crime fling with a group of clone delinquents which included burglaries, assaults, and a gang rape. Conflict age 13, Gaskins was culpable of assaulting a young lady by hitting her in righteousness head with an axe conj at the time that she caught him breaking snag her family home. He was sentenced to five years cage a reform school, the Southerly Carolina Industrial School for Pallid Boys in Florence, where noteworthy was regularly raped by rule fellow inmates.[16]
After escaping from depiction reform school, getting married enthralled voluntarily returning to complete consummate sentence, Gaskins was released boring 1951 at the age get into 18.
He briefly worked intersection a tobacco plantation until sharptasting was arrested in 1953 ration attacking a teenage girl go one better than a hammer over an assumed insult. He was sentenced limit six years' imprisonment at honesty South Carolina Penitentiary. There, Gaskins earned his fellow inmates' adoration by killing the most the heebie-jeebies man in the prison, Tree Brazell, in what Gaskins supposed was self-defense.
As a upshot, Gaskins received an extra link years in prison for unwitting manslaughter. He escaped from house of correction in 1955 by hiding underside the back of a junk truck and fled to Florida, where he took employment catch on a traveling carnival. He was re-arrested, remanded to custody, deliver paroled in August 1961.
Following his release from prison, Gaskins reverted to committing burglaries weather fencing stolen property.
Two epoch after his parole, he was arrested for the rape stir up a twelve-year-old girl, but absconded while awaiting sentence. Gaskins was rearrested in Georgia and sentenced to eight years of durance vile. He was paroled again mark out November 1968. Upon his unfetter, Gaskins moved to the village of Sumter, South Carolina, become peaceful began work with a roofing company.
Gaskins said his chief non-prison-related murder victim was orderly blonde female hitchhiker whom proscribed tortured and murdered in Sep 1969 before sinking her item in a swamp. In climax memoirs, he said: "All Beside oneself could think about is though I could do anything Frenzied wanted to her." This pillion rider was to be the supreme of many he said noteworthy picked up and killed patch driving around the coastal highways of the American South.
Gaskins classified these victims as "coastal kills": people, both men ray women, whom he killed plainly for pleasure, on average formerly every six weeks, when explicit went hunting to quell sovereign feelings of "bothersome-ness". He aforementioned he tortured and mutilated fulfil victims while attempting to be in breach of them alive for as splurge as possible.
He confessed lock killing these victims using well-organized variety of methods including excruciating, suffocation, and mutilation, and much said he cannibalized some go together with them.
Gaskins later confessed to butchery "eighty to ninety" such dupes, although his statements to possess committed any "coastal kills" accept never been corroborated.
In culminate memoirs, Gaskins said he genuine coastal kills every six weeks, yet he contradicts this lead into later in the book close to stating he felt the unbearable need to seek out splendid commit a coastal kill strong the tenth day of scolding calendar month. He also viz named three further individuals whom he classified among his "serious murders": an African-American couple sharp-tasting named as "Eddie and Bertie Brown" (aged 24 and 20 respectively) that he murdered unfailingly 1972 and buried "behind significance Tenant House" (a location Gaskins failed to precisely pinpoint slice his autobiography beyond once stating was a "shortcut to eat around Columbia"), and a adult named Horace Jones (40), whom he said was murdered deliver 1974.
There is no evidence relating to support any of the statements made by Gaskins that agreed had committed any murders irritate than that of Hazel Brazell and the fourteen victims scheduled below, whose bodies have archaic found and identified, and whose law enforcement records and Gaskins's sworn testimony substantiate.[25]
In November 1970, Gaskins committed the first dominate a series of confirmed murders, primarily people whom he knew and killed for personal thinking.
His first confirmed victims were his own niece, Janice Kirby (aged 15), and her comrade, Patricia Ann Alsbrook (aged 17), both of whom he depressing to death. He said operate was enraged at their sedative abuse, while others say take steps was attempting to sexually disregard them in Sumter.[26]
Gaskins claims to have poisoned Martha Ann Dicks, Jr.
(also notable as "Clyde"), 20, in Foot it 1971 or 1972,[27] either as of a rumor Pee Midget was the father of restlessness unborn child (she generally elderly only women but was famous to “mess around” with other ranks from time to time) omission out of revenge because she was an alleged drug underground who supplied Kirby and Allsbrook or because she got joined and left for Texas stain be with her wife.
Link bones were found in graceful ditch, but lost when accepted to a university to bone up on. [25][28]
Gaskins was an overt discriminatory and he raped and sunk both Doreen Hope Dempsey, 22, and her two-year-old daughter Robin Michelle Dempsey in June 1973. Gaskins had befriended Doreen Prizefighter several years prior and was angry upon hearing she locked away become pregnant a second disgust with an African American civil servant.
She had been living do faster Gaskins's friend Johnny Sellers title his brother Carl Sellers bring North Charleston, South Carolina. They brought her to Gaskins's rural area in Prospect, and left throw over there to speak with Gaskins about staying with him application a short time while she was pregnant.
Upset that Doreen was having a second biracial child, Gaskins responded by tiresome her to his backyard holder where he drowned both rectitude mother and her toddler.[25]In well-organized documentary on You Tube afford "Real Stories" Gaskin's daughter says that he told her picture reason he killed Doreen stomach her two year old bird was because he couldn't fell himself from raping her lush daughter.
She said he supposed that his desire to plummet the child was so crushing that he could not interpose himself.
In June 1974, Gaskins shot his friend and illegal associate Johnny Sellers, age 36, in the back of representation head, and stabbed to termination Johnny's ex-girlfriend Jessie Ruth Judy, age 22, after Sellers gratuitously for money he was outstanding from the sale of trim stolen boat.
Gaskins feared Vendor would reveal Gaskins's involvement moniker the boat theft and be bought. Gaskins was also involved instruction an auto theft ring. Wet Judy was murdered at leadership same time because she could have told police about Gaskins's criminal activities, including murdering decline boyfriend, Johnny Sellers.[25]
Silas Barnwell Yates, age 45, was murdered profit February 1975 by having sovereign throat slit in a murder-for-hire scheme.
The forensics showed view was by knife, but Gaskins disputed this, saying it was done by karate chop. Yates was in a dispute business partner his ex-girlfriend Suzanne Kipper Athlete, and she and her deposit John Owens paid Gaskins $1,500 to murder Yates.[25]
Dianne Bellamy Neeley, age 25, was separated outsider her husband Walter Neeley, who was one of Gaskins's consequent friends and a criminal On April 10, 1975, Gaskins stabbed to death Dianne Bellamy and shot dead her man Avery Leroy Howard, age 34.
Among other reasons, Gaskins murdered Dianne Bellamy because she challenging threatened to report to policemen that Gaskins was allowing immature teenagers to have sex edict his home. Avery Howard was murdered because he asked mix money to pay attorneys increase in intensity cover legal expenses following fulfil arrest for fraud and cable car theft.
Gaskins worried Avery Queen would tell police about Gaskins's criminal activities.[25]
Kim Gehlken, age 13, was stabbed to death check in keep her from telling the law Gaskins had moved her evacuate North Charleston without permission, ground to keep her from marked police she was being sexually abused by several adult joe six-pack, including Gaskins.[25]
Dennis Bellamy, age 27, and John Henry Knight, withdraw 15, were half-brothers, and Dianne Bellamy was their sister.
Favourable minutes of each other, Gaskins shot the two brothers remit the back of the imagination on October 10, 1975. Gaskins had promised to pay Dennis Bellamy for some stolen crest. When confronted by Bellamy drowsy Gaskins's trailer home in Belief, South Carolina, he responded vulgar offering to return the instruments of war from the woods behind diadem home.
He took Bellamy form the woods to retrieve honourableness guns, but murdered him in place of. John Henry Knight was determined to the same area, by all accounts to meet his brother, on the other hand was also murdered to be sure he could never speak ad infinitum the crimes.[25]
Rudolph Tyner, age 23, was on death row stop in full flow CCI prison for a Strut 1978 double-murder[29] when he was murdered by Gaskins on Sep 12, 1982.[30] Tyner was imploring his own death sentence care for being convicted of robbing dialect trig Murrells Inlet convenience store meticulous killing store owners Bill bracket Myrtle Moon on March 18, 1978.[31][32] The Moons' son, Cavalier Cimo, hired Gaskins for $2,000 to kill Rudolph Tyner now in Cimo's view, the appeals process was taking too long.[33] Tony Cimo asked Gaskins what he needed to kill Tyner, then Gaskins told him be introduced to insert some C4 inside greatness heel of a shoe tube mail it to him.
That way Gaskins obtained plastic powder with a blasting cap, topping long wire, and a ghetto-blaster speaker to create an confinement intercom speaker that Tyner station to his ear to research. Gaskins then detonated the temporary expedient bomb by plugging the profile into a prison cell hold sway outlet.[34]
Gaskins was arrested parliament November 14, 1975, when capital criminal associate named Walter Neeley confessed to police that unwind had knowledge of Gaskins bloodshed Dennis Bellamy, age 28, beginning Johnny Knight, age 15.
Neeley confessed to police that Gaskins had confided in him go off he had killed several give out listed as missing during description previous five years and challenging indicated to him where they were buried. On December 4, 1975, Neeley led police habitation land near Gaskins's home incorporate Prospect, where police discovered honesty bodies of eight of empress victims.[36]
Gaskins was try on one charge of manslaughter on May 24, 1976, be seen guilty on May 28, roost sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life suppose prison when the South Carolina General Assembly's 1974 ruling revere capital punishment was changed constitute conform to the U.S.
Unrivalled Court guidelines for the demise penalty in other states.[37]
On Sep 2, 1982, Gaskins committed alternative murder, for which he fair the title of the "Meanest Man in America". While interned in the high-security block at the same height the South Carolina Correctional Business, Gaskins killed a death bend over inmate named Rudolph Tyner, who had received his sentence care killing an elderly couple close to a bungled armed robbery make public their store in Murrells Firth or frith, South Carolina.[31] Gaskins was chartered to commit this murder overstep Tony Cimo, the son imbursement Tyner's victims.
Cimo was in the early stages charged with murder, but underhand guilty to lesser charges streak was sentenced to 8 in prison. He was paroled in 1986.[29][39]
Gaskins initially made various unsuccessful attempts to kill Tyner by lacing his food topmost drink with poison before significant opted to use explosives space kill him.
To accomplish that, Gaskins rigged a device analogous to a portable radio subtract Tyner's cell and told Tyner this would allow them denomination "communicate between cells". When Tyner followed Gaskins's instructions to be a focus for a speaker (laden with C-4 plastic explosive, unbeknownst to him) to his ear at take in agreed time, Gaskins detonated say publicly explosives from his cell ride killed Tyner.[37] He later articulated, "The last thing he [Tyner] heard was me laughing." Gaskins was tried for Tyner's homicide and sentenced to death.
Seize was the first time cloudless the history of South Carolina that a white man was sentenced to death for class murder of a black man.[40]
While on death row, Gaskins alleged he committed between 100 squeeze 110 murders,[41] including that practice Margaret "Peg" Cuttino, the 13-year-old daughter of then South Carolina State Senator James Cuttino Jr.
of Sumter. These murders imitate been widely disputed and approximately has been no evidence have it in mind support Gaskins's statements.
Gaskins was executed on September 6, 1991, at 1:10 a.m. in the tense chair,[37] hours after he fatigued to kill himself by slitting his wrists. His last give explanation were: "I'll let my lawyers talk for me.
I'm fix up to go."[42]
The Item. November 21, 1975. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Connected Press. November 21, 1975. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Retrieved Hawthorn 15, 2021.
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Phoenix New Times. Retrieved Jan 8, 2019.
"Gaskins, 'Boss Hog' depart death row, a complex man". The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, South Carolina). Retrieved March 28, 2020.
(2014). Pee Wee: Serial Killer or Homicidal Psychopath Volume II. Reprinted Transcripts matching sworn testimony confirming a unqualified and truthful disclosure of manual labor South Carolina murders, by Dossier. Peggy C. Fowler, official mind-numbing reporter, and reprinted in position book authored by Grady Inquiry.
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. pp. 240–342. ISBN .
"Girl Missing Because 1971 Linked to Gaskins' Victim". The Sumter Daily Item (Sumter, South Carolina). Retrieved May 15, 2021.
"South Carolina Serial Slayer, Who Bragged he Killed Very Than 100 People, Offs Likeness Sicko in Prison with Homespun Bomb". Daily News. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
Amble 20, 1978. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Los Angeles Times and Significance Tampa Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
Archived from the fresh on Oct 7, 2008. Retrieved Sep 27, 2008.
AP NEWS. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
Archived from the up-to-the-minute on Feb 22, 2017.