George Waterfield Russell
George Waterfield Russell, Jr. (born April 1958), also known as The Charmer, is an American thief and serial killer responsible for the murders of three women in Seattle over the summer in 1990. After killing his victims, he would mutilate and have sex with the corpses, leaving the bodies posed in bizarre positions at the crime scene.[1] For his crimes, he was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms, and is currently imprisoned at Clallam Bay Corrections Center.[2]
George Waterfield Russell | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Waterfield Russell, Jr. April 1958 (age 62) Florida, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Charmer" "The East Side Killer" "The Bellevue Killer" |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x3 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment x2 |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | June–August 1990 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Washington |
Date apprehended | September 12, 1990 |
| Imprisoned at | Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Aberdeen, Washington |
Early life
Born in Florida in April 1958, George's parents separated when he was still a baby, with his mother moving with him to Mercer Island, Washington to live with her new husband.[1] Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, Russell often had scrapes with the law, mostly involving thefts and burglaries. Despite this, he was popular with the ladies, frequenting cocktail lounges around Seattle in search of hook-ups with women.[3]
Murders
Between June and August 1990, Russell would sexually assault and murder three women in Seattle. In each case, he horribly mutilated and violated the corpses, posing them in various embarrassing positions before leaving the crime scene.
- Mary Anne Pohlreich (27) - a resident of Redmond,[1] Pohlreich's nude body was found behind a Bellevue restaurant's parking lot on June 23rd.[3] She had been strangled, with her arms and legs crossed as if put in a coffin, and her eye had been covered with a plastic top.
- Carol Beethe (35) - originally from Kirkland, Beethe's body was found in her bed at her Bellevue apartment on August 9th.[3] She had had her head beaten in, with bite marks on her arms and a plastic wrap over her head. Her legs were also spread towards the front door. She was discovered by her worried daughter, who, not long after, noticed that somebody was searching through the house rooms with a flashlight before vanishing into the night.[4]
- Andrea 'Randi' Levine (24) - also from Kirkland, Levine was found at her apartment's bed in Kingsgate on August 31st.[3] She had been stabbed many times and had her skull bashed in, with the killer shoving a sex toy down her throat and placing the book 'More Joy of Sex' in her left hand. A distinctive ring she always wore was also found to be missing.
Trial and imprisonment
On September 12th, Russell was arrested as a suspect in the murders. Aside from semen samples and fiber pieces matching the truck he drove on the night of Beethe's murder,[4] it was discovered that Russell had given Levine's ring to another woman, claiming that he had bought it from a street vendor in Canada.[5] That ring was later found at a pawn shop. Russell pleaded innocent to all charges,[5] and when questioned in telephone interviews, he admitted to having books on Ted Bundy, but denied being a fan of his.[1] In spite of his claims, he was found guilty of the three murders in October 1991 by Justice Patricia Aitken, showing no emotion when the sentence was read out.[3] At the time, his brutal killings were compared with the then-unsolved murders of five college students in Gainesville, Florida, which were later linked to Danny Rolling.[5] George Russell was given two life imprisonment terms plus 28 years, and is currently imprisoned at Clallam Bay Corrections Center.[2]
In popular culture
The case was dramatized in multiple Investigation Discovery shows, like: Dead of Night, Most Evil and Murder By Numbers.
Bibliography
- Jack Olsen (November 1, 1995). The Charmer: The True Story of a Ladies' Man and His Victims. Avon. ISBN 0380716011.
References
- "Three deaths were work of serial killer". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. March 5, 1991.
- "Triple killer gets life term". The Register-Guard. November 28, 1991.
- "Jury finds suspect guilty in deaths of 3 women". The Spokesman-Review. October 26, 1991.
- Nancy Montgomery (September 26, 1991). "How Girl Found Her Mother Dead". The Seattle Times.
- "Accused serial killer enters innocent plea". Star-Banner. March 6, 1991.