You have permission to edit this article. In his letter, he stated, "This whole situation is horrid and phantasmic." First published on July 9, 2014 / 10:13 AM. But like many serial killers, Travis wanted to be a known entity: it's likelythat Travis would still be adding to his list of victims if he hadnt sent a letter to a local paper to taunt the police. A lot of true crime and music but I throw in life stuff too for the times I need a greater understanding of why I'm like this. "I am not going back.". Name I don't know. Maury Travis committed suicide in 2002 before he could be formally charged with the deaths of 17 women, all sex workers that he hired and then killed. His worst crimes were captured on a VHS tape labeled "Your Wedding Day," which featured footage of Travis reenacting BDSM fantasies before strangling women to death. April 1976: His family buys the house at 1001 Ford Avenue in Ferguson. The detective who arrested him for those crimes stated that he wasn't your "typical criminal." Other locations that are in the United States. Also, most known serial killers have been white, while Travis was African-American. Kourtney Kardashian went all out for Travis Barker 's birthday! Now, nearly two weeks after Travis was found hanged inside his St. Louis County Jail cell (on June 10, 2002), investigators continue to sift through the pieces of his puzzling life, looking for answers to why this seemingly quiet man, who was often seen washing his car in the driveway of his home in Ferguson, would torture and kill at least 11 women in the St. Louis area. It was the first I had heard about him. They found a skeleton at the site, and traced the map to Travis' computer. Maury Travis was a very, very disturbed man. The scenes on the tape were so disturbing that Police Chief Joe Mokwa ordered psychological counseling for the officers who viewed them. Killer believed to have murdered 2-20 women and killed himself in jail after being arrested. She describes him as "very quiet and withdrawn, incredibly quiet for a teenager.". Needless to say, she wanted out of the lease. This letter, allegedly by serial killer Maury Travis, was sent to St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Bill Smith after Smith wrote about a prostitute who was found murdered and speculation that a serial killer was at work. At the time of the murders, he was a hotel waiter, and on parole for a 1989 robbery. None of his 13 conduct violations were particularly significant, according to a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Corrections. A letter sent to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained a map of the location of one of his victim's skeletonized remains in West Alton, Missouri. Staying in my cell and crying myself to sleep most every night will not help, but it's so very hard to believe this has happened to me. Notably, during a search of Travis' residence, the police found newspaper clippings about his murders. So far, at least, the answers have been painstakingly slow in coming. can i use a visa gift card for groceries; crush unfollowed me on instagram July 31, 2000: The body of Mary Shields, 61, is found in East St. Louis. I don't give a f---.". He never admitted anything, they said, but he never denied anything either. This whole basement was his torture chamber and its not okay, McGhaw told the station. And true to form, he victimized people of his own race. The excerpts the police released to Primetime show Travis tormenting the women verbally, taunting them about their fate and haranguing some of them over how they had abandoned their children for crack. In one segment, it appears that he uses a belt to strangle or break the neck of a woman. "I don't believe he could kill a fly, " she said. Additional Details. St. Louis police are confident that Travis was the killer who was responsible for the bodies that were turning up through 2001 and 2002. He apparently let some of the women leave at that point. Travis recorded many of his crimes on videotape. "I am not going back to prison, " Travis told his interrogators. Videotapes, discovered in the basement of his home, show him with bound victims. Imagine you accidentally move into a serial killer's house. When Catrina asked to be let out of the lease, Sandra refused, telling her she had to stay until it expired. June 7, 2002: Police and FBI agents arrest Travis at his home on Ford Drive in Ferguson and search the house. Details of Travis' early life are sketchy. Fortunately, the St. Louis Housing Authority intervened in the matter, and Catrina was eventually allowed to leave. Travis hanged himself in jail on June 10, 2002. Maury T. Travis. And only a handful have ever been known to videotape their victims, as Travis did. All rights reserved. Four women, believed to be victims of Travis, still have not been identified. "They'll give you nightmares," he told ABCNEWS' Primetime. St. Louis police released excerpts from the videotape to ABCNEWS, which are being broadcast nationwide for the first time on Primetime Thursday. . He is charged with two federal counts of kidnapping and taken to the St. Louis County Jail. As he sat in the interrogation room at police headquarters downtown on the afternoon of June 7, the 36-year-old waiter drummed his fingers nervously on a tabletop. Remember this from Deaf Pirate Video?!! They have identified 12 of his victims as drug-addicted prostitutes whose bodies were dumped along city streets and country roads in the St. Louis area between March 2001 and May 2002. McGhaw then discovered the house she rented was once the home serial killer Maury Travis used as a torture chamber. ", Maury Travis Tortured 17 Women In His Home, Now His Mom Rents Out His Murder House, But like many serial killers, Travis wanted to be a known entity: it's likelythat Travis would still be adding to his list of victims if he hadnt sent a letter to a local paper to taunt the police. Investigators later linked him to the murders of several other women in Ferguson, Missouri, St. Louis. $1 Million - $5 Million. One . The house was built in 1954 and it is 1,107 sq ft in size. He's Maury Travis - a twisted man who taunted the police, took delight in torturing his victims and completely mentally devastating them before the murders. "Other states there are, but mostly that is for selling houses. List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "Internet Used to Find Man Charged in 2 of 10 Killings", "Virtual Trail Led to Serial Killer Suspect", "Murder Cop: A Profile of Vernon J. Geberth", "Catrina McGhaw: St. Louis woman finds out on TV she's renting serial killer Maury Travis' home", "Woman found serial killer lived home watching TV", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maury_Travis&oldid=1122117419, American people who died in prison custody, Crimes against sex workers in the United States, Serial killers who committed suicide in prison custody, Violence against women in the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 November 2022, at 23:17. You ain't going home at all. May 15, 2001: The body of Teresa Wilson, 36, is found in West Alton. While Travis claimed in a letter to have murdered 17 women, some authorities were doubtful . He was not a particularly imposing man, not a bodybuilder. "I have known Mr. Travis and his family for a number of years and I feel he is deserving of special consideration in this matter, " Clay wrote. ", In a sadistic twist to Travis' crimes, he filmed almost everything that he did in his torture chamber. This is the house where serial killer Maury Travis lived. A woman from Pagedale whose daughter dated Travis just last year said she never could have imagined that he was what she called "a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. You over here on your back smoking crack. He dressed hurriedly and joined the police in the living room - on sofas arranged in what police called a kind of "conversation pit" around a coffee table. What did you do? 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. We're missing five of them.". But, um: McGhaw called her landlord, begging to get out of the lease, but the landlord wasnt sympathetic. 'This Whole Basement Was His Torture Chamber'. He forced one victim to say to him, "You are the master. His killings are also discussed on Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 91: Black Serial Killers Part 1: Call Me God. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. You are right the house should be razed and the property could be used in a productive way for the community. Joe Spiess, who as a St. Louis County police detective arrested Travis based on a car description, said recently: "He was respectful and quiet and reserved. DEAF VIDEO VLOGS. Maury Travis timeline Oct. 25, 1965: Travis is born in St. Louis. He was popular for being a Criminal. The house is about 450 feet south of the intersection between Frost Avenue and Ford Drive. The 36-year-old waiter committed suicide in a county jail in 2002 after he was charged with killing two St. Louis area women. Once, Wucher said, he told Travis about a friend whose car was stolen and later found burning in East St. Louis. This Google Street View image of 1001 Ford Drive in St. Louis was taken in June of 2022. "There are still a million questions, " Sachs said. I'm going to keep you for about a week.". Turns out the landlord is the accused killer's mother, according to CBS affiliate KMOV. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. Subscribe with this special offer to keep reading, (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). He earned the money being a professional Criminal. easy canvas painting with black background. Only one IP address had looked at that specific spot. The bodies of at least four of Travis' suspected victims were found in the East St. Louis area. This originally was published on June 23, 2002. WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW Maury Troy Travis Maury's house in 2002 What the house looks like in 2018. After watching the Cold Case Files documentary on the A&E network, the current tenant of Travis' house found out about its history. After viewing the tape, Police Chief Joe Mokwaordered that everyone who saw the footage had to undergo psychological counseling. Linda Harrison, whose home shared a common wall with Travis', said there was "not the tiniest" of problems while he was there. As they talked, Travis' calico cat strolled through the room, moving from one visitor to the next. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Victims remains. He had also bound his own hands behind his back. He had "had a problem" when he downloaded the map, they told him. March 28, 2002: An unidentified woman's skeleton is found in Columbia, Ill. Police now suspect Travis. 9. Travis, a 36-year-old hotel waiter, hanged himself in jail before admitting to any of the murders, but St. Louis police believe he killed between 12 and 20 women. You can set your cookie preferences below. He was a serial killer who predominantly murdered prostitutes potentially as many as 17 in the St. Louis (Ferguson, Missouri) area around 2000-2002. And shes leasing that thing out! Earn a monthly commission by helping sell our reports. He was also eager to see his crimes in the media. A co-worker, Dave Wucher, remembers Travis counseling him on the dangers of drugs. It appears as though Travis started targeting sex workers in the early 2000s. Then he would take them captive, binding them with ropes and handcuffs and covering their eyes with duct tape. The house being featured in various crime scene photos on the tv screen was the very one they were sitting in. Police said he was a suspect in as many as 20 murders. Travis, a 36-year-old hotel waiter and paroled robber, killed himself in his jail cell in 2002 after being arrested for two, and suspected of eight more, serial murders. "We need closure for the families of the victims.". Published November 17, 2018 Updated December 9, 2021 These colorized versions of vintage black-and-white crime scene photos reveal a unique perspective on the murders, mobsters, and mayhem of decades past. And then: "To prove I'm real, here's directions to number seventeen. They found numerous videotapes in Travis' home showing him giving the prostitutes crack cocaine to smoke, then having consensual sex with them. A man was shot and killed Monday morning in downtown St. Louis. Below, you will find the address and the GPS coordinates for this location. Det. I was shocked that he was living in Ferguson at the time, and I went on line to get his address, and was shocked to see your blog post. Many serial killers speak about a need to commit the horrific and violent acts that they do. He told ABC News, "They'll give you nightmares. He was four months from his 24th birthday. Maury Travis's Net Worth: $1-5 Million. The 36-year-old waiter committed suicide in a county jail in 2002. . "Daily and hourly also at any given moment I think of taking my life, " Travis wrote. "I guess you never know what happens behind closed doors.". He agreed to accompany them to police headquarters downtown. ", Wucher said Travis also talked "every day" about his 2000 black Mitsubishi Eclipse. She probably wants to put the whole thing squarely in the past, so she keeps flipping over that house. Travis hanged himself on June 17 th, having never commented on his crimes. Former St. Louis reality TV star James "Tim" Norman will serve life in prison for conspiring to kill his nephew. He told the judge he was so strung out that he barely remembered the robberies. The Grisly Details Maury Travis Tortured 17 Women In His Home, Now His Mom Rents Out His Murder House Jacob Shelton Updated April 4, 2018 31.4k views11 items In the early 2000s, Maury Travis lured sex workers from the St. Louis area into his home to video tape himself torturing and abusing them. The stark one-man cell on the eighth floor of the St. Louis County Justice Center where Maury Troy Travis ended his life on June 10, 2002. He hung himself in jail in 2002 before officially confessing to any of the murders, however. Detectives also say they found nothing in Travis' past, such as child abuse or an unusually traumatic relationship with a close family member, that might have festered and ultimately triggered the killings. There is no specific claim that he was raped. With one exception, the excerpts released to Primetime do not show Travis physically torturing the women, but blood splatters are visible on the walls and floor. Shes legally in her right to do that; ethically, perhaps not so much. "Why are you here so early?". 60 Maury Travis Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 60 Maury Travis Premium High Res Photos Browse 60 maury travis stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. At one point, Travis picked up the cat and sat it next to him, out of reach of the investigators. A neighbor in Ferguson described Maury Troy Travis as a quiet, respectful boy who sometimes mowed her lawn without being asked and showed her how to use an electric hedge trimmer.