(Plain Press September 2024) It has been decided by the Cuyahoga Chief Medical Examiner, along with a non-profit organization, the “DNA Doe Project,” to exhume the unidentified victims of the “Cleveland Torso Murderer” to identify them through new DNA testing. Their remains have been buried in the City of Cleveland’s Potter’s Field for almost 90 years.

     The Torso Murders took place in Cleveland, Ohio, back in the 1930s. The murders have remained unsolved, therefore the killer has never been brought to justice. The murderer decapitated and dismembered over a dozen people around the city of Cleveland. One headless victim was found in Brooklyn, near Clifton Road, floating in Big Creek. It was even determined, by the medical examiner, that some of the victims were even alive when beheaded, including the victim in Brooklyn, Ohio. Because of the mutilation of the bodies, many of the victims have never been identified. Only three of the murdered victims could positively be identified. Many of the bodies were discovered in and around the railroad tracks near Kingsbury Run.

     The famous “Untouchable,” Elliot Ness, who helped put Al Capone away in Chicago, was Cleveland’s Safety Director during the time of the murders and was pressured by his superiors to catch the “Mad Butcher.” Unfortunately, Ness had no luck in bringing the killer to justice, which contributed to his downward spiral of his reputation as a crime fighter.

     At the same time these murders were taking place, there was the “Great Lakes Exposition” going on in downtown Cleveland. Many from outside Ohio arrived to take part in the festival. It was speculated that some of the Torso victims may have been from out of state, which may have contributed to the difficulty in identifying the remains. Shortly after the murders stopped, a letter was sent to the FBI, stating that “he” (the killer) had moved on to California, and that they could rest easy at least here. This caused authorities to speculate if the Cleveland Killer was responsible for the horrific murder of Elizabeth Short, aka “Black Dahlia,” in 1947.

     To learn more about the “Cleveland Torso Murders” tune into Channel 1025 on Cleveland Spectrum, Mondays at 9 PM, or Channel 45 on COX Cable, Wednesdays at 8 PM. For more information, you can contact Kevin@ShockerEnterprises.com or call 216 534-7968.