On this day, Aug. 3, on 1978, Larry Eyler, who would later become known as the “Highway Killer,” was arrested on suspicion of slashing a hitchhiker with a butcher knife, but the charges were later dropped and Eyler continued his murder spree.
Eyler picked up men under the guise of sex and bondage. Once he handcuffed the men, Eyler would kill them. Most of his victims were found on the side of the road with their pants pulled down and disemboweled.
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In 1983, an Indiana police unit charged with solving the murders of nearly two dozen victims got a tip from the hitchhiker who survived the earlier attack. Police followed Eyler and witnessed him dumping eight trash bags in a trash bin. The remains of a 15-year-old boy were found inside.
Eyler was sentenced to death. He died in 1994 at the age of 41 of AIDS complications. Two days later, his attorney released the details of the 21 murders Eyler claimed as his own. His confessions matched the physical evidence, and the 21 cases of serial murder were closed.
– Scott McCabe
