On this day, Oct. 13, 1976, Joseph Kallinger, known as the Shoemaker and accused of using his 10-year-old son to help kill and torture unsuspecting families, was convicted of murder.
In 1939 at age 2, Kallinger was adopted by sadistic parents. His mother would hold his open hand over a flame until his skin began to smolder.
Kallinger became a Philadelphia shoemaker and had seven children of his own. In 1972, Kallinger was accused of child abuse and arrested, but released after his children recanted their stories.
In 1974, Kallinger drowned his 14-year-old son, Joseph Jr., with the help of his other son Michael.
The two went on a six-week crime spree through Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. They gained entry into homes by pretending to be salesmen. They sexually assaulted four families and murdered two of their victims.
Kallinger was sentenced to life. Michael was judged to be under his father’s control, and sentenced to a juvenile facility until he was 21.
Joseph Kallinger died of an epileptic seizure in 1996.
— Scott McCabe
