Carl Panzram: Mass Murderer of the 1920s

Carl Panzram became infamous for two mass murders in the 1920s. However, his life of crime began much earlier, involving a large number of crimes.

Panzram's first arrest was at the age of eight. He was convicted of drunk and disorderly conduct. Three years later he was sent to reform school following several burglaries. While in reform school, he caused $100,000 damage to a building when he torched it. Attendants often beat inmates when they did not behave or learn school lessons properly. He had never received formal education and usually did poorly in reform school, leading to regular beatings.He was released in 1904 at the age of thirteen.

Although Carl Panzram was released in his mother's custody, he quickly ran away and became a hobo. At sixteen, he joined the army. He proved to be a handful and was court-martialed. He served three years in Leavenworth. After he was released, he traveled around the world, killing people along the way.

In 1920, Panzram was in Connecticut. He decided to rob a large home located at 113 Whitney Avenue. While ransacking the house he discovered it was the home of William H. Taft.

Panzram sold jewelry and bonds, and used the proceeds to buy a yacht. After sailing around and robbing other boats for a while, he used the promise of free booze to get ten sailors on board. He got the sailors very drunk, and then raped them. He then shot each sailor in the head and pushed them overboard.

Later, in West Africa, he hired eight men and told them they would be helping him hunt crocodiles. Carl Panzram raped and killed all eight. He disposed of the bodies by feeding them to the crocodiles.

In 1928 he was arrested in Washington, D.C. for several burglaries. He was again sentenced to Leavenworth, this time for twenty years. While in prison, he confessed to over 1000 acts of sodomy, numerous felonies, and 21 murders. He raped and killed a few young boys along the way as well.

When sentenced for the last time, Panzram threatened to kill the first person who bothered him, and he made good on the promise by attacking a laundry foreman. It was this that finally got Carl Panzram a death sentence. He was relieved to receive a death sentence; he actively resisted any and all attempts for a stay of execution. On September 5, 1930, he was hung.

Sources:
The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers; Schechter, Harold and Everitt, David; Pocket Books, 2006.
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