Samuel Little (né McDowell; 7 June 1940 – 30 December 2020) was an American serial killer who was convicted of 8 murders and confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005. He was involved in at least 60 murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in American history. Little provided sketches for twenty-six of his victims, although not all have been linked to known murders.
The majority of Little's victims were sex workers, substance users, or homeless individuals, and most of them were female. He claimed that he thought these persons would leave fewer clues for authorities to find and leave fewer persons to search for them. Despite the broad scope of his offending, Little was charged with and convicted of only eight murders in total as these cases had the strongest evidence of guilt. He died in prison on December 30, 2020, aged 80. He suffered from diabetes, heart problems, and other health conditions.
Moniker[]
- The Choke-and-Stroke Killer: The Los Angeles Police Department gave him this name due to his method of killing victims by first knocking them out and then strangling them to death.
He was mentioned in Dexter: Resurrection as a part of Leon Prater's collection.