In the winter of 2011, a wave of fear gripped the city of Memphis as a serial killer targeted women. The city was on edge as victim after victim was discovered, each meeting a violent end. However, one woman's harrowing encounter with the predator would provide investigators with their only eyewitness account, a crucial piece in a puzzle that remains unsolved to this day.
Katrina Peterson, a 26-year-old Black woman, found herself face-to-face with the man police believe was responsible
for a string of murders. On the night of February 26, 2011, in South Memphis, Peterson had an encounter with a man who would soon reveal his sinister intentions. The man, driving a dark-colored Dodge Charger or Chrysler 300, pulled a gun on her. In a desperate act of self-preservation, Peterson moved just as he fired, a movement that likely saved her life. The bullet struck and wounded her, but she managed to stumble away and run for four blocks, eventually finding help.
Rushed to the Regional Medical Center in extremely critical condition, Peterson fought for her life and slowly recovered. Her survival was a turning point in the investigation. From her hospital bed, she provided detectives with a description of her attacker: a Black man, approximately 24 years old, with his hair styled in cornrows. This description led to the creation of a composite sketch that was widely circulated, offering a glimmer of hope that the person terrorizing the community would be brought to justice.
Despite the detailed description and the forensic evidence collected from the various crime scenes, the Memphis serial killer has never been identified or apprehended. The man who attacked Katrina Peterson and is believed to have murdered at least three other women remains at large. In the years that followed her attack, Peterson faced other legal troubles, including an arrest for prostitution. Authorities have indicated that she later became uncooperative with the investigation into the attempt on her life, possibly due to the trauma she endured. The case of the South Memphis serial killer and the courageous survival of Katrina Peterson remains a chilling chapter in the city's history, a stark reminder of a predator who has yet to be held accountable for his crimes.
