In the autumn of 1975, the city of Detroit was gripped by a series of brutal slayings that targeted women. The final victim in this string of unsolved crimes was a 43-year-old African-American woman named Dorothy Holmes. Her life was tragically cut short on October 19, 1975, when she fell prey to a predator the media would dub the 'Bigfoot Killer' or 'The Cass Ripper,' a shadowy figure who haunted the city's Cass Corridor.
The killer's reign of terror spanned from February to October of
that year, claiming the lives of at least seven women. The victims, ranging in age from 16 to 43, were often sex workers who were lured into the assailant's vehicle. Once inside, they were assaulted and murdered. Dorothy Holmes was the oldest of the victims, her death marking the end of the killer's known spree.
Witnesses provided a chilling but vague description of the man they believed to be responsible. They spoke of a tall, muscular African-American man, possibly in his early to mid-30s. A peculiar and frightening detail that emerged was the reported size of his hands and feet, which led to the 'Bigfoot' moniker and speculation that he may have suffered from a condition like acromegaly.
In January 1976, a breakthrough in the case seemed imminent with the arrest of 29-year-old Carl Mayweather Jr. A native of Detroit, Mayweather was apprehended during an attempted rape in the nearby city of River Rouge. His physical stature and large shoe size made him a compelling suspect in the 'Bigfoot Killer' case. However, as investigators delved deeper into his life and whereabouts during the murders, his presumed connection began to unravel. Mayweather had solid alibis for at least four of the homicides, leading authorities to eliminate him as a suspect. To this day, the true identity of the 'Bigfoot Killer' remains a mystery, and the murder of Dorothy Holmes, along with the six other women, is an unsolved case that continues to cast a long shadow over the city of Detroit.
