On November 13, 1964, an elderly white male transient named David Russell was found murdered on the steps of the Los Angeles Public Library. His throat had been slashed, and his body bore multiple stab wounds. The following day, another elderly man, 67-year-old Benjamin Hornberg, was killed in a similar fashion. These murders marked the beginning of a series of killings attributed to the "Skid Row Slasher."
The killings ceased after these initial incidents, but resumed a decade later in December 1974, following the release of Vaughn Orrin Greenwood from prison. Greenwood had been incarcerated for an attempted murder in Chicago in 1966. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he committed several more murders, targeting transients and drifters. His victims were often found with their throats slashed, surrounded by ritualistic elements such as cups of blood and rings of salt. This pattern led investigators to suspect a ritualistic or satanic motive.
Greenwood was apprehended on February 3, 1975, after a failed attack on a potential victim who managed to escape and alert authorities. He was subsequently convicted of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Greenwood died in prison on December 18, 2020.
