Rosie Hill, a 20-year-old woman, was tragically murdered in Florida in 1982. Her body was discovered on August 16 of that year in a wooded area near a hog pen off County Road 326. Authorities determined that she had been strangled or suffocated. For decades, her family sought answers regarding her death, unaware that she had fallen victim to one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S.
history.
Samuel Little, a convicted serial killer serving multiple life sentences, eventually confessed to Hill’s murder. Little, who has been linked to over 90 killings across the country, admitted to strangling Hill and dumping her body. His confession provided closure to her family, who had long wondered about the circumstances surrounding her death. Witnesses had reported seeing Hill leave a bar with a man matching Little’s description, but at the time, investigators lacked sufficient evidence to charge him.
Little was arrested in December 1982 in Mississippi for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and rape involving two other victims. However, he denied knowing Hill and invoked his right to an attorney, preventing further prosecution in her case. The following year, he was arrested in connection with another murder in Alachua County but was acquitted. After his acquittal, Little continued his killing spree until his eventual arrest in California in 2012 for three homicides committed in the late 1980s.
Despite his confession, no charges were pursued in Hill’s case due to Little’s existing life sentences and another murder indictment in Texas. Law enforcement officials from Texas and Florida interviewed him, and he provided details about Hill’s murder that only the perpetrator would have known. When asked why he committed the crime, Little chillingly stated that he believed he was put on Earth to do what he did.
Hill’s mother, Minnie Hill, expressed grief and anger upon learning the truth about her daughter’s death. She described Rosie as a young woman with a beautiful personality who was killed while raising her child as a single mother. The revelation of Little’s involvement in her murder was both heartbreaking and a form of closure for her family, who had waited decades for answers.
