Georgia Jessup, a 16-year-old white female from Broward County, Florida, was murdered on or around September 27, 1972. She had been hitchhiking with her friend, 17-year-old white female Susan Place, when they encountered a man who would later be identified as Gerard Schaefer. Both girls were reported missing, and their mutilated and decapitated remains were discovered in April 1973 in shallow graves near Blind Creek Beach on Hutchinson Island, close to Fort Pierce, Florida.
The man
responsible for the deaths of 16-year-old white female Georgia Jessup and 17-year-old white female Susan Place was Gerard Schaefer, a former Martin County Sheriff's deputy. At the time of the murders, Schaefer was already under scrutiny for a separate incident in which he had assaulted two other teenage girls. In July 1972, just months before Georgia Jessup's death, Schaefer had picked up two young women while they were hitchhiking, took them to a remote area, tied them up, and threatened them with violence. The girls managed to escape, and Schaefer was arrested and charged with false imprisonment and assault. Despite the severity of the charges, he was released on bail.
While Schaefer was serving a six-month sentence for the earlier assault, the remains of Georgia Jessup and Susan Place were discovered. The similarities between the two cases—particularly the method of abduction and the location—led investigators to suspect Schaefer. He was eventually convicted of the murders of both 16-year-old white female Georgia Jessup and 17-year-old white female Susan Place. Authorities later speculated that Schaefer may have been responsible for the deaths of as many as 30 young women across the country, based on evidence found in his home and writings he produced while incarcerated.
Gerard Schaefer maintained his innocence publicly, but during his time in prison, he reportedly confessed to multiple murders. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison. In 2005, Schaefer was killed by a fellow inmate at Florida State Prison.
