In February 1986, Linda Odum, a 32-year-old Caucasian female, was reported missing in Talladega, Alabama. Odum, who worked as a cocktail waitress, had been romantically involved with a man who was then known as an art instructor at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Nearly a month after she disappeared, on March 30, her nude and decomposed body was discovered outside of Talladega. Investigators determined that she had been murdered.
The investigation into Odum's death quickly focused on the man she had been dating, whose real name was Daniel Siebert. Fingerprints found in Odum's car, which was found abandoned in Kentucky on March 3, matched those of Siebert. This discovery linked him to the crime and revealed his history as a man with a prior manslaughter conviction and outstanding assault charges in other states. Siebert had been using an alias while living and working in Alabama.
A six-month nationwide manhunt for Siebert ensued, with sightings reported in several states and Canada. He was ultimately located and arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was working as a handyman. During police interrogation, Siebert confessed to the murder of Linda Odum, as well as several other killings in Alabama and potentially a dozen or more across the country. He admitted that his motives for the murders were sexual gratification and robbery.
Daniel Siebert was a serial killer responsible for a string of brutal murders. In addition to being charged with the murder of Linda Odum, he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of a mother and her two young sons, as well as another woman in Talladega. His crime spree also included murders in California and New Jersey. After years of appeals, the Supreme Court reinstated his death sentence. Daniel Siebert was never tried specifically for the murder of Linda Odum, as he was already condemned for his other crimes. He died of cancer on April 22, 2008, while on death row at Holman Prison in Alabama.
