In the spring of 2001, the body of Alysia Greenwade, a 33-year-old African American woman, was discovered in Illinois, marking a grim entry in what would become a string of brutal murders. Greenwade, who was last seen in Missouri, became the first known victim of Maury Troy Travis, a St. Louis-area hotel waiter who would later be dubbed the 'Videotape Killer.'
Travis preyed on vulnerable women, often sex workers, luring them to his home in Ferguson, Missouri, with the promise of money.
The investigation into Greenwade's death and others that followed was complex. For months, authorities in the St. Louis area discovered the bodies of several women, all victims of torture and strangulation. A significant break in the case came when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story about one of the victims. In response, Travis anonymously sent a letter to the newspaper which included a computer-generated map from Expedia.com, marked with an 'X' to indicate the location of another victim. This crucial clue allowed investigators to trace the map back to Travis through the IP address used to access the website.
Upon searching Maury Travis's home on June 7, 2002, police uncovered a horrifying scene that included a torture chamber in his basement, various instruments of bondage, and blood spatters. Most disturbingly, they found videotapes where Travis had recorded the torture and murder of some of his victims. He was arrested and federally charged with kidnapping resulting in the deaths of Alysia Greenwade and another woman, Betty James, as their bodies were taken across state lines. Authorities believed he was responsible for the murders of up to 20 women.
Before he could stand trial for his heinous crimes, Maury Travis took his own life. On June 10, 2002, while being held in the St. Louis County jail, he hanged himself in his cell. In a suicide note, he claimed responsibility for murdering 17 women. His death brought an end to the legal proceedings but left many unanswered questions for the families of his numerous victims.
