Gerald Walter "Jerry" McFadden: The Texas Killer Known as "The Animal"
Background and Criminal History
Gerald Walter McFadden, commonly known as Jerry McFadden, was born on March 21, 1948, in Haskell County, Texas. He became a violent repeat offender whose history of sexual assault, kidnapping and murder extended across several states. McFadden referred to himself as "The Animal," a nickname that became widely associated with him after the murders of three young people in East Texas in 1986.
Long before he was identified as a serial killer, McFadden had accumulated a disturbing record of violence against women. He received three separate rape convictions between 1972 and 1978. Despite the seriousness of these offenses, he repeatedly returned to society without completing the full prison sentences originally imposed upon him. His releases became highly controversial after he committed additional violent crimes.
McFadden was paroled from prison in July 1985. Less than a year later, he abducted and murdered three young people who had gone to Lake Hawkins for what was supposed to be an ordinary outing. Those killings shocked the small communities surrounding Hawkins and Tyler and eventually led to changes in the public debate over parole policies for violent offenders in Texas.
The 1979 Murder of Anna Marie Hlavka
McFadden's earliest confirmed murder remained unsolved for nearly four decades. On July 24, 1979, 20-year-old Anna Marie Hlavka was found dead inside her apartment in Portland, Oregon. Her sister discovered her body after becoming concerned about her. Investigators determined that Hlavka had been sexually assaulted and strangled with the electrical cord from a clock radio.
Evidence was collected from the apartment, but investigators were unable to identify the killer with the forensic technology available at the time. The case remained open as a cold case while McFadden continued committing violent offenses elsewhere. He was never questioned or prosecuted for Hlavka's murder during his lifetime.
Decades later, investigators used DNA evidence and genetic genealogy techniques to develop McFadden as a suspect. His identity was confirmed through comparisons involving biological relatives. In January 2019, Portland authorities announced that McFadden had been identified as Hlavka's killer. By then, he had been dead for almost 20 years, having been executed in Texas in 1999.
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