Stephen Peter Morin: The Chameleon Killer
Early Life and Criminal Background
Stephen Peter Morin was an American serial killer, kidnapper and sexual predator whose violent crimes stretched across several western and southwestern states. He was born on February 19, 1951, in Providence, Rhode Island. By his teenage years, Morin had begun using drugs and committing crimes. He was arrested for automobile theft while still young and spent time in a Florida juvenile institution before beginning the transient lifestyle that later made him exceptionally difficult for authorities to track.
Morin traveled frequently and rarely remained in one location for long. He lived for periods in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Texas, supporting himself through temporary employment, theft and other criminal activity. He used numerous aliases, including Rich Clark, Rich Clarke, Robert Fred Generoso, Thomas David Hones and Ray Constantino. His ability to change names, appearances, vehicles and companions led some investigators and later writers to call him “The Chameleon.”
Morin’s constant movement complicated efforts to determine the true number of people he killed. He was convicted of three murders and was formally accused or strongly investigated in connection with several others. During the nationwide investigation, authorities examined whether he could have been responsible for dozens of murders, kidnappings and assaults committed across the United States. Claims that he killed 30, 40 or more people were never established in court, and many of the suspected cases remained unresolved.
Pattern of Violence
Morin generally targeted young women whom he encountered in parking lots, motels, bars or other public places. He sometimes approached victims under a false identity and appeared friendly before producing a firearm or otherwise taking control of them. His crimes included abduction, imprisonment, sexual assault, robbery, attempted murder and homicide.
Several women survived prolonged captivity with Morin. Their accounts described an unpredictable offender who could alternate between calm conversation, manipulation and extreme threats of violence. He frequently forced captives to travel with him, change their appearance or assist him in avoiding police. His dependence on stolen vehicles and temporary motel rooms allowed him to move rapidly from one jurisdiction to another.
Morin did not use a single method of killing. His confirmed victims were shot, strangled or stabbed. Other women whose deaths were investigated as possible Morin crimes had been shot, strangled or left in isolated desert locations. This variation, combined with his aliases and constant travel, made it harder for investigators in different states to recognize that they might be pursuing the same offender.
Confirmed Victims
- Sheila Whalen — November 7, 1981 — Lakewood, Colorado: Sheila Whalen, 23, encountered Morin on the night of November 6, 1981. Her body was discovered the following day inside a room at the Mountain View Motel in Lakewood, in the Denver metropolitan area. She had been sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed. Clothing and other property connected to Whalen were later found among Morin’s belongings. Morin was convicted of her murder in Colorado and received another death sentence.
- Janna Lynne Bruce — December 2–3, 1981 — Corpus Christi and Padre Island, Texas: Janna Bruce, 21, disappeared on December 2, 1981, shortly after leaving her workplace near the Hilton Inn in Corpus Christi. Her body was found on December 3 in shallow water inside a drainage culvert on Padre Island. Bindings had been placed around her head and neck, causing her death by ligature asphyxiation. Bruce’s Chevrolet Monza was later located outside a San Antonio motel associated with Morin, and investigators matched fingerprints from the vehicle to him. He was convicted and sentenced to death for her murder.
- Carrie Marie Scott — December 11, 1981 — San Antonio, Texas: Carrie Scott, 21, was shot outside Maggie’s Restaurant in San Antonio during Morin’s attempt to steal her car. Scott confronted Morin near the vehicle, and he shot her in the back with a .38-caliber handgun. She died from the wound. Because the killing occurred during the commission of a robbery, Morin was prosecuted for capital murder. He pleaded guilty, was convicted and received the Texas death sentence that was eventually carried out.
Additional Suspected Victims
The following women were publicly connected to Morin during investigations, but the available evidence did not result in completed murder convictions before his execution. Their inclusion reflects law-enforcement suspicion or charges and should not be interpreted as a judicial finding of guilt.
- Sheila Griffith — September 1979 — Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Mojave Desert: Sheila Griffith, 22, was last seen leaving the Silver Nugget casino in Las Vegas with a man on September 25, 1979. Her body was discovered on November 27, 1979, in the Mojave Desert near the Nevada state line. It had been concealed beneath or inside a sleeping bag. Investigators later examined Morin as a possible suspect, but he was not convicted of her death.
- Susan Belote — January 1980 — Las Vegas, Nevada, and near Bloomington, Utah: Susan Belote, 18, disappeared on January 16, 1980, after leaving her Las Vegas home for a shopping trip. Her remains were found on May 26, 1980, near Bloomington in southern Utah. A large stone had reportedly been placed over the body. Decomposition prevented a definitive determination of the cause of death, although damage around the neck led authorities to suspect strangulation. Morin was investigated and faced allegations connected to the case, but no murder conviction was completed.
- Cheryl Daniel — June–December 1980 — Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hell Hole Canyon, Utah: Cheryl Daniel, 20, was abducted from the parking lot of an Alpha Beta supermarket in Las Vegas on June 27, 1980. Her body was found on December 13, 1980, in Hell Hole Canyon near St. George, Utah. She had been shot in the head. Utah authorities obtained a warrant accusing Morin of kidnapping and murder in connection with Daniel’s death, but the case did not lead to a completed conviction before his execution.
Surviving Victims and Escalation
Morin’s known violence extended beyond the women he killed. In September 1976, he lured a 14-year-old girl to an apartment in San Francisco’s Marina District. He restrained, suspended, sexually assaulted and tortured her for hours before releasing her at a Marin County shopping center. Federal authorities subsequently sought him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, but his use of aliases and frequent travel helped him remain at large.
On November 30, 1981, Morin abducted 23-year-old Pamela Jackson from an apartment complex in Corpus Christi while she was on her way to pick up her son. He held her captive for approximately 11 days, sexually assaulted her, repeatedly threatened to shoot her and forced her to dye her blond hair brown. Jackson was eventually found alive in Morin’s San Antonio motel room after police closed in on him.
On December 6, 1981, Morin attempted another abduction in San Antonio. Michael Reed, 29, and Pearl Lutz, 26, were shot during the encounter but survived. Evidence from this and other attacks helped authorities reconstruct Morin’s movements during the final days of his crime spree.
The Murder of Carrie Scott and the Manhunt
In the early hours of December 11, 1981, Morin attempted to steal Carrie Scott’s automobile outside the San Antonio restaurant where she worked. When Scott interrupted him, Morin shot her. Dru Valdes, who was with Scott, was also shot but survived. Morin fled in the stolen vehicle, initiating an intense search by local officers, state authorities and federal agents.
Later that day, a police tactical team surrounded the Sands Motel in San Antonio, where investigators believed Morin was hiding. Police entered the room and found Pamela Jackson alive, along with Morin’s traveling companion. Morin escaped through a bathroom window before officers could capture him, producing another large-scale manhunt.
On December 12, Morin emerged from hiding in a Kmart parking lot and abducted Margaret “Margy” Mayfield Palm at gunpoint. He ordered Palm to drive him away from San Antonio and eventually toward a Greyhound bus station in Kerrville. During the lengthy drive, Palm spoke to him about religion, forgiveness and surrender. Morin released control of the situation and entered the bus station, where waiting officers arrested him without a fatal confrontation.
Investigation Across Multiple States
Morin’s arrest allowed investigators from numerous jurisdictions to compare evidence. Officials in Nevada examined his possible connection to as many as eight homicides. Authorities in Utah sought him in relation to the bodies of Susan Belote and Cheryl Daniel. Colorado investigators developed the case involving Sheila Whalen, while Texas authorities focused on the murders of Janna Bruce and Carrie Scott.
Police also reviewed unsolved crimes in California, Idaho, Washington, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and other states where Morin had traveled or used aliases. Some contemporary reports described him as a suspect in 20 or more violent crimes, while later accounts claimed he may have committed approximately 30 to 48 murders. Those higher figures remained speculative. Only three murders—those of Whalen, Bruce and Scott—resulted in final convictions.
Trials and Death Sentences
Morin pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Carrie Scott during his 1982 Texas trial. Under Texas procedure, a jury formally returned the guilty verdict and then considered evidence during the punishment phase. The jury imposed a death sentence. The conviction was based on the killing having occurred during Morin’s attempt to rob Scott of her automobile.
He was subsequently convicted of murdering Janna Bruce and received another death sentence in Texas. The physical evidence in that case included fingerprints recovered from Bruce’s abandoned car, which had been found near the motel where Morin stayed while holding Pamela Jackson captive.
Colorado also prosecuted Morin for the kidnapping and murder of Sheila Whalen. A jury found him guilty in July 1984. He received a third death sentence for that crime. His convictions in two states ensured that he faced execution even if one judgment were overturned, although he eventually abandoned efforts to prevent the Texas sentence from being carried out.
Religious Conversion and Execution
Following his arrest, Morin claimed that his conversation with Margy Palm had inspired a religious conversion. He became increasingly involved with Christian ministers and volunteers while imprisoned and maintained that he had repented. Palm remained in contact with him and visited him on death row. His conversion attracted public attention, although it did not alter the legal judgments for his crimes.
Morin eventually waived further appeals. He was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas on March 13, 1985. Medical personnel reportedly experienced difficulty inserting the intravenous needles because years of drug use had damaged his veins, prolonging the preparation for the execution. Morin delivered a lengthy religious final statement before the lethal drugs were administered.
Legacy of the Case
Stephen Peter Morin’s case illustrates the difficulties investigators faced when a mobile offender crossed jurisdictional boundaries while using false names. Before computerized databases and rapid interstate information sharing became common, police departments often handled similar disappearances and murders without immediately realizing that the same fugitive might be involved.
Morin was conclusively held responsible for the murders of Sheila Whalen, Janna Bruce and Carrie Marie Scott. He was also accused or suspected in the deaths of Cheryl Daniel, Susan Belote, Sheila Griffith and other unidentified or unresolved victims. Although investigators believed his actual toll was substantially higher than the three murders proven in court, no reliable evidence established the frequently repeated claims that he killed dozens of people.
His final series of crimes in 1981 demonstrated how rapidly his violence had escalated. Within weeks, Morin murdered three women, held another woman captive, shot several people during attempted abductions and committed multiple carjackings. His arrest ended a multistate trail of violence, but it left investigators and victims’ families with unresolved questions about how many additional crimes he committed during more than a decade of travel under false identities.
