Asbury Respus

Serial Killer

Asbury Respus: The Confessed Killer of Eight

Overview

Asbury Respus, whose surname was also recorded as Respass, was an American serial killer who confessed to at least eight murders committed in North Carolina and Virginia between approximately 1910 and 1931. He sometimes lived under assumed names, including Will Moore, and remained unidentified as the perpetrator of several deaths for many years. Some of his victims had originally been believed to have died in accidents, fires, or suicides. Respus did not follow a single, easily defined victim pattern. His victims included men and women, children and elderly adults, and both Black and white residents. His methods also varied. He shot some victims, beat others with sticks or other blunt objects, drowned a young child, and used fire or staged scenes in attempts to conceal his crimes. Although Respus was convicted of a killing in 1912, he escaped from custody in 1916 and remained free for approximately fifteen years. His full history of violence did not emerge until his arrest for the September 1931 murder of nine-year-old Vera Leonard. While awaiting execution, he gave a lengthy confession and declared that he could clearly remember eight murders, although he believed that he might have killed nine people.

Early Life and Reported Mental Problems

Respus was born in North Carolina around 1878 to Miles and Ellen Respus. Records from the region sometimes used the spelling Asbury Respass. He married Ophelia Harrell in Northampton County, North Carolina, on June 28, 1900, but little reliable information survives about their relationship or his activities during the following decade. Respus later claimed that he had fallen from a barn during his youth and suffered a serious head injury. An indentation reportedly remained visible in his skull. He blamed this injury for periods in which he experienced violent impulses and described episodes during which he suddenly wanted to kill without understanding why. His statements were made decades after the alleged accident, and there is no surviving medical evidence proving that the injury caused his crimes. He was also known to use alcohol and drugs. After his final murder, he claimed that intoxication contributed to his violent state. These explanations did not prevent a jury from holding him legally responsible, and witnesses who had known or examined him testified that he appeared capable of understanding his actions. ...

Confirmed Victims: (0)

Asbury Respus - Wikipedia