John Edward Robinson: The Internet's First Known Serial Killer
Background and Criminal Deception
John Edward Robinson Sr., born on December 27, 1943, in Cicero, Illinois, became a convicted serial killer whose crimes extended across Kansas and Missouri. He maintained the outward appearance of a married businessman and community volunteer while repeatedly committing fraud, theft and forgery. Behind that respectable image, Robinson created fictitious companies, invented employment programs and assumed false identities to gain the confidence of vulnerable women.
Robinson's known murders occurred between 1984 and 2000. His methods changed with advances in technology, but deception remained central to his crimes. During the 1980s, he attracted victims through fraudulent job offers and supposed assistance programs. By the late 1990s, he was searching Internet chat rooms under the name "Slavemaster," presenting himself as a wealthy businessman interested in dominant-submissive relationships. He promised employment, travel, financial security or companionship, then isolated his victims and assumed control of their money, property and communications.
Early Disappearances
Robinson's earliest confirmed victim was Paula Godfrey, a 19-year-old woman who believed that he had hired her as a sales representative for his consulting company, Equi II. On September 1, 1984, Robinson picked Godfrey up from her home in Overland Park, Kansas, supposedly to take her to the airport for a business training trip. She was never seen by her family again. A typewritten letter later arrived claiming that she was safe and did not wish to have further contact with her relatives. Investigators eventually concluded that the letter was part of Robinson's effort to conceal her murder. Godfrey's remains have never been recovered, and her precise date and location of death remain unknown.
In January 1985, Robinson approached Lisa Stasi, a 19-year-old mother who was staying with her infant daughter, Tiffany, at a shelter in the Kansas City area. Using the alias John Osborne, he claimed to represent an assistance program for young mothers and offered Lisa housing, education and employment. Lisa was last reliably seen with Robinson on January 10, 1985, in Overland Park, Kansas. She subsequently disappeared.
Robinson kept Tiffany and arranged for his brother and sister-in-law to raise her, presenting forged documents that made the transfer appear to be a legal adoption. He falsely claimed that the child's mother had died by suicide and collected thousands of dollars in supposed legal fees. DNA testing conducted after Robinson's arrest confirmed that the child, renamed Heather, was Lisa Stasi's daughter. Lisa's body has never been found, and the exact date and place of her murder have not been established.
Catherine Clampitt, a 27-year-old mother from Texas, moved to the Kansas City area in 1987 and responded to an advertisement for Robinson's Equi II company. The position supposedly involved extensive travel and professional opportunities. Clampitt was last seen on June 15, 1987, when she left for a meeting with Robinson. She was never seen again. Her remains have not been recovered, making it impossible to determine her precise date or location of death.
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