Lemuel Warren Smith

Serial Killer

Lemuel Warren Smith: Murders Across Upstate New York

Early Life and the Beginning of His Criminal Record

Lemuel Warren Smith was born on July 23, 1941, in Amsterdam, New York. His documented history of extreme violence began while he was still a teenager and eventually developed into a series of murders, kidnappings and sexual assaults spanning more than two decades. Smith repeatedly returned to violent behavior after periods of imprisonment, and his final known murder occurred inside one of New York's maximum-security prisons. The first homicide associated with Smith was the January 21, 1958, killing of 46-year-old Dorothy Waterstreet in Amsterdam. Waterstreet was walking home from church when she was attacked near her neighborhood. She was robbed, severely beaten and left in a vacant lot. Smith, who was 16 years old and lived nearby, became a suspect, but investigators did not obtain a legally usable confession and he was never prosecuted for the crime. Nearly 20 years later, Smith reportedly admitted killing Waterstreet while confessing to several murders.

Violent Offenses and Repeated Imprisonment

In 1958, while under suspicion in the Waterstreet investigation, Smith left New York and went to Baltimore, Maryland. There, he kidnapped and attacked a 25-year-old woman. The assault was interrupted, allowing the victim to survive. Smith was arrested and, on April 12, 1959, received a 20-year prison sentence for assault with intent to murder. Smith was paroled in May 1968 after serving approximately nine years. On May 20, 1969, he abducted and sexually assaulted a woman who escaped after other people intervened. Later that same day, he kidnapped and raped a 46-year-old woman who knew his mother. Smith was arrested again and returned to prison. Although his history already demonstrated that he remained extremely dangerous after release, he was eventually paroled once more in October 1976. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Dorothy Waterstreet Age: (46), Date of Death: 1958-01-21

Lemuel Smith - Wikipedia