William Scott Smith

Serial Killer

William Scott Smith: The Salem Serial Killer

Overview

William Scott Smith is an American serial killer, kidnapper and sexual predator responsible for murdering at least four young women in and around Salem, Oregon, between 1981 and 1984. His crimes involved women who were alone or temporarily separated from others, including a tavern patron, a pizza delivery driver, a convenience-store clerk and a university student. Smith used isolation, deception and sudden violence to overpower his victims before strangling them and abandoning or concealing their bodies. For many years, Smith was convicted only of the 1984 murders of Rebecca Anne Darling and Katherine Iona Redmond. The earlier disappearances and deaths of Terry Cox Monroe and Sherry Melissa Eyerly remained unresolved until Smith confessed decades later. Those admissions established that his known series began in 1981 and continued until his arrest in April 1984. Investigators have also considered the possibility that he committed additional crimes, although no other murders have been conclusively attributed to him.

Confirmed Victims

• Terry Cox Monroe, 21 February 12, 1981 Salem, Oregon: Monroe disappeared after stepping outside the Oregon Museum Tavern in Salem. Her clothing and personal documents were found near the Willamette River, and her body was recovered from the river on March 15, 1981. An autopsy determined that she had died from homicidal asphyxiation consistent with strangulation. Smith confessed to killing her in 2012.
• Sherry Melissa Eyerly, 18 July 4, 1982 Salem, Oregon: Eyerly disappeared while delivering pizzas to a fictitious address on Riverhaven Drive South. Her vehicle was found abandoned with its door open, her dog still inside and the undelivered pizzas nearby. Her body has never been recovered. Smith confessed that she was strangled and disposed of in the Willamette River.
• Rebecca Anne Darling, 21 February 19, 1984 Salem, Oregon: Darling vanished while working the overnight shift at a Circle K convenience store. Her purse, coat, keys and automobile remained at the business. Her body was discovered in the Little Pudding River on March 25, 1984. Investigators determined that she had been strangled.
• Katherine Iona Redmond, 18 April 7, 1984 near Salem, Oregon: Redmond, a freshman at Willamette University, disappeared after leaving a gathering during the early morning hours. The borrowed car she had been driving was found abandoned with the engine running and the door open. Her body was discovered several days later in a wooded area outside Salem. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Terry Monroe Age: (21), Date of Death: 1981-02-12

William Scott Smith - Wikipedia