Timothy Wilson Spencer

Serial Killer

Timothy Wilson Spencer: The Southside Strangler

Timothy Wilson Spencer was an American serial killer and rapist whose crimes terrorized communities in Richmond, Chesterfield County, and Arlington, Virginia. Born on March 17, 1962, Spencer became known as the "Southside Strangler" because he murdered women by strangling them with ropes, belts, cords, and other ligatures. He was convicted of four murders committed during 1987 and was also identified by investigators as the likely killer of a fifth woman murdered in Arlington in 1984. Spencer's case became historically important because he was the first serial killer in the United States convicted through DNA profiling. The same developing forensic technology also helped clear David Vasquez, an innocent man who had been imprisoned for one of the murders attributed to Spencer.

Background and Criminal History

Spencer grew up in the Green Valley area of Arlington County, Virginia. He began getting into trouble as a teenager and accumulated a long record of burglary, trespassing, and property crimes. He became particularly skilled at entering occupied homes through windows, sometimes climbing to upper floors to avoid detection. During the early 1980s, Arlington police investigated a series of nighttime attacks committed by a masked intruder. The attacker entered women's homes, threatened or restrained them, and sexually assaulted them. Spencer was suspected of involvement in these attacks but was not prosecuted for them. In January 1984, he was arrested for an unrelated burglary and later imprisoned. Spencer was released from prison to a Richmond halfway house in September 1987. Within weeks, women began to be raped and strangled in their homes. The crimes occurred in different jurisdictions, making it initially difficult for investigators to recognize that the same offender was responsible.

Known and Suspected Victims

• Carolyn Jean Hamm killed after 10:00 p.m. on January 23, 1984; discovered January 25, 1984 Arlington, Virginia. Hamm was a 32-year-old Washington-area attorney who lived alone. An intruder entered her home, sexually assaulted her, bound her hands with cord taken from venetian blinds, and strangled her. Her body was found on the basement floor after she failed to report to work. David Vasquez was wrongly convicted in connection with the crime. Later forensic testing and similarities to Spencer's other offenses led investigators to identify Spencer as the likely killer, although he was never tried for Hamm's murder.
• Debbie Dudley Davis killed between the evening of September 18 and the morning of September 19, 1987 Westover Hills, Richmond, Virginia. Davis was a 35-year-old account executive who lived in a ground-floor apartment. Her abandoned automobile was discovered with its engine running several blocks from her home. Police then entered her apartment and found her body on the bed. She had been sexually assaulted, bound, and strangled with a ligature. Forensic evidence recovered from the apartment was later matched to Spencer through DNA testing.
• Dr. Susan Hellams killed during the night of October 2 or early morning of October 3, 1987 514 West 31st Street, Richmond, Virginia. Hellams was a 32-year-old neurosurgery resident at the Medical College of Virginia. Her husband returned home and found her body inside their bedroom closet. The attacker apparently reached an upper floor by climbing outside the house and cutting through a window screen. Hellams had been beaten, sexually assaulted, bound, and strangled with two belts. DNA recovered from her clothing matched Spencer.
• Diane Cho killed during the night of November 21-22, 1987; discovered November 22, 1987 Gavilan Court, Chesterfield County, Virginia. Cho was a 15-year-old high-school student living with her parents and brother in an apartment near Richmond. Her family was at home when the attack occurred. She was found in her bedroom the following morning, having been sexually assaulted and strangled with a rope. Her mouth had been covered with tape, and a figure-eight or infinity-shaped symbol had been drawn on her hip with nail polish. Although the available DNA sample was too limited for the same type of testing used in several other cases, blood-group evidence, behavioral similarities, Spencer's movements, and additional circumstantial evidence connected him to the murder. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
• Susan Tucker believed killed around November 27 or November 28, 1987; discovered December 1, 1987 Arlington, Virginia. Tucker was 44 years old and lived in a townhouse near Spencer's mother. Her body was found facedown on a bed in a ransacked bedroom. She had been sexually assaulted, and a slip-knotted rope had been placed around her neck. The same rope was used to bind her hands behind her back. The method of entry, sexual assault, binding, and ligature strangulation closely resembled the Richmond-area murders. DNA evidence recovered from the scene became central to Spencer's arrest and conviction.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Debbie Dudley Davis Age: (35), Date of Death: 1987-09-18

Suspected Victims:

Rena Chapouris Age: (29), Date of Death: 1988-01-05

Michael St. Hilaire

Carolyn Jean Hamm , Date of Death: 1984-01-23

Timothy Wilson Spencer - Wikipedia