Gary Addison Taylor

Serial Killer

Gary Addison Taylor: The Royal Oak Sniper

Early Life and Escalating Violence

Gary Addison Taylor was an American serial killer, rapist and repeat violent offender whose attacks against women extended across several states and more than two decades. Born in Michigan in March 1936, Taylor spent part of his childhood in Howell before his family relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida. His documented pattern of violence began during his teenage years, long before the murders for which he was eventually convicted. In Florida, Taylor reportedly lingered near bus stops and attacked women who were walking alone. He used blunt objects, including hammers and wrenches, striking victims suddenly and without any apparent personal connection. On December 24, 1954, when he was 18, he was arrested after nearly beating a 39-year-old woman to death with a wrench as she stepped from a bus in St. Petersburg. Investigators suspected him in numerous similar assaults, but he was acquitted of the charge brought against him. After returning to Michigan, Taylor's violence took another form. In 1957, he drove through communities in the Detroit metropolitan area and fired a gun at women walking outside after dark. Two women were wounded. Newspapers called the unidentified attacker the "Phantom Sniper" and the "Royal Oak Sniper." Taylor was eventually arrested and found not guilty by reason of insanity. A psychiatrist warned that his intense hostility toward women made it possible that he would eventually kill someone.

Psychiatric Confinement and Repeated Releases

Taylor spent years moving through Michigan psychiatric institutions, including Ionia State Hospital and the Lafayette Clinic in Detroit. His confinement did not prevent further offenses. While temporarily released to attend a welding class, Taylor talked his way into a Detroit woman's home, raped her and robbed her. During another authorized absence, he threatened a rooming-house manager and her daughter with a large butcher knife. Rather than being prosecuted separately for those crimes, Taylor was returned to psychiatric custody. He openly described experiencing a compulsion to hurt women, yet psychiatrists disagreed over whether his behavior resulted from a treatable mental illness or a deeply ingrained personality disorder. In 1972, authorities released him from the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti under outpatient supervision. He was expected to continue taking medication and reporting for treatment. Taylor soon married a secretary named Helen and moved with her to the Loch Erin area near Onsted, Michigan. By late 1973, he had stopped appearing for psychiatric appointments. Authorities did not immediately locate him or place his name into a nationwide fugitive system. During the period in which he remained outside institutional control, Taylor began committing the murders later established through confessions and the recovery of his victims' bodies. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Lee Fletcher Age: (25), Date of Death: 1974-03

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