Jack Trawick: Alabama Serial Killer
Background and Early Criminal Behavior
Jack Harrison Trawick was born on February 18, 1947, in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up in the Birmingham area, attended Shades Valley High School and graduated in 1966. Although he later married and maintained periods of employment, Trawick developed a long history of disturbing criminal conduct directed primarily at women.
Years before he was identified as a murderer, Trawick committed burglaries and other offenses involving women's homes. He later admitted that he sometimes entered residences not simply to steal, but to frighten and psychologically torment the occupants. He cut women's undergarments, disturbed personal belongings and reportedly left threatening messages written in lipstick on mirrors. These acts demonstrated the combination of sexual fixation, intimidation and violence that eventually characterized his murders.
The Murder of Betty Jo Richards
On July 16, 1972, 17-year-old Betty Jo Richards was attacked in the Quinton area of Alabama. Witnesses reportedly saw a young woman being chased toward an alley before Richards was discovered suffering from numerous stab wounds. She died from her injuries.
A different man was initially arrested during the investigation but was released without being prosecuted. Richards' murder remained unresolved for approximately two decades. After Trawick came under investigation for murders committed in 1992, he confessed that he had encountered Richards while driving in the Birmingham area, forced her toward an isolated location at knifepoint and stabbed her repeatedly.
Trawick was not brought to trial for Richards' death. Nevertheless, his confession and knowledge of the crime caused authorities to identify him as her killer. The case revealed that his homicidal behavior apparently began at least 20 years before the murders that ultimately resulted in his convictions.
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