206 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.
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Description
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Jack Harrison Trawick: A Detailed Account of His Crimes

Early Life and Psychological Profile

Jack Harrison Trawick was born around 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama. From a young age, he exhibited signs of severe mental illness. At age eleven, he began receiving psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. Over the years, his treatment included anti-psychotic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, and, at his own request, chemical castration in 1982. Despite these interventions, Trawick struggled with violent sexual impulses, leading to a series of criminal behaviors, including burglary, impersonating a police officer, kidnapping, making threatening calls, breaking and entering, and property destruction. In 1970, he was diagnosed as "a paranoid schizophrenic with homicidal impulses," and in 1971, he experienced a divorce. He served a seven-year prison sentence from 1983 to 1990.

Confirmed Victims

  • Betty Jo Richards: In 1972, Trawick confessed to the murder of Betty Jo Richards in Walker County, Alabama. However, he was not prosecuted for this crime because he was already on death row for subsequent murders.
  • Aileen Pruitt: On January 9, 1992, Trawick abducted and murdered 27-year-old Aileen Pruitt in Birmingham, Alabama. Her body was discovered with over 50 stabbing and cutting wounds. Trawick was serving a life sentence for this murder at the time of his execution.
  • Stephanie Gach: On October 9, 1992, Trawick kidnapped 21-year-old college student Stephanie Gach from a shopping mall in the Birmingham area. He sexually assaulted and murdered her, leaving her body in a wooded area. Trawick confessed to this crime during an interview on October 29, 1994. He was convicted and sentenced to death for this murder in 1995.

Suspected Victims

In addition to his confirmed victims, Trawick claimed responsibility for as many as twelve other homicides. However, authorities were unable to corroborate most of these confessions, except for the 1972 murder of Betty Jo Richards. ...Read More
Victims
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Confirmed Victims: (3)
  • Betty Jo Richards Age: (17), Date of Death: 1972-07-16
  •     ...View 2 additional victims
    Killer's Details

    Jack

    Trawick

    February 18, 1947 Birmingham, Alabama, United States

    June 11, 2009 (aged 62) Holman Correctional Facility, Atmore, Alabama, United States

    Executed by lethal injection

    Male

    White

    5-14

    1972 - 1992

    Alabama, Oregon, At sea

    Holman Prison

    07/12/2025