Harvey Louis Carignan: The Want-Ad Killer
Introduction
Harvey Louis Carignan was an American serial killer, rapist, and violent repeat offender whose known criminal history stretched from Alaska in 1949 to Minnesota in 1974. Born on May 18, 1927, in Fargo, North Dakota, Carignan became known as the "Want-Ad Killer" because he sometimes used employment advertisements as a way to meet young women. He was also called "Harv the Hammer," a reference to the blunt-force attacks associated with several of his crimes. Although Carignan was ultimately convicted of murdering two women in Minnesota, authorities considered him responsible for an earlier Alaska murder and suspected him in at least two additional killings in Washington State.
Carignan's history is particularly disturbing because his first murder conviction resulted in a death sentence more than two decades before his final arrest. That conviction was overturned because of problems surrounding the admissibility of his confession. He nevertheless remained imprisoned for another violent offense, was eventually paroled, and repeatedly returned to prison for new crimes. By the early 1970s, investigators in several states were encountering women and girls who had been attacked by a man using methods later associated with Carignan.
The 1949 Murder of Laura Showalter
Carignan was serving in the United States Army and stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, when his first known killing occurred. On July 31, 1949, 57-year-old Laura Showalter was attacked and killed in Anchorage. She suffered fatal injuries from blows to the head during an attempted sexual assault.
Several weeks later, on September 16, 1949, Carignan attacked another woman in Anchorage. She survived, and Carignan was taken into custody the following day. During the investigation, authorities questioned him about Showalter's murder. Carignan eventually made statements implicating himself in the killing.
He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by hanging. He was also convicted in connection with the separate attempted sexual assault. His murder conviction did not survive the appeals process. Courts found legal problems involving the circumstances under which his confession had been obtained, and the confession could not be used against him. Without it, prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to successfully retry the Showalter murder case. Carignan's murder conviction and death sentence were therefore set aside, although he remained incarcerated for the assault conviction.
Years of Imprisonment and Release
Carignan was eventually transferred to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and remained imprisoned until he was paroled in 1960. His release did not bring an end to his criminal behavior. Within months, he was again arrested and convicted in connection with burglary offenses in Minnesota and returned to prison. He was released again in 1964, only to receive another lengthy sentence following a burglary conviction in Washington State later that year.
Carignan was paroled again in 1968 and later served additional time for violating parole. His repeated periods of incarceration meant that much of his adult life had been spent behind bars. Nevertheless, when free, he continued to display increasingly dangerous behavior toward women and girls.
Suspected Washington Murders
By the early 1970s, Carignan was living in Washington State. Two unsolved murders there would eventually attract the attention of investigators examining his activities. He was considered a strong suspect in both cases, but prosecutors never charged him because they believed the available physical evidence was insufficient to prove the cases beyond a reasonable doubt.
One victim was 19-year-old Leslie Laura Brock of Bellingham. Brock was found dead in Washington on October 15, 1972, after suffering severe blows to the head. Witness information reportedly placed her in or around a vehicle associated with Carignan before her death. The similarity between her injuries and Carignan's later documented crimes caused investigators to regard him as a likely suspect. October 15 is reliably reported as the date Brock was found dead, although available accounts do not establish a more precise time of death.
The second Washington victim was 15-year-old Kathy Sue Miller. On May 1, 1973, Miller encountered Carignan after responding to a help-wanted advertisement connected with a service station he was operating or leasing. She disappeared that day. On June 3, her remains were discovered on the Tulalip Reservation north of Everett, Washington. She had suffered fatal blunt-force injuries to the head. May 1, 1973, is widely recorded as Miller's date of death because she disappeared after meeting Carignan that day, although her body was not discovered until more than a month later.
Escalating Attacks
Carignan was also connected to a series of nonfatal attacks. On September 9, 1973, he picked up 13-year-old Jerri Billings while she was hitchhiking in Minnesota. She was sexually assaulted and struck with a hammer but survived. Her account later became part of the evidence demonstrating Carignan's pattern of targeting vulnerable young women and girls.
On September 8, 1974, teenagers June Lynch and Lisa King encountered Carignan while hitchhiking in the Minneapolis area. Carignan attacked Lynch, striking her in the head and face. King was able to escape, and Lynch was left behind but survived her injuries.
Six days later, on September 14, Carignan encountered Gwen Burton after she experienced transportation trouble near a Sears parking area. What appeared to be an offer of assistance became another violent assault. Burton was beaten and sexually assaulted before being abandoned in a field. Carignan apparently believed she would not survive, but Burton regained enough strength to reach help. Her survival became extremely important to the investigation that ultimately ended Carignan's freedom.
On September 18, Carignan picked up Sally Versoi and Diane Flynn. He restrained and sexually assaulted the young women while threatening and beating them. They escaped when Carignan stopped for fuel. Their descriptions and subsequent identification of Carignan added to the growing evidence against him.
The Murder of Eileen Hunley
In 1974, Carignan was living in Minnesota and had been involved with 29-year-old Eileen Hunley, a woman who reportedly worked at a day-care center. Hunley eventually decided to end their relationship. She disappeared on August 10, 1974, shortly after separating from him.
Approximately five weeks later, Hunley's body was discovered in a rural field near Zimmerman in Sherburne County, Minnesota. She had been sexually assaulted and killed by severe blunt-force trauma to the head. August 10, 1974, the date of her disappearance, is generally recorded as her date of death.
Investigators increasingly focused on Carignan. The circumstances surrounding Hunley's disappearance, their relationship, and the nature of her injuries connected the case to the violent pattern already associated with him. Unlike the Washington cases, authorities would eventually obtain enough evidence to prosecute him for Hunley's murder.
The Murder of Katherine Schultz
On September 20, 1974, 18-year-old Katherine Schultz disappeared in Minnesota. Carignan had picked her up in the Minneapolis area and drove her away from the city. Schultz was killed by repeated blows to the head.
Her body was discovered on September 21 in a cornfield northwest of Cambridge, Minnesota, in the Isanti County area. The manner of the killing strongly resembled the attacks already connected to Carignan. Schultz's death on September 20, 1974, became the last known murder attributed to him before his arrest.
Confirmed and Suspected Murder Victims
- Laura Showalter, 57 - Killed July 31, 1949, in Anchorage, Alaska. She died from severe blows to the head during an attempted sexual assault. Carignan was initially convicted of her murder and sentenced to death, although the conviction was later overturned and the murder charge ultimately dismissed after his confession became unusable.
- Eileen Hunley, 29 - Disappeared August 10, 1974, in Minnesota and is generally recorded as having died that day. Her body was discovered approximately five weeks later in a field near Zimmerman in Sherburne County, Minnesota. Carignan was convicted of her murder.
- Katherine Schultz, 18 - Killed September 20, 1974, in Minnesota. Her body was found the following day in a cornfield northwest of Cambridge in the Isanti County area. Carignan pleaded guilty to murdering Schultz.
- Leslie Laura Brock, 19 - Suspected victim - Found dead October 15, 1972, in Washington State after suffering fatal blows to the head. Brock had been associated by witnesses with a vehicle linked to Carignan. The exact time of her death is not firmly established in available accounts. Carignan was considered a suspect but was never charged.
- Kathy Sue Miller, 15 - Suspected victim - Disappeared May 1, 1973, after responding to a help-wanted advertisement associated with Carignan in Washington State. Her body was recovered June 3 on the Tulalip Reservation north of Everett. May 1 is widely recorded as her date of death. Carignan was the principal suspect but was never prosecuted for the killing.
Surviving Victims and Witnesses
- Christine Norton - Attacked September 16, 1949, in Anchorage, Alaska. She survived an attempted sexual assault, and the investigation of her attack led to Carignan's arrest and renewed scrutiny of the Laura Showalter murder.
- Jerri Billings, 13 - Attacked September 9, 1973, in Minnesota. She survived a sexual assault and hammer attack.
- June Lynch, 17 - Attacked September 8, 1974, after being picked up while hitchhiking in the Minneapolis area. She survived severe blows to the head and face.
- Lisa King, 16 - Encountered Carignan with June Lynch on September 8, 1974, in Minnesota and escaped during the attack.
- Gwen Burton - Attacked September 14, 1974, in Minnesota. She survived a severe beating and sexual assault after Carignan abandoned her in a field.
- Sally Versoi - Abducted and assaulted September 18, 1974, in Minnesota. She escaped with Diane Flynn when Carignan stopped for fuel.
- Diane Flynn - Abducted and assaulted September 18, 1974, in Minnesota. She escaped alongside Sally Versoi.
Arrest and Prosecution
Carignan was arrested on September 24, 1974. By then, investigators had multiple surviving victims who could identify him, and police in Minnesota were communicating with authorities in Washington about earlier murders and assaults. His vehicles, movements, criminal record, and pattern of violence were examined as detectives attempted to determine how many crimes could be connected to him.
In 1975, Carignan went on trial for the attempted murder and sexual assault of Gwen Burton. His defense argued that he was legally insane. Carignan made extraordinary statements claiming that God had instructed him to punish and kill women. The jury rejected the insanity defense and found him guilty. Additional convictions followed for sexual offenses against other victims.
Authorities then prosecuted the Minnesota murders. Carignan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Katherine Schultz and received a 40-year sentence. He was separately convicted of first-degree murder for killing Eileen Hunley and received a life sentence. Together with his other convictions, the sentences ensured that Carignan would spend the remainder of his life in prison.
The Question of Additional Victims
Investigators never established the full extent of Carignan's crimes. The Washington murders of Leslie Brock and Kathy Sue Miller remained particularly significant because of the circumstances surrounding their deaths, witness information, and similarities to his known attacks. Authorities considered Carignan a serious suspect in both cases but did not believe they possessed sufficient evidence to obtain murder convictions.
His movements through Alaska, Minnesota, Washington, and other parts of the country, combined with his long record of attacks against women, also led investigators and later researchers to question whether other unsolved crimes might have been connected to him. Such theories have never produced enough verified evidence to responsibly assign additional murders to Carignan, so his documented victim count is generally described as at least three known killings, with Brock and Miller commonly listed as suspected victims.
Death in Prison
Harvey Louis Carignan remained incarcerated for nearly half a century after his 1974 arrest. During his final years he was held by the Minnesota Department of Corrections at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Oak Park Heights. He died there of natural causes on March 6, 2023, at the age of 95.
Legacy of the Case
Carignan's criminal history spans an extraordinary period of approximately 25 years between his first known murder and his final killing. His case demonstrates how a violent offender could move repeatedly between imprisonment and freedom while committing new crimes in different states. His overturned 1949 murder conviction remains one of the most notable aspects of the case: Carignan had once been sentenced to death for killing Laura Showalter, yet legal problems surrounding his confession prevented that conviction from standing.
More than two decades later, the testimony of women and girls who survived encounters with Carignan helped authorities permanently remove him from society. The cases of Eileen Hunley and Katherine Schultz resulted in murder convictions, while the deaths of Leslie Laura Brock and Kathy Sue Miller remained associated with him without ever producing charges. Carignan ultimately died in prison, leaving behind a record of murder, sexual violence, and repeated attacks that stretched across several states and several decades.
