James Edward Daniels

Serial Killer

James Edward Daniels: A Detailed Account of His Crimes

Early Life and Initial Criminal Activities

James Edward Daniels was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York City. Little is known about his early life. In early 1960, he was first arrested for assaulting a man in Queens with a zip gun, for which he served two years in prison. Less than a year after his release, he and five other men were charged with second-degree murder in relation to the March 1963 death of Calvin Dean, who was running a craps game in Ozone Park. Daniels was convicted for his role in the crime and was given a 50-years-to-life term, which he served at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman. While incarcerated there, Daniels undertook vocational training to become a barber, played on the prison's football team, and enrolled in black studies and political science courses. He befriended students from the nearby SUNY New Paltz who had come to work as prison volunteers, including some who were originally from Oregon.

Parole and Relocation to Oregon

After serving 13 years of his sentence, Daniels was paroled on February 8, 1976, due to changes in the state's penal law that affected mandatory minimum sentencing. In September 1977, he moved to Portland, Oregon, in an attempt to rebuild his life. While living there, he married, had a daughter, and worked as an aide at an alcohol detoxification facility, which did not run a pre-emptive background check. During his tenure there, some people started complaining that Daniels was stealing their money. Due to this, several sheriff's deputies disguised themselves as drunks and attempted to catch him in the act, and on August 11, 1978, Daniels was arrested on charges of stealing $91 from one of them. He steadfastly denied responsibility and was tried twice for the crime—after the first trial resulted in a hung jury and the second in a mistrial—the charges were dismissed on the condition that he voluntarily return to New York. Daniels eventually moved into a flat in St. Albans. While his parole was not revoked due to the fact that he had not been convicted, he soon absconded from New York without permission, and an arrest warrant was issued for him. While the authorities were unable to determine the exact reason why, Daniels's brother and his friends alleged that he had become so embittered with the authorities that he vowed to "go hard" and never spend another day in prison. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Calvin Dean , Date of Death: 1963-03-05

James Edward Daniels - Wikipedia