Edward Wayne Edwards

Serial Killer

Edward Wayne Edwards: The Fugitive Who Became a Convicted Serial Killer

Overview

Edward Wayne Edwards was an American serial killer, longtime criminal, prison escapee and former FBI fugitive whose known murders stretched from 1977 to 1996. Although he spent part of his adult life publicly portraying himself as a reformed criminal, investigators eventually established that Edwards had murdered five people in Ohio and Wisconsin. Four of his victims were young people killed in pairs, while his final confirmed victim was a young man who regarded Edwards as a father figure. For decades, Edwards escaped responsibility for the murders. His criminal past made him familiar with police procedures, and his habit of repeatedly moving his family from state to state made tracing his activities especially difficult. The breakthrough finally came in 2009, when one of his daughters, April Balascio, contacted authorities after realizing that details surrounding an unsolved Wisconsin double murder corresponded with her memories of where her father had lived and worked in 1980.

Early Criminal History

Edward Wayne Edwards was born on June 14, 1933, in Akron, Ohio. His criminal behavior began long before the murders for which he would eventually be convicted. As a young man, Edwards committed burglaries, automobile thefts and robberies. In 1955, while being held on burglary charges in Akron, he escaped from jail and began traveling across the United States while committing additional crimes. Edwards became a persistent fugitive. In 1961, the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was captured in Atlanta in January 1962 and subsequently received a lengthy federal prison sentence. After several years in prison, Edwards was paroled in 1967. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Billy Lavaco Age: (21), Date of Death: August 6, 1980

Edward Edwards (serial killer) - Wikipedia