The Flat Tire Murderer

Serial Killer

The Flat Tire Murderer: The South Florida Canal Murders

The name "Flat Tire Murderer," also called the "Flat Tire Killer," became attached to a disturbing group of murders in South Florida during 1975 and early 1976. Young women and teenage girls disappeared from ordinary places such as shopping centers, restaurants, streets and workplaces, only to be found later in canals, isolated fields or along roads near the Everglades. The crimes occurred mainly in Broward and Dade County, now Miami-Dade County. At the height of the investigation, detectives wondered whether one highly mobile serial killer was responsible for a much larger series of murders. Modern evidence, however, makes it clear that several different killers were probably responsible for crimes once grouped together under the same frightening nickname.

How the Flat Tire Name Began

The most important cases behind the nickname were the murders of Ronnie Sue Gorlin and Elyse Rapp in July 1975. Both women disappeared after going to shopping areas. Both were driving rented or leased automobiles, and each vehicle was later found abandoned with a deliberately damaged or deflated tire. Their bodies were recovered from the Graham Canal in northwest Dade County only days apart. Investigators theorized that the murderer damaged a woman's tire while she was away from her vehicle, waited for her to return and then approached as a helpful stranger. By appearing to be a "Good Samaritan," he could gain her trust without immediately causing alarm. The similarities between the Gorlin and Rapp murders were so strong that investigators publicly stated that they believed the same man killed both women. Police considered the possibility that the offender was a relatively young, presentable and convincing man who could comfortably approach women in public. Contemporary psychological profiles described a white man possibly in his twenties who might appear well dressed, athletic and socially normal. These descriptions were theories rather than an identification, and no suspect was ever proved to be the Flat Tire Killer responsible for the Gorlin-Rapp pair.

The Murders of Ronnie Gorlin and Elyse Rapp

Ronnie Sue Gorlin, a 27-year-old respiratory therapist, disappeared on July 22, 1975. She had planned to visit her mother at Parkway General Hospital and stopped at the 163rd Street Shopping Center in the North Miami Beach area. She never reached the hospital. Her rental automobile was found at the shopping center with a damaged tire. On July 23, Gorlin's body was discovered in the Graham Canal in northwest Dade County. Investigators determined that she had been sexually assaulted and had suffered additional injuries before drowning. Only eight days later, 21-year-old Elyse Rapp disappeared after leaving her Hallandale-area residence to go shopping. Rapp, originally from New York, was working in South Florida for the summer. On July 30, 1975, she was last associated with a shopping trip in the Hollywood area. Her rented Chevrolet Vega was found with a flat tire. On July 31, her body was discovered in the Graham Canal, only a short distance from the place where Gorlin had been recovered. Rapp had been sexually assaulted and struck in the head before drowning. The duplicated flat-tire circumstances, the similar victim profile and the close proximity of the bodies convinced investigators that Gorlin and Rapp were almost certainly victims of the same offender. ...

Confirmed Victims: (2)

Ronnie Gorlin Age: (27), Date of Death: 1975-07-23

Suspected Victims:

Barbara Stephens Age: (23), Date of Death: 1975-02-12

Judith Ann "Judy" Oesterling Age: (19), Date of Death: 1975-01-25

Arietta Marie "Renie" Tinker Age: (17), Date of Death: 1975-04-09

Nancy Lee Fox Age: (19), Date of Death: 1975-06-13

Barbara Susan Schreiber Age: (14), Date of Death: 1975-06-18

Belinda Darlene Zetterower Age: (14), Date of Death: 1975-06-18

Robin Leslie Losch Age: (14), Date of Death: 1975-07-08

Marlene Joy Annabelli Age: (27), Date of Death: 1975-10-26

Mary Coppola Age: (15), Date of Death: 1975-10-26

Michelle Winters Age: (17), Date of Death: 1976-01-11

Flat-Tire murders - Wikipedia