Cecil Henry Floyd

Serial Killer

Cecil Henry Floyd: A Detailed Account of His Crimes

Early Life

Cecil Henry Floyd was born in 1945 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Little is known about his early life, but his first known run-in with the law was in 1959, when he was fined $55 for careless driving and driving without a license. In 1971, Floyd married 23-year-old Lorna Jean Kern, who would later become his accomplice in a series of crimes. Lorna claimed that she met Floyd at a motel in Macon, Georgia, and was essentially forced into marrying him because he threatened to hurt her children from a previous marriage. She also reported that he was very paranoid about the police arresting him and often mistreated the children by washing their mouths with soap, putting hot peppers in their mouths, or punching them until their noses were bloodied.

Confirmed Victims

• Henry Michael Maser (15): Disappeared on July 23, 1973, near the Boone County Fair in Lebanon, Indiana. His body was found six days later with three gunshot wounds to the head. Floyd had stolen Maser's wallet, which contained only $5.
• Barney M. Rycyk (56): Murdered on November 14, 1973, at the Durands Motel in Union Park, Florida. Floyd and his accomplice, Thomas Mattingly, bludgeoned Rycyk 66 times with a claw hammer before stealing $20.
• Karen Chitwood (17): Found dead on February 20, 1974, in her Orlando, Florida, apartment. She had been bound, gagged, stabbed four times in the chest, and her skull was crushed. Items stolen from her apartment included a television set and a clock radio.
• Leslie Johnston (22): Reported missing on May 11, 1974, in Orlando, Florida. Her body was discovered a week later in a wooded area, having suffered three gunshot wounds to the upper torso. Floyd later claimed that during an attempted robbery, Johnston broke free, grabbed his pistol, and shot at him, leading him to wrestle the gun back and shoot her.
• Lester Schmidt (24): On July 13, 1974, Schmidt was found in a Phillips 66 gas station near Aurora, Nebraska, with three gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries without regaining consciousness. Approximately $500 was stolen from the gas station.
• Unidentified Male ("Dickinson County John Doe") (25-31): Discovered on July 24, 1974, near Upland, Kansas. The victim, believed to be a hitchhiker, had been shot multiple times. Floyd later recounted that he picked up the man in western Kansas, stopped on a dirt road under the pretense of fixing a tire, and then shot him several times before robbing him.

Investigation and Arrest

On July 17, 1974, the FBI issued a federal arrest warrant charging Floyd with the kidnapping of 18-year-old Harold Warren McQuinney from Micanopy, Florida, on June 30. McQuinney remained in captivity for a day before managing to escape in Jasper, Tennessee, where he notified authorities. Floyd continued his crime spree, including robbing a gas station in Lonoke, Arkansas. On July 24, 1974, Floyd and his wife were apprehended by sheriff's deputies in Lonoke after an FBI agent tipped them off. The three children in their car—two from Lorna's previous marriage and their only child together—were taken into child protective services following the arrests. ...Read More

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Henry Michael Maser Age: (15), Date of Death: 1973-07-23

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Cecil Henry Floyd | Murderpedia

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