The Frankford Slasher

Serial Killer

The Frankford Slasher: Philadelphia's Unsolved Serial Murder Case

The Frankford Slasher is the name given to an unidentified killer, or possibly more than one killer, connected to a series of brutal murders in Philadelphia between 1985 and 1990. Most of the crimes were centered around the Frankford Avenue area in Northeast Philadelphia, although several victims were found elsewhere in the city. The women were linked by repeated patterns: many frequented bars along Frankford Avenue, several were sexually assaulted, and most were stabbed numerous times. In a number of cases, the victims were partially undressed or deliberately positioned after death. Despite an arrest and one murder conviction, no person has ever been proved responsible for the entire series.

The Victims and the Murder Timeline

Historical accounts sometimes confuse the date a victim was last seen, the estimated date of death, and the date the body was discovered. The following chronology separates those details where the exact time of death is uncertain.

• Helen Patent, 52 August 1985 SEPTA train yard near Penn and Bridge Streets, Frankford: Patent was last seen alive at her Parkland, Pennsylvania, home on August 19, 1985. Transit workers discovered her body at approximately 8:30 a.m. on August 26. Because she had been missing for about a week, August 19 is sometimes incorrectly reported as a confirmed murder date. Her exact date of death was not firmly established in public accounts. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed repeatedly, with the detailed local chronology reporting 47 stab wounds to her head and chest. A severe abdominal wound was also present. Her clothing had been removed below the waist and her body had been deliberately positioned. Patent was known to visit bars in the Frankford area.
• Anna Carroll, 68 January 3, 1986 1400 block of Ritner Street, South Philadelphia: Carroll was found dead on the bedroom floor of her apartment on January 3. Her apartment door had been left open. She had been stabbed six times in the back and suffered an additional large wound after death. A kitchen knife was found at the scene. Although Carroll lived far from the Frankford train-yard crime scene, investigators eventually learned that she, like Patent, had spent time in bars along Frankford Avenue.
• Suzanna "Susan" Olszef, 64 December 25, 1986 Richmond Street, Philadelphia: Olszef was found murdered in her apartment on Christmas Day. Her door had also been left open, and she had been stabbed six times in the back. Investigators discovered an important connection among the early victims: Patent, Carroll, and Olszef had all been seen at the Golden Bar, commonly called Goldie's, on the 5200 block of Frankford Avenue. Olszef had reportedly been at the bar only a few days before her death.
• Jeanne Durkin, 28 January 8, 1987 Pratt Street near Frankford Avenue: Durkin's body was discovered at about 7:30 a.m. on a lot west of Frankford Avenue, beneath or beside a storage truck; some accounts describe the location as beneath a fruit-and-vegetable stand. She had been stabbed approximately 74 times in her chest, back, and buttocks. She had also been sexually assaulted and partially undressed. Durkin was homeless and frequently slept in the doorway of an abandoned bakery close to Goldie's. The similarity of her murder to the earlier cases greatly strengthened suspicions that a serial offender was operating in the neighborhood.
• Catherine M. Jones, 29 found January 29, 1987 Northern Liberties, Philadelphia: Jones was found partially clothed on a snow-covered sidewalk. Her precise time of death was not clearly established in publicly available accounts. Unlike the principal Frankford victims, Jones had been beaten to death rather than stabbed. She worked as a waitress and had visited Frankford Avenue bars, which caused detectives to consider a possible connection. However, investigators also had reasons to suspect that her death was unrelated, and her inclusion in the Frankford Slasher series remains disputed.
• Margaret Vaughan, 66 November 11, 1988 4900 block of Penn Street, Frankford: Vaughan was found in the foyer of an apartment building where she had previously lived. She had been stabbed approximately 29 times. A particularly important witness recalled seeing Vaughan in a bar on the evening before her death with a middle-aged white man. He was described as having a round face, glasses, and a noticeable limp. Police used the description to produce a composite drawing, but the man was never publicly identified as the killer.
• Theresa Sciortino, 30 January 18-19, 1989 Arrott Street, Frankford: Sciortino was discovered dead in her apartment on January 19. Evidence indicated that a violent struggle had taken place inside, and a neighbor reported hearing a disturbance the previous evening. She had been stabbed approximately 25 times in the face, chest, and arms and had also been sexually assaulted. Sciortino had last been seen at the Jolly Post Tavern near Griscom and Arrott Streets in the company of a middle-aged white man shortly after 6 p.m. Her apartment was only a short distance from Frankford Avenue and from earlier murder locations.
• Carol Dowd, 46 late April 1990 alley behind Newman's Sea Food, 4511 Frankford Avenue: Historical reports differ by one day on the date her body was discovered, with some wire-service reports giving April 28 and the detailed Philadelphia chronology placing the discovery at nearly 2 a.m. on April 29. The latter chronology estimated that Dowd was killed after midnight and before approximately 1:40 a.m. She had been beaten and stabbed 36 times in the face, neck, chest, and back, with additional severe abdominal injuries. Her clothing and purse were found nearby. Dowd's murder became the only case in the series to produce a conviction.
• Michelle Dehner, also reported as Michelle Martin, 30 September 6-8, 1990 Arrott Street, Frankford: Dehner was last seen alive on September 6 and was found dead in her fourth-floor apartment on Saturday, September 8. Therefore, September 6 should not be treated as a firmly established death date even though it appears that way in many summaries. She had been stabbed approximately 23 times in the chest and abdomen. There was no obvious sign of forced entry. Her apartment was on the same street where Theresa Sciortino had been murdered and only a few blocks from the location of Carol Dowd's killing. Most importantly, Leonard Christopher was already incarcerated when Dehner was killed.

A Repeated Pattern Around Frankford Avenue

The crimes created fear in an area dominated by the elevated Market-Frankford transit line, neighborhood taverns, small businesses, apartment buildings, and busy nighttime street activity. Goldie's and other Frankford Avenue bars became important to the investigation because numerous victims had either visited them regularly or had been seen there shortly before their deaths. Investigators came to believe that the offender may have met women in these establishments and gained their trust before accompanying them elsewhere. The repeated use of a knife was one of the strongest similarities. Several victims received an unusually large number of wounds, suggesting attacks involving extreme violence rather than a simple attempt to kill quickly. Sexual assault or sexualized positioning was documented at several scenes. In some apartment murders there was no evidence of forced entry, raising the possibility that the victims voluntarily admitted someone they knew or trusted. ...

Confirmed Victims: (0)
Suspected Victims:

Helen Patent Age: (52), Date of Death: 1985-08-19

Anna Carroll Age: (68), Date of Death: 1986-01-03

Suzanna Olszef Age: (64), Date of Death: 1986-12-25

Jeanne Durkin Age: (28), Date of Death: 1987-01-08

Catherine M. Jones Age: (29), Date of Death: 1987-01

Margaret Vaughan Age: (66), Date of Death: 1988-11-08

Theresa Sciortino Age: (30), Date of Death: 1989-01-19

Carol Dowd Age: (46), Date of Death: 1990-04-29

Michelle Dehner Age: (30), Date of Death: 1990-09-06

Frankford Slasher - Wikipedia