Billy Richard Glaze

Serial Killer

Billy Richard Glaze: The Minneapolis Murder Convictions and the DNA Evidence That Later Cast Doubt on the Case

Billy Richard Glaze was convicted in Minnesota of murdering three Native American women in Minneapolis during 1986 and 1987. The killings were exceptionally violent and shared a number of disturbing similarities. Each victim had suffered severe injuries to the head and face, each was found partially or completely unclothed, and each had been subjected to a sexual assault involving an object at or near the time of death. Investigators came to believe that the murders were the work of the same offender. Glaze was eventually prosecuted for the deaths of Kathleen Bullman, Angeline Whitebird Sweet, and Angela Green. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder committed during a sexual assault as well as second-degree intentional murder in each case. He received three consecutive life sentences. For many years Glaze was widely described as a serial killer. However, his case became substantially more complicated decades after his trial. Modern DNA testing failed to identify Glaze's DNA at the murder scenes and instead identified DNA belonging to another man at evidence associated with two of the three killings. Glaze maintained his innocence, and attorneys were seeking to have his convictions overturned when he died in prison in 2015. Because he died before the court ruled on that request, the convictions were never formally vacated during his lifetime.

The Minneapolis Murders

The three murders occurred within approximately nine months of one another in Minneapolis. All three victims were Native American women. Investigators noted striking similarities in the condition and positioning of the bodies, the concentration of violence around the victims' faces and heads, and the sexual mutilation inflicted at or near the time of death. The victims were found in isolated or semi-isolated locations associated with railroad property, transient camps, or areas where people could move without attracting immediate attention. Investigators believed that these similarities suggested a single offender deliberately repeating a recognizable pattern.

Known Victims in the Glaze Murder Case

• Kathleen Bullman July 27, 1986 Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bullman's body was discovered in brush beneath a tree near a railroad warehouse around 10th and Holden in Minneapolis. She was partially clothed. Investigators found a metal pipe across her neck and evidence of a violent sexual assault involving a stick or branch. The medical examiner determined that she died from lack of oxygen to the brain caused by pressure on her neck, with severe facial trauma contributing to her death. Her mouth had been badly injured and numerous teeth were broken. The medical examiner concluded that the sexual assault occurred at or around the time of death.
• Angeline Whitebird Sweet April 12, 1987 Minneapolis, Minnesota: Sweet's body was discovered behind the American Indian Center near Franklin and Bloomington Avenues. She was found unclothed except for a red bandana around her neck. She had sustained extensive blunt-force injuries to her head and face, including significant injuries to her mouth and teeth. A bloodstained wooden object was located near the body. She had also been subjected to a severe sexual assault involving a tree branch. The autopsy determined that she died from lack of oxygen, with trauma to the head contributing to her death.
• Angela Green April 29, 1987 Minneapolis, Minnesota: Green's body was discovered beneath the Park Avenue railroad bridge. She had suffered catastrophic injuries to her head. Pieces of concrete and a bloodstained cinder block were located nearby, and the medical examiner concluded that traumatic head injuries caused her death. Her skull was fractured, her face and head displayed numerous injuries, and she had been sexually assaulted with a piece of bamboo at or near the time of death. Her clothing was discovered hanging from trees near the scene.

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Confirmed Victims: (3)

Kathleen Bullman Age: (19), Date of Death: 1986-07-27

Billy Glaze - Wikipedia