Herbert Arnold

Serial Killer

Herbert Arnold: New York Serial Killer and Repeat Violent Offender

Overview

Herbert Arnold, also known as Tony or Anthony Arnold, was a New York murderer and sexual offender whose violent criminal history extended across several decades. Born around 1944, Arnold first came to the attention of authorities as a teenager and eventually developed a record involving murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, hostage-taking and escape from psychiatric custody. Historical accounts establish that he was responsible for at least three killings: a woman and her 13-year-old daughter in 1965 and another victim in a 1973 kidnapping and murder case. Arnold's history is complicated by repeated findings that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Instead of remaining continuously in prison following his earliest alleged murders, he spent substantial periods confined in New York psychiatric institutions. He was later released, committed additional violent offenses, served time in prison, was paroled, and eventually returned to the forensic psychiatric system. His case became nationally publicized in 1994 when he and another convicted killer escaped from the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center.

The 1965 Murders of Ruth and Carol Burke

Arnold's first known killings occurred in New York in April 1965, when he was approximately 20 or 21 years old. The victims have been identified as Ruth Burke, 43, and her 13-year-old daughter, Carol Burke. Later accounts described Ruth as Arnold's girlfriend or a woman who lived near him. Carol was sexually assaulted before she was killed. Contemporary retrospective reporting consistently describes the case as involving the rape of a 13-year-old girl and the murders of both the girl and her mother. Arnold was arrested and accused of the crimes, but the prosecution did not proceed in the manner of an ordinary murder trial because he was determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Arnold was subsequently sent to Matewan State Hospital, a New York institution that housed mentally ill offenders. He remained within the psychiatric system for a period of years. The disposition of the case meant that the murders of Ruth and Carol Burke did not result in a conventional murder conviction and lengthy prison sentence at that time. ...

Confirmed Victims: (2)

Ruth Burke Age: (43), Date of Death: 1965-04

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