Gary Gene Grant

Serial Killer

Gary Gene Grant: The Renton Serial Killer

Gary Gene Grant was an American serial killer responsible for the murders of four people in Renton, Washington, between December 1969 and April 1971. His victims ranged in age from six to nineteen, and the crimes involved stabbing, strangulation, sexual assault, and the concealment of bodies in wooded areas. Grant was still a teenager when the murders began. Although his case received considerable attention in the Renton and Seattle area at the time, it later became far less widely remembered than other serial murder cases from the Pacific Northwest.

The Murder of Carol Adele Erickson

Grant's first known victim was 19-year-old Carol Adele Erickson. On the evening of December 15, 1969, Erickson was walking home from the Renton Municipal Library. Her route took her along a dirt road running parallel to the Cedar River in Renton. At approximately 7:15 p.m., she was attacked. Grant stabbed Erickson with a knife and dragged her body into nearby vegetation. Evidence presented in the case established that he sexually violated her after she had been fatally attacked and inflicted additional injuries to her neck. Her death was one of the first in a sequence of murders that would eventually be connected to Grant. At the time, however, investigators had no clear reason to believe that the killing would become part of a series.

The Murder of Joanne Mary Zulauf

The second known murder occurred approximately nine months later. Seventeen-year-old Joanne Mary Zulauf disappeared in Renton on September 20, 1970. Grant encountered her during the daytime and attacked her with a rock, striking her in the head. He then dragged her into a wooded area, sexually assaulted her, and strangled her. Zulauf's body was not discovered until September 22, two days after her death. Investigators found her without clothing in the wooded area. One particularly important detail emerged later: Grant had taken Zulauf's wristwatch. Within days of the murder, he gave the watch to his girlfriend as a birthday present. The stolen property later became part of the evidence linking him to the crime. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Carol Adele Erickson Age: (19), Date of Death: 1969-12-15

Gary Grant (serial killer) - Wikipedia