Joseph Baldi

Serial Killer

Joseph Baldi: The Queens Creeper

Early Life and Criminal Background

Joseph Baldi was born on January 16, 1941, in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York. He became known as "The Queens Creeper" and "The Monster of Queens" after a series of nighttime attacks on women and girls in Queens during the early 1970s. Baldi's crimes followed a disturbing pattern: he prowled residential neighborhoods late at night or during the early morning hours, entered ground-floor homes or apartments through windows, and attacked women while they were sleeping. Baldi had a history of burglary and psychiatric hospitalization years before the murders that eventually made him notorious. Beginning in the early 1960s, he spent extended periods at Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, where he received psychiatric treatment. He also learned carpentry while institutionalized. His later criminal proceedings would repeatedly involve questions about his mental competency, his ability to understand court proceedings, and whether he was legally responsible for his actions. What made the Baldi case particularly controversial was not only the number of women attacked, but the fact that he was released from psychiatric confinement while criminal charges were still pending against him. Three of the four homicides attributed to him occurred after that release.

The Murder of Areti Koularmanis

Baldi's first identified murder occurred on September 20, 1970, in Jamaica, Queens. Twenty-three-year-old Areti Koularmanis was visiting New York from Canada with her husband and their children. The family was staying with relatives in a ground-floor residence on 88th Avenue. During the early morning hours, an intruder entered through a window and encountered Koularmanis in the bedroom. She was stabbed in the throat. Despite being severely wounded, Koularmanis was able to reach her husband. She was rushed to Mary Immaculate Hospital but died from her injuries. The killer escaped, and the murder initially remained unsolved. The circumstances surrounding the intrusion were consistent with Baldi's established habit of entering residences through windows. The killing would not be publicly connected to him until after his arrest nearly two years later. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Areti Koularmanis Age: (23), Date of Death: 1970-09-19

Survivors:

John Hamberger , Date of Attack: 1971-09-05

Frank Mobileo , Date of Attack: 1971-09-05

Joseph Baldi - Wikipedia