Herman Edward Lamb

Serial Killer

Herman Edward Lamb Jr.: Convicted Murderer and Suspected Serial Killer

Background and Criminal History

Herman Edward "Eddie" Lamb Jr. was born on January 18, 1946, and grew up in the Sallisaw, Oklahoma, area. He developed a criminal record while still a teenager. In 1961, at approximately 15 years old, Lamb was convicted on a federal automobile-theft charge. He was sentenced to three years in custody and reportedly served about 19 months before being paroled. During the following decades, Lamb moved between several states and worked at different times as a pipeline laborer, roofer, woodcutter and horse trainer. He also spent substantial periods incarcerated. His record eventually included violent offenses in Florida and Illinois, while investigators and victims' relatives suspected that he was responsible for additional killings in Oklahoma. Lamb is frequently described as a suspected serial killer because he was convicted or entered a plea in two separate killings and was prosecuted for the deaths of five members of one family. However, the distinction between proven and suspected crimes is important. Lamb was convicted of murdering Denise Stahlhut in Illinois and reportedly entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder in a separate Florida case. He was acquitted of the five Oklahoma murders, which remain officially unsolved.

The Murder of Denise Stahlhut

On December 3, 1977, 21-year-old Denise Stahlhut disappeared after leaving her job at Ronnie B's Place, a tavern in southern Illinois. Stahlhut was a waitress and had been married for only about one week. Witnesses later recalled seeing a man resembling Lamb leave the tavern after her. Stahlhut did not return home, and her disappearance quickly became a desperate search. Eight days later, investigators found her frozen body inside the trunk of her own automobile at a truck stop. She had been sexually assaulted and killed. The placement of her body in the trunk suggested that the killer had attempted to transport or conceal her after the attack. The case remained unresolved for years. Biological evidence recovered during the original investigation was eventually examined through modern DNA testing. The resulting profile linked Lamb to the crime, giving prosecutors the physical evidence needed to charge him decades after Stahlhut's death. Lamb was convicted of Stahlhut's rape and murder and received a prison sentence totaling more than 100 years. The conviction finally brought a legal resolution to a case that had haunted Stahlhut's relatives since 1977. Her family remained active in the legal process, attending parole-related hearings to make certain that Lamb remained imprisoned. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Denise Stahlhut Age: (21), Date of Death: 1977-12-03

Suspected Victims:

Sandra Kay Carter Davis Age: (35), Date of Death: 1978-07-02

Herman Edward Lamb jr (1946-2020) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree