Adolph Theodore Laundenberg

Serial Killer

Adolph Theodore Laudenberg: The Santa Strangler

Early Life

Adolph Theodore Laudenberg was born on June 13, 1926, in Lexington, Kentucky. He grew up with his German immigrant father after his mother passed away a few years after his birth. Laudenberg served in the naval construction battalion during World War II and later moved to California, where he worked as a security guard and cab driver.

Crimes

Laudenberg, known as "The Santa Strangler," committed a series of heinous crimes between 1972 and 1975. Using his job as a cab driver, he targeted lonely, alcoholic, or ill women who reminded him of his ex-wife. He would bind, rape, and strangle his victims, leaving little evidence behind.

Victims

• Lois Petrie (43) - Last seen at a San Pedro bar on Christmas Day in 1972. Found strangled in her apartment's bedroom the following day.
• Catherine Medina (50) - Discovered in a local San Pedro bar on August 18, 1974. Her naked body was found beside some bushes in Harbor Lake Recreational Park the next day.
• Anna Felch (54) - Raped and strangled in September 1974.
• Leah Griffin (60) - Killed in her Powell Street apartment in San Francisco in March 1975.
• Irene Hind (55) - Attacked on March 12, 1974, as she closed up her bar, Irene's Domar Club, in San Francisco.
• Maude Burgess (83) - Found strangled in her Hyde Street apartment in San Francisco on October 15, 1974.

...Read More

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Lois Petrie Age: (43), Date of Death: December 25, 1972

    ...View 3 additional victims
Suspected Victims:

Irene Hind Age: (55)

Maude Burgess Age: (83)

Adolph Laudenberg - Wikipedia

    ...View 9 additional sources