Episode 618: Jerry Brudos: The Shoe Fetish Slayer (Part 2)

Jerry Brudos was a notorious serial killer and necrophiliac who terrorized young women in Oregon during the 1960s. Renowned for his chilling acts and psychological manipulation, Brudos kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least four women: Karen Sprinker, Linda Slauson, Jan Whitney, and Linda Sally.

Brudos targeted young women

Brudos chose victims he deemed vulnerable or more easily overpowered, avoiding those who put up significant resistance. His modus operandi involved deceit, sometimes posing as a figure of authority to lure women. Notably, he attempted to abduct Linda Sally by feigning to be a store detective.

Kidnapped and murdered his victims

With a practiced routine of psychological manipulation, he sometimes deceived victims into compliance by promising their release. This was the tragic case with Linda Sally, who sat unresisting on his couch, probably under the impression that she would eventually be set free. Brudos escalated his ploy by abducting 19-year-old Karen Sprinker from a department store parking lot. After forcing her into his vehicle at gunpoint, he took her to his home where he committed his unspeakable acts.

Photographed and disposed of the bodies

Once at his house, Brudos bound his victims, often going about his normal life with his family before returning to terrorize them. He violated the victims' bodies, photographed them, and mutilated them post-mortem. He then disposed of the bodies in nearby rivers, sometimes using heavy objects to weigh them down.

Sought to manipulate evidence and the system

Even when faced with the consequences of his actions, Brudos was careful to omit incriminating evidence, such as the location of Linda Slauson’s body. He tried to manipulate the legal system by initially pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Eventually, he changed this plea to guilty.

Necrophilia and shoe fetish

Brudos' necrophiliac tendencies were evident in the way he treated his victims after their death. His shoe fetish also played a part in his crimes; he would force victims to wear stolen clothing and shoes, going so far as to express disappointment in Ka ...

Investigators pieced together the chilling evidence against Jerry Brudos, linking him to the disappearance and murder of several young women.

After several young women went missing, the police began investigating Brudos and eventually gathered substantial evidence to link him to the crimes.

Detectives discovered a significant amount of incriminating physical evidence in Brudos' home.

Detectives found incriminating physical evidence in Brudos' home, including clothing, ropes, and a large stash of photographs of his victims.

The missing Karen Sprinker was found dressed in clothing that was not her own, which corresponded with Brudos possessing photographs of his victims. In his basement, police found copper wire and nylon cord that matched those used in the murders, alongside industrial mechanical cloth that matched the material discovered on one of the victim's bodies, Linda. A vast collection of photographs was uncovered, depicting nude bodies dangling from a rope and various pieces of women's clothing. Moreover, at least one photo, a nude image of Karen Sprinker, was found in Jerry Brudos's wallet. Brudos had even inadvertently taken a photo with his face reflected in a mirror he'd placed under his victims.

Brudos inadvertently revealed details about the crimes during interactions with police and a college student that ultimately led to his arrest.

During an interview, detective Jim Stovall noted Brudos attempted to play mind games, making hypothetical suggestions about how the killer could have operated, comments that seemed suspiciously informed. Additionally, a breakthrough in the case came when an Oregon State University student reported an odd encounter with Brudos, a clue that eventually led to his arrest. A woman who spoke with him noticed he mentioned needing to replace a car engine, which connected with the method of body disposal used in the murders, as victims were ...

Psychiatric evaluations and legal maneuvers played a significant role in the case of Jerry Brudos. Multiple psychiatrists involved in his case found him legally sane but afflicted with serious psychological disorders, which influenced the proceedings that led to his eventual sentence.

Brudos was evaluated by multiple psychiatrists, who found him to be legally sane but suffering from a severe antisocial personality disorder.

Jerry Brudos spent considerable time with seven state psychiatrists, including Dr. Guy Parvarush, who observed that Brudos was anxious, agitated, depressed, and emotionally detached, often crying and showing poor social judgment. Despite this, all the examining psychiatrists concurred that Brudos met the criteria for a paranoid disorder and antisocial personality disorder. They concluded that he could understand the criminality of his actions.

The psychiatrists noted Brudos showed no remorse for his crimes and had a distorted view of his victims, seeing them as "inconsequential."

During discussions about the victims, Brudos was emotionally unresponsive. At one point, he referred to a victim as "inconsequential" to him as a candy wrapper. At least one psychiatrist, Dr. George Suckow, suggested that Brudos used his psychiatric history to his advantage and demonstrated a lack of remorse by distinguishing his sadistic fantasies from reality.

Brudos initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but later changed his plea to guilty on all charges.

Brudos initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of Karen. Following the belief that he could mount a successful insanity defense, Brudos began disclosing details of his crimes. It is not specified if he formally changed his plea to guilty, though this is ...

The consequences of Jerry Brudos's crimes have been profound and enduring, especially for the families of the victims, who have been living with ongoing trauma and fear due to the possibility of his release.

The victims' families experienced ongoing trauma and anxiety over the possibility of Brudos being paroled, despite his model behavior in prison.

Throughout his nearly four decades in prison, Brudos established himself as a model prisoner. Despite this, he was consistently denied parole. Parole hearings were a recurring source of distress for the victims' families, making them relive the trauma repeatedly. This agonizing cycle persisted, with many women in Oregon, particularly the families of the victims, deeply concerned about the sentences that allowed for parole.

Brudos refused to reveal the location of Linda Slauson's body, denying her family the chance to properly bury her.

Adding to the immense pain of the families, Brudos refused to disclose the whereabouts of Linda Slauson's remains. Her family was left without a body to bury and did not have any of her belongings to aid in saying their final goodbyes.

The victims' families expressed relief and closure when Brudos died in prison in 2006 after a battle with liver cancer.

Jerry Brudos passed away on March 28th, 2006, succumbing to liver cancer in the infirmary of the Oregon State Penitentiary. Brudos's death brought a grim sense of relief to many victims' relatives who had lived under the shadow of anxiety about his potential release. One such individual was Jan Whitney's sister, Cindy Elliott, who noted that her family felt his death should have occurred earlie ...