#mad butcher

MAD BUTCHER

Most people think of Eliot Ness and immediately associate him with Al Capone. However, the famous American lawman was also involved in one of the most infamous and brutal serial murder cases in United States history, only this time Ness would not get his man. In fact, to this day the Cleveland Torso Murders, perpetrated by a man known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, remain unsolved. In fact, his inability to find the murderer is said to have been the cause of his descent into alcoholism.

From 1934 to 1938, the Mad Butcher brutally murdered thirteen people, generally leaving only the torsos of the corpses behind. In all, seven men and six women were murdered, with only two victims ever having been identified. Two men were arrested in suspicion of being the Mad Butcher, but they were never convicted. The first suspect, Frank Dolezal, had originally confessed but later recanted, and died in custody. The second suspect, Dr. Francis Sweeney, failed a polygraph test but was released due to a lack of evidence. Ness’s journal hints that he knew who the killer was but could never prove it. And if the untouchable Eliot Ness was unable to prove who the killer was, that’s probably a pretty good indication that these are murders that will go forever unsolved.