Billy Glaze

Billy Richard Glaze (July 13, 1943 – December 22, 2015), also known as "Jesse Sitting Crow" was a convicted American serial killer whose guilt has come into question by the discovery of DNA evidence excluding Glaze and implicating another man.[2][3]

Billy Glaze
Born
Billy Richard Glaze

(1943-07-13)July 13, 1943[1]
Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 22, 2015(2015-12-22) (aged 72)
Smyrna, Delaware, U.S.
Other namesJesse Coulter
Jesse Sitting Crow
Butcher Knife Billy
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty52 years in prison
Details
Victims3–20+
State(s)Minnesota
Date apprehended
August 31, 1987

Crimes

Glaze was suspected of the murders of at least 50 women in multiple states.[4]

He allegedly boasted to police about having killed over 20 women, but in interviews claimed he was innocent.[5]

Glaze became a suspect in the 1986–87 murders of three Native American women in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area after a waitress brought him to the attention of authorities. Information from a girlfriend led investigators to look for him in New Mexico.[6] Glaze was arrested on August 31, 1987 while driving under the influence of alcohol, for a violation of his parole from a Texas conviction for rape in 1974. The arresting officers found a bloody shirt, crowbar and nightstick in his truck.[7]

Hair samples from the crowbar were used to convict him of murder. He was convicted of three counts of first degree murder; he would be eligible for parole 52 years later. At sentencing he maintained his innocence.[8] Glaze was housed in James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware.

New evidence

DNA testing conducted by the Innocence Project in 2009 found that semen from one victim's rape kit didn't match Glaze, but instead matched another Minnesota man,[3] a convicted rapist.[2] Additional testing done in 2014 on a cigarette butt found near the body of a second victim came back as a match to the same man.[2] In spite of testing dozens of pieces of evidence from the three crime scenes, none came back as a match to Glaze.[2]

Glaze's attorneys filed a motion for a new trial both based on the DNA testing results and questions about the reliability of eyewitnesses who testified at Glaze's original trial, one of whom has since recanted and another who has claimed to have witnessed more than 60 murders during his time in prison.[2] In response to the filing by Glaze's attorneys, the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office are re-investigating the case.[9]

Death

Glaze died on December 22, 2015, aged 72, shortly after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.[10] He died in prison after spending more than 25 years incarcerated.

See also

References
  1. "Prosecutors want extra time to respond in Glaze case". Star Tribune. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. Volpe, Trisha (3 June 2014). "DNA tests show man innocent of 1980s Minn. murders, lawyers say". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  3. Louwagie, Pam (3 June 2014). "Citing new DNA in decades-old murders, lawyers ask for new trial". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. "Suspect asked about Green River murders". Spokane Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. 10 June 1987. p. D6. Retrieved 15 August 2010. A Dallas County Sheriff's office probe put William Glaze, who also goes by the names Jesse Coulter and Jesse Sitting Crow, in the vicinity of some 50 murders, investigator Gary F. Lachman said Tuesday.
  5. Volpe, Trisha (29 May 2008). "Minneapolis PD looks at 1980's serial killer for an unsolved murder". KARE 11. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2010. Glaze allegedly boasts of having committed more than 20 murders across the country, including three in Minnesota.
  6. Minnesota v. Billy Richard Glaze (Supreme Court of Minnesota, en banc 16 March 1990).
  7. "Murder suspect not wanted in Green River investigation". Spokane Chronicle. AP. 11 June 1987. pp. A2.
  8. "SENTENCED. Billy Glaze, a drifter who posed as an American..." Orlando Sentinel. 12 February 1989.
  9. Volpe, Trisha (4 June 2014). "Law enforcement takes another look at 1989 Minneapolis serial killer case". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  10. Louwagie, Pam (22 December 2015). "Billy Glaze, convicted in 1980s Mpls. serial killings, has died". Star Tribune. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
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