Birmingham's Forgotten Serial Killer: Jack Harrison Trawick
Jack Harrison Trawick murdered Stephanie Gach in Birmingham, Alabama in 1992 after abducting the 21-year-old college student from her apartment complex parking lot. The homicide investigation revealed Trawick had killed at least three women, including 17-year-old Betty Jo Richards in 1972 and 26-year-old Aileen Pruitt earlier in 1992. Forensic evidence from his white Toyota van, including fiber analysis and luminol-detected blood traces, led to his conviction and death sentence. Trawick had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic with homicidal impulses in 1970, yet remained free to kill for decades.
This is the story of a killer who described murder as a physical addiction, a man who walked Birmingham's streets for twenty years between his first kill and his capture. Trawick didn't fade into obscurity after his arrest. From death row, he launched a psychological warfare campaign against his victims' families through a murderabilia website, forcing grieving mothers to relive their nightmares. The case exposed massive failures in the mental health system and sparked a legislative battle that changed how we think about criminals profiting from their crimes.
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