Jerry Spraggins
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December 17, 1954
Sexual assault
Aggravated robbery
Jerry Spraggins | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jerry Jerome Spraggins December 17, 1954 New Jersey, U.S. |
| Convictions | Murder Sexual assault Aggravated robbery |
| Criminal penalty | 40-years-to-life |
| Details | |
| Victims | 1–3 |
Span of crimes | 1981–1983 |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
Date apprehended | For the final time on April 7, 1985 |
| Imprisoned at | New Jersey State Prison, Trenton, New Jersey |
Jerry Jerome Spraggins (born December 17, 1954) is an American murderer, rapist and suspected serial killer. Convicted and sentenced to a 40-years-to-life imprisonment for the 1983 murder of a woman at an apartment in Montclair, New Jersey, he was also suspected, but ultimately acquitted of two similar murders that occurred in that same apartment from 1981 to 1983. Spraggins remains incarcerated for his single murder conviction.
Jerry Jerome Spraggins was born on December 17, 1954, in New Jersey. Little is known about his early life, but he and his family moved to Montclair when he was ten years old. As an adult, he married, had a son and found employment as a taxi driver for the Claridge Taxi Company, in addition to working part-time as a mechanic.[1]
While mostly considered a humble, ordinary man, Spraggins was also a Peeping Tom who frequently spied on naked women whenever he felt certain urges. Due to this, he was arrested and convicted on charges of voyeurism and marijuana possession in 1977, and in November 1980, he was arrested again on charges of criminal trespassing, criminal sexual contact and lewdness.[1]
Murders
In November 1981, 83-year-old Lillian Harris, an elderly woman who lived in an apartment in the Cranetown Apartments housing complex, was found dead. Her cause of death was initially believed to be the result of a heart attack, but some investigators cast doubt on this theory when they noticed some of the jewellery was missing. However, as there was no strong evidence suggesting foul play, the death was written off as natural.[2]
On April 18, 1983, the decomposing body of 51-year-old Joan R. Leight was found in the same apartment. Initially, her death was also attributed to a heart attack, but it was later suggested that she had been asphyxiated and possibly sexually assaulted.[2] Five months later, on September 2, the body of yet another woman, 68-year-old Sarah G. McHale, was found in the apartment. Unlike the previous victims, however, this time it was apparent that she was sexually assaulted, smothered with a pillow and ultimately strangled by her assailant.[2] The similarities between her murder and the two previous deaths sparked renewed interest in the odd case, with some suggesting that all three had fallen victims to a serial killer.[3]