The darker side of the human psyche – Serial killers 5: Benjamin Atkins
Atkins himself was raped at age 10 and had witnessed his mother engage in prostitution.
Benjamin Tony Atkins (August 26, 1968 – September 17, 1997)
Also known as the Woodward Corridor Killer, Benjamin Atkins was an American serial killer and rapist who murdered, tortured, and raped 11 women in Highland Park and Detroit, Michigan, during a period of nine months between December 1991 and August 1992. All the victims were found in vacant buildings, all had been raped and strangled. Most of them had been murdered in the suburb of Highland Park. Many of the victims were working as prostitutes, and Atkins said he was motivated by a hatred of prostitution.
During his trial, it was revealed that Atkins himself was raped at age 10 and had witnessed his mother engage in prostitution. He was convicted of eleven counts of first degree murder and one count of first degree sexual conduct and sentenced to eleven life sentences. On September 17, 1997, he died of an infection caused by HIV at Duane Waters Hospital, which is connected with the Egeler Correctional Facility in Jackson.
Victims
- Darlene Saunders (34), attacked, raped and sodomised – October 1991, Highland Park;
- Debbie Ann Friday (30) raped, strangled and sodomised – December 14, 1991, Highland Park;
- Bertha Jean Mason (26) strangled, raped and sodomised on December 30, 1991, Detroit;
- Patricia Cannon George (36) strangled, raped and sodomised on January 3, 1992, Detroit;
- Vickie Truelove (39) sodomised, strangled and raped on January 25, 1992, Detroit;
- Valerie Chalk (34) repeatedly sodomised, raped and strangled on February 17, 1992, Monterey Motel room 68, Highland Park;
- Juanita Hardy (23) raped and strangled at Monterey Motel room 35, February 17, 1992;
- Unknown female body raped and strangled at Monterey Motel room 18, February 17, 1992;
- Brenda Mitchell (28) raped and strangled on April 9, 1992, Highland Park;
- Vicki Beasley-Brown (27) raped and strangled on April 15, 1992, Highland Park;
- Joanne O’Rourke (45) repeatedly raped and strangled on June 15, 1992, Highland Park;
- Ocinena Waymer (21) beaten, raped, sodomised and strangled on August 21, 1992, Highland Park; and
- LaTanya Showanda Smith (29) beaten on August 21, 1992, Highland Park.
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