| Robert Berdella | |
|---|---|
| Birth name: | Robert Andrew Berdella |
| Also known as: | The Kansas City Butcher |
| Born: | January 31, 1949 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio |
| Died: | October 8, 1992 (aged 43) |
| Cause of death: | heart attack |
| Sentence: | Life imprisonment |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 6+ |
| Span of killings: | 1984 – 1987 |
| Country: | U.S. |
| State(s): | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Date apprehended: | April 2, 1988 |
Robert Andrew "Bob" Berdella (January 31, 1949 – October 8, 1992) was an American serial killer in Kansas City, Missouri who raped, tortured and killed at least six men between 1984 and 1987.
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He was enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute from 1967 to 1969. During this time he was convicted but received a suspended sentence for selling amphetamines. He was later arrested for possession of LSD and marijuana but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. In 1969 he bought the house at 4315 Charlotte which would be the scene of the crimes. He worked as a chef and eventually opened Bob’s Bazaar Bizarre.[1]
Berdella was apprehended on April 4, 1988, after a victim he had been torturing for a week jumped naked from the second story of his house and escaped. By that time, he had abducted and tortured at least six young men, and the Kansas City Police Department suspected him in two other disappearances. Berdella had detailed torture logs and large numbers of Polaroid pictures he had taken of his victims. Volumes of pictures were recovered by the Kansas City Police Department, and remain in their possession. He claimed that he was trying to "help" some of his victims by giving them antibiotics after torturing them. He tried to gouge one of his victim's eyes out, all 'to see what would happen'. He buried one victim's skull in his backyard, and put the dismembered bodies out for the weekly trash pickup. The bodies were never recovered but left in the landfill.
A few months before the arrest was made, Berdella was offered a ride home from a bar by people who noticed he was too intoxicated to drive. On the way back, Berdella allegedly told stories about young men he'd had abducted and tortured in the previous months. It was not taken seriously at that time considering his advanced state of intoxication. [2]
He claimed that the film version of John Fowles' The Collector, in which the protagonist kidnaps and imprisons a young woman, had been his inspiration when he was a teenager.[3]
| Name[4] | Age | Date of disappearance |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Howell | 20 | July 5, 1984 |
| Robert Sheldon | 18 | April 19, 1984 |
| Mark Wallace | 20 | June 22, 1985 |
| James Ferris | 20 | September 26, 1985 |
| Todd Stoops | 21 | June 17, 1986 |
| Larry Pearson | 20 | July 9, 1987 |
Martin Meyers was the lawyer that represented some of the victims. He was awarded one billion dollars from Robert Berdella's homeowner's insurance
Berdella owned and operated a novelty shop in the Westport Flea Market/Bar & Grill in Kansas City, Missouri. He named his booth "Bob’s Bazaar Bizarre" and catered to occult-type tastes. [5]
Berdella died of a heart attack in 1992 after writing letters to a minister claiming the prison officials were not giving him his heart medication. His death was never investigated.[citation needed]
The Northeast Film Group released a feature film based on Bob Berdella in September 2009.
Chicago death metal band Macabre's song "Diary of Torture" on the Murder Metal album is about Robert Berdella, and gives details of his abductions and killings.
   | Crime Library article - Bob Berdella - Crime Library on truTV.com |
| | Rites of Burial Review - Berdella - Savage Cinema |
| | Link text - Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill |
| | Morgue File: Bob Berdella - Crime Scene KC |
| | Official Movie Web Site - Bob Berdella.com - The Official Movie Web Site - Bob Berdella |
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