Samuel Little
American serial killer with the most confirmed victims in U.S. history.
Samuel Little, born Samuel McDowell in June 1940 in Reynolds, Georgia, was an American serial killer whose crimes spanned decades. His mother, a teenage maid, abandoned him as an infant, and he was raised primarily by his grandmother in Lorain, Ohio. As a child, he developed sexual fantasies about strangling women after seeing his kindergarten teacher touch her neck, and as a teenager he collected true crime magazines depicting such acts. His criminal record began in 1956 with a juvenile detention for breaking and entering in Omaha, Nebraska. After moving to Florida in the late 1960s, he worked as a cemetery worker and ambulance attendant while accumulating arrests across eight states for offenses including fraud, armed robbery, and rape. He took up boxing during prison stints and later referred to himself as a former prizefighter.
Little’s murder spree stretched from 1970 to 2005, with a concentration of killings in Miami and Los Angeles. He was convicted of eight murders but confessed to 93 across 19 states. The FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program confirmed at least 60 victims, the highest confirmed count for any American serial killer. He provided sketches for 26 victims, though not all have been linked to known murders. In 1982, he was arrested in Mississippi for the murder of Melinda Rose LaPree but was not indicted; he was later acquitted in Florida for the murder of Patricia Ann Mount. In California, he was convicted in 1984 for kidnapping and strangling a survivor, serving two and a half years. After release in 1987, he committed at least ten more murders in Los Angeles. He was arrested in 2012 at a Louisville homeless shelter and extradited to California on a narcotics charge. DNA evidence linked him to three Los Angeles murders from the late 1980s, leading to a 2014 conviction and life sentence without parole. He later confessed to dozens more murders, including in Texas and Alabama, and died in prison in December 2020.
- field
- Serial killer
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Confessing to 93 murders; confirmed involvement in at least 60 murders, the most
Lore & Background
Little said his teenaged mother was a 'lady of the night' and abandoned him as an infant. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Lorain, Ohio, where he was raised mainly by his grandmother. By his own account, he began having sexual fantasies about strangling women as a child, starting when he saw his kindergarten teacher touch her neck; as a teenager, he collected true crime magazines depicting the strangulation of women. His mother was listed on the booking card as 'whereabouts unknown.' He later moved to Florida to live with his mother in the late 1960s, working at various times as a cemetery worker and an ambulance attendant. He said he then began traveling more widely and had more run-ins with the law, being arrested in eight states for crimes including driving under the influence, fraud, shoplifting, solicitation, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and rape. Little took up boxing during his time in prison, referring to himself as a former prizefighter.
Reader's Guide
Samuel Little's significance lies in the unprecedented scale of his confirmed murders—at least 60, the largest number for any serial killer in American history—and the extensive use of his own confessions and sketches to identify victims. His crime spree stretched across the country, with a concentration of murders in Miami and Los Angeles. Little's case highlighted the challenges of linking serial killings across multiple jurisdictions and the value of DNA testing and cold case investigations. Little's legacy is a grim record of violence and a testament to the persistence of law enforcement in bringing closure to numerous families.
Did You Know?
- The FBI confirmed his involvement in at least 60 murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in American history.
- Little provided sketches for 26 of his victims, though not all have been linked to known murders.
- His confessions were made in exchange for a transfer out of the Los Angeles County prison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Samuel Little?
Samuel Little, born Samuel McDowell in Reynolds, Georgia in 1940, was an American serial killer who committed murders across 19 states between 1970 and 2005. He became the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history after confessing to 93 killings.
How many murders is Samuel Little confirmed for?
The FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program verified his direct involvement in at least 60 murders, the highest confirmed victim count of any serial killer in American history. He was formally convicted of eight of those killings in court.
How does Samuel Little's story end?
Little died on December 30, 2020, while serving his sentence in prison. His passing closed one of the longest-running serial murder investigations in the country.
Why is Samuel Little significant in true crime history?
He surpassed every prior American serial killer in confirmed victim numbers, making his case a landmark in criminal justice. His voluntary confessions and hand-drawn victim sketches also gave investigators leads on dozens of cold cases that had gone unsolved for years.
How did Samuel Little confess to his murders?
After being apprehended for an unrelated offense, Little began voluntarily narrating his prior killings to law enforcement and even sketched 26 of his victims from memory. Those confessions and drawings became the backbone of the evidence tying him to murders spanning 19 states.
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