Los Angeles, CA – A 1980s murder suspect was arrested for cold case serial killings . This 1980s serial killer operated in Los Angeles as well as in Florida and the Gulf Coast region and all the murders were by sexually motivated strangulation.
Samuel Little, 72, was charged Monday according to the Los Angeles Times “by the LA County district attorney’s office with three murder counts and special circumstances for multiple murder.” The 1980s murder suspect was arrested for unrelated criminal activities, including drunk driving, shoplifting, and burglary. According to NBC , a Los Angeles narcotics warrant allowed the LAPD to extradite Little from Kentucky. Little was apparently well known for attacking prostitutes and drug users, targeting them for murders, robberies, and assaults.
The Los Angeles Times describes Samuel Littles crimes:
“Police identified the Los Angeles victims as Carol Alford, 41, found dead on July 13, 1987; Audrey Nelson, 35, whose body was discovered Aug. 14, 1989; and Guadalupe Apodaca, 46, from Sept. 2, 1989. Their bodies were discovered in the Central Avenue-Alameda Street corridor, just south of downtown.”
LAPD Detectives Rick Jackson, who investigated the cold case, said there is DNA evidence linking Little to the Los Angeles slayings and the Los Angeles Times that Little led criminal lifestyle at all times of the day:
“It was theft by day and murder by night.”
In addition to his crimes in California, in the early 1980s Little was accused of two murders and two attempted murders in the Gainesville, Florida and Pascagoula, Mississippi areas. The serial killer managed to escape conviction by juries and his murder spree may include every region of the continental United States except the north-central states according to LAPD Detective Mitzi Roberts:
“We believe he is good for many more crimes — including murders — throughout the United States. If any law enforcement agencies have similar killings that occurred between 1960 and the present, they should contact LAPD Cold Case Detectives.”
That a 1980s murder suspected was arrested for his serial killer strangulations only showcases how good the LAPD Cold Case team may be. Police have not yet announced whether they are seeking the death penalty against Samuel Little. Do you think this serial killer deserves the death penalty for his murder spree that crossed the United States?