Over the course of 1968 and well into 1969, several young women in Salem, Oregon went missing and would later turn up dead—all murdered and showing signs of having been tortured. Many of the cases bore certain similarities, but it wasn’t until investigators questioned the friends of one of the victims, Karen Sprinker, that they came to identify a suspect and eventually arrested thirty-year-old Jerome “Jerry” Brudos.At first glance, there wasn’t much to the mild and unassuming Jerry Brudos; however, when investigators looked into his background, they discovered several arrests for theft, prowling, and sexual assault. And the more they learned about Brudos’ life, the more certain they became that he was the man they were looking for.Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!ReferencesAssociated Press. 1969. "Fisherman's grim discovery started search for slayer." Albany Democrat-Herald, June 30: 21.—. 1969. "Coed provided first lead in murder case." Oregonian, June 4: 11.Capital Journal. 1969. "Salem student, 19, feared kidnaped." Capital Journal, March 29: 1.Carbonell, Dan De. 2006. "36 years later, killer's death relieves victims' families." Statesman Journal (Salem Oregon), March 29: 2.Leibman, Faith H. 1989. "Serial Murderers: Four Case Histories." Federal Probation 41-45.Long, James. 1969. "Photo found in Brudos' home shows girl hanging by rope." Oregon Daily Journal, June 7: 1.Morrison, Allen. 1969. "Brudos tells of attacks, killings." Oregon Statesman , June 28: 1.—. 1969. "Indicted in death of Miss Sprinkler." Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), June 5: 1.Olmos, Robert. 1969. "Crews widen river search for clues in girls murders." Oregonian , May 15: 19.Oregon Journal. 1968. "2 teen-age girls missing." Oregon Daily Journal, February 6: J7.Oregonian. 1968. "Help sought in search." Oregonian, December 23: 24.—. 1969. "Office aide disappears ." Oregonian, April 26: 14.Painter, John. 1969. "Sudden shift in plea signals end of trial." Oregonian , June 28: 1.—. 1969. "Tests stall state trial of Brudos." Oregonian, June 6: 1.Roby, Larry. 1969. "Parole agency explains eligibilty of Brudos." Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon), July 2: 15.—. 1969. "Judge discloses warrant details on Brudos." Capital Journal, June 6: 1.Rule, Ann. 1983. Lust Killer. New York, NY: Random House.Statesman Journal. 1969. "Brudos home alleged site of 2 slayings." Staesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), June 18: 1.Wong, James. 1969. "Somebody probably saw Linda Salee's killer--but will the person speak up?" Oregon Daily Journal , May 15: 5.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is the context of Jerry Brudos's story?
Yeah, Matt and Ryan absolutely kill it.
Chelsea, we kept Chelsea as a highlight on our Instagram because Chelsea forever. When I tell you this, the energy that Chelsea brought was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Yeah.
But just pure, pure light radiating out of Chelsea. Yes. And all her friends, too, and her sister.
Yes. They were all so lovely. And I was like, Chelsea, I've had such a shit week, including getting the flat tire this morning. And I was like, I think the universe rewarded me for putting up with this week with you. I think they were like, here's Chelsea. Yeah, I think so, too. Yeah.
I truly believe that. No, Chelsea was iconic. If you follow us on Instagram, go find the Chelsea highlight, and you will see just how iconic Chelsea is. Chelsea's from Alaska. She's a fucking marine biologist. Yes. You could never be as cool as Chelsea if you tried. Nobody can. You should try. Aspire to be as cool as Chelsea, but I don't know if you'll get there, bud.
That's going to be my New Year's resolution, is to just be more like Chelsea.
Yeah, radiate the light that Chelsea radiates.
It was amazing. And also, it's so funny, my nephew Aiden, who we've talked about a lot on this podcast, I think, he just texted me and said, in all caps, did you see that ghost is going
He just left. I was like, oh man, I missed it. I wanted to see that live reaction. Right? I wish I could have seen him.
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Chapter 2: What childhood experiences shaped Jerry Brudos?
It's pretty great, but it's going to make you sad.
I'm sorry. Can I just tell you one thing? Drew and I started Dexter. Oh my goodness. Yeah. We've never seen it before.
I am so jealous that you get to experience it for the first time, but I have to warn you.
We know. The end is not going to. It's one of those. We've heard that the end is not quite like the beginning. No, no, it's not. But everybody loves it like so much, like overall. So I was like, actually Drew said it. He was like, because it's on Netflix right now. Yeah. And he was like, have you ever watched Dexter?
And I was like, I've seen the episode of Boyd Fowler because that's what me and Alina call each other. But I've never seen beyond that.
It is, the first few seasons are literally like immaculate.
Yeah, we watched the first half of the first episode, but I fell asleep because it was after the night fair, so it was late. But I'm ready to dive back in. Oh, you're going to love it. Yeah, I really like it so far.
You're really going to love it. I'm excited for you. Sorry, I just had to tell you that. But you know what? Back to business because this is going to be a rough one. Okay. Buckle up. Buckle up, everybody. So this is going to be two parts because there's just a lot going on. You're going to need a minute. So this takes place over the years of 1968 and very well into 1969. It was in Salem, Oregon.
Several women went missing during that time and would later turn up dead, all murdered horrifically and showing signs of being brutally tortured. At first, it seemed like they were never going to connect these women and they were never going to figure out what happened to them.
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Chapter 3: How did Jerry's relationship with his mother affect him?
And also, what is wrong with you that you have a favorite?
Yeah, that's insane. Like, it's like, what? They're children. That in and of itself is very strange to have a favorite, but then to go the extra step and announce who it is is fucked.
That's the thing. Like, maybe you get along with one on, like, a better level. And you feel, like, more of a connection there. Like, maybe that's what she was talking about. But it's, like, to then let the other one know that.
Is messed up.
And then not just, like, work on that. Right. Yeah. So she really, she was very much more supportive of his brother, Larry. And honestly, she didn't make any bones about letting Jerry know that she wanted a girl. And she was hoping he was a girl. Oh, no.
So it's a little, it's got some Ed Gein vibes with the mother kind of thing where it's like these awful feelings of like, you're not good enough and you're not what I wanted.
And you weren't supposed to be born even, you know?
Yeah. And she literally did not hide her disappointment that he was even born. Wow.
Yeah. That's somebody who should not have had children. Yeah. And they didn't form a bond. Yeah. If you have that, like I understand, you know, like when you're like having kids being like, oh, like I'd love a girl or like, oh, I'd love a boy. But to be disappointed in what you get is insane.
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Chapter 4: What were Jerry Brudos's first criminal acts?
Yeah. That's a place of no return a lot of the time. Yeah. Now, these fantasies finally converged when Jerry was only 16 years old. One afternoon, he stole a neighbor's underwear from her laundry line and later approached her and offered to help her find her missing clothing.
But when she arrived at his house a short time later, he just took her by knife point at 16 years old and forced her to undress while he took pictures of her.
Where are his parents? That's what I'm saying. He's in his parents' house doing this?
Yeah.
What the fuck?
And at this time, Jerry had been wearing a heavy black mask so that the girl couldn't see who he was. But she knew who he was. Yeah, he's at his house. Because he had offered to help her and she came to his house. He said, hey, meet me at my house. Yeah. And years later, somebody asked her because she didn't report the crime to the police. OK.
And years later, people asked her, like, why didn't you report this crime? And she said, I knew who it was all the time. I was scared if I told he would find me out and he would kill me.
I mean, yeah, I don't blame her.
So she, I mean, just knowing what he was doing there, you know, he's capable of a lot. But I think also she's like, I knew who he was. Like I could tell.
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Chapter 5: How did Jerry escalate from theft to assault?
But he was worried he was going to get caught. So eight months passed, and still he didn't do it again. But he felt confident after eight months that he could get away with another assault. So in 1956, he lured a 17-year-old girl into his car, promising her a ride home. So as they drove, the girl became confused when Jerry started talking to her as though they were on a date. Oh, no.
And she was like, this is not, you're just driving me home.
Right. Like, what the fuck? Like, why do you think that?
No. And her confusion turned to panic when it occurred to her that Jerry had already driven well past where he was supposed to drop her off. And he was just driving further and further into a more remote part of Oregon. And once they had reached a vacant location in his mind, Jerry pulled the car off the side of the road and hit the girl with a pipe in the face.
Holy shit.
And then hit her in the neck and chest with it.
My God.
She was screaming and trying to flee, but Jerry was much bigger. And she had already been beaten at this point, so she didn't have her wits about her. She didn't have any strength to get away. She was just completely out of it. And he hit her several more times with the pipe and his fists and then dragged her from the vehicle and demanded that she start stripping for him.
Oh, God.
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Chapter 6: What was the impact of the couple who intervened during Jerry's crime?
So this guy was like, shut the fuck up. I know that's not what happened. So he changed his story and said, oh, well, actually, she was attacked by someone, by some weirdo. And she was fighting him off when I drove up and ran to help her. Oh, the hero. Yeah. So according to Jerry, the attacker ran off into the woods just before the other couple had driven up.
He was like, oh, thank goodness you're here. How convenient. But you just missed him. Wow. Wow.
Hey, weirdos, if Ash and Elena's episode on Ken McElroy left you wondering how someone could become so cruel, manipulative and untouchable, you'll want to hear my psychological breakdown of this case on my podcast, Killer Psyche. I examined the twisted mindset behind McElroy's reign of terror, how he exploited fear, used charm as a weapon and turned an entire town into his victims.
Understanding what made him tick is exactly the kind of insight I bring on Killer Psyche, where I use my experience profiling criminals for the FBI to uncover what drives people like Ken McElroy to become predators. So if you're curious about the mind behind the mayhem, join me for an inside look at the psychology of a man who got away with everything until he didn't.
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And when it was just him and this relatively defenseless young woman, Jerry had no difficulty asserting himself and being horrifyingly scary. But in the presence of anyone else, when someone else came upon them, oh my, did he yield. He made up the lie, but he shrunk right down. When the second explanation was also not going to convince this guy, he also was like, fuck you.
I know that's not what happened. You're the attacker. I know that.
Like I'm not an idiot.
Yeah. He was like, so when that didn't work, the couple insisted that they take the girl and Jerry back to their house to get it sorted out and they were going to call the police. So he agreed. And once they were there, the husband called the Oregon State Police and they transported the girl to the hospital and Jerry was taken to the police barracks for questioning. Gave right up.
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