Gulf Killer

Gulf Killer
Other namesRed Light Murders[1]
The Dale Mabry Strip Murders[2]
Years activec. October 15, 1971 –
December 31, 1978
Details
Victims16 (14 women, 2 men)
CountryUnited States
State(s)Florida
Date apprehended
Wirtjes convicted in 1979; Hardagree convicted in 1980; other(s) unapprehended

Between 1971 and 1978, a group of unsolved[a] murders occurred in the Pasco County and wider Tampa Bay area of Florida, United States, in which at least fourteen women and two men were killed. While the victims were grouped together differently at various points, nine were attributed, dubiously, to a "Gulf Killer."[3] Whether the murders were connected to one or multiple individuals, feuding pimps, criminal organizations, or a sexually depraved killer was never determined. At least eight of the victims were involved in sex work on the Dale Mabry Strip.

  1. ^ Melsek, Lee (November 8, 1977). "String of 'Red Light' Murders Strikes Fear in Tampa's 'Strip'". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Soteropoulos, Jacqueline (October 20, 1996). "Dale Mabry Strip Murders fail test of time". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Bayles, Fred (January 8, 1978). "9 Murders of Striking Similarity May Be the Work of One Person". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via newspapers.com.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).