Gerard John Schaefer Jr. March 26, β December 3, was an American murderer and suspected serial killer , known as the Killer Cop , the Hangman and the Butcher of Blind Creek , who was convicted of the murder and mutilation of two teenage girls in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
He is suspected of up to twenty-six further murders. Described by prosecutor Robert Stone as "the most sexually deviant person" he had ever encountered, [ 4 ] Schaefer was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment at his trial, to be served at Florida State Prison.
He was stabbed to death by a fellow inmate while incarcerated at this facility in December Schaefer became known as the "Killer Cop" as he was a sheriff's deputy in Martin County, Florida , at the time of his initial arrest. Schaefer was raised in Nashville, Tennessee , and, later, in Atlanta, Georgia , where he attended Marist Academy until his family permanently relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida , in Schaefer later described his childhood as "troubled and turbulent", largely due to the frequent family relocations, his father's alcoholism , and his father's frequent verbal abuse of his wife and children.
Although the elder Schaefer's occupation resulted in his being frequently absent from the household, he had a difficult relationship with his oldest son, who resented his frequent belittling of him and believed his father favored his sister over himself and his brother. By contrast, Schaefer was close to his mother, who was extremely protective of her children. As a child, Schaefer preferred outdoor pursuits. By his adolescence, he had developed an interest in nature. His primary interests as a teenager included collecting guns, hunting and fishingβactivities that he and his father occasionally pursued together when his father was at home.
Thomas Aquinas High School recall his "not being part of any clique ". He frequently pursued his interests alone, leading his family and peers alike to view him as an "outdoors man" who held aspirations to become a forest ranger. By his teenage years, Schaefer developed erotic fantasies of hurting women whom he deemed worthy of his contempt.
