LOS ANGELES — The man authorities say was the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history with nearly 60 confirmed victims, died Wednesday in California, officials said. He was 80.
Samuel Little, who had diabetes, heart trouble and other ailments, died at a California hospital. He was serving a life sentence for multiple counts of murder.
California corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters said there was no sign of foul play, and his cause of death will be determined by a coroner.
A career criminal who had been in and out jail for decades, Little denied for years he’d ever killed anyone.
Then, in 2018, he opened up to Texas Ranger James Holland, who had been asked to question him about a killing it turned out Little didn’t commit. During approximately 700 hours of interviews, however, Little provided details of scores of slayings only the killer would know.
A skilled artist, he even provided Holland with dozens of paintings and drawings of his victims, sometimes scribbling their names when he could remember them, as well as details such as the year and location of the murder and where he’d dumped the body.
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By the time of his death, Little had confessed to killing 93 people between 1970 and 2005. Most of the slayings took place in Florida and Southern California.
Authorities, who continue to investigate his claims, said they have confirmed nearly 60 killings and have no reason to doubt the others.
Among the murders that authorities had confirmed were seven that occurred in Georgia.
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The most recent one that was solved, involved the remains of a Tennessee woman found in Dade County 30 years ago.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the remains had been found in Sept. 28, 1981, but they had not been able to identify them until this year.
That's when, through forensic science and DNA analysis, the GBI was able to positively identify Patricia Parker.
While investigators were able to link Little with about 60 deaths, they have continued to work to find links to the other deaths that he had claimed to have committed.
Federal authorities have released sketches drawn by Little, of some of his alleged victims in the hope of identifying the as-yet-unidentified victims.
