Harvey Glatman – Everything You Need To Know About The Serial Killer

When describing famous people, we often hear about musicians, athletes, politicians, actors, singers, songwriters, producers and so on; however, unlike the usual kinds of popular personalities, there also seems to be a fascination with criminals, especially serial killers. One of America’s notorious serial killers, Harvey Glatman, has seen a resurgence in popularity of late. Here’s everything to know about him.

Harvey terrorized America in the 1950s and all his victims were females. The media referred to Harvey as “The Glamour Girl Slayer” and “The Lonely Hearts Killer”. He was known to lure his victims into his trap by first posing as a photographer who was interested in taking pictures and promising to help the young ladies with their modelling career. He would then bring them to his apartment, where he would kill them.

Who Is Harvey Glatman?

Harvey Glatman was born to Ophelia and Albert Glatman on December 10, 1927, in the Bronx, New York City, New York. His family members were undeniably ordinary people who could barely draw the attention of the media. His father, Albert Glatman, was a milliner – he manufactured and sold female hats. He had a shop in the Bronx and after a while, Albert opened another millinery in Colorado. Harvey, however, brought the public attention to his family and it definitely was not for the right reasons, as he established himself as a notorious kidnapper, robber and serial killer.

Throughout the almost 32 years he lived, Harvey Glatman never got married or had kids. Harvey also did not attend college, as he did not complete his high school education.

Everything You Need To Know About Harvey Glatman

The Beginning

Just like every other person, Harvey Glatman was born innocent and while growing up, he chose his path. It was his mother who first started noticing strange and unusual things about him. She noticed a red scarred line on his neck which he gave himself when he tried a rope around his neck and in the process, derived sexual gratification from the unorthodox act. She took him to the family physician, who misinterpreted his condition as just a phase of his life which he would definitely outgrow. A couple of years went by and Harvey didn’t get better, instead, he got worse.

Back in his high school days, Harvey was a subject of bullying. He was also shy of talking to girls.

His Crimes and Arrests

While still at East High School, in Denver, Colorado, he threatened one of his female classmates named Eula Jo Hand with a toy gun. He went on to bind, gag, molest and rob her. She reported the incident to the police and Harvey was then arrested for the first time following his assault on Hand. He was 18 years old at the time and it hindered him from graduating from high school. He later was bailed from Denver jail by his mother.

After his jail term, it was clear that he hadn’t learnt from his mistake, as he went straight back to creating more troubles. Once again, he committed a similar offence when he assaulted and molested a woman in Boulder, Colorado. Two days after he committed the crime, he was arrested by the police and was jailed for eight months.

In July 1946, he was released from prison and he moved to New York to live with his mother. A month later, Harvey Glatman was arrested for the third time and was charged for robbery and assault which he committed severally. He ended up bagging a 4 years jail time, serving his time in the infamous Sing Sing Prison.

From Molestation to Murder

After Glatman was released from Sing Sing Prison, he left New York and moved to Los Angeles in 1957. He posed as a photographer so he could lure aspiring models to his home, promising them that their photos would end up on the cover of popular pulp fiction magazines. His first victim was Judith Dull, an 18-year-old model who Harvey met through a modelling agency. He took Dull to his apartment, tied her up, took photographs of her and then sexually assaulted the young lady. After which he strangled her to death and dumped her body in a desert.

His second victim was Shirley Ann Bridgeford. He and Shirley went on a date, he then took her to his home, forced himself on her, sexually assaulted her and took a series of pictures. He then murdered her and dumped her corpse near Anza State Park.

Harvey’s third murder victim was Ruth Mercado. As he did with his previous two victims, he took Mercado to his apartment and assaulted her sexually, took photographs of her before killing her.

How He was Captured

Harvey Glatman was on his way to adding another name to his list of victims when he got arrested. He and model, Lorraine Vigil were on their way to his apartment when the model noticed some inconsistencies and the two got in a fight in his car, which led to patrol police arresting Harvey. After his arrest, he confessed to all his crimes and the pictures of his victims were uncovered.

  

How Harvey Glatman Died

Harvey was charged with two counts of first-degree murder; he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He willingly accepted his sentence. His execution took place on September 18, 1959, and he was executed by cyanide poisoning in the gas chamber of San Quentin State Prison.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *