Charles Ray Hatcher

Serial Killer

Charles Ray Hatcher: The Crimes of a Violent Drifter and Serial Killer

Charles Ray Hatcher was an American serial killer, child predator, kidnapper and habitual offender whose known criminal activity extended across several decades. Born on July 16, 1929, in Mound City, Missouri, Hatcher spent much of his adult life moving between prisons, psychiatric institutions, halfway houses and temporary shelters. He repeatedly used false names, crossed state lines and manipulated mental-health evaluations to delay prosecution or obtain release from confinement. Hatcher ultimately confessed to sixteen murders committed between 1969 and 1982. Investigators could not independently confirm every confession, and several of the victims he claimed to have killed were never conclusively identified. He was convicted of murdering two children in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was linked through confessions or physical evidence to additional deaths in Missouri, California and the Illinois-Iowa border region. Hatcher's case became especially notorious because one of his confessions resulted in the release of an innocent man who had spent approximately four years in prison for a murder Hatcher committed. His criminal history also exposed repeated failures by courts, prisons and mental-health institutions to recognize or effectively contain a persistently violent offender.

Early Life

Charles Ray Hatcher was born on July 16, 1929, in Mound City, a small community in northwestern Missouri. He was the youngest of four sons born to Jesse James Hatcher and Lula Novada Bomar Hatcher. His father had a criminal record, reportedly worked as a bootlegger and was described as an abusive alcoholic. During Hatcher's childhood, the family experienced a devastating accident. In the spring of 1936, Hatcher and his brothers were playing with a length of copper wire taken from an old automobile. The wire contacted a high-voltage electrical line, electrocuting Hatcher's older brother, Arthur Allen Hatcher. Charles witnessed the fatal accident. Hatcher was reportedly bullied by other children and began responding with aggression of his own. His father later left the family, and his mother remarried several times. In 1945, Hatcher moved with his mother and her third husband to St. Joseph, Missouri, the city where several of the most important events in his criminal history would eventually occur.

The Beginning of a Long Criminal Record

Hatcher's documented criminal history began with property offenses. In 1947, he was convicted of stealing a logging truck from a company that had employed him for only a short time. He received a suspended sentence. In 1948, he stole a Buick automobile and was sentenced to the Missouri State Penitentiary. After his release on June 8, 1949, Hatcher quickly returned to criminal activity. He was convicted of forging a ten-dollar check and was sent back to prison. On March 18, 1951, he escaped from custody and attempted a burglary before being recaptured. Additional time was added to his sentence. Hatcher was released again on July 14, 1954. He soon stole another automobile, this time a 1951 Ford, and attempted to escape from the Ray County Jail before sentencing. He received additional prison terms and remained incarcerated until March 18, 1959. Only months after his release, Hatcher's conduct escalated from property crime to predatory violence. On June 26, 1959, he attempted to abduct 16-year-old newspaper carrier Steven Pellham in St. Joseph. Hatcher threatened the teenager with a large knife, but Pellham escaped and reported the incident. Police later arrested Hatcher in a stolen vehicle. Hatcher was convicted of attempted abduction and automobile theft under Missouri's Habitual Criminal Act. He received another prison sentence and made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the Buchanan County Jail while awaiting transportation. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

William Freeman Age: (12), Date of Death: 1969-08-27

Suspected Victims:

Jerry Tharrington Age: (26), Date of Death: July 2, 1961

Survivors:

Gilbert Martinez Age: (6), Date of Attack: 1969-08-29

Steven Pellham

Thomas Morton

Charles Ray Hatcher - Wikipedia