Wayne Donald Horton: The Las Vegas Serial Killer
Background and Early Criminal Activity
Wayne Donald Horton was born on January 26, 1950, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Little reliable information is available about his childhood, although accounts describe him as growing up in poverty and developing a volatile temper. He left school during the 1960s and eventually moved to the Los Angeles area, where he supported himself through theft, automobile theft and other crimes.
On June 8, 1972, Horton and an accomplice named Robert W. Holmes were arrested in Downey, California. They were accused of using a sawed-off shotgun to rob two men of approximately $165. Both men were convicted of felony robbery and received prison sentences. Horton was eventually paroled and returned to Las Vegas. By that time, however, he had already committed his first known murder.
The Murder of an Unidentified Woman
Horton later admitted that he killed an unidentified woman in approximately May 1972. According to accounts of his confession, he met the woman at or near Atomic Liquors in downtown Las Vegas. After drinking and socializing, the two left together in a vehicle.
During the drive, the woman reportedly objected to Horton smoking marijuana. What began as an argument quickly became a deadly attack. Horton used a metal automobile jack handle to beat the woman to death. He then carried or transported her body into the desert south of Las Vegas, near Henderson, and placed it in a shallow grave.
The victim's skeletal remains were discovered in early February 1973. Her skull had been badly damaged, and animals had disturbed and scattered portions of the remains. Investigators were unable to establish her identity. She became known as the "Henderson Jane Doe." Although Horton ultimately admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty to her murder, her exact date of death and her true name remain unknown.
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