Larry D. Hubbard

Serial Killer

Larry D. Hubbard: The Fugitive Linked to Four Southern California Murders

Background and Criminal History

Larry D. Hubbard was a convicted robber and suspected serial killer whose crimes remained largely hidden for decades. Born on September 2, 1952, in the United States Virgin Islands, Hubbard also used names including Larry Barnes. His known criminal history began in Florida, where he was convicted of robbery in 1974. In 1977, he escaped from a Florida prison and fled across the country. He eventually settled in Southern California, where he lived while remaining a fugitive. Investigators later linked Hubbard to the strangulation deaths of three women through DNA evidence. They also considered him the leading suspect in a fourth murder that closely resembled one of the DNA-linked crimes. The killings occurred in two separate periods, first in 1980 and then again in 2000. The twenty-year interval between the cases made the connection extremely difficult to recognize.

The 1980 Los Angeles Murders

The first homicide conclusively connected to Hubbard was the killing of 25-year-old Sonia Smith. Smith was discovered in an abandoned field in Los Angeles on August 19, 1980. Her wrists and ankles had been tied, and she had been sexually assaulted and strangled with a ligature. Evidence was collected during the original investigation, but the forensic technology available in 1980 could not identify her killer. Less than three months later, 25-year-old Phyllis McClinton was found dead in a vacant lot in South Los Angeles. Her body was discovered on November 4, 1980. Like Smith, McClinton had been bound and left in an isolated outdoor location. Investigators believed that similarities in the victims' backgrounds, the binding of their bodies and the locations where they were found indicated that the two women may have been attacked by the same person. A major clue emerged after another woman survived a similar attack in November 1980. The survivor reported that she had been assaulted and bound in a manner resembling the treatment of Smith and McClinton. She identified Hubbard as her attacker. Hubbard was arrested and prosecuted for false imprisonment, but he was not charged with either murder. He received a sentence of six months in jail and four years of probation, while his status as a Florida prison escapee apparently remained undiscovered. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Sonia Smith Age: (25), Date of Death: August 19, 1980

DNA links Florida prison escapee to four California killings