Ray Shawn Jackson

Serial Killer

Ray Shawn Jackson: The Gillham Park Strangler

Ray Shawn Jackson is an American serial killer who murdered six women in Kansas City, Missouri, between September 1989 and April 1990. Because several victims were discovered in or near Gillham Park, he became known as the "Gillham Park Strangler." Jackson targeted vulnerable women, lured them into isolated areas and killed them by strangulation. The murders occurred within a period of approximately seven months. The bodies were left outdoors or at abandoned locations in the midtown area of Kansas City. Jackson's crimes created intense fear among women living and working near Gillham Park, particularly those involved in street-level sex work or struggling with drug addiction. The dates associated with the victims below are the publicly reported dates on which their bodies were found. In many accounts, these discovery dates are also listed as their dates of death because a more precise time of death was not publicly established.

Early Life and Background

Ray Shawn Jackson was born on August 28, 1967, in Missouri. He spent much of his childhood and adult life in Kansas City. Public accounts describe him as having grown up in poverty and receiving a limited education. As a young adult, he worked primarily as a laborer. Nothing publicly known about Jackson's early life fully explains why he became violent. By 1989, however, he was walking through the streets and parks of midtown Kansas City at night, searching for women he believed he could isolate and overpower. Jackson was familiar with Gillham Park and its surrounding neighborhoods. The park's wooded sections, bushes, pathways and poorly observed areas gave him places where he could attack women without immediately attracting attention. His repeated use of the same general area later helped police connect the murders.

The Beginning of the Murders

The known series began in September 1989. Jackson approached women on the street and attempted to gain their cooperation rather than immediately attacking them in a public location. According to statements presented after his arrest, he sometimes offered to share crack cocaine or claimed that he knew where the drug could be obtained. Once a woman followed him to a secluded location, Jackson attacked her from behind and choked her until she became unconscious or physically unable to resist. His attacks involved sexual violence. He then strangled the victim to death and abandoned her body. Investigators noticed disturbing similarities among the crime scenes. The victims were women of comparable circumstances, strangulation was the principal method of murder and several bodies were found in or around Gillham Park. Clothing was sometimes removed or left scattered near the bodies. Some victims were reportedly positioned in sexually degrading ways. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Annette Stewart Age: (33), Date of Death: 1989-09-16

Ray Jackson (serial killer) - Wikipedia