Maury Troy Travis (October 25, 1965 – June 10, 2002) was an American serial killer. Travis was named in a federal criminal complaint for the murders of two women. At the time of the murders, he was a hotel waiter, and on parole for a 1989 robbery. While Travis claimed in a letter to have murdered 17 women, some authorities were doubtful;[1][2][3] others thought he may have murdered up to 20 women.[4] He died by suicide by hanging in custody in St. Louis County, Missouri, after being arrested for murder.
At least one videotape showing Travis murdering and/or torturing some of his victims was found in the search of his home in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He is believed to have killed two women: Alysia Greenwade, whose body was discovered April 1, 2001 in Illinois (after having been last seen in Missouri), and Betty James, whose body was discovered about two months later in Missouri (after having been last seen in Illinois).[2] Although Travis appears to have acknowledged at least seventeen murders, the police believe his victim count could be as high as twenty.
Investigation
From May to October 2001, four other women were tortured and strangled: Teresa Wilson, Verona Thompson, Yvonne Crues and Brenda Beasley. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a profile piece on Wilson, to which Travis responded by sending an anonymous letter and a computer-generated map. The letter had a return address of I THRALLDOM, a bondage website, but no other identification.[2] However, the map was recognized to have come from Expedia.com, and further investigation traced it back to Travis, leading to his arrest.[2][5]
In his letter to the newspaper, Travis wrote, "I'll tell you where many others are." And then: "To prove I'm real, here's directions to number seventeen."[3] Travis was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and, while in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, was housed at a St. Louis County jail facility in Clayton.[6] Investigators discovered a torture chamber at Travis' residence, torture instruments, a stun gun, newspaper clippings of some of his crimes, and videotapes of Travis killing or abusing victims.[4]
Death
Before he could be put on trial for the crimes, Travis hanged himself on June 10, 2002, in his jail cell. Travis had been placed on suicide watch (i.e. checked upon at 15-minute intervals); however two consecutive checks were missed by the guards, allowing Travis his opportunity.[citation needed]
In the media
Forensic Files covered the story of Travis' crime spree in the episode "X Marks the Spot". Cold Case Files covered the story in the episode "A Map to Murder". Evil, I also covered the story in an episode "Hell's Basement".
After watching the Cold Case Files documentary on the A&E network, the current tenant of Travis' house found out about its history. It was revealed that her landlord, who would not return the money or break the lease when confronted, was Travis' mother.[7] Upon being approached by the local housing authority, the landlord subsequently agreed to rescind the lease.[8]
His killings are also discussed on Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 91: Black Serial Killers Part 1: Call Me God.
^Ramsland, Katherine. . truTV Crime Library. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
^Suhr, Jim (12 June 2002). "Inmate's Suicide Won't Stall Probe". Southeast Missourian. Associated Press. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
^Nagus, Chris (9 July 2014). . KMOV. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
^"Woman found serial killer lived home watching TV". ABC Primetime. ABC News. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
April 25, 2023
maury, travis, maury, troy, travis, october, 1965, june, 2002, american, serial, killer, travis, named, federal, criminal, complaint, murders, women, time, murders, hotel, waiter, parole, 1989, robbery, while, travis, claimed, letter, have, murdered, women, so. Maury Troy Travis October 25 1965 June 10 2002 was an American serial killer Travis was named in a federal criminal complaint for the murders of two women At the time of the murders he was a hotel waiter and on parole for a 1989 robbery While Travis claimed in a letter to have murdered 17 women some authorities were doubtful 1 2 3 others thought he may have murdered up to 20 women 4 He died by suicide by hanging in custody in St Louis County Missouri after being arrested for murder Maury Troy TravisMugshot of TravisBornMaury Troy TravisOctober 25 1965St Louis Missouri U S DiedJune 10 2002 2002 06 10 aged 36 St Louis County Jail Clayton Missouri U S Cause of deathSuicide by hangingOther namesThe Bi State StranglerDetailsVictims12 17 Span of crimes2000 2002CountryUnited StatesState s MissouriDate apprehendedJune 7 2002 Contents 1 Known victims 2 Investigation 3 Death 4 In the media 5 See also 6 ReferencesKnown victims EditAt least one videotape showing Travis murdering and or torturing some of his victims was found in the search of his home in Ferguson Missouri a suburb of St Louis He is believed to have killed two women Alysia Greenwade whose body was discovered April 1 2001 in Illinois after having been last seen in Missouri and Betty James whose body was discovered about two months later in Missouri after having been last seen in Illinois 2 Although Travis appears to have acknowledged at least seventeen murders the police believe his victim count could be as high as twenty Investigation EditFrom May to October 2001 four other women were tortured and strangled Teresa Wilson Verona Thompson Yvonne Crues and Brenda Beasley The St Louis Post Dispatch ran a profile piece on Wilson to which Travis responded by sending an anonymous letter and a computer generated map The letter had a return address of I THRALLDOM a bondage website but no other identification 2 However the map was recognized to have come from Expedia com and further investigation traced it back to Travis leading to his arrest 2 5 In his letter to the newspaper Travis wrote I ll tell you where many others are And then To prove I m real here s directions to number seventeen 3 Travis was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and while in the custody of the U S Marshals Service was housed at a St Louis County jail facility in Clayton 6 Investigators discovered a torture chamber at Travis residence torture instruments a stun gun newspaper clippings of some of his crimes and videotapes of Travis killing or abusing victims 4 Death EditBefore he could be put on trial for the crimes Travis hanged himself on June 10 2002 in his jail cell Travis had been placed on suicide watch i e checked upon at 15 minute intervals however two consecutive checks were missed by the guards allowing Travis his opportunity citation needed In the media EditForensic Files covered the story of Travis crime spree in the episode X Marks the Spot Cold Case Files covered the story in the episode A Map to Murder Evil I also covered the story in an episode Hell s Basement After watching the Cold Case Files documentary on the A amp E network the current tenant of Travis house found out about its history It was revealed that her landlord who would not return the money or break the lease when confronted was Travis mother 7 Upon being approached by the local housing authority the landlord subsequently agreed to rescind the lease 8 His killings are also discussed on Last Podcast on the Left Episode 91 Black Serial Killers Part 1 Call Me God See also EditList of serial killers in the United States List of serial killers by number of victimsReferences Edit Internet Used to Find Man Charged in 2 of 10 Killings The New York Times 11 June 2002 Retrieved 2 May 2012 a b c d Suhr Jim 11 June 2002 Man charged with deaths of prostitutes Southeast Missourian Associated Press Retrieved 2 May 2012 a b Simon Stephanie 17 June 2002 Virtual Trail Led to Serial Killer Suspect Los Angeles Times Retrieved 8 Nov 2021 a b Serial killer s home movies ABC Primetime ABC News Retrieved 2 May 2012 Ramsland Katherine Murder Cop A Profile of Vernon J Geberth truTV Crime Library Archived from the original on 9 May 2012 Retrieved 2 May 2012 Suhr Jim 12 June 2002 Inmate s Suicide Won t Stall Probe Southeast Missourian Associated Press Retrieved 2 May 2012 Nagus Chris 9 July 2014 Catrina McGhaw St Louis woman finds out on TV she s renting serial killer Maury Travis home KMOV Archived from the original on 26 October 2014 Retrieved 26 October 2014 Woman found serial killer lived home watching TV ABC Primetime ABC News Retrieved 24 October 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maury Travis amp oldid 1149452849, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
