The First Celebrity Serial Killer in Southwest Ohio

Book excerpt: The life, crimes, and rise to fame of Alfred Knapp, “The Strangler,” from the award-winning journalist and author of Cincinnati’s Savage Seamstress. Just before Christmas 1902, Alfred Knapp strangled his wife in her sleep. He put her body in a box and sent the box floating down the Great Miami River, telling everyone that Hannah had left him. When the truth came out, Knapp confessed to four other murders. Newspapers across the Midwest sent reporters to interview the handsome strangler. Despite spending most of his adulthood in prison, he had a charming, boyish manner that made him an instant celebrity serial killer. True crime historian Richard O. Jones examines the strangler’s alleged crimes, the family drama of covering up Knapp’s atrocities and how a brain-damaged drifter became a media darling. Includes photos