Is ISU Department Head Involved in Torture/Sex Murder?
Patrick A. Townson
A peculiar and distasteful murder investigation has been going on in the
Chicago area for several years now which appears to be coming to fruition
in a way few people were expecting.
The rest of this story gets a little gruesome and sick, so either pass
along to the next item or be prepared to gag a little as you read.
Beginning in the late 1970's and continuing through 1984, a serial killer
stalked the rural areas between Chicago and Terre Haute, IN. If you have a
map of the Indiana/Illinois area, please note Terre Haute is almost
straight south of Chicago a few hundred miles. It sits almost on the
Illinois border (but in Indiana) in the far southern part of the state.
A special police group made up of top-notch homicide investigators from
both states began researching this case about a dozen years ago: That of
male victims of a pathological serial killer who traveled on a frequent
basis between Chicago and Terre Haute, via Lafayette, IN.
Over the years, police found the remains of several young men and teenage
boys who had been murdered. Typically the bodies had been mutilated, with
the head and penis removed. Sometimes the bodies were intact. In many
instances, the victims had been left handcuffed, on their knees in a
position of pleading for their lives when they were shot. In every
instance, the bodies were nude. Although many of the victims were not
easy (or impossible) to identify, particularly if the head was missing and
there were no fingerprints otherwise on file, eventually through the
dedicated work of the investigators and others many of the victims were
identified. They seemed to have one thing in common: all were hitchikers,
ne'r-do-well types who were homeless or without any close family ties. Of
those who were eventually identified, a disproportionate number were
homosexuals or male prostitutes.
By the sheerest luck, a traffic stop yeilded one good suspect, but the
evidence was insufficient to hold him in custody. The suspect, a house
painter by trade named Larry Eyler traveled frequently between Terre Haute
and Chicago on the same roads were the victims had been hitchiking.
Police kept Larry Eyler under surveilance for several months -- yet they
never were able to get sufficient evidence on him. Eyler, then in his
late twenties was apparently aware of the suspicions against him and
discontinued his activities, at least for awhile.
Then in the spring of 1984, the police got their lucky break. Eyler was
living in an apartment in the 1600 block of Sherwin Avenue, in the far
north Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. This writer was familiar with
his face ... I lived only a half-block east ... but I had no idea what
sort of neighbor I was seeing. I saw him almost daily in the local 7/11
store at Jarvis and Greenview; he was also a frequent patron of the local
gay bar, Pepper's, located across from the 7/11.
One day, Eyler got one of his urges again. He went cruising in the Uptown
area of Chicago, a rather poor, inner-city neighborhood with a large
population of Appalachian people -- people mostly new to the city, out of
work and struggling to survive.
Larry Eyler selected his victim carefully: He wanted a boy who would be
unlikely to be missed by his family anytime soon ... and a boy who
obviously needed money and an older adult to hang around with. He found
the perfect victim in Danny Bridges, age 15. Bridges, an acknowledged male
prostitute had been arrested by the police previously and had a lengthy
juvenile record of prostitution, shoplifting, petty theft and drug abuse.
Eyler took Bridges back to his apartment on Sherwin Avenue. There, he
subjected the teenager to anal sex, accompanied by bondage and other
sado-masochistic tortures. Bound and completely gagged, the teenager was
totally helpless and unable to scream for help. Eyler concluded the events
of the evening by stabbing him some fifty times, then dismembering the body
into a dozen pieces, using the bathtub in his apartment to contain the
blood and other body parts as he worked. When he had completely ripped
apart the body and de-gutted the internal organs, he was pleased with his
work, and sexually excited. He first urinated on the remains, then
masturbated over them.
The body parts were placed in plastic garbage bags for disposal, and
carried out to the alley behind the apartment building. Parts were left in
dumpsters up and down the block -- the head here, a leg there, the torso
in amother garbage container. The penis and testicles were merely tossed
on the ground in the alley and left for stray dogs and cats.
Eyler then set about cleaning up his apartment; after all, it had been
quite a mess. *Everything* in the bathroom was completely scrubbed. The
entire bathroom was repainted, as was the bedroom. The carpet was even
shampooed to remove any trace of evidence.
About 7:00 AM, the janitor for the building on the corner of Sherwin and
Ashland Avenues began his daily chores, first by carrying out the
individual trash containers throughout the building, which he took to be
emptied in the alley dumpster.
When he went out to the alley, he saw a dog pawing at one container,
trying to get it open. Assuming someone had thrown out food, he went over
to the dumpster (it belonged to a neighboring janitor actually) and he
looked inside. He found the garbage bag with Danny Bridge's left leg and
foot.
Quoted later in the {Chicago Tribune}, the chap said his first reaction
was one of horror, then disgust and he said out loud, to no one in
particular, "Why me? Why did I have to see something like this?". He
called the police who arrived a few minutes later. Upon opening the
dumpster nearby, a garbage bag was found containing Bridge's head and an
arm. The torso and other parts were found at the other end of the block in
two dumpsters used by those buildings. The sexual organs were found laying
in the alley several feet away, and police spotted them as they were being
examined carefully by two stray cats looking for breakfast.
The police believed they had enough evidence to arrest Eyler this time,
and he was taken into custody. Forensic lab technicians spent nearly a
week in the apartment after Eyler's arrest searching for clues. Scrapings
of paint from the walls revealed nothing. Finally the bathtub was removed
and the drain's catch basin examined, where bits of hair and skin were
found which were later identified as coming from Danny Bridges.
Eyler was charged with the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death.
He admitted the crime to the police, and told them in lurid detail of what
took place.
*** And that brings us to the present time, and the
college professor in Terre Haute. ****
As the date for Eyler's execution draws near, and the appeals laundry list
grows shorter and shorter, Eyler has gotten scared. He decided to
cooperate with investigators who were still trying to piece together the
Indiana/Illinois border serial killings. With Eyler's arrest and
conviction on the one count, they could afford to take their time and do a
good job of clearing up loose ends.
Finally a breakthrough came on one of the cases in Indiana from several
years ago ... a case in which the evidence against Eyler was also stronger
than in others. About a year ago while on Death Row at the Pontiac,
Illinois correctional center, Eyler was again arrested, and charged with
the torture murder and mutilation in 1982 of Steven Agan, a 23 year old
resident of Terre Haute, Indiana whose nude and mutilated body was found
in an abandoned house in Newport, Indiana that winter.
Eyler pleaded guilty to this second charge, and is now eligible for two
death sentences, one each in Indiana and Illinois. The prosecutor offered
Larry a deal. Tell us about the others, they urged, and we can close the
books on these cases once and for all. In exchange, Indiana will give you
a life sentence. Eyler took the offer; after all, one death sentence is
hard enough to beat, let alone two.
Eyler suggested to the police, "Why don't you talk to my former lover? He
was with me when Steven Agan was killed." From early in the original days
of the investigation, police were aware that Eyler had been lovers with
Robert David Little, 52, Chairman of the Department of Library Science at
Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Little had been interviewed by
police a few years before and had admitted at the time that he and Eyler
had been (in his words) 'companions for a couple years'. Little, then in
his early forties had met Eyler, fifteen years his junior when both were
cruising for sex in the Terre Haute bus terminal, a place notorious in
that town as a hang out for gay guys looking for action.
According to Eyler -- AND LITTLE HAS TO DATE COMPLETELY DENIED ANY PART IN
ANY CRIME -- Little was with him when they picked up Steven Agan at the
bus station that night. According to Eyler, David Little wanted to make
a 'snuff movie', and they decided Agan would be the victim.
To the unsophisticated, a 'snuff movie' is a movie which shows an actual
murder taking place. The victim of course is never aware ahead of time of
the fate awaiting him. Typically the movie will be pornographic from the
start. In Agan's case, Eyler claims Little offered money to Agan in
exchange for being filmed in a homosexual act with Eyler, and Agan agreed
to do it.
When they reached the abandoned house, Eyler maintains that as he
handcuffed Agan, and taped his mouth and eyes, Little took a film of the
activities. Eyler claims that Agan was first forced to submit to anal sex
with him. As Professor Little filmed the scene, Little suddenly
shouted 'Kill him!' Eyler said he told Agan to make peace with God, then
he stabbed him three or four times as Little filmed the death scene. Eyler
contends Little then put down the camera and also stabbed Agan.
When Agan was dead, Eyler stated that he and Little then masturbated over
the dead body. They cut off Agan's penis and left him there with the penis
inserted in Agan's mouth.
Agan's body was discovered December 28, 1982 by a man who told
investigators that '.. he looks for antiques in abandoned houses...'
That seems like a very good reason for the presence of the man and his
'friend' who found the body in the house, doesn't it! :)
Indiana state prosecutors said Eyler has been cooperating with them since
Thanksgiving. They said he wants to avoid a second death sentence, and
they have offered him a sixty year term in exchange for his cooperation
in fingering the Professor.
A search warrant was executed on the residence of Robert David Little as
well as on his office at Indiana State University. On December 7,
Vermillion County Sheriff Perry Hollowell and County Prosecutor Larry
Thomas announced that Little was a 'prime suspect' in the Agan murder
based on the results of the search warrant, but they declined to comment
on what items of value were found in the search. He has not yet been
arrested, but a grand jury is believed to be reviewing an indictment at
this time.
Did all this take the administration of Indiana State University by
surprise? After all, it is not every day a Department Chairman, Head
Librarian and tenured professor of many years standing gets accused of
making snuff movies and participating in torture / mutilation murders.
Actually, *it did not*. Authorities at ISU were told several years ago
that Little was under suspicion in the (as yet at that time unsolved) Agan
matter.
Please note that as of this time, Little has denied any and all
involvement in the murder of Agan. He has admitted to his friendship with
Larry Eyler and their relationship as lovers during the time period in
question.
It should also be remembered that under the constitution of the United
States, Professor Robert David Little must be presumed innocent of the
charges being considered against him until his guilt is proven in a court
of law or he voluntarily confesses his guilt.
--
Patrick Townson
pat...@chinet.chi.il.us / ptow...@eecs.nwu.edu / US Mail: 60690-1570
FIDO: 115/743 / AT&T Mail: 529-6378 (!ptownson) / MCI Mail: 222-4956
Wm Randolph Franklin
>
>
>Did all this take the administration of Indiana State University by
>surprise? After all, it is not every day a Department Chairman, Head
>Librarian and tenured professor of many years standing gets accused of
>making snuff movies and participating in torture / mutilation murders.
>
>Actually, *it did not*. Authorities at ISU were told several years ago
>that Little was under suspicion in the (as yet at that time unsolved) Agan
>matter.
So Florida's telling employers about employees' drug arrests is nothing
new. I assume police doing this is probably legal, but it sure looks
shitty. If Little is guilty then convict him and fry him. Until then
he's presumed innocent, and police shouldn't spread rumors.
--
Wm. Randolph Franklin
Internet: w...@ecse.rpi.edu (or @cs.rpi.edu) Bitnet: Wrfrankl@Rpitsmts
Telephone: (518) 276-6077; Telex: 6716050 RPI TROU; Fax: (518) 276-6261
Paper: ECSE Dept., 6026 JEC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst, Troy NY, 12180
Patrick A. Townson
Franklin) writes:
>In article <1990Dec15.0...@chinet.chi.il.us> patrick@
>chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson) writes:
>>Did all this take the administration of Indiana State University by
>>surprise? After all, it is not every day a Department Chairman, Head
>>Librarian and tenured professor of many years standing gets accused of
>>making snuff movies and participating in torture / mutilation murders.
>>Actually, *it did not*. Authorities at ISU were told several years ago
>>that Little was under suspicion in the (as yet at that time unsolved) Agan
>>matter.
>So Florida's telling employers about employees' drug arrests is nothing
>new. I assume police doing this is probably legal, but it sure looks
>shitty. If Little is guilty then convict him and fry him. Until then
>he's presumed innocent, and police shouldn't spread rumors.
In almost every instance I would agree with you totally. There are a
few instances in which a person's arrest and conviction could have
some relevance to their employment, and in that case, something has to
give one way or the other. I'd opt for the employer's right to know in
those cases.
But how would the police execute a search warrant on his office at the
University without 'spreading rumors' in the process? Obviously they
deal with him to search his home, but his office would require that
the University be given the legal service, i.e. search warrant before
police entered the premises, would it not? And since the search
warrant must describe precisely what it is the police are looking for,
what graceful way is there to present a search warrant to the
director of security for the University which says the police are
looking for photos, films, video tapes, etc which depict homosexual
activity and/or bondage/torture murders?
I mean, if I gave you (as the owner of some property) a warrant
allowing me to search your property looking for those things, wouldn't
*you* look askance at your employee occupying that space? So the
police can keep their mouths shut and just hand out warrants; or say
only as much as required to conduct an investigation and background
check. No matter, the cat is out of the bag as soon as they show up at
the door with such a descriptive warrant!
And some people are absolutely livid about the police and prosecutors
casual tossing around of terms such as gay = s/m = murder = cruise at
the bus station = snuff movies = gay = lovers = mutilation = forced
anal sex = molest and kill teenage boys = homosexual = whatever. One
gay activist in Terre Haute said he guessed this case was a perfect
example showing that *heterosexuals* do not have a monopoly on or
exclusive rights to sick behavior. Of course Eyler/Little (if he is
guilty) are not representative of 'normal' gay people, but in this
three ring circus we exist in called "Life in these United States late
twentieth century" distinctions get blurred by ignorant people.
As you might expect, folks in Terre Haute, and at ISU especially are
sitting on the edge of their chairs waiting eagerly for the next
revelation in this case. Now today, the Sunday papers in Chicago said
that 'maybe' there have been allegations by Eyler -- ever the good and
helpful citizen now that his own ass is about to get warmed in the
chair -- that Little 'might have been' with him in some of the other
murders as yet officially unsolved.
To make matters even more interesting, jolly old John Wayne Gacy,
Eyler's soulmate on Death Row here is thinking it may be about time
for him to spill his guts in the hopes of gaining leniency. And 'they'
say he has quite a story to tell also if he decides to start snitching
on his old lovers and accoplices. 'They' say in Gacy's case it might
run to a higher level than merely some old university professor
somewhere.
Killing Killers
E.R.
*ping me on any blog post @ http://KillingKillers.blogspot.com