August 14, 2018 ▸ People, True Crime

Episode 323: Servant Girl Annihilator: America’s First Serial Killer

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On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we delve into the dark world of true crime and bring you the story of the American serial killer known as the Servant Girl Annihilator. “Servant Girl Annihilator” was the name given to perhaps the first serial killer in America. He operated in Austin, Texas back in Cowboy Days, several years before Jack The Ripper terrorized London. The identity of this killer (or these killers) remains unproven, but he got his name by killing five African-American servant girls. He Killed a man and some white women as well, but they seemed outside of his wheelhouse.

So, how did this monster kill? His modus operandi was to kill by splitting the head with an axe. He’d also rape the women and pose their bodies with spikes and sharp objects sticking out of the ear. When he snuck in and killed the first five girls, the city of Austin was scared. When he finally “upgraded” and killed white women, the town went in a rage and summoned possess that tried to catch the killer. The police had a hard time with this case. First off, the Annihilator only struck late at night, so witnesses were few and unreliable. In fact, no two witnesses had a story that even remotely lined up. At the end of the year, over 400 men had been arrested in connection with these slayings, but all of them were ultimately released.

So, how good was the Servant Girl Annihilator with an ax? Who do historians think is responsible for these deaths? Why do some people think that the killer actually is Jack the Ripper, and if this is true, who do they think the ripper was? Why did some people think the killer practiced Voodoo? Listen, laugh, learn.

Nice Article on Killer: http://mentalfloss.com/article/94680/how-servant-girl-annihilator-terrorized-1880s-austin

PBS Documentary on Killer: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/2365286604/