Gary Heidnik (November 1943 - July 6, 1999) was an American criminal who kidnapped women and kept them prisoner in his basement. He is often referred to as a serial killer, although as he committed two murders, he would not fit the standard FBI definition of a serial killer who are those who commit "three or more murders."

Beginning in November 1986, Heidnik, a former soldier who had made a small fortune on the stock market, abducted five women and held them in the basement of his house in Philadelphia. The captives were sexually abused, beaten and tortured. One died of her mistreatment, Heidnik dismembering her body, grinding it down in a food-processor and mixing it with dog-food, which he then fed to the surviving victims. A second woman also died when she was electrocuted to death. The victims were encouraged to inform on each other in return for better conditions.

One of the kidnapped women managed to escape on March 24, 1987. She had convinced Heidnik to let her go out, promising to bring back another captive for him, but instead she went straight to the authorities and Heidnik was arrested.

Convicted of two counts of murder in 1988, Heidnik was sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on July 6, 1999.

Gary Heidnik's method of keeping his captives in a deep hole in his basement was emulated by the killer in The Silence Of The Lambs.

External Links

• Crime Library Article on Gary Heidnik