Paul John Knowles was a murderer tied to the deaths of eighteen people in 1974, though he claimed to have taken thirty-five lives.

Born in Florida in 1946, he was first convicted at the age of nineteen, and in the years following he spent more time in prison. In 1974 he was granted parole and sought to marry Mrs. Angela Covic, which whom he had corresponded from prison. Allegedly because of something a psychic told her, she ended the relationship. After this rejection, Knowles went on a murderous spree across northern Florida. He was eventually caught in Georgia, but while he was claiming to assist officers in finding the officer's pistol he had used in his last two murders, he tried to escape and was shot dead by a police officer.

The murders

• Alice Curtis was a sixty-five year old resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Knowles gagged her on July 26th, 1974, while stealing her belongings. She choked to death on her gag.
• Lillian and Mylette Anderson, aged eleven and seven respectively, were strangled early August 1974 and subsequently dumped in a nearby swamp.
• Marjorie Howe lived in Atlantic Beach, Florida. She was strangled with a nylon stocking. The motive, apparently, was that Knowles stole her television.
• Victim #5 remains unnamed. She was a hitchhiker, whom Knowles raped and strangled.
• Kathy Pierce was strangled with the cord of her telephone on August 23rd 1974. Her three-year old son, who was also present, remained unharmed.
• William Bates met his fate on September 3rd, after having shared some drinks with Knowles in Lima, (Ohio). His body wasn't discovered until October. His car, money and credit cards were all taken by Knowles.
• Emmett and Lois Johnson were out camping in Ely, Nevada, where Knowles murdered both on September 18th, 1974.
• Victim #10 was a woman whose motor-cycle broke down in Sequin Texas. Knowles raped her before strangling her and dragging her body through some barbed wire. This was on the 21st of September.
• Ann Dawson, from Birmingham (Alabama) met Knowles on September 23rd. They travelled together for a while, until Knowles killed her on the 29th of September. Her body was never found.
• Doris Hovey was fifty-three years old and lived in Woodford, Virginia. She was shot dead by Knowles with her husband's rifle on the 19th of October 1974.
• Carswell Carr and his daughter met Knowles on November 6th in Macon, in the state of Georgia, and invited him over to his house. Subsequently, Knowles stabbed Carr dead and strangled his fifteen-year old daughter. He attempted to have sexual intercourse with her body, but failed.
• Edward Hilliard and Debbie Griffin were hitchhiking near Macon on November 2nd. Hilliard's body was found in nearby woods, but Griffin's remains were never discovered. Knowles was not proven to have murdered them, but he was under very strong suspicion.
• Victim #17 was a police officer from Fort Pierce in Florida who recognized Knowles stolen car (it belonged to William Bates). When he approached Knowles, he was taken hostage. Knowles drove him to Pulaski County in Georgia, where he bound him to a tree and shot him dead.
• James Meyer was a motorist that was also taken hostage, along with the police officer. He met his fate in the same grisly manner in Pulaski County.

References

• J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, 1996, Harrap Books, London
• Sandy Fawkes, Killing Time, 1977, London
• Georgina Lloyd, One was not enough, 1976, London

External Links

• Detailed information about Knowles' murders