Robert Andrew Berdella Jr. (January 31, 1949October8, 1992) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered at least six young men after forcing his victims to endure periods of up to six weeks of captivity. His crimes took place in Kansas City, Missouri, between 1984 and 1987.
Describing his murders as being "some of my darkest fantasies becoming my reality", Berdella pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of one of his victims, Larry Pearson, in August 1988; he would later plead guilty to one further charge of first-degree murder and four charges of second-degree murder in December 1988. He died of a heart attack while incarcerated at the Missouri State Penitentiary in October 1992.
Berdella became known as the Kansas City Butcher due to his practice of extensively dissecting his victims' bodies, which he would then dispose of in garbage bags, and The Collector due to the movie which he stated was the basis of the fantasies behind the modus operandi of his crimes.
Early life
Robert Berdella was born on January 31, 1949, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Berdella's father was a devout Roman Catholic of Italian descent, while his mother was of German and British descent. The family regularly attended Mass, and both sons regularly attended religious education courses.
As a child, Berdella was intelligent but a loner who rarely played outside his home and seldom had friends visit to socialize. He had a speech impediment and wore thick glasses from the age of five because he was severely nearsighted; he was also diagnosed with high blood pressure, for which he took several medications. Berdella was largely unathletic, whereas his younger brother, Daniel, seven years his junior, displayed an aptitude for sports from an early age. Berdella's father valued sports and physical education and viewed his older son's lack of interest in sports as a sign of failure, often comparing him unfavorably with his younger brother. Occasionally, Berdella's father physically and emotionally abused his children, such as by beating them with a leather strap. Two days later, Berdella returned to Cuyahoga Falls by himself. When he arrived home, his family told him his father had died.
Shortly after the death of Berdella's father, his mother remarried, an action that was met with resentment by Berdella, who viewed it as a form of betrayal against his father. As a result, he became increasingly withdrawn and further immersed himself in the solitary activities he had participated in since childhood, such as painting, collecting coins and stamps, and writing to foreign pen pals. Berdella would later claim that his hobby of writing to pen pals in countries such as Vietnam and Burma and their sending him stamps, and photographs of mythical and historical icons, ancient cultures, and architecture, would lead to his avid interest in primitive art, photographs, and antiques. From approximately 1965, he began collecting such artifacts; this practice would inspire him to open his own antiques business in 1982. he was released after posting a $3,000 bond (equivalent to about $ ). He would later plead guilty to the offense and was handed a five-year suspended sentence. One month after this first arrest, Berdella and two other students were arrested for possession of marijuana and LSD in Johnson County. On this occasion, Berdella could not post bond, and he spent five days in jail; the charges against him and one of the other students would be dropped due to a lack of evidence. district: 4315 Charlotte Street.