Peoria Serial Killer Emerges, Calls City’s Manners Into Question

By Andrew Peerless in News on Jan 28, 2005 6:43PM

So, um, remember when Chicagoist told you all to applaud Peoria for ranking among the country’s most well-mannered cities? Well, perhaps we should have asked you to make your fingers look like a gun and make a “bang bang” noise, instead, as two events this week are threatening to send that city’s reputation spiraling into an area where polite folks just simply don’t tread. On Wednesday, Chicagoist told you all about shots being fired at a Peoria’s Woodruff High School, and now this: authorities are reporting that a Peoria man – Larry D. Bright, 38 – may have killed as many as eight area women over the past year and a half. That is certainly not a demonstration of good manners.

Aside from being decidedly not-very-nice, Bright has cooperated with authorities thus far. During a hearing on Thursday, he attempted to thwart an appointment of legal counsel by pleading guilty to the crimes. He is currently in police custody, and while he has been formally charged only with the September 24, 2004 murder of 40-year-old Linda Kay Neal, he has admitted involvement in the murders of six others. Authorities suspect that he is also responsible for the July 2003 murder of Sabrina Payne, who would have been his first victim.

In true Illinois serial killer fashion (see John Wayne Gacy and Richard Speck), Bright’s methods were pretty gnarly. He is believed to have strangled most or all of his victims, incinerating at least four in a pit behind his home. The other women’s bodies were left at area locations that had played a significant role in his life: relatives’ houses, a childhood home and a place where he “partied” as a young man. Chicagoist knows some mean drunks, but this is taking it a bit far…

Bright has offered no motive in the slayings, and though all the victims were African-American, Police do not think he was racially motivated. That said, Bright was known to have quite an affinity for African-American women, pornography featuring African-American women and seeking sexual relations with African-American prostitutes. That seems, um, kind of racially-linked to us, but we’ll wait to hear more before making any decisions.

Since this particular Chicagoist seems to be on a "horrible things" beat this week, here’s some more serial killer fun that hits closer to home:

Following the discovery of five female corpses on the South Side since June 2004, Chicago cops suspect that a serial murderer/rapist is targeting prostitutes and female drug users in the area. All of the women were sexually asaulted before their murder, but oddly enough, were killed in different fashions: two were beaten, two were stabbed and one was strangled.

Chicagoist has seen Copycat, and seems to remember that serial killers almost never vary their methods. However, we'll give the cops the benefit of the doubt on this one and put on our Sigourney Weaver hats, just in case (she can stop aliens, serial killers and Ghostbusters' hearts).

In any case, ten area detectives have been assigned to the case, and are warning everyone in the area to be careful, especially at night. Look out, all.