Photo: possibly Fort Lauderdale Police Department · Public domain
Born in United States · Nationality American — Crime / mafias / terrorism / criminal cases
Documented profile covering 12 controversies, including “Susan Gale Poole cold case: Schaefer named as possible suspect after DNA identification” and “Publicly linked to over twenty other murders or disappearances, without corresponding convictions”.
Profile No. 2484 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
2022
After the remains of Susan Gale Poole, who disappeared in 1972, were identified in 2022, investigators indicated that Schaefer could be a suspect because of similarities with his known crimes.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1973–1995
Seized evidence and several investigations led the press and police to suggest links between Schaefer and more than twenty other murders or disappearances. A federal court noted in 1995 that these alleged links had been widely reported.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1994–8 June 1995
Protagonist is the complainant — these proceedings are not counted in their formal charges or convictions.
Schaefer sued author Michael Newton and Avon Books, challenging, in particular, the assertion that he was a serial killer linked to around twenty murders. The federal appeals court upheld summary judgment in favour of the defendants.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
automne–December 1995
A Fort Lauderdale investigator re-examined several unsolved murders and was preparing to interview Schaefer in early December 1995 in the hope of advancing the cases.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
3 December 1995
Schaefer was found stabbed to death in his cell at Florida State Prison.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1992
While in prison, Schaefer published 'Killer Fiction', a collection related to his violent writings. In it, he himself acknowledged having been publicly accused of a very large number of murders while disputing the label of serial killer.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
Case · 2 documented stages
fin 1972–1973
Before his trial for the murders of Place and Jessup, Schaefer was serving a sentence in the case of two young women whom he had tied up and threatened in 1972.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
July 1972
While on duty, Schaefer picked up two young female hitchhikers, drove them into woodland, tied them to a tree and placed nooses around their necks. Called away by radio, he left and the two young women managed to escape and alert police.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
April–May 1973
After the discovery of Place and Jessup's remains, investigators searched Schaefer's mother's home and found jewellery, women's clothing, teeth, a passport and manuscripts describing ritualised murders, among other items.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
Case · 2 documented stages
September–October 1973
At trial, the survivors of the 1972 incident testified, and the prosecution highlighted similarities with the murders of Place and Jessup. The jury found Schaefer guilty of two first-degree murders; he received two life sentences.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
27 September 1972
Susan Place, aged 17, and Georgia Jessup, aged 16, disappeared after leaving with a man introduced as 'Jerry Shephard'. Their remains were found in 1973 and Schaefer was subsequently convicted of both murders.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1970–June 1972
Before becoming a Martin County deputy sheriff, Schaefer had failed a psychological assessment for the Broward County Sheriff's Office and been dismissed from the Wilton Manors police force. Despite this history, he subsequently obtained a deputy sheriff position.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
No documented link with another published profile for now.
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