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Born in United States · Nationality American — Crime / mafias / terrorism / criminal cases

Samuel Little

Violent crime and serial killers

Documented profile covering 18 controversies, including “2023: Yvonne Pless, long known as 'Macon Jane Doe', identified and confirmed as victim” and “2020: death in custody while serving life sentences”.

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Profile No. 2537 · Updated on 12 October 2026

18Documented controversies

13Sources

7 followed by a conviction ·

§ 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

I. Documented controversies

01

18 May 2023

2023: Yvonne Pless, long known as 'Macon Jane Doe', identified and confirmed as victim

No legal proceedings

Georgia announced the identification of Yvonne Pless, approximately 20 years old, whose remains had been discovered in 1977. Authorities confirmed that Little had killed her, consistent with his confession.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating CouncilMacon Jane Doe Identified and Confirmed as a Victim of Serial Killer Samuel LittleGovernment sourceVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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Case · 7 documented stages

2020: death in custody while serving life sentences

Conviction

02

30 December 2020

2020: death in custody while serving life sentences

Conviction

Little died aged 80 in an outside hospital while in California custody, serving, among other sentences, three life terms without parole.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationConvicted Killer Samuel Little DiesOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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07

2 September 2014

2014: jury finds him guilty of three Los Angeles murders

Conviction

Following a two-week trial, Little was found guilty of murdering Carol Alford, Audrey Nelson and Guadalupe Apodaca.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Los Angeles TimesDNA nets conviction in serial killings of 3 South L.A. women in '80sPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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08

25 September 2014

2014: three consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole

Conviction

Judge George Lomeli sentenced Little to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Los Angeles TimesL.A. serial killer gets 3 life terms, screams, 'I didn't do it!'PressVery high reliability
[2]
California Department of Corrections and RehabilitationConvicted Killer Samuel Little DiesOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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10

17 April 2013

2013: indicted for three Los Angeles murders with multiple-murder special circumstance

Formally charged

A Los Angeles grand jury indicted Little for three murders committed in 1987 and 1989, with the special circumstance of multiple murders.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Los Angeles TimesMan, 72, indicted in deaths of L.A. women in the 1980sPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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11

14 August 1989

1989: murder of Audrey Nelson in Los Angeles

Conviction

Audrey Nelson, aged 35, was found strangled; the case remained unsolved until DNA evidence linked it to Little years later.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Los Angeles TimesDNA nets conviction in serial killings of 3 South L.A. women in '80sPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

12

2 September 1989

1989: murder of Guadalupe Apodaca in Los Angeles

Conviction

Guadalupe Apodaca, aged 46, was found murdered in Los Angeles. The cold case was eventually linked to Little through DNA and tried with the other two murders.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Los Angeles TimesDNA nets conviction in serial killings of 3 South L.A. women in '80sPressVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesL.A. serial killer gets 3 life terms, screams, 'I didn't do it!'PressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

14

13 July 1987

1987: murder of Carol Alford in Los Angeles

Conviction

Carol Alford, aged 41, was found dead in a Los Angeles alley. Decades later, DNA linked Little to the murder and a jury convicted him.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Los Angeles TimesDNA nets conviction in serial killings of 3 South L.A. women in '80sPressVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesL.A. serial killer gets 3 life terms, screams, 'I didn't do it!'PressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

03

23 August 2019

2019: two guilty pleas in Cincinnati, including Anna Stewart and a Jane Doe

Conviction

By video link, Little pleaded guilty to two murders in the Cincinnati area, including that of Anna Stewart, and received two consecutive sentences of 15 years to life.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Hamilton County Law LibraryAn historic moment for the Law Library – the Samuel Little TrialCourt recordHigh reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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04

23 August 2019

2019: guilty pleas to murders of Mary Jo Peyton and Rose Evans in Cleveland

Conviction

Little pleaded guilty to two aggravated murders committed in Cleveland, those of Mary Jo Peyton in 1984 and Rose Evans in 1991, and received two consecutive life sentences.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
Cuyahoga County ProsecutorSerial Killer Samuel Pleads Guilty to 1984 and 1991 Murders; Receives Two Life SentencesProsecutor's statementVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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05

2018–2019

2018–2019: 93 confessions; FBI calls him most prolific serial killer in US history

No legal proceedings

Little gave Texas Ranger James Holland and the FBI detailed accounts of 93 murders committed between 1970 and 2005. In October 2019, the FBI announced that it had connected at least 50 cases to his confessions and considered all the confessions credible.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
FBISamuel Little: Confessions of a KillerOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
FBIFBI Confirms Samuel Little is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. HistoryOfficial documentVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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06

13 December 2018

2018: guilty plea to murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Texas

Conviction

After confessing to the murder of Denise Christie Brothers, killed in Odessa in 1994, Little pleaded guilty in Texas and received a further life sentence.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
FBIFBI Confirms Samuel Little is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. HistoryOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
Biography.comSamuel LittleSecondary sourceMedium reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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09

September 2012–2013

2012: arrested in Kentucky and transferred to California; DNA reopens three cold cases

Investigation

Little was located in Kentucky and transferred to California on a drugs case. His DNA profile enabled investigators to link three previously unsolved Los Angeles homicides.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
FBIFBI Confirms Samuel Little is Most Prolific Serial Killer in U.S. HistoryOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesLAPD says serial killer suspect may have more victimsPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

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13

1984–1987

1984–1987: attacks on women in San Diego — assault and false imprisonment conviction

Conviction

Following two attacks on women in San Diego, Little was convicted of offences including assault and false imprisonment and served more than two years in prison before being paroled in 1987.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
The Washington PostSamuel Little was charged with attacking women again and again. But he escaped justice and kept killing.PressVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesLAPD says serial killer suspect may have more victimsPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

15

1982–January 1984

1982–1984: murder of Patricia Ann Mount in Florida — trial and acquittal

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Little was tried for Patricia Ann Mount's murder after being seen with her shortly before her disappearance. The jury acquitted him in January 1984.

Legal status — source text: Acquitted / conviction overturned
Attribution: Accused
Course of the proceedings: Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Sources · 2

[1]
The Washington PostSamuel Little was charged with attacking women again and again. But he escaped justice and kept killing.PressVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesLAPD says serial killer suspect may have more victimsPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

16

1982

1982: murder of Melinda LaPree in Mississippi — arrested but grand jury declines indictment

Case dismissed / dropped

Little was arrested during the investigation into the death of Melinda Rose LaPree in Pascagoula. A grand jury nevertheless declined to indict him for the murder.

Sources · 2

[1]
The Washington PostSamuel Little was charged with attacking women again and again. But he escaped justice and kept killing.PressVery high reliability
[2]
Los Angeles TimesLAPD says serial killer suspect may have more victimsPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

17

1976

1976: sexual assault in St Louis — plea to reduced charge and 90-day sentence

Conviction

A woman accused Little of strangling, beating and raping her. Fearing that a trial might fail, prosecutors accepted a plea to a reduced charge of assault with intent to rape; he received approximately 90 days in custody and a fine.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
The Washington PostSamuel Little was charged with attacking women again and again. But he escaped justice and kept killing.PressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

18

1961–1964

1961: conviction for burglary of furniture shop in Ohio

Conviction

Little was sentenced to prison after burglarising a furniture shop in Lorain, Ohio, an early episode in what would become an extensive criminal record.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
The Washington PostHow America’s deadliest serial killer went undetected for more than 40 yearsPressVery high reliability

Last verified: 15 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

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