Buddy Earl Justus (December 25, 1952 – December 13, 1990) was an American

spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations ...

who raped and murdered three women, including a pregnant woman, across Georgia,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in October 1978. Convicted of all three murders and receiving deaths sentences in all three states, Justus was executed in Virginia in 1990.

Early life

Justus was born in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

on Christmas Day, 1952. He came from an abusive family, and eventually ended up in a Virginia orphanage.

Murders

On October 3, 1978, Justus broke into the Ironto, Virginia trailer of Ida Mae Moses, 21, and proceeded to rape and murder her. Moses, a nurse, had been set to give birth in two weeks and had already planned a name for her unborn son. Justus moved south, picking up an 18-year-old hitchhiker, Dale Goins, along the way. They kidnapped, raped, and murdered Rosemary Jackson, a 32-year-old housewife, while she was leaving a store in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Days later, in Florida, Justus and Goins kidnapped, raped, and murdered Stephanie Hawkins, who had been preparing for her son's birthday party.

Trial and execution

Justus was arrested on October 11, 1978, in Grundy, Virginia. He and Goins were tried for each of the three murders they had committed. Justus was convicted of killing Moses, Jackson, and Hawkins, receiving a death sentence for each murder. Goins was convicted of murdering Jackson and Hawkins, receiving life sentences in Georgia and Florida, which he is still serving. In 1983, Justus said he was planning to waive his appeals, but then changed his mind. After his appeals failed, Justus was executed in the electric chair at the

Virginia State Penitentiary Virginia State Penitentiary was a prison in Richmond, Virginia. Towards the end of its life it was a part of the Virginia Department of Corrections. First opening in 1800, the prison was completed in 1804; it was built due to a reform movement prec ...

on December 13, 1990. Justus had no last words, but gave an interview earlier that day. In a morning interview with

WFIR WFIR (960 kHz "WFIR 960 AM - 107.3 FM") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia and serving the Roanoke Valley. It is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc. and airs a News/Talk radio format. WFIR broadcasts at 10,000 wat ...

, Justus said "I want it to be over with, not for me, but for the victims' families. I'm ready to go to a better place. I want it to be put to rest. I've asked for forgiveness to a lot of people and I was able to forgive myself." Justus also admonished capital punishment, calling it "barbaric". "Let me be the last person," he said. "There is a better way to deal with crimes than taking people's lives." Justus was the last man executed at the

. All subsequent executions in Virginia were carried out at Greensville Correctional Center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Justus, Buddy 1952 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American criminals 20th-century executions by Virginia American people convicted of rape Executed American spree killers People convicted of murder by Florida People convicted of murder by Georgia (U.S. state) People convicted of murder by Virginia People executed by Virginia by electric chair People from Niagara Falls, New York Prisoners sentenced to death by Georgia (U.S. state) Prisoners sentenced to death by Florida

Early life

Murders

Trial and execution

See also

References