Charles Stanard Severance (born September 25, 1960) is a convicted American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

whose crimes took place in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, between 2003 and 2014. He was convicted by a Virginia court in 2016 of three shooting deaths and sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

plus an additional 48 years. He was tried for the killings of three individuals: Ruthanne Lodato in 2014, Ronald Kirby in 2013, and Nancy Dunning in 2003. The case received considerable attention in the city because Severance (as convicted) attacked in broad daylight by knocking on victim's doors and killing those who answered with a

.22 caliber .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

, with investigators eventually finding writings from Severance titled "Knock. Talk. Enter. Kill. Exit. Murder." Severance was ultimately arrested on March 13, 2014, following the release of a

police sketch A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images a ...

taken after the shooting of Lodato. Prosecutors alleged he did so out of hatred for

elites In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

in the generally wealthy city of Alexandria.

Political career

Prior to the killings, Severance ran for Mayor of Alexandria in a 1996 special election and 2000 as well as for Congress for the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

district in 1996. On the campaign trail, Severance displayed unusual and erratic behavior. Severance appeared at campaign events dressed entirely in black with a cloak and sunglasses and during Severance's campaigns for Mayor, the city manager and police chief assigned an undercover officer to follow Democratic candidate and eventual mayor Kerry Donley. On several occasions during his campaigns, Severance became violent. In one instance during a forum in 1996, Severance picked up an American flag and pointed the spiked finial at Representative

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington ...

before running out of the building. At another forum in 2000, Severance punched one of the organizers. The focus of Severance's campaigns were juvenile mental health and psychotropic drug prescriptions. During his runs for mayor, Severance responded to nearly every question by transitioning to talk about these topics. In a statement in 2000, Severance said that "A plague of child and adolescent psychiatry" threatened to overwhelm Alexandria. He went on to say "Terrorism, child exploitation and adolescent abuse by child and adolescent psychiatrists who peddle dope for profit under the guise of academia and clinical practice must be eradicated." In all three of Severance's campaigns, he was defeated.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Severance, Charles 1960 births American serial killers Crimes in Virginia Criminals from Virginia Living people Male serial killers Murder in Virginia People convicted of murder by Virginia People from Fairfax, Virginia Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Virginia

Political career

Electoral history

See also

References