Gary Michael Heidnik (November 22, 1943 – July 6, 1999) was an American criminal who

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d, and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d six women (murdering two of them), while holding them captive in a self-dug pit in his basement floor, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He was sentenced to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

in July 1999.

Early life

Gary Heidnik was born on November 22, 1943, in

Eastlake Eastlake may refer to: Places ;Australia * Kingston, Australian Capital Territory, formerly called Eastlake ** Eastlake Football Club, an amateur Australian Rules Football Club named after that location ;United States * Eastlake, Lake County, C ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, a suburb of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, to Michael and Ellen Heidnik. He had a younger brother, Terry. After their parents divorced in 1946, the Heidnik children were raised by their mother for four years before being placed in the care of their father and his new wife. Heidnik would later claim he was emotionally abused by his father. He suffered a lifelong problem of

bed wetting Nocturnal enuresis, also informally called bedwetting, is urinary incontinence, involuntary urination while sleep, asleep after the age at which bladder control usually begins. Bedwetting in children and adults can result in emotional stress. Com ...

and said his father would humiliate him by forcing him to hang his stained sheets from his bedroom window, in full view of their neighbors. After his son's arrest, Heidnik's father denied the abuse allegations.Englade 1992, p. 19 At school, Heidnik did not interact with his fellow students and refused to make eye contact. When a well-meaning, new female student asked, "Did you get the homework done, Gary?", he yelled at her, and told her she was not "worthy enough" to talk to him. Heidnik was also teased about his oddly shaped head, which he and Terry claimed was the result of a young Heidnik falling out of a tree. Nonetheless, Heidnik performed well academically and tested with an I.Q. of 148. With the encouragement of his father, 14-year-old Heidnik enrolled at the Staunton Military Academy in Staunton,

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 ...

, for two years, leaving before graduation. After another period in public high school, he dropped out and joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

when he was 17. Heidnik served in the Army for thirteen months. During

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

, his drill sergeant graded him as "excellent." He applied for several specialist positions, including the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

, but was rejected. He was sent to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to be trained as a medic, and did well through medical training. However, he did not stay in San Antonio very long and was transferred to the 46th Army Surgical Hospital in

Landstuhl Landstuhl () is a town in the Kaiserslautern district of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is the seat of ''Verbandsgemeinde Landstuhl'', a kind of "collective municipality." Landstuhl is situated on the north-west edge of the Palatinate F ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Within weeks of his new posting in Germany, he earned his

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

. In August 1962, Heidnik began complaining of severe headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and nausea. A hospital neurologist diagnosed Heidnik with

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

and noted that he also displayed symptoms of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, for which he was prescribed

trifluoperazine Trifluoperazine, marketed under the brand name Stelazine among others, is a typical antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia. It may also be used short term in those with generalized anxiety disorder but is less preferred to benzodiaze ...

. In October 1962, Heidnik was transferred to a military hospital in

, where he was diagnosed with

schizoid personality disorder Schizoid personality disorder (, often abbreviated as SzPD or ScPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a Asociality, lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency toward a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotion ...

and consequently honorably discharged from military service.

Adulthood

Shortly after his discharge, Heidnik became a

licensed practical nurse A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who cares for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physicians, mid-level practitio ...

and enrolled at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, only to drop out after a single semester. He worked at a

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

hospital in Coatesville, but was fired for poor attendance and rude behavior towards patients. From August 1962 until his arrest in March 1987, Heidnik spent time in and out of

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

s and had attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

at least thirteen times. In 1970, his mother who had been diagnosed with bone cancer and was suffering the effects of

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, committed suicide by drinking mercuric chloride. His brother Terry also spent time in mental institutions, and attempted suicide multiple times. In October 1971, Heidnik incorporated a church called the "United Church of the Ministers of God", initially with a mere five followers. In 1975, he opened an account under the church's name with

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

. The initial deposit was $1,500. Heidnik eventually amassed over $500,000 (over US$2.7 million in 2023). By 1986, the United Church of the Ministers of God was prosperous and opulent. Heidnik used a matrimonial service to meet his future wife, Betty Disto, with whom he corresponded by mail for two years before proposing to her. Disto arrived from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in September 1985 and married Heidnik in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

the following month, on October 3. The marriage rapidly deteriorated after she caught him abed with a trio of other women. Throughout the course of their brief marriage, Heidnik forced his wife to be an onlooker while he performed intercourse with other women. Disto also accused Heidnik of repeatedly

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

and assaulting her. With the help of the Filipino community in Philadelphia, she was able to leave Heidnik in January 1986. Unknown to Heidnik until his ex-wife requested

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

payments in 1987, he had impregnated Disto during their short marriage. On September 15, 1986, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Jesse John Disto. Heidnik also had a child with Gail Lincow, a son named Gary Jr. The child was placed in foster care soon after his birth. Heidnik had a third child with another woman, Anjeanette Davidson, who was illiterate and mentally disabled. Their daughter, Maxine Davidson, was born on March 16, 1978, and immediately placed in foster care. Shortly after Maxine's birth, Heidnik was arrested for the

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

and rape of Anjeanette's sister, Alberta, who had been living in an institution for the mentally disabled in Penn Township.

Criminal activities

1976: First legal charges

In 1976, Heidnik was charged with

aggravated assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and carrying an unlicensed

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

after shooting at the tenant of a house he offered for rent, grazing the man's face.

1978: First imprisonment

In 1978, Heidnik signed out Alberta, the sister of his then-girlfriend Anjeanette Davidson, from the Penn Township mental institution on day leave and proceeded to imprison her in a locked storage room in his basement. After she was found and returned to the hospital, examination revealed that she had been raped and sodomized, and that she had contracted gonorrhea. Heidnik was arrested, charged and convicted of kidnapping, rape, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, and interfering with the custody of a committed person. The original sentence was overturned on

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

and Heidnik spent three years of his incarceration in mental institutions prior to being released in April 1983, under the supervision of a state-sanctioned mental health program.

1986: Spousal rape

After his wife Betty Disto left him in 1986, Heidnik was arrested yet again and charged with assault, indecent assault, spousal rape, and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse.

1986–1987: Serial rape and murder

On November 25, 1986, Heidnik abducted a woman named Josefina Rivera. By January 1987, he had kidnapped another four women, whom he held captive in a pit in the basement of his house at 3520 North Marshall Street in North Philadelphia. The captives, were raped, beaten, and

d. One of the women, Sandra Lindsay, died of a combination of starvation, torture, and an untreated fever. Heidnik dismembered her body but had problems dealing with the arms and legs, so he put them in a freezer and labeled them "dog food." He cooked her ribs in an oven and boiled her head in a pot on the stove. Police officers came to his house after his neighbors complained that a nauseating odor was emanating from his residence, but they left the premises after Heidnik explained: "I'm cooking a roast. I fell asleep and it burnt." Several sources state that Heidnik ground up the flesh of Lindsay, mixed it with dog food, and fed it to his other victims. His defense attorney, Chuck Peruto, said that upon examination of a Cuisinart and other tools in his kitchen, they found no evidence of this. Peruto said that Heidnik made up the story to support the

insanity defense The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...

. Peruto said that Heidnik started the rumor of

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

in public, and that in fact, there was no evidence of anyone eating human flesh. Heidnik used electric shock as a form of torture. At one point, he forced three of his captives, bound in chains, into a pit. Heidnik ordered Rivera and another woman to fill the hole with water, and then forced Rivera to help him apply electric current from a stripped extension cord to the women's chains. Deborah Dudley was electrocuted to death, and Heidnik disposed of her body in the Pine Barrens in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. On January 18, 1987, Heidnik abducted Jacqueline Askins. The youngest of the six victims, Askins was only 18 years old at the time of her abduction. On May 5, 2018, a special report titled "Gary Heidnik's House of Horrors, 30 years later" was aired, and featured an interview in which Askins recounted that Heidnik wrapped duct tape around the mouths of the victims, and stabbed them in their ears with a screwdriver. On March 23, 1987, Heidnik and Rivera abducted Agnes Adams. The next day, Rivera convinced Heidnik to let her go, temporarily, so she could visit her family. He drove her to a gas station and said that he would wait for her there. She walked to her boyfriend's house; he initially wanted to confront Heidnik, but then decided to call the police instead. The responding officers, noting chafing from chains on her leg, went to the gas station and detained Heidnik. His purported best friend, Cyril ("Tony") Brown, was also arrested. Brown was released on $50,000 bail and an agreement that he would testify against Heidnik. In part, Brown admitted that he had witnessed Lindsay's death in the basement and he also admitted that he had witnessed Heidnik's dismemberment of her body. Shortly after his arrest in April 1987, Heidnik attempted to hang himself in his jail cell.

Trial and appeals

At Heidnik's

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

, he claimed that the women were already in the house when he moved in. At trial, Heidnik was defended by A. Charles Peruto, Jr., who attempted to prove that Heidnik was

legally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative Defense (legal), defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic mental illness, psychiatr ...

. Heidnik's insanity claim was successfully rebutted by the prosecution led by Charles F. Gallagher, III. The fact that he successfully amassed approximately $550,000 through his brokerage account was used to prove that he was an astute investor, and therefore not insane. Testimony which was given by his Merrill Lynch financial advisor, Robert Kirkpatrick, was also used to prove Heidnik's mental competence. Kirkpatrick called Heidnik "an astute investor who knew exactly what he was doing." On July 1, 1988, Heidnik was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, six counts of kidnapping, five counts of rape, four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He was sentenced to death and incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. In January 1989, he attempted suicide with an overdose of prescribed thorazine. In 1997, Heidnik's daughter, Maxine Davidson White, and his ex-wife, Betty Heidnik, filed a suit in federal court in the

Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phila ...

, in which they requested a

stay of execution A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not always mean the death penalty. It refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and i ...

on the basis that Heidnik was not

competent Competence may refer to: *Competence (geology), the resistance of a rock against deformation or plastic flow. *Competence (human resources), a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job *Competence (law), the me ...

enough to be executed. After two years of legal proceedings in various courts, on July 3, 1999, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued its final ruling, clearing the way for Heidnik's execution.

Death

Heidnik was executed by

on July 6, 1999, at the

State Correctional Institution – Rockview The State Correctional Institution – Rockview, commonly referred to as SCI Rockview, is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections prison located in Benner Township, Pennsylvania, away from Bellefonte. A portion of the prison grounds extends ...

, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and his body was cremated. As of 2022, he was the last person to have been executed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He remains the third of only three people who have been executed in Pennsylvania since the resumption of the death penalty. The other two were

Keith Zettlemoyer Keith William Zettlemoyer (June 4, 1955 – May 2, 1995) was an American convicted murderer who was executed in Pennsylvania for the 1980 murder of his friend Charles DeVetsco. He became the first person to be executed in Pennsylvania since the U ...

in May 1995 and

Leon Moser Leon Jerome Moser (September 15, 1942 – August 16, 1995) was an American convicted murderer who was executed in Pennsylvania for the 1985 murders of his ex-wife and two daughters in Montgomery County. He was the second person to be executed in ...

in August 1995.

List of victims

* Josefina Rivera — age 25, kidnapped on November 25, 1986. * Sandra Lindsay — age 24, kidnapped on December 3, 1986; murdered on February 7, 1987. * Lisa Thomas — age 19, kidnapped on December 23, 1986. * Deborah Dudley — age 23, kidnapped on January 2, 1987; murdered on March 19, 1987. * Jacqueline Askins — age 18, kidnapped on January 18, 1987. * Agnes Adams — age 24, kidnapped on March 23, 1987 (rescued the same day).

In popular culture

Heidnik was one of six real-life murderers upon whom author Thomas Harris based Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, the villain of his 1988 novel '' The Silence of the Lambs''. In 2003, the extreme metal band

Macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

released a song about Heidnik called "Morbid Minister", on their album ''Murder Metal''. In 2018, the band SKYND released a song which was based on the events, featuring Jonathan Davis from

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

. The plot of the 2012 movie ''

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...

'' is inspired by Heidnik. On January 16, 2021, the

Oxygen Channel Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, through its Cable Entertainment Group subsidiary. The channel primar ...

aired a two-hour special titled "Monster Preacher," in which two of Heidnik's victims recounted his crimes. Heidnik is mentioned in the beginning of the Criminal Minds episode "Cradle to Grave" (S5, E5).

Podcasts

Necronomipod - Episode "Gary Heidnik" ''Murderous States Of Mind'' - Episode #3: "Gary Heidnik AKA The Monster Preacher" ''The Minds of Madness'' - Episode #100: "Pit of Darkness" True Crime Obsessed - Episode "Monster Preacher". Released on 8/24/2021 Best Served Cold - Episode “Gary Michael Heidnik & The Yorkshire Ripper”. Released on 10/11/2020 East Coast Creepin - Episode 1&2 " Gary Heidnik" My Favorite Murder - Episode 77: "Live At The Keswick Theatre" True Hollywood Crime (THC) - Episode 33: Good Evening Clarice Morning Cup of Murder- Episode: "The Pit- November 26th 2021- Today's True Crime" The Paranormal History Academy- Episode 7: "The Gary Heidnik Murders" Murder, Mystery and Makeup - Episode 20: The Awful Gary Heidnik - Church Cult & Cellar Girls Modus Operandi - Episode 105: Gary Heidnik: O Cordeiro Assassino. Released on 10/02/2022Modus Operandi - Episode 105: Gary Heidnik: O Cordeiro Assassinos
/ref> This is MONSTERS : Gary Heidnik : The Monster Preacher - Season 09 : Torture : Episode 02 : Gary Heidnik RedHanded - Episode 114: "'Bishop' Gary Heidnik: The Real-Life Buffalo Bill"