Glennon Edward Engleman (February 6, 1927 – March 3, 1999) was an American dentist, contract killer, and

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 ...

. Engleman, a

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, ...

veteran and a St. Louis

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial c ...

, planned and carried out at least five murders for monetary gain over the course of 30 years. He was already serving two life sentences in a Missouri state prison when he pled guilty to the murder of a man and his wealthy parents in a separate

contract killing Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

that occurred in Illinois. Engleman was a sociopath, once stating that his talent was to kill without remorse, and he enjoyed planning and carrying out killings and disposing of the remains in order that it would net him financial rewards. His first known killing occurred in collaboration with his ex-wife. His ex-wife Ruth married another man, raised his life insurance and then Engleman killed him, both sharing the benefits. Later he would repeat these tactics for other murders. Engleman would use his financial worth, sex and charm to manipulate women he was close to, ex-wives, lovers and his dental assistant, in helping him formulate and execute elaborate murder schemes. This led to one of his lovers, Barbara Boyle, being convicted as an accomplice and serving just under half of a 50-year sentence. Another accomplice, Robert Handy, was also convicted and served time in prison. Methods used to kill his victims included shooting, bludgeoning with a

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

and explosives. The exact number of his victims is unknown. He is the subject of Susan Crane Bakos 1988 book ''Appointment for Murder''. The cases against him were re-enacted in a rare, two-part episode of the crime documentary series " The FBI Files".

Early life

Engleman was born the youngest of four children, his father was a member of the United States Air Force. He was raised in the middle class and lived in a nice home that his parents owned. Academically he was an above average student in school, but he didn't excel in any specific subject. He graduated in dentistry at Washington University in St. Louis, in 1954. He had been admitted under the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, having previously served in the

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

Known victims

1958: Engleman is suspected of the death of James Stanley Bullock, 27, a clerk for Union Electric Company of Missouri and part-time student. Shot near the St. Louis Art Museum. Edna Ruth Bullock (née Ball) and James Bullock were married on June 28, 1958, they had been married for five and half months on the date he was murdered. Edna Ruth Bullock was Engleman's ex-wife prior to her marriage with James Bullock. She collected $64,000 () from James Bullock's life insurance. 1963: Engleman is suspected in the murder of Eric Frey, a business associate of Engleman at Pacific Drag Strip, in which Frey and Engleman were partners. Engleman struck him with a rock, pushed him down a well and used dynamite to blow him up afterwards. He then divided the insurance proceeds with Frey's widow. 1976: Peter J. Halm was shot in Pacific, Missouri. His wife, Carmen Miranda Halm, a former dental assistant trainee who had worked for Engleman and known him since childhood, ordered the hit to collect a $60,000 () policy of life insurance on Halm. Engleman was convicted of capital murder for killing Halm and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years. 1977: Arthur and Vernita Gusewelle at their farmhouse near Edwardsville, Illinois. Arthur was shot; Vernita bashed to death. Engleman then murdered their son Ronald Gusewelle in East St. Louis, Illinois 17 months later so his widow Barbara Gusewelle Boyle could claim the millions in

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the dea ...

she had taken out on her husband, the sole heir to his parents' oil business. Boyle collected approximately $340,000 () following her husband's murder. Boyle was convicted in her husband's murder but was acquitted of killing his parents. She was subsequently sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of her husband. She was released from the Dwight Correctional Center on October 10, 2009. Robert Handy, the accomplice, pled guilty to conspiring to commit the three Gusewelle killings and was sentenced to 14 years and served his time in prison. Engleman confessed to the three killings while in prison. He later pled guilty to the murders and received three life terms without parole. 1980: Sophie Marie Barrera, owner of South St Louis Dental Laboratory. Killed in car bomb explosion. Engleman owed her over $14,000 (). On 25 September 1980, a jury in federal court found Engleman guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the murder of Barrera. He was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison for the two charges. Engleman was accused of the murder by her son, Frederick Barrera. Engleman was also convicted in state court of capital murder for killing Berrera, receiving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 50 years after jurors spared him a death sentence.

Family and death

Engleman was married twice, first to Edna Ruth and then to Carmen Miranda Halm, with whom he had a son, David Engleman. His first marriage Edna Ruth was when they both planned and decided on their method of killing. Edna Ruth Ball married another man, raised her new husband's life insurance, Engleman killed him and they both shared the profits. Edna Ruth was never prosecuted due to lack of evidence. In March 1999, Engleman, 72, was pronounced dead in the infirmary of the

Jefferson City Correctional Center The Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) is a maximum security prison in Jefferson City, Missouri operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections. It houses up to 1996 inmates, with a staff of 660. It is located at Jefferson City Corre ...

, where he had a history of treatment for diabetes. A spokesman for the center said his death had been anticipated.

In media

Books

*Appointment for Murder - ''Story of the Killing Dentist'' (1989), by: Susan Crain Bakos.

Television

*Engleman's killings inspired the basis for the 1996 film, ''

The Dentist ''The Dentist'' is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and Charles Finch. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman and Ken Foree. It is the first installment in ''The Dentist'' film se ...

''. *The story was told in the episode "Concealed Abscess" on the Investigation Discovery series ''Deadly Dentists'', which aired December 8, 2017.

References

External links

Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States 1980
pg. 77 at National Criminal Justice Reference Service {{DEFAULTSORT:Engleman, Glennon 1927 births 1999 deaths American dentists American people convicted of murder American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Contract killers People convicted of murder by Missouri Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Missouri Prisoners who died in Missouri detention United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People with antisocial personality disorder Deaths from diabetes 20th-century dentists