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“You have to assume that you will fail!” With these words, a sociology and history teacher in Tennessee gave his class a seemingly impossible paper six years ago. As a group, they were tasked with tracking down a possible serial killer from the 1980s – something neither the FBI nor local police authorities had accomplished in nearly four decades.
Incredibly, the high school students not only managed to connect six victims in four states, but also discovered the identity of the possible killer.
The perpetrator was called the ‘Bible Belt Strangler’.
Alex Campbell gave his students at Elizabethtown High School a list of fourteen female murder victims from the 1980s whose deaths were never solved. The only other information the 14- to 17-year-olds were given was that newspapers at the time had speculated that it was the actions of a serial killer, whom they called the “Bible Belt Strangler.” The Bible Belt is a region in the US where mainly conservative and religious people live.
But police never found any connection between the women – except that they most likely worked as prostitutes. Campbell told the New York Post: “My students have to see if they can find clues that point to the same perpetrator. Since the police never succeeded, I was sure they would fail too – and I was wrong.”
Students continued to research in their spare time
The teacher brought a former FBI profiler named Scott Barker to the class as a guest lecturer, who told the students what to look out for. By the end of the school year, students were able to create a common victim profile between six of the dead women: Lisa N.*, Michelle I.*, Tina M.*, Elizabeth L.*, Tracy W.*, and Cynthia T.* – produce. They were all redheads, found along highways in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia between 1983 and 1983 and killed at close range (most likely by strangulation).
Even after the semester ended, the 23-member student group continued to conduct research in their spare time. Last year they managed to locate a possible perpetrator. Jerry J.* was sentenced to life in prison in 1985 for the murder of a prostitute in Kentucky. He had worked as a truck driver and strangled his victim. He died in custody in 2015.
The FBI made no mention of students
The students reported on their theory on a podcast called “Murder 101,” where they revealed their evidence and investigative steps to host Shane Waters. The Tennessee State Police announced that they had reopened the investigation into the murders and that they were considering Jerry J. as a possible perpetrator of the six violent crimes and possibly other murders.
Campbell is very disappointed that the FBI did not mention his students as the reason for the breakthrough: “But the kids say they don’t care. They only care about justice for the families of these dead women.” (ymh)
*Name known
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
