Horrific Crime Spree, Started In El Paso, Spread Across Texas

A horrific murder in El Paso in 1959 was just the beginning of a series of grisly discoveries around Texas. The victims and their killer(s) all remain unknown.

In 1959, some people pulled a suitcase from the Rio Grande on El Paso's west side and discovered a headless, handless, legless torso within it. The limbs and skin removed with an almost surgical precision.

More body parts were discovered downstream and in the desert near Tularosa.

What Happened To The Torso In San Jacinto?

3 years later, in San Jacinto County,  an eerily similar scene unfolded. This time, it was a woman's headless, handless, legless torso; discovered in a couple of boxes that had been wired together and weighted down with cement. (More details here.)

Both the San Jacinto and El Paso victims were missing their hearts and completely drained of blood.

READ MORE: What Happened To The Patterson's?

San Jacinto County Sheriff Lewis Woodruff and Constable Collis Everitt called in the Texas Rangers and Houston pathologist Dr. Joseph Jachimczyk. The autopsy revealed crude dismemberment, a missing heart, and faint teeth marks on the torso. Nine pieces of women’s clothing surrounded the body, all stripped of laundry tags. - iheart

 

Were There Other "Texas Torso Murders"?

Part 2 of this horrible mystery still remains unsolved. Neither the first murder in El Paso nor this one have ever been solved and neither victim has ever been identified. Sadly, this second of what were dubbed the "Texas Torso Murders" would not be the last.

Check back here for part 3 soon, you can read part 1 here.