One of America’s most notorious serial killers was born to a poor family from Blacksburg, Virginia. He would go on to claim hundreds of lives—or so he said.
“As the Texan judge set his bail for $1 million, Henry Lee Lucas laughed. The Blacksburg, Virginia-native was being charged with the brutal murders of three women, ranging from 15 years of age to 80. “I will finish what I have started,” he tells the judge. “I will finish giving back the dead that I have taken.”
He is later photographed walking out of the courtroom with a slight smile, dressed in a collared shirt, with facial stubble and a mop of curly dark hair. He is not in handcuffs, but he is flanked by officers, perhaps a foreshadowing to the future special treatment he would receive while in jail in the years to come.
For some time, Henry Lee was widely considered one of the most dangerous serial killers in U.S. history. His story begins at home, in a dirt-floor shack at the edge of Blacksburg.”