Cincinnati Strangler
Encyclopedia
The Cincinnati Strangler was the name given to a serial killer
who rape
d, then strangled
seven mostly elderly women in Cincinnati, Ohio
between 1965 and 1966. The identity of the Cincinnati Strangler is commonly believed to be former cab driver Posteal Laskey.
During the killing spree there was considerable alarm on the part of many Cincinnatians, with locksmiths and hardware stores unable to keep up with the demand for locks. Despite being charged with only one murder, the citywide panic only abated after Laskey's arrest and conviction, when the killings suddenly stopped, thus supporting investigators' claim that they successfully found and jailed the Cincinnati Strangler.
Originally sentenced to death
, Laskey's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment
when the Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia
. In February 2007, Laskey was denied parole
. The grounds cited by the Ohio Parole Board included the heinous nature of the crime, Laskey's prior record and the community disapproval of an early release. He would have eligible for parole again in 2017 at age 79 years old and was incarcerated in the Pickaway Correctional Institution
. Laskey died on May 29, 2007 of natural causes, while still in prison. No one claimed his body and prison officials said he was buried in one of the State of Ohio's prison cemeteries.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, then strangled
Strangling
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...
seven mostly elderly women in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
between 1965 and 1966. The identity of the Cincinnati Strangler is commonly believed to be former cab driver Posteal Laskey.
During the killing spree there was considerable alarm on the part of many Cincinnatians, with locksmiths and hardware stores unable to keep up with the demand for locks. Despite being charged with only one murder, the citywide panic only abated after Laskey's arrest and conviction, when the killings suddenly stopped, thus supporting investigators' claim that they successfully found and jailed the Cincinnati Strangler.
Originally sentenced to death
Capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
, Laskey's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
when the Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
. In February 2007, Laskey was denied parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. The grounds cited by the Ohio Parole Board included the heinous nature of the crime, Laskey's prior record and the community disapproval of an early release. He would have eligible for parole again in 2017 at age 79 years old and was incarcerated in the Pickaway Correctional Institution
Pickaway Correctional Institution
The Pickaway Correctional Institution is a state prison located in Orient, Ohio, USA which mostly houses minimum and medium security inmates. PCI was opened as a prison in 1984 after the buildings which formerly housed a facility for MRDD had been closed...
. Laskey died on May 29, 2007 of natural causes, while still in prison. No one claimed his body and prison officials said he was buried in one of the State of Ohio's prison cemeteries.