Carl Panzram

Carl Panzram (1891–1930) was an American serial killer from the era of the 1920s.

Early life

He was born in Minnesota in 1891, the son of Prussian immigrants. He was raised in poverty and logged his first arrest at the age of eight for being drunken and disorderly. By his teens he was an alcoholic and repeatedly got into trouble with the authorities, usually for burglary and theft. He ran away from home at the age of fourteen and was gang raped by a group of hobos, one of many incidents that added to his hatred and rage for what he saw as an uncaring world where 'might is right'.

Related Topics:
Minnesota - 1891 - Prussia - Immigrant - Poverty - Alcoholic - Burglary - Theft - Gang rape

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In adulthood, Panzram was a prolific thief, but he was frequently caught and imprisoned. Utterly incapable of any self-discipline, Panzram would get into trouble by attacking guards and refusing their orders, which led to his being subjected to beating and punishments that verged on torture. He often escaped from prisons, once getting revenge on a judge who jailed him by breaking into the judge's house and stealing thousands of dollars. Panzram travelled extensively too, even ending up in Scotland at one point, where he served time for burglary.

Related Topics:
Torture - Prison - Revenge - Scotland

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In his autobiography, Panzram wrote that he was 'rage personified', and he would often rape men whom he robbed, not because he was necessarily homosexual but because it was his method of dominating and humiliating people. He also engaged in vandalism and arson, at one point considering an ambitious plot to scuttle a British warship docked in New York harbour in order to provoke a war between Britain and the USA.

Related Topics:
Autobiography - Homosexual - Vandalism - Arson - British - New York

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