Harvey Glatman: The Lonely Hearts Killer

Harvey Glatman posed as a magazine photographer in late 1950s California to lure young women to staged photo shoots where he bound, photographed, terrorized, and ultimately strangled them. Between 1957 and 1958, he killed at least three women in the Los Angeles area — Judy Dull, Shirley Ann Bridgeford, and Ruth Mercado — all of whom he had contacted through modeling agencies or lonely hearts columns. He kept photographs of his bound and terrified victims as trophies. Glatman was caught in October 1958 when his intended fourth victim, Lorraine Vigil, fought back during what she thought was a modeling session. She struggled with Glatman for his gun during a roadside stop and was aided by a passing highway patrol officer who arrested Glatman at gunpoint. Vigil's courage saved her life and ended Glatman's killing spree. Under questioning, Glatman confessed to the three murders and led police to the desert locations where he had buried his victims. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Remarkably, Glatman waived his right to appeal, reportedly telling his attorney he preferred death. He was executed in California's gas chamber on September 18, 1959. Glatman is considered one of the first documented lust murderers in U.S. criminal history and a precursor to later offenders like Ted Bundy who used charm and deception to access victims. His use of photography as both a grooming tool and a trophy-collection method was studied by early FBI profilers as a key behavioral marker in predatory offenders.