What did Paul John Knowles do?
Paul John Knowles was an American serial killer who was responsible for at least 18 murders, though there could have been as many as 35 according to the killer himself. He was branded with the title of “The Casanova Killer” throughout his crime spree
Knowles was born in Orlando, Florida, in 1946, and lived in foster homes before his first stint in prison at the age of 19. He was arrested again in 1974 when he stabbed a bartender during a fight, but managed to pick a lock in his detention cell and escaped.
What happened during Knowles’ crime spree?
After his escape from police custody, he began a four-month crime spree across a number of different states. At the time, his crimes were not linked, but after he was eventually captured, it was discovered he recorded confessions and mailed them to his lawyer. On the same night, he escaped from police custody on the 26th July, 1974, Knowles broke into the home of 65-year-old Alice Heneritta Curtis and choked her to death, then ransacked her home for money and valuables and stole her car.
Knowles also claimed to have murdered a teenage girl named “Alma.” Turns out, this was 13-year-old Ima Jean Sanders. These were just a few of his crimes, as he continued to stalk people up and down the country, including Marjorie Howe, who was found strangled to death in her apartment, and two elderly campers at a rest stop near Nevada.
On the 17th November, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper named Charles Eugene Campbell recognised a car that matched the description of one stolen from the most recent murder victim. He pulled the car over, and Knowles wrestled the trooper’s gun off him when he leaned in to see into the car. He took Campbell hostage and took off in his patrol car and then pulled over another car. He then took the driver of that car prisoner and drove both men to a remote area.
He led them into the woods, tied them to a tree and shot them. As he fled the area, he lost control of the car and hit a tree. He took off on foot and was pursued by police officers . He made it out of the perimeter of the manhunt and ultimately got away. However, a local man with a shotgun found him and apprehended him. He was arrested and confessed to 35 murders.
Where is Paul John Knowles now?
On the 18th December, 1974, Sheriff Earl Lee and Agent Ronnie Angel from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were traveling down Interstate 20 with Knowles, who was handcuffed in the back seat of their police car. He was helping them locate remains of people he killed, and they were headed to Henry County, Georgia, where Charles Campbell’s handgun had allegedly been dumped.
During the journey, Knowles jumped Lee and tried to steal his handgun. The gun went off through the holster in the car, and as Lee and Knowles struggled, Angel fired three shots at Knowles, killing him instantly.
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