 |
Richard Trenton ChaseAmerican serial killer
Date of Birth: 23.05.1950
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Richard Trenton Chase
Richard Trenton Chase, also known as "The Vampire of Sacramento", was an American serial killer who murdered six people in Sacramento, California in the span of one month.
Early Life
Richard Trenton Chase was born on May 23, 1950, in Santa Clara County, California, United States. He claimed to have experienced violence from his mother during his childhood, which led to the development of zoosadism, pyromania, and enuresis, known as the "Macdonald Triad", indicating a predisposition to violent offenses. From the age of 15, Chase began drinking and using drugs. He suffered from erectile dysfunction, a result of his psychological issues stemming from repressed anger. At the age of 18, he sought psychiatric help to determine the cause of his impotence. The specialist suggested that his suppressed aggression might be the reason, but did not mention a possible mental illness. However, Chase later realized that he could only achieve orgasm through perverse methods, such as inflicting pain, necrophilia, dismemberment, and cannibalism.
Life of Crime
In 1971, Chase first caught the attention of the police when he was arrested for marijuana possession. At the age of 24, he became a severe hypochondriac, believing that his heart would sometimes "stop beating" or that "someone had stolen his pulmonary artery". Chase would often place oranges on his head, convinced that vitamin C would penetrate his brain through diffusion. He sincerely believed that his stomach was turned upside down, that blood turned into powder, and that his bones were separating, moving, and gradually emerging from the back of his head. Chase constantly shaved his head to observe this process. He left his mother's home when he believed she was trying to poison him on the orders of Nazis and started renting an apartment with friends. Constantly under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and LSD, Chase walked around the apartment naked, causing his roommates to ask him to leave. When he refused, they vacated the premises themselves.
Living alone, Richard would capture, kill, and disembowel various animals (rabbits, rats, etc.) which he then consumed raw. Sometimes he would blend their blood and intestines with Coca-Cola, enjoying the drink as if it were a milkshake, sincerely believing that it replenished his blood loss. He was once admitted to the hospital in a state of shock after injecting rabbit blood intravenously. Chase himself concluded that he ended up in a hospital bed because the rabbit had consumed acid from a battery. While in a psychiatric hospital, Chase began receiving antipsychotic treatment but escaped, leading him to be admitted to a facility for criminally insane. He would tell the staff and other patients about his gory fantasies, and on one occasion, he caught two birds through the bars of his ward window and drank their blood. This earned him the nickname "Dracula".
When his treatment ended, Richard was deemed healthy and released to his parents' custody in 1976. His mother decided not to turn him into a "zombie" and stopped giving him his prescribed medications. At this stage, Chase became obsessed with the Hillside Stranglers and began collecting information about them, believing they were victims of a Nazi and extraterrestrial conspiracy. As a result, he stopped bathing, grooming, and cleaning his teeth, and began to seriously deteriorate. Chase eventually developed a love for firearms and in 1977, he purchased a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with the intention of using it.
Murder Spree
On December 29, 1977, Chase killed his first victim, 51-year-old engineer Ambrose Griffin. The next day, he bought a newspaper with news of the murder and kept the article as a memento. On January 11, 1978, Chase forced his neighbor to give him all her cigarettes and later broke into the home of 22-year-old pregnant Teresa Wallin, shooting her twice before delivering a final shot to her head. Chase engaged in sexual acts with her mutilated body and bathed in her blood. On January 27, 1978, he entered the home of 38-year-old Evelyn Miroth and killed her neighbor, Danny Meredith, with a point-blank shot. He then shot Miroth, disemboweled her, and raped her corpse. Chase also killed Miroth's 6-year-old son, Jason, and her 22-month-old nephew, David, before fleeing the scene with David's body when a 6-year-old girl knocked on the door hoping to play with Jason. The girl witnessed Chase's actions and informed her parents, who called the police. The police discovered Chase's fingerprints and shoe prints in Miroth's home, made with her blood.
Returning to his apartment, Richard consumed David's blood and ate several of his internal organs before disposing of the body in a nearby church. The police were able to track him down thanks to a call from his former classmate, who was convinced that he could be the killer. Chase's trial began on January 2, 1979, where he was charged with six counts of murder. The prosecution argued that Chase was aware of his actions, while the defense claimed that he was mentally ill. Surprisingly, the court deemed Chase sane, and on May 8, 1979, he was sentenced to death by gas chamber.
During a conversation with former FBI agent Robert Ressler, Richard shared his fears related to Nazis and UFOs, and expressed his belief that he had to commit murders to save his own life. He asked Ressler for a radar that could track the location of Nazi aliens so they could be apprehended and held accountable for his killings.
On December 26, 1980, Chase was found dead in his death row cell, where he had been tormented by other inmates. He had ingested a large dose of his prescribed antidepressants, pretending to swallow all three tablets given to him daily.
