The Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program and the United States Department of Justice are releasing new details in more than a dozen unsolved murders committed by serial killer Samuel Little, AKA Samuel McDowell, in hopes of bringing closure to these cases.
“The information contained in these narratives could be the missing piece to solving some of these murders,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “It’s critical that anyone with information comes forward, as time is running out.”
Little was interviewed extensively by Texas Ranger James Holland from June 2018 to shortly before his death in December 2020. During the course of these interviews, Little confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005. More than 60 of Little’s confessions have been definitively matched to victims through DNA evidence and/or extensively corroborated interviews.
Little had a photographic memory and was able to describe where he met and killed the victims, where he left their bodies and what the victims looked like. Little lacked the ability to accurately judge timeframes and distance. At times, Little was proven to be off by more than 10 years and 40 miles. Therefore, years and distances provided in the linked narratives should not be considered definitive.
Little stated he strangled all of his victims, with the exception of two who were drowned, and was adamant he never shot or stabbed them. Investigators say the manner in which Little killed his victims was more reminiscent to suffocation then strangulation, in that several of his victims did not have broken or fractured hyoid bones in the throat. Multiple victims’ deaths were misclassified in autopsy reports and listed as drug overdoses or natural deaths.
Little was incarcerated during the below periods (six months or more):
- 05/28/1971 – 03/14/1972
- 11/25/1982 – 01/18/1984
- 10/25/1984 – 02/01/1987
- 06/05/1988 – 04/11/1989
- 06/20/1990 – 12/09/1990
- 01/15/1998 – 04/26/2002
All unmatched murders occurred between 1970 and 1997. This includes five cases in Florida; two cases in Louisiana; one case in Cincinnati, Ohio; one case in Knoxville, Tenn.; 16 cases in Los Angeles, Calif.; one case in Las Vegas, Nev.; one case in Charleston, S.C.; one case in Gulfport, Miss.; and three cases in Georgia.
In the Houston area, Little has an unmatched confession regarding the murder of a black female between 25-28 years old who was killed between 1976 and 1979 or in 1993.
These drawings by Little are among his unmatched confessions:
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984, Fort Myers, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984, Tampa Bay, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1977 or 1978. Met victim in Clearwater, Florida. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 26-27 years old killed in 1987, Los Angeles, Calif. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993, Los Angeles, Calif. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-25 years old killed in 1996. Victim possibly called “Sheila,” Los Angeles, Calif. 
Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1970 or 1971, Homestead, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 35-40 years old killed in 1981, Atlanta, Ga. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-25 years old killed in 1984. Victim possibly a college student, Atlanta, Ga. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 28, killed between 1977 and 1982, Charleston, S.C. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1974, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 25-28 years old killed between 1976 and 1979 or in 1993, Houston, Texas. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 26, killed between 1976 and 1979. Met victim in St. Louis, Missouri. Victim possibly called “Jo.” Granite City, Ill. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 40, killed in 1993, Las Vegas, N.V. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 22, killed in 1971. Victim possibly called “Linda.” Miami, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 28, killed in 1971 or 1972. Victim possibly worked on Homestead Air Force Base. Miami, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 24, killed between 1987 and the early 1990s, Monroe, La. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 30-40 years old killed in 1982, New Orleans, La. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993, North Little Rock, Ark. 
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 35-45 years old killed in 1977. Met the victim in Gulfport, Mississippi. Victim possibly from Pascagoula. Victim possibly worked at Ingalls Shipyard. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female between 22-23 years old killed in 1974, Savannah, Ga. 
Unmatched Confession: Black female age 23 killed in 1984, Savannah, Ga. 
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 28-29 years old killed in 1984. Victim picked up in Memphis, Tennessee. 
Unmatched Confession: Transgender female, age 18, killed in 1971 or 1972. Victim possibly called “Mary Ann” or “Marianne.” Miami, Fla. 
Unmatched Confession: Hispanic female in her 40s. Killed in 1988 or 1996. Victim possibly from Phoenix. 
Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1984. Met victim in Columbus, Ohio. Body disposed of somewhere in Northern Kentucky (city unspecified). Covington, Ky. 
Unmatched Confession: White female between 23-25 years old killed in 1996, Los Angeles, Calif. 
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female between 33-44 years old. Killed in 1982, New Orleans, La. 
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female between 20-25 years old killed in 1972. Victim possibly from Massachusetts. 
Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female, possibly of Cuban descent, between 25-35 years old. Killed in 1971 in Kendall, Fla. Victim possibly called “Sarah” or “Donna.”
Detailed information and photos for these cases can be found on the DPS website.
To read more about Little’s murderous past, go online to https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/samuel-little-most-prolific-serial-killer-in-us-history-100619
If you have any information you believe will help investigators solve any of these cases, please contact the Texas Rangers at rangers@dps.texas.gov or 1-512-424-2160, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.