Lorenzo Jerome Gilyard, Jr. (born May 24, 1950), known as the Kansas City Strangler, is an American serial killer. A former trash-company supervisor, Gilyard is believed to have raped and murdered at least 13 women and girls from 1977 to 1993. He was convicted of six counts of murder on March 16, 2007.
Early life
Lorenzo Jerome Gilyard, Jr., was born on May 24, 1950, in Kansas City, Missouri, one of five children born to Lorenzo Gilyard, Sr., and his wife Laura (née Brown). From an early age, Lorenzo exhibited aggressive behavior. During his school years, he played on sports teams with his brothers. As he was larger than most of his peers, he physically assaulted smaller children and earned a reputation as a bully.
Due to his lack of discipline, poor academic performance, and chronic absenteeism, Lorenzo was forced to drop out of school after the 10th grade. In the mid-1960s, he met a young woman named Rena Hill, with whom he soon began a relationship. On November 20, 1968, Gilyard and Hill married after the latter learned that she was pregnant. Following the marriage, Gilyard began to indulge in crime and to exhibit deviant sexual behavior towards women.
Early criminal activity
In January 1969, Gilyard was arrested on charges of assaulting and raping a girl he knew, but was later released when a reconciliation agreement was reached between the two parties with the victim retracting the charges after Lorenzo apologized to her. In 1970, Gilyard's father was convicted of rape. Two years later, Gilyard himself was arrested again for raping and assaulting another woman, with the victim claiming that he had choked her into unconsciousness. She identified Gilyard as the culprit from a lineup, but her testimony was considered questionable and the charges were subsequently dropped.
In 1973, Gilyard was arrested for assaulting his wife, with Hill telling police that he had been physically and sexually abusive for all the years they had been married. Ultimately, he was forced to pay a fine and to divorce his wife. In February 1974, Gilyard was arrested for raping a 25-year-old exotic dancer who identified him as her attacker from a photograph, but yet again the charges were dropped when the two parties reached a reconciliation agreement. Five months later, he was arrested again for raping the 13-year-old daughter of a friend on the banks of the Missouri River. As the victim changed her testimony, the rape charges were dropped, but Gilyard was convicted of sexual acts with a minor and received a 9-month sentence in the Jackson County jail. After his release Gilyard married a second time, but his wife soon left him and filed for divorce, claiming that, like Rena Hill, she was beaten and sexually abused by her husband. In the late 1970s, Gilyard married a third time.
In 1979, Gilyard was arrested on charges of assaulting a young couple, raping the girl, and threatening to kill her fiancé. Despite the fact that the victims identified him as their attacker, Gilyard was acquitted by jury verdict at his September 1980 trial due to lack of evidence. A few months later, he was arrested for aggravated assault on his third wife, but got away with an administrative fine and a divorce. In February 1981, Gilyard attacked his ex-wife on two separate occasions; in the first one, he knocked out her front teeth, and in the second, he stabbed her in the hand with an ice pick. He was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, but was let go on a suspended sentence and probation. In November 1981, Gilyard was arrested for theft but was released on $3,500 bail. That same spring, he received a 4-year prison sentence for violating his probation. During his incarceration, his sister, Patricia D. Dixon, a prostitute, was convicted of murdering a client in 1983 and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in addition to being implicated in the murder of another prostitute.