Charles Floyd

Case record: Charles Floyd

Status / disposition

Charles Floyd was declared insane and was committed to an asylum in 1949. He subsequently died in the mental institution where he was “packed off” after confession.

Timeline

• 10 July 1942 — William Brown’s 20-year-old wife was strangled and raped in her Main Street apartment on Tulsa’s north side; she was pregnant and six days from delivery, and her child also died in what authorities called a double homicide.
• mid-1943 — Six months passed before the next attack.
• 15 May 1945 — Panta Lou Niles was bludgeoned in her sleep after an attacker entered through her open bedroom window; she was raped after death.
• 1 December (year not specified) — Clara Stewart and her married daughter, Georgina Green, were sharing an apartment in the general neighborhood of the July 1942 attack; police suspected the same man beat them both to death and raped their corpses one December night.
• 1 July 1948 — Henry Owens remained in custody when the killer struck again; the attacker broke into an apartment and clubbed the female tenant, her 12-year-old daughter, and a teenage girl sleeping over; the girls were partially undressed and an “unnatural sex act” was performed on the woman before a neighbor arrived, drawn by their screaming.
• 2 July (year not specified) — Charles Floyd quit his job on the morning of July 2.
• 22 November 1949 — Charles Floyd was arrested in Dallas after police broadcast descriptions; he supplied detectives with substantial details of the crime known only to the killer and police.
• 1949 — Floyd was packed off to a mental institution after confession, and psychiatric testing and his low IQ saved him from the electric chair in Oklahoma; he was subsequently committed to an asylum in 1949.

Background

Charles Floyd was a driver known for an obsession with redheads. He had a history as a lifelong “Peeping Tom.” Police also connected Floyd’s pattern of targeting redheads with the victims’ shared naturally red hair, including victims named Clara Stewart, Georgina Green, Panta Lou Niles, and Ruth Norton, as well as William Brown’s wife.

Clara Stewart and her married daughter, Georgina Green, were sharing an apartment in the general neighborhood of the July 1942 attack. Georgina’s husband served in the army.

The offences

Authorities described Floyd’s crimes as “Voyeur rape-slayer of redhalred females attacked in homes.” The pattern was described as voyeurism and subsequent violence, including rape and killing of redheaded women.

Tulsa apartment killing — 10 July 1942

On 10 July 1942, William Brown’s 20-year-old wife was strangled and raped in her Main Street apartment on Tulsa’s north side. She was pregnant at the time of the attack and was six days from delivery of her child. The child died as well, and authorities called it a double homicide.

Six-month gap and December night attack (year not specified)

Six months passed before the next attack. Police suspected that the man who beat them both to death and raped their corpses one December night was the same man responsible for earlier crimes. Clara Stewart and her married daughter, Georgina Green, were sharing an apartment in the general neighborhood of the July attack; Georgina’s husband served in the army.

Panta Lou Niles — 15 May 1945

On 15 May 1945, Panta Lou Niles became the next victim. She was bludgeoned in her sleep by a man who entered through her open bedroom window. She was raped after death. The killer remained in her room hours later, when a friend phoned to wake her for work. The friend was alarmed at the sound of a man’s voice on the line, hung up, and called police, but police arrived too late to bag their man.

Henry Owens arrest and custody during July 1948 attack

A simple-minded drifter, Henry Owens, was arrested on suspicion in the latest homicide. He had been previously booked on charges of sexual assault. Owens agreed to a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. He was still in custody when the killer struck again on 1 July 1948.

July 1948 apartment break-in — multiple victims

On 1 July 1948, breaking into an apartment, the attacker clubbed:

• the female tenant,
• her 12-year-old daughter, and
• a teenage girl who was sleeping over.

Police reported that the girls were partially undressed and that an “unnatural sex act” was performed on the woman before a neighbor arrived. The neighbor arrived drawn by their screaming and put their assailant to flight.

Ruth Norton attack (redhead victim)

Two blocks away, the attacker invaded the home of Ruth Norton, another redhead. He fatally beat his last victim before raping her unconscious body. This time, a witness came forward and offered police a description of Norton's attacker, including the advice that he “looked like a truck driver.”

Investigation

Police suspected the killer was drawn by a trait shared in common with the wife of William Brown: naturally red hair.

After the July 1948 incident, a witness described Norton's attacker and advised he “looked like a truck driver.” Police surveyed local trucking companies, and Charles Floyd, a driver known for his obsession with redheads, was identified. Floyd had quit his job on the morning of July 2. Police broadcast descriptions, leading to Floyd’s arrest.

Arrest

Charles Floyd was arrested in Dallas on 22 November 1949. Police said that despite Floyd’s assertions of “confusion,” he supplied detectives with substantial details of the crime known only to the killer and police.

Statements and psychological background

Charles Floyd was described as a lifelong “Peeping Tom.” Floyd said that voyeurism sometimes failed to satisfy his cravings, and on those occasions he was moved to violence.

The narrative also described that Panta Lou Niles had been a special target, fond of stripping down before an open window, and that Floyd had watched her for a period of weeks before lust exploded into rape and murder.

Trial / psychiatric evaluation / disposition

Psychiatric testing and Floyd’s low IQ saved him from the electric chair in Oklahoma.

After confession to the string of rapes and murders, Floyd was packed off to a mental institution, where he subsequently died. He was declared insane and committed to an asylum in 1949.

Quotations (verbatim)

• Police reported that the girls were “partially undressed” and that an “unnatural sex act” was performed on the woman before a neighbor arrived, drawn by their screaming.
• The witness offered police the advice that he “looked like a truck driver.”
• Police said that despite assertions of “confusion,” Floyd supplied detectives with substantial details of the crime known only to the killer and police.
• Floyd said: voyeurism sometimes failed to satisfy his cravings, and on those occasions he was moved to violence.

Other details

Michael Newton was listed as the author of “An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers,” which included a case entry stating: “SEX: M RACE: W TYPE: T MOTIVE: Sex. MO: Voyeur rape-slayer of redhalred females attacked in homes; authorities counted death of a nine-month pregnant victim as a double m u r r d e r .” The entry also stated: “DISPOSITION: Declared insane; committed to asylum, 1949.”