Ricky Brogsdale

Overview

Ricky Brogsdale was sentenced to a prison term of 63 years to life on June 15, 1989. Between September and October 1987, Washington, D.C., faced a series of shootings in which a prowling voyeuristic gunman selected victims by peering through windows and firing a .22-caliber weapon once suitable targets were found.

Timeline

• September 5, 1987 — The first of Washington’s “Peeping Tom” shootings occurred.
• October 15, 1987 — The fifth attack wounded an off-duty policewoman.
• October 17, 1987 — The eighth attack resulted in the first fatality; Watts was killed by a shot fired through her bedroom window.
• October 17, 1987 (several hours later) — Officers arrested Rickey Brogsdale, 26, a few blocks from the murder scene; a .22-caliber gun was found hidden nearby.
• September 5, 1987 — Brogsdale’s confession placed his first murder along the Suitland Parkway.
• September 6, 1987 — Brogsdale turned up at the address where his sister resided prior to her beating death in April 1985.
• April 1985 — Brogsdale’s sister was beaten to death.
• September 20, 1987 — Angela Shaw was found dead beside a local bike path.
• October 18, 1987 — Brogsdale was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Steven Wilson and Yvonne Watts.
• June 1989 — Brogsdale was convicted on four counts of murder and sentenced to a prison term of 63 years to life.
• June 15, 1989 — Sentencing occurred.

The offence

Between September and October 1987, the “Peeping Tom” killings involved a prowling voyeuristic gunman who attacked women or young couples in their homes. The sniper selected his victims by peering through windows and blasting with a .22-caliber weapon once suitable targets were found.

The first “Peeping Tom” shooting occurred on September 5, 1987. Police withheld warnings until the fifth attack wounded an off-duty policewoman on October 15. The eighth attack on October 17 was the first fatality, killing 35-year-old Watts by a shot fired through her bedroom window.

In his confession, Brogsdale described his first murder as taking place along the Suitland Parkway on September 5, 1987. He was also linked to three additional slayings by police during the investigation.

Victims named in the case

• Yvonne Watts (35) — killed on October 17, 1987 by a shot fired through her bedroom window.
• Steven Wilson (28) — shot and killed on September 6, 1987; Wilson’s girlfriend was wounded as they slept.
• Myers Jackson — identified as the male victim in Brogsdale’s confession for a murder along the Suitland Parkway on September 5, 1987.
• Angela Shaw — found dead September 20 beside a local bike path; her attacker choked her unconscious, raped her, and shot her to death with a .22-caliber weapon.

Investigation

The investigation focused on shootings in Washington, D.C. in which victims were selected by peering through windows. The first “Peeping Tom” shooting occurred on September 5, 1987, but police withheld warnings until the fifth attack on October 15 wounded an off-duty policewoman.

The eighth attack on October 17 resulted in the first fatality, killing 35-year-old Watts with a shot fired through her bedroom window. Several hours later, officers arrested Rickey Brogsdale, and a .22-caliber gun was found hidden nearby.

After Brogsdale was taken into custody, he confessed to all the “Peeping Tom” attacks. He also confessed to three more slayings that police had not connected to the series.

Brogsdale led detectives to the scene of a shooting that had never been reported.

Evidence and communications

An anonymous caller directed police to the body of Angela Shaw. Someone also left a ghoulish note at the home of a friend. The note read:

"I raped and killed your friend, Angela Shaw. You can find her on the bike path behind Marbury Plaza."

Arrest

On October 17, 1987, several hours after the shooting that killed Watts, officers arrested Rickey Brogsdale, 26, a few blocks from the murder scene. A .22-caliber gun was found hidden nearby.

Trial

Brogsdale was convicted in June 1989 on four counts of murder.

Sentencing

In June 1989, convicted on four counts of murder, Brogsdale was sentenced to a prison term of 63 years to life.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

The sentencing ended the capital’s “Peeping Tom” nightmare.

Other details

Brogsdale had been in and out of trouble since his parole. He had been paroled five months earlier on a conviction for carrying an unlicensed pistol.

In June, Brogsdale was charged with violation of parole after an arrest for indecent exposure, but authorities refused to send him back to prison, arbitrarily deciding that he posed no threat to the community.

A week before his ultimate arrest on murder charges, Brogsdale was accused of molesting a neighbor’s ten-year-old daughter and paying the girl five dollars to ensure her silence.

According to Brogsdale’s confession, revenge was a motive behind killings. He blamed Steven Wilson for his sister’s unsolved murder. He described his first murder as occurring along the Suitland Parkway on September 5, the same day the “Peeping Tom” shootings began. Brogsdale’s male victim, Myers Jackson, was accused of trying to rape Brogsdale’s mother during 1976, in a crime still unsolved by police.

On September 6, Brogsdale turned up at the address where his sister resided prior to her beating death in April 1985. Inside the apartment, he shot and killed 28-year-old Steven Wilson and also wounded Wilson’s girlfriend as they slept.

The final victim linked to Brogsdale’s murder spree was Angela Shaw, a teenage part-time prostitute found dead September 20 beside a local bike path. Shaw’s attacker choked her unconscious and raped her before shooting her to death with a .22-caliber weapon.

Brogsdale told police that he witnessed the murder but did not participate, a claim that failed to impress detectives. He was charged on October 18 with first-degree murder in the deaths of Steven Wilson and Yvonne Watts.

Brogsdale was also characterized as having a modus operandi described as homicidal voyeur; shot 11 women, killing four.