Timothy Wilson Spencer

Case identification

• Name: Timothy Wilson Spencer
• Alias(es) / monikers: “the Southside Slayer”; “the Southside Strangler”

Status

Timothy Wilson Spencer was executed by electrocution in Virginia on April 27, 1994.

Timeline

• January 1984 — Spencer killed Carol Hamm after raping her in her Arlington, Virginia, home.
• September 1984 — Carol Hamm’s death was referenced as the beginning of Spencer’s rape and murder spree.
• September 1987 — Spencer raped and strangled Debby Davis in Richmond, Virginia.
• Two weeks later (1987) — Spencer slaying of Dr. Susan Hellams occurred after the Debby Davis murder.
• November 1987 — Diane Cho was killed in her home outside Richmond.
• December 1987 — Susan Tucker was reported missing; after a week her body was found in her Arlington apartment.
• January 16, 1988 — Two women were found dead on the same day: Rena Chapouris and, a few blocks away, Michael St. Hilaire.
• July 1988 — Spencer’s first trial commenced; he was convicted with DNA evidence and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• September 19, 1988 — The first trial commenced in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, and Spencer was found guilty of the capital murder of Miss Debbie Davis.
• On September 22, 1988 — A Richmond jury found Spencer guilty of rape, burglary, and capital murder.
• September 10, 1990 — Spencer filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the state trial court.
• November 15, 1990 — The state trial court dismissed Spencer’s habeas corpus petition.
• April 30, 1992 — The district court denied Spencer’s petition in Spencer v. Murray, No. 3:91CV00391.
• October 28, 1992 — Spencer’s case was argued in the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (No. 92-4006).
• December 7, 1993 — Spencer’s case was argued in the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (18 F.3d 237).
• March 1, 1994 — The Fourth Circuit decided the appeal involving the Susan Tucker conviction (18 F.3d 237).
• September 16, 1993 — The Fourth Circuit decided No. 92-4006.
• February 3, 1994 — The Fourth Circuit decided No. 93-4002.
• February 28, 1994 — Rehearing and rehearing en banc was denied.
• April 29, 1993 — Spencer filed his Notice of Appeal in the district court in No. 3:92CV160.
• May 11, 1993 — Murray responded with a motion to dismiss the appeal.
• June 21, 1993 — The court denied Murray’s motion to dismiss and granted Spencer’s application for a Certificate of Probable Cause.
• June 21, 1993 — The Commonwealth sought and received an execution date of August 26, 1993, in the case.
• July 23, 1993 — Spencer applied for a stay of execution.
• July 27, 1993 — The Fourth Circuit granted the stay of execution pending appeal.
• August 26, 1993 — An execution date was set by the state trial court.
• April 27, 1994 — Spencer was executed by electrocution.

The offence

Carol Hamm (Arlington, Virginia)

• Spencer killed Carol Hamm after raping her in her Arlington, Virginia, home.
• The story included that Hamm was raped, tied up, and hanged in the indoor entry to her garage.
• Her body was found face down and nude.
• Her bathrobe was on the living room floor.
• A piece of cord had been cut from the venetian blinds.
• A knife was on the floor.

Susan Tucker (Arlington County, Virginia)

• Susan Tucker was found dead in her Arlington townhouse on December 1, 1987.
• She had been raped and murdered by ligature strangulation.
• Her body was found lying across her bed.
• She was nude and partially covered by a sleeping bag.
• Rope cut from the venetian blinds was tied around her arms and her neck.
• She was raped and strangled.
• In the related legal discussion, the nude body of Susan Tucker was found in her Arlington townhouse, she had been raped and murdered by ligature strangulation.

Debbie Dudley Davis (Richmond, Virginia)

• Spencer raped and strangled Debbie Dudley Davis in her first-floor apartment in Richmond.
• Her hands were tied.
• She was strangled by the use of a sock tied around her neck and twisted tight with a length of pipe.
• She was strangled with ligature strangulation described in the legal opinion.
• Semen stains were found on the victim’s bedclothes.
• The presence of spermatozoa was found when rectal and vaginal swabs were taken.
• Two hairs recovered when her pubic hair was combed did not belong to the victim.
• The two hairs were found through forensic analysis to be “consistent with” Spencer’s underarm hair.

Dr. Susan Hellams (Richmond, Virginia)

• Dr. Susan Hellams was murdered in her home on the night of October 2, 1987 or the early morning of October 3, 1987.
• Her husband notified police after returning home and discovering her partially-clothed body on the floor of the couple’s bedroom closet.
• The attacker gained access by cutting out a large portion of a second-story bedroom window screen.
• The medical examiner testified the cause of death was ligature strangulation, apparently caused by two belts found around her neck.
• She sustained other injuries including:
  • a fractured nose,
  • a blunt force injury to the lower lip,
  • various bruises and scrapes,
  • an injury consistent with one made by a shoe on the back of her right leg.
• Fluid consistent with seminal fluid was found on her back and in the gluteal fold.
• Small mucosal tears of the anal ring were “consistent with the anus having been penetrated 'by a hard object, such as a penis.' ”
• Seminal fluid and spermatozoa were found on her skirt and slip.
• Swabs from the perianal area and the stains on her skirt and slip were examined by the Commonwealth’s expert serologist and compared to Spencer’s blood.

Diane Cho (Richmond, Virginia area)

• Diane Cho, a teenage student, was murdered in her home outside Richmond in November.
• She was strangled with a rope.
• Her hands were tied.
• A piece of duct tape across her mouth kept her from crying out.
• She was raped.
• Semen stains were on the sheets.
• The account stated her brother and her parents slept nearby.

Investigation and evidence

DNA evidence and its role

• Spencer was linked scientifically to murders including Debby Davis and Dr. Susan Hellams via DNA evidence.
• A described landmark was that the case was the first case in Virginia legal history to use DNA “fingerprinting,” which both convicted Spencer and exonerated the person wrongfully convicted.
• The legal opinions included DNA analysis performed by Lifecodes Corporation, a private laboratory.
• For Debbie Dudley Davis:
  • Results of DNA analysis established that the DNA molecules extracted from Spencer’s blood matched the DNA molecules extracted from the semen stains.
  • Spencer was described as a black male.
  • The evidence adduced at trial showed the statistical likelihood of finding duplication of Spencer’s particular DNA pattern in the population of members of the black race living in North America was one in 705,000,000.
  • The number of black males living in North America was approximately 10,000,000.
• For Dr. Susan Hellams:
  • A sample of Spencer’s blood and a sample of seminal fluid found on Dr. Hellams’s slip were subjected to DNA analysis.
  • The two samples matched.
• For Susan Tucker:
  • The Fourth Circuit referenced that the underlying facts were not critical beyond stating she was raped and murdered by ligature strangulation.

Other evidentiary details

• For Debbie Dudley Davis:
  • The ligature device was described as a ligature and ratchet-type device assembled from a sock and vacuum cleaner hose described in the legal opinion excerpt.
  • Her cause of death was ligature strangulation.
  • The pressure exerted was described as so great that it caused cutting into neck muscles, larynx, voice box, and blood congestion and a hemorrhage in one of her eyes.
  • Her nose and mouth were bruised.
  • Her hands were bound by shoestrings attached to the ligature device.
• For Dr. Susan Hellams:
  • The attacker cut out a portion of a second-story bedroom window screen to gain access.
  • The serologist testified that the source of secretions was a third party because neither Dr. Hellams nor her husband could have produced the secretions.
  • The serologist testified that Spencer’s secretion type was consistent with the seminal fluid found on her skirt and slip.

Trial

Trials referenced generally

• The account stated Spencer was convicted with DNA evidence and later found guilty of additional murders in 1988 and 1989, resulting in death sentences.
• A “first trial” in July 1988 was referenced as ending with a life imprisonment sentence.
• Another description stated Spencer was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury on July 16, 1988 in the Susan Tucker case.
• The Fourth Circuit opinion in the capital murder of Dr. Susan Hellams referenced that trial commenced in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, Manchester Courthouse on January 17, 1989, with the jury convicting Spencer of capital murder, rape, sodomy, and burglary and fixing punishment at death.

Convictions described in the legal opinions

Verdict in the Richmond case for Debbie Dudley Davis

• On September 22, 1988, a Richmond jury found Spencer guilty of:
  • rape,
  • burglary,
  • capital murder.
• The jury unanimously fixed Spencer’s punishment at death, affirmed on direct appeal.

Verdict in the Richmond case for Dr. Susan Hellams

• At the penalty phase, the jury fixed Spencer’s punishment for the capital murder at death.
• The jury convicted Spencer of:
  • capital murder,
  • rape,
  • sodomy,
  • burglary.

Verdict in the Arlington case for Susan Tucker

• Spencer was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury on July 16, 1988.
• The underlying facts were referenced to the Virginia Supreme Court opinion.

Sentencing

• Spencer received the death penalty in the matters described.
• The legal discussion stated the punishment was fixed at death and affirmed on direct appeal in multiple proceedings.
• An additional earlier sentence of life imprisonment was referenced for a first trial described as July 1988.

Appeals and habeas corpus

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (No. 92-4006)

• The Fourth Circuit reviewed a Virginia state court judgment sentencing Spencer to death for the murder of Debbie Dudley Davis.
• The Fourth Circuit stated it affirmed.
• Spencer’s appeal raised issues including:
  1. DNA evidence reliability,
  2. ineffective assistance connected to opportunities to defend against DNA evidence, including discovery of Lifecodes’ worknotes and memoranda, funds for an expert defense witness, and alleged failure to reveal evidence of problems with Lifecodes’ testing methods,
  3. whether the trial court should have admitted DNA evidence,
  4. alleged racially-motivated jury striking in violation of Batson v. Kentucky,
  5. vagueness of the future dangerousness aggravating factor.
• The Virginia State Supreme Court ruled that the DNA testing had been performed properly and denied Spencer’s appeal.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (No. 93-4002)

• The Fourth Circuit reviewed a Virginia state court judgment sentencing Spencer to death for the murder of Dr. Susan Hellams.
• The district court denied Spencer’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus; the Fourth Circuit affirmed.
• Spencer’s appeal raised seven issues:
  1. ineffective assistance for failure to secure a DNA expert,
  2. actual innocence claim and challenge involving probability statistics,
  3. ineffective assistance for failure to conduct voir dire on racial prejudice,
  4. challenges to Virginia’s proportionality review and procedural default rules,
  5. inadequate jury instructions on mitigating evidence,
  6. ineffective assistance for failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence,
  7. deficient handling of DNA evidence, including claims DNA analysis was subject to error and unreliable results and should not have been admitted.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (18 F.3d 237)

• The Fourth Circuit reviewed the Virginia judgment sentencing Spencer to death for the murder of Susan Tucker.
• Spencer’s three issues included:
  1. jury instructions and verdict form at the sentencing phase not adequately addressing mitigating evidence,
  2. Virginia’s appellate review of death sentences being inadequate,
  3. forensic DNA profiling being unreliable.
• The Fourth Circuit denied relief based on failure to exhaust state remedies or failure to state a cognizable federal habeas claim.

Outcome

• Spencer’s death sentences were affirmed through appellate review referenced in the multiple Fourth Circuit decisions.
• Execution proceeded by electrocution in Virginia on April 27, 1994.

Other details

Wrongful conviction and exoneration referenced

• The narrative stated that another man was convicted of the murder and was not released until Spencer was uncovered five years later.
• The narrative also stated that a different man, David Vasquez, was wrongfully convicted of the 1984 murder of Carol Hamm and served five years in prison until he was reprieved in 1989.
• The narrative stated Vasquez was eventually acquitted after serving five years of a thirty-five year prison sentence and was the first American to be exonerated based on DNA evidence.

People, parties, and roles named in legal materials

• Edward W. Murray, Director — listed as respondent-appellee in Fourth Circuit cases.
• Helen F. Fahey, U.S. Attorney — referenced as the chief prosecutor in the Arlington case, credited with winning the first conviction of Spencer.
• Wayne Brown — operations officer at Greensville Correctional Center, stated Spencer was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m.
• Joe Horgas — detective assigned to a new case who made connections among murders.
• Jeffrey L. Everhart and David J. Johnson — described as trial attorneys representing Spencer, and both were referenced as defending in serial trials.
• Dr. Mullaney — appointed psychiatrist who evaluated Spencer before his first Richmond trial.
• Lifecodes Corporation — private laboratory that performed DNA analysis referenced in the legal opinions.
• Chrita Shelton — juror listed as struck in the DNA evidence appeal section (referenced in a Batson v. Kentucky issue).
• Patricia D. Cornwell — referenced in connection with the story’s impact, including mention of her 1990 novel “Postmortem.”
• Paul Mones — referenced as author “By: Paul Mones” in a book description about a detective who used DNA testing to catch a serial killer.

Verbatim quotations included in the legal-material excerpts

• The mucosal tear testimony was stated as:

  “consistent with the anus having been penetrated 'by a hard object, such as a penis.' ”

• The Fourth Circuit opinion included this quoted part of Spencer’s allegations:

  “the prejudicial injection of astronomical probability ratios”

• The story about the execution included quoted phrases:

  “Amazing Grace,”
  “Kill the bitch.”

Execution-day particulars referenced in narrative

• Spencer’s electrocution occurred in the state electric chair.
• Wayne Brown stated Spencer was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m.
• The narrative described last-minute legal efforts going as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected a request for a stay at 10:45 p.m.
• The narrative described crowd behavior, including that about 100 gathered outside the prison and that about half were death-penalty opponents conducting a candlelight prayer vigil, while the rest were local high school students who cheered.

Victim list and characterization details from the narrative

• The narrative stated Spencer “viciously raped and strangled 7 people, 6 women and 1 man,” and that “the man left hanging from an overpass.”
• It also stated that each of the crimes was “somewhat different,” leading Richmond police to suspect copycat killers.
• The narrative included that Spencer was a 35-year-old resident of Richmond, Virginia.
• It stated Spencer committed four rape/murders in Richmond, Virginia in the fall of 1987 and another murder in 1984.
• It stated Spencer was linked scientifically to three of the five murders referenced in the narrative.