Terry Blair (born September 16, 1961) is an American serial killer, who raped and killed at least seven women in Kansas City, Missouri.
Family history
Terry Blair was born into a family which would have many encounters with the criminal justice system. He was the fourth eldest of ten siblings, born to a mother who had only finished the 9th grade and suffered from mental illness. He has two sons, Terry Blair Jr and Marcel Johnson. He has two grandsons, Demarcus and Kemon Johnson.
Crimes
Below is the list of victims Terry Blair was convicted of killing:
- Angela Monroe (see below)
- Anna Ewing, 42, died on or before July 14, 2004.
- Patricia Wilson Butler, 58, died on or before September 2, 2004.
- Sheliah McKinzie, 38, died on or before September 2, 2004.
- Darci I. Williams, 25, died on or before September 4, 2004.
- Carmen Hunt, 40. September 4, 2004.
- Claudette Juniel, 31, died on or before September 4, 2004.
Blair was also accused in two other murders (Sandra Reed and Nellia Harris), an assault, and three rapes. These charges were later dropped.
Murder of Angela Monroe in 1982
In 1982, Angela Monroe who was pregnant at the time and mother of two of Blair's children, was murdered. Blair was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for this murder. He was released on parole after serving 21 years. According to court records he was angry with Monroe for performing acts of prostitution.
Trial and imprisonment for murders (2003-2004)
On October 15, 2004, Terry Blair was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, and three counts of forcible rape. Two of the murder charges (the ones for Sandra Reed and Nellia Harris) were dropped in October 2003. The rape and assault charges were also dropped.
The murders came to light when a caller informed 911 of dead bodies and claimed responsibility for the killings. The caller stated that the reason the individuals were killed was that they were prostitutes and therefore they were "scum". Investigators were not able to tie Blair to the phone, but established that the calls were made from near where he lived. Linguistics testimony was introduced, and the finder of fact came to believe the voice was Blair's.
Although the evidence was mainly circumstantial, Blair's semen was found on one victim. Blair's defense was that this item of evidence only proved he had engaged in sex with the victim; the prosecution countered that since she hadn't tidied herself up afterwards, he must have been the last to see her alive. Because Blair continues to deny responsibility for the crimes, his motive cannot be understood beyond a compulsion to kill prostitutes.
Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for Blair waiving his right to a jury trial. Blair was found guilty by Judge John O'Malley on March 27, 2008. For these six murders he was sentenced to six life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Blair is currently housed in the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri.
Blair appealed his conviction, but his appeal was denied by the Missouri Court of Appeals in August, 2009.
In media
Blair's seven homicides are featured in the episodes "A Serial Killer Calls" and "The Killer Speaks" of the television show The First 48.
References
