He Killed 90 Women. Now, Police Are Hoping His Sketches Can Help Identify His Victims.

Samuel Little may be one of the deadliest serial killers in US history. The 78-year-old was convicted in 2014 of the murders of three California women after he was arrested on a narcotics charge at at a Kentucky Homeless Shelter. In 2018, hoping for a prison transfer, Little confessed to killing 90 women between 1970 and 2005 in 16 states across the country. The FBI has positively linked him to 34 murders and are actively trying to corroborate the rest of his confessions.

On Tuesday the FBI released 16 sketches, drawn by the killer himself, of women suspected of being his victims.

"We are hoping that someone — family member, former neighbor, friend — might recognize the victim and provide that crucial clue in helping authorities make an identification," FBI spokeswoman Shayne Buchwald said in a statement to USA Today. "We want to give these women their names back and their family some long-awaited answers. It’s the least we can do."

Law enforcement says that Little remembers his crimes and victims well and his drawing are filled with chilling detail: the shade of their lipstick, the style of their hair, the color of the blouse they last wore. He is inconsistent, however, when it comes to dates and the unclear timeline is further complicated by the fact that Little moved constantly, sometimes driving from New York to California in a matter of days. He also targeted vulnerable women who were often involved in sex work and suffering from drug addiction. Some of the bodies discovered but never positively identified or even classified as homicides – until now.

During Little's years as a predator, he strangled and beat his victims to death, leaving their bodies on the streets behind dumpsters and in alleyways. For decades, many of those women went unidentified with no recourse for justice. Now, with Little in poor health and expected to die in prison, law enforcement is hopeful that they might have a chance to avenge the many lives he brutally stole.

For more information or to report potential case links to Samuel Little, contact the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program at 800-634-4097.