TAMPA, Fla. — Local law enforcement in Tampa Bay are working to match confessions made by Samuel Little, 78, with evidence from women who turned up dead in states from California to Florida between 1970 and 2005, the FBI said.
Members of the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program say Little may be among the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history.
A report released by the FBI on Tuesday outlines Little’s life of violent crime.
Little's run-ins with the law date back nearly half a century, but, it wasn’t until a Sept. 2012 arrest that Little was outed as a monster hiding in the shadows.
In total, the FBI says Little confessed to 90 killings, and agents continue working to match up evidence to as many confessions as they can. Thus far, the team has confirmed 34 killings with many more pending confirmation. There are still a number of Little’s confessions that remain uncorroborated.
Detectives say Little was able to provide specific details about the murders that only the killer would know.
Nine of those unmatched confessions took place in Florida. Two in the Tampa Bay area.
Little confessed to killing a black female in Plant City in 1977 or 1978 after meeting the victim in Clearwater.
In 1984 the FBI says Little confessed to killing a black female in the Tampa Bay area.
ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska asked Tampa Police if detectives are working to solve any unsolved murders connected to Little.
“For the past few months, we have been in contact with other law enforcement agencies and with FBI ViCAP regarding Mr. Little. At this time we have not been able to confirm that he is connected to any of our unsolved cases. However, we continue to investigate the possibility,” Stephen Hegarty with Tampa Police said.
On Nov. 15 the Marion County Sheriff’s Office posted on their Facebook page that they cleared a 1982 murder following a confession from Little.
“Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major Crimes detectives have closed the 1982 homicide case of Rosie Hill” the Facebook post started.
The sheriff’s office then went into the gruesome details of Hill’s death, writing, “on Monday, August 16, 1982, at approximately 6:00 p.m., Rosie Hill’s remains were discovered in a wooded area off of County Road 326 in the vicinity of a hog pen. During the investigation, it was determined that Rosie was either strangled or suffocated by her attacker. Several witnesses came forward saying that Rosie left a bar with an unknown male and was not seen again.”
Months later Little was arrested for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and rape of two prostitutes in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Marion County detectives interviewed Little then but claimed he did not know Rosie. At the time investigators said there wasn’t enough evidence "to charge Little with Rosie’s murder and ultimately, never charged in the Pascagoula case.”
Fast forward to Oct. 9, 2018. The day Marion County investigators sent Major Crimes Detective Sergeant Michael Mongeluzzo to the Wise County Jail in Decatur, Texas, where Little is incarcerated.
“During their interview, Little confessed to killing Rosie Hill and dumping her body. Additionally, Little told Sgt. Mongeluzzo that he killed Rosie because 'God put him on this earth to do it',” the sheriff’s office said.
The FBI report details how Little chose to “kill marginalized and vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs. Their bodies sometimes went unidentified and their deaths uninvestigated.”
Investigators said that “Little’s method of killing also didn’t always leave obvious signs that the death was a homicide. The one-time competitive boxer usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches and then strangled them. With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes.”
Little is currently serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the violent deaths of three California women he murdered in the 1980s. DNA connected him to those crimes. Little began to confess to the crimes after detectives offered to swap him from a jail in California to a much quieter facility in Texas.
Samuel Little’s Confessions: Murder Locations and Victims (Credit: FBI)
Phoenix, Arizona
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Unmatched Confession: Hispanic female in her 40s. Killed in 1988 or 1996. Victim possibly from Phoenix.
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Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1997. Victim possibly called "Ann."
North Little Rock, Arkansas
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed between 1990 and 1997.
West Memphis, Arkansas
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 28-29 years old killed in 1984. Victim picked up in Memphis, Tennessee.
San Bernardino, California
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between the ages of 18-23 killed in 1984.
Los Angeles, California
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1987.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1987.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 19, killed in 1987.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 50, killed in 1987. Victim possibly called "Granny."
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 22-23 years old killed in 1987.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 26-27 years old killed in 1987.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 40-45 years old killed in 1990 or 1991. Victim possibly called "Alice."
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 20-22 years old killed in 1991 or 1992. Victim possibly from San Francisco.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1992.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993.
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Unmatched Confession: Hispanic female between 24-25 years old killed in 1992 or 1993. Victim possibly from Phoenix.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-25 years old killed in 1996.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-24 years old killed in 1996. Victim possibly called "T-Money."
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Unmatched Confession: White female between 23-25 years old killed in 1996.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female age 25 killed in 1996.
Homestead, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1970 or 1971.
Miami, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 22, killed in 1971.Victim possibly called "Linda."
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Unmatched Confession: Black male, age 18, killed in 1971 or 1972. Victim possibly called "Mary Ann" or "Marianne."
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 28, killed in 1971 or 1972. Victim possibly worked on Homestead Air Force Base.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-24 years old killed in the mid 1970s. Victim possibly called "Emily." Victim possibly worked at the University of Miami.
Kendall, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: White female age 45 killed in 1973. Victim possibly called "Sarah." Victim possibly from Massachusetts.
Perry, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1993.
Fort Myers, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984.
Tampa, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984.
Plant City, Florida
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1977 or 1978. Met victim in Clearwater, Florida.
Savannah, Georgia
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 22-23 years old killed in 1974.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female age 23 killed in 1984.
Atlanta, Georgia
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 35-40 years old killed in 1981.
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Unmatched Confession: White female, age 26, killed in 1983 or 1984. Victim possibly from Griffith, Georgia.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-25 years old killed in 1984. Victim possibly a college student.
Macon, Georgia
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Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 30-40 years old killed in 1977.
Dade County, Georgia
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Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 25-30 years old killed in 1980 or 1981. Met the victim in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Granite City, Illinois
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 26, killed between 1976 and 1979. Met victim in St. Louis, Missouri. Victim possibly called "Jo."
East St. Louis, Illinois
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed between 1976 and 1979. Met victim in St. Louis, Missouri.
Covington, Kentucky
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Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1984. Met victim in Columbus, Ohio. Body disposed of somewhere in Northern Kentucky (city unspecified).
New Orleans, Louisiana
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1973. Victim possibly called "Sarah." Victim possibly worked at a restaurant in New Orleans.
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Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1982.
Plaquemine, Louisiana
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1978 or 1979.
Monroe, Louisiana
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 24, killed between 1987 and the early 1990s.
Prince George’s County, Maryland
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Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female between 20-25 years old killed in 1972. Victim possibly from Massachusetts.
Jackson, Mississippi
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Unmatched Confession: Black male, age 16, killed in 1984.
Gulfport, Mississippi
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 22, killed between 1980 and 1984.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 27-29 years old killed in 1988.
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-24 years old killed in 1988.
Pascagoula, Mississippi
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Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 35-45 years old killed in 1977. Met the victim in Gulfport, Mississippi. Victim possibly from Pascagoula. Victim possibly worked at Ingalls Shipyard.
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 40, killed in 1993.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Unmatched Confession: White female, age 25, killed in 1974.
Cleveland, Ohio
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1978 or 1979.
Cincinnati, Ohio
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1974.
Akron, Ohio
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Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1991 or 1992.
Charleston, South Carolina
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 28, killed between 1977 and 1982.
Knoxville, Tennessee
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Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 25, killed in 1975.
Wichita Falls, Texas
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Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1976 or 1977. Body disposed of somewhere outside of Wichita Falls (city unspecified).
Houston, Texas
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Unmatched Confession: Black female between 25-28 years old killed between 1976 and 1979 or in 1993.
