Meet the Most Prolific Killer in Minnesota History

He is, without a doubt, the most prolific mass-murderer in Minnesota history, yet many of his crimes occurred outside the state's borders. His crimes are so heinous, many refuse to even speak about them. And because of that, many Minnesotans have no idea he ever existed at all.

This is the story of Carl Panzram, his crimes against humanity, and ultimate execution.

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I was so full of hate that there was no room in me for such feelings as love, pity, kindness or honor or decency. My only regret is that I wasn't born dead or not at all.

-Carl Panzram Autobiography

These days, the name, Carl Panzram isn't exactly a household name in the state of Minnesota, but in the late 1920s and early 1930s, that name was synonymous with death.

Panzram was born on a farm, just outside East Grand Forks, Minnesota in 1891. His life (as you can imagine) was rough growing up, as he was the 6th of 7 children, and was forced to work the family farm into the early morning hours every day, after returning home from school. If he failed in his daily duties, Panzram would suffer the consequences, usually being starved or bound in chains.

Things only became worse when Panzram's father left the family when he was just 7 years old. Not long after, a botched surgery left him with brain damage in his temporal lobe.

When he was 8, Panzram's first run-in with law enforcement came as he was charged with being "drunk and disorderly." Later, at age 12, he stole a revolver from the home of a neighbor.

Later that year, Panzram was sent to the Juvenile State Training School in Red Wing, Minnesota. According to Panzram, after being bullied relentlessly, tortured, and even sexually assaulted by staff members, he began to act out. Panzram stated in his autobiography that this was where he first killed another person, a twelve-year-old boy. This has never been independently confirmed.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of Carl Panzram's crimes. Once out of Minnesota, he would briefly join the U.S. Army in Montana. After being dishonorably discharged, Panzram's path would get dark and bleak.

That path would quite literally take Carl Panzram around the world, to places like the Canary Islands, England, and most notably, Portuguese Angola. The crimes he committed while traveling the world are almost to numerous to count, but they include robbery, arson, mass killings, serial killings, and child molestation.

Panzram was eventually apprehended in Baltimore, Maryland in 1928. He was hung for his crimes in Leavenworth, Kansas on September 5, 1930. Reportedly, his last words were "Yes, hurry it up; I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around."

To learn more about the disturbing life of Carl Panzram, check out the documentary below via YouTube.

Story Source: Criminal Minds Fandom Website