Billy Glaze

“	I did not murder nobody. I couldn't murder nobody. I don't have it in my heart to.	”
	— Glaze in an interview

Billy Glaze a.k.a. Butcher Knife Billy is an American suspected serial killer convicted of the rapes and murders of three indigenous American women in Minnesota. His DNA was revealed to not match samples from two of the cases, but before Glaze's case could be challenged in court, he died in prison.

Background[]

Little is revealed about Glaze's past. He became a drifter and has a lengthy criminal record of rape, drunk driving, Social Security fraud, counterfeiting, and disorderly conduct.

Murders, Trials, and New Evidence[]

In the 1980s, numerous indigenous American women were found raped and stabbed across the city. Kathleen Bullman was found under a tree near a railroad warehouse, Sharon Ann Lingor found across railroad tracks, both in 1986. In 1987, Angeline Whitebird was found near the Minneapolis Indian American center, Angela Green under a railroad bridge.

Glaze was arrested in New Mexico on a DUI, during which officers found a crowbar nightstick, and bloody shirt in his truck. Witnesses in and out of prison have reported Glaze was racist to indigenous women, freely admitted to murders, and knew one of the murdered women before she was killed. Glaze was found guilty on three first-degree murder counts, for the murders of Kathleen, Angeline, and Angela, and sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole in 52 years. Glaze maintained his innocence at sentencing.

In 2009, the Minnesota Innocence Project ordered DNA testing be conducted on various samples from the crime scenes. None of them matched Glaze, but a rape exam sample from and a cigarette butt sample near matched another ex-con residing in the state. The alternative suspect abducted and raped an indigenous American woman in 1989, serving a prison term for that and for failing to reveal his registered sex offender status. The police interviewed him in 2012 during his later prison sentence, and the rapist denies knowledge or involvement in the murders.

After the witness testimonies were discredited, as the recanted statement of one was suppressed at trial and another was alleged to have made numerous false witness statements in felony cases, the police and prosecution ordered reinvestigations. They weren't fast enough for Glaze's chances to be set free.

Death[]

Glaze was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015, eventually dying on December 22, at the age of 72.

Modus Operandi[]

Glaze is believed to have targeted indigenous American women he met in bars across Minneapolis. Either by somehow luring the women out or abducting them once they left, the women were all raped and then repeatedly stabbed to death. Their remains were found off of roadsides and railway tracks across the city.

Known Victims[]

Confirmed[]

Billy Glaze Victims — Glaze's alleged victims, from left to right: Kathleen Bullman, Angeline Whitebird, Angela Green

Minneapolis, Minnesota:
- July 27, 1986: Kathleen Bullman, 19
- 1987
  - April 12: Angeline Whitebird Sweet, 26
  - April 29: Angela Green, 21

Suspected[]

September 6, 1986, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Sharon Ann Lingor, 37

Note: Glaze is reported to have confessed committing 20 murders and is suspected of 50 murders nationwide, statements that are now contested in even being made, let alone validity.

On Criminal Minds[]

Season Eleven
- "Tribute" - Glaze is possibly mentioned as a potential serial killer an at large copycat was feared to be considering to imitate in later murders.

On Evolution[]

Season One
- "True Conviction" - While never directly mentioned or referenced in the show, Glaze appears to be an inspiration for the episode's unsub, Cyrus Lebrun - Both cases involve serial murders and rapes of women and color, who were stabbed to death and left near rail houses, wrongfully convicted inmates were sent to jail for the murders, and alternative suspects with previous criminal records were found. Also, Silvio Herrera being at risk of execution appears to allude to Glaze's death in prison before his chance of exoneration through retrial.