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Thomas W. Piper

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Thomas W. Piper, a.k.a. The Boston Belfry Murderer, is a Canadian-American serial killer, serial arsonist, and pedophile in 1870s Boston, primarily targeting little girls.

History[]

Piper was born to T.C. Piper in Nova Scotia, working as a carpenter on the family farm. They moved to Boston in 1866, Piper hoping to leave his upbringings behind with his intellect and literacy, which landed him multiple clerk jobs. He was also a sexton for the Warren Avenue Baptist Church. Piper had kidney disease, but he self-medicated with a mixture of laudanum and alcohol. As he grew to have hallucinations, he set multiple arson fires.

One night in December 1873, Piper felt ill and went home to self-medicate again with booze and opium. He sawed off a cut of shaft and hid it under his home's fence, until he saw house servant Bridget Landregan while he was out to church with his brothers. At night, he snuck out, and by the time he found Bridget at Columbia Street, during which she saw him, Piper killed her with two blows to her head. In 1874, Piper met sex worker Mary Tyner on Lagrange Street and had drinks with her in a saloon. They fell asleep at Mary's house, only for Piper to wake up before Mary and bludgeon her several times in her head. He fled out a window and slept in the church for the rest of the night, Mary narrowly surviving, but unable to recall Piper as the assailant and spending the rest of her life in an insane asylum.

In May 1875, Piper stole a bat from the church for another killing, luring little Mabel Young to the Belfry with a lie he'd show her pigeons. Piper bludgeoned Mabel in the hopes of killing her and attempted to rape her, but he realized she was still alive. He moved her to another location and fled, Mabel dying the next day. Piper was arrested on suspicion, in part from being remembered as having tried to lure girls to the church under false pretenses in the past. After an original verdict of a mistrial, Piper was found guilty and sentenced to death. This was when he gave full confessions to his crimes, which were revealed to have also been the murder of a girl named Minnie Sullivan. Piper was hanged on May 26, 1876, and buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery. The sheriff and Piper's family made an agreement to not publicize Piper's written confessions.

Modus Operandi[]

Piper targeted Caucasian female victims, usually out on public streets, aside from Mary Tyner, who Piper tricked into take him home with. Piper's urges to murder were always spontaneous, in spite of him taking time to prowl the streets for victims and grabbing a weapon beforehand. Piper's assault on Mary may have been much more spontaneous in itself, in spite of Piper using a ruse to get her alone. Piper killed and attacked all victims with blunt weapons, usually focusing the trauma on their heads. Piper then left each of the for dead, though he did attempt to rape Mabel Young after assuming she was already dead, then fled when he realized she was still alive.

Known Victims[]

  • Boston, Massachusetts:
    • December 5, 1873: Bridget Landregan
    • 1874: Mary Tyner (attempted, but barely survived)
    • May 23, 1875: Mabel H. Young, 5 (also attempted to rape, but relented)
    • Unknown date: Minnie Sullivan

On Criminal Minds[]

  • Season Nine
    • "The Caller" - While never directly mentioned or referenced in the franchise, Piper appears to be the inspiration for the episode's unsub, Daniel Milworth - Both are murderers primarily targeting children and sex workers, had criminal records before their murder sprees, their one surviving victim of a violent assault was a prostitute, had orthodox Christian exposure before their murder sprees, and died as a consequence of their crimes (Milworth was shot to protect a third-party, Piper was executed by hanging).

Sources[]

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