Serial killer claims to have committed 90 murders; one in connection with Memphis

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - Memphis police are investigating serial killer Samuel Little’s connection to one murder in Memphis.

The California prison inmate confessed to more than 90 murders across the country.

Little could very well be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history if his confession pans out.

Defense Attorney Claiborne Ferguson found the news to be very shocking.

“This is pretty shocking to have somebody that’s going to now confess to 90 murders, that’s incredibly incredibly rare,” said Ferguson.

Ferguson has defended spree killers or people who kill two or more victims in a short time, but never a serial killer.

Investigators said Samuel Little claimed to have killed more than 90 people, mostly women, in 14 states from 1970 to 2005. They have been able to corroborate at least a third of the 90 murders.

“I assumed he was lying until I looked at the facts in the case and the fact that there are multiple jurisdictions with multiple investigators and not a single one of them has been able to prove that its not true, no one has been able to prove he is not. That’s a pretty good indication he’s going to be accurate with this number,” said Ferguson.

In a statement, Memphis police said, "We have received information that one of his victims was from Memphis. However, no victim has been identified at this point."

Memphis homicide is looking into the case

Little did confess to the strangulation death of a 20-year-old victim with Memphis ties, Rosie Hill. She was murdered in Florida in 1982.

Hill's mother Minnie Hill lives in the Memphis area and talked about the confession via phone.

"I feel good about it. At least we have some closures now. We don't have to wonder who did this and why he did it," said Hill.

Little made the confession in Texas, where he was indicted for the 1994 death of a woman in that state.

He has already been convicted of three murders in California.

Little told a Florida detective why he committed the murders.

He claimed that God knew what he was going to do and that’s why God put him on Earth.

Little denied any connection to murders to law enforcement in several states.

One investigator speculated that Little confessed because he had exhausted his appeals on his life sentence in California.

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