The mother who felt uneasy enough to write down the number plate must have felt so much regret. As a Mum myself my heart breaks for her. He was such a vile, disgusting creature.

My aunt used to work in law enforcement, specifically in tech -- the woman in the van if you will. Hear stories she's told, sadly, Schaefer was given that bail and that Christmas holiday because he was a police office. Often, even in extremely brutal cases, police officers are given amenities and benefits they shouldn't be afforded.

They should really stop allowing serial killers to publish books it's honestly beyond sick to me

The justice system took every chance to drop the ball in this case.

Dude. The woman who wrote the books with him is messed up.  All of the profits should have gone straight to the families of his victims or into a trust for the families to vote on what they'd like to do with it so he couldn't profit (and neither could she) from his vile mind and horrific crimes.

He should not have been allowed to re-live those moments through writings the way he was smiling in prison gives the impression he is having a ball reading about it

I've heard of this case. How terrible that John ended up in the position of power and trust to trick women. May all his victims rest in peace!

Alright, what are their criteria for becoming a sheriff?? Having a pulse and being able to shoot a gun?? Like how could they see this weird af guy who is rambling about sex nonstop and showing pictures of dead naked women around and go 'yup, this is gonna be a good sheriff'

Weirdly, I’ve never heard of this disturbing killer. I’m going to read more about him (if I can bear the details) but you’ve done a great job of explaining his history. When you said that the ex-wife left their dog behind with John, I immediately thought, No! You never leave an animal or a child with a person who is too weird for you to live with! Edit: Had to add that I am deeply sickened by the atrocities this monster committed against his young victims. A real monster!

Oh, this is my hometown, my dad told me about this as a kid because two of the girls had apparently been killed very close to my elementary school. The Devil's Tree became an urban legend by the time I was born, older kids and teens dared each other to go there. It's always strange hearing other people talk about local stuff now that I've moved away.

I’m just flabbergasted that he made it through the police academy. You would think he wouldn’t pass the psych exams. Putting people like this in power will end in murder.

The idea that Bundy "took inspiration" from him is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. That level of self-aggrandizement is off the charts. It's almost laughable.

I enjoy your narration as it both flows and is natural. No unnecessary pauses just sounds unscripted. Well done and good luck!!!😁

Horrific case but you put together a good, comprehensive presentation. I like that you covered the other victims and didn’t exclusively focus on Susan, Georgia and the two survivors.  I used to live in Florida and despite it rarely being mentioned, even there, I’ve found this case fascinating and revolting for years. Because of the case’s relative obscurity, when I researched it I was forced to seek out obscure sources, notably digital scans of old newspapers. That said, I have a few additional scraps of information to add.

1. Schaefer is actually believed to have started his killing spree in 1965,  one year prior to the double murder of Pamela and Nancy in Ocala National Forest. The year 1965 was referenced both in his notes and to statements made to police to be the year that he started acting out his “fantasies”. Notably this was also the same year that Sandy Steward aka Sondra London first dumped him. He kept a secret letter written to himself describing what he referred to as his first murder, that of a young waitress who he murdered in what was then an isolated spot off of Broward County’s Powerline Road. He took her two rings as souvenirs before shooting her to death and burying her in a shallow grave. In Schaefer’s exact words  “That was the first one and they say the first one is the hardest . . . . I think there will surely be others”.

2. Schaefer also held on to another letter he wrote to himself following the murder of another young woman early in his spree. The young woman was a total stranger with no connection to Schaefer. After her murder he pulled all of her teeth, smashed her skull, and scattered the rest of her dismembered remains across a 20 mile radius. In Schaefer’s words, he hoped with his “precautions” that “she’d remain among the missing.”

3. While working for the Wilton Manors Police Department, Schaefer developed a habit of stopping young female motorists. He’d subsequently find their personal information such as their place of residency using their License Plate number at the station. He contacted several of these girls to ask for a date. For the most part nothing came of it and they continued to go about their lives, one girl was not so lucky however. Shortly after being pulled over and ticketed by Schaefer in the same scheme, 20 year old Bonnie Taylor vanished, never to be seen again. Two months after Bonnie’s disappearance, Schaefer was fired from Wilton Manors PD due to mounting complaints coming from young women.

4. When police searched the home of Schaefer’s mother,  they discovered a collection of 37 black and white Polaroids depicting women being hanged and or mutilated. Many of the photos also depicted melaleuca thickets, these photographs are believed to have been taken in an undergrowth area of Davie, Florida, a town located in Miami-Dade County. Unfortunately the focus of the photos was insufficient to identify the victims depicted within them.

5. Another unidentified victim whose murder was detailed in Schaefer’s personal notes was a young woman who he hanged from a tree near Powerline Road, her body was presumably never recovered and little else is known regarding this case.

6. A notable find discovered amongst Schaefer’s trophies was a distinctive heart shaped charm inscribed with the initials M.T.N. the charm didn’t belong to any of the known victims and M.T.N. is speculated to be the initials of the otherwise unknown victim from whom the charm was stolen.

7. Schaefer is additionally considered a good suspect in the 1972 disappearance and presumed murder of Elizabeth Renee Wilt, a 22 year old from Arkansas who was visiting Florida to attend the Republican National Convention. I’ve never been able to find any relevant information on her case however.

8. One crime that Schaefer definitely did not commit was the kidnapping and presumed double murder of the two little girls abducted from Pompano Beach. The  description of the man who took the girls, even if vaguely similar from afar did not match Schaefer, in fact close up he was quite clearly a different individual. The abductor’s description did however match Kenneth Guy Shilts, a prolific pedophile who was in the area when the girls vanished. The mystery man, presumably Shilts also took the girls into a convenience store at night hours after the kidnapping, both girls were still in their wet swimsuits. He bought a pack of cigarettes for himself and ice cream for the girls. The clerk thought the situation was unusual but didn’t realize that it was the missing girls and their abductor. Schlits kept a coded notebook documenting his crimes against little girls. One entry read “Peggy and Wendy, Pompano Beach, 1969”.

Schaefer was only considered a potential suspect due to being a serial killer operating in Southeast Florida at the time. He gave a false, over the top confession to Sondra London when she initially re-established contact with Schaefer and offered to help write his story. Schaefer in response made outlandish claims about cannibalizing the girls and made sure to state that he didn’t “violate” them first. I’m giving her this “confession” he was hoping to pique Sondra’s interest in his crime spree and to paint himself out to be just another diabolical killer rather than the perverse sadist that he was.

9. Schaefer was for a number of years falsely suspected of being responsible for the unsolved 1970 double murder of West Virginia college students, Karen Lynn Ferrell (18) and Mared Ellen Malarik (19). The two were abducted after leaving a movie theater and later found decapitated. Schaefer was ruled out in this case during the early 1980s.

13:10 I would have taken the couch, the dog, the rugs, the doorhandles... the light bulbs. I'd have gone FULL Sarah Churchill.

Hi Sommer. I live in northern Ontario and listen to your channel on my way to from work. I love your channel.

The look of glee on his face when he's talking about Bundy is sickening. Really think murderers & relations of murderers should be banned from writing books or profiting from media projects - even case workers.  Too many of the serial killers have said they wanted to be famous.

This guy was a pure sadist. How he was able to continue his reign of terror was reprehensible.  Thanks for another great vid.  Looking forward to more great work by you in this new year !!!

It’s always so crazy to me how people like this guy are always married and their spouses,friends,family,neighbors… whatever never suspect a thing.

Yep. Born & raised in Martin County. You showed my hometown beach❤️