Charles Ray
Hatcher
Alli Streed
The Crimes leading to.
•Hatcher was continuously arrested and released for a variety of different
crimes, with some he pled for insanity and was released.
•Had many other crimes that led to the killings such as:
•Bullying as a child
• Stealing multiple cars
•Forging checks
•Escaped from prison, attempted a burglary and was sentenced to
prison again.
•Attempting abduction of a young boy, but was arrested after it was
reported
•Kidnapping young boys
•Later convicted of molesting a young boy
•Raped and stabbed his inmate to death while in prison
•Attempting to kill a 17-year old boy
•Knife fight
Dates of Crimes.
• 1947-1963: Hatcher committed crimes such as
auto theft, forging, burglary, and then killing him
fellow inmate.
• 1969-1977: Hatcher started his kidnappings,
sexually assaulting, and killing children.
• 1978-1982: Hatcher was arrested 4 more times
for assaulting more kids, and then arrested in
Iowa for a knife fight.
• 1983: Hatcher was arrested again for murdering a
young girl, where a few days later he confessed to
15 other child-murders since 1969.
The Killings.
Charles Ray Hatcher did a number of various
crimes, but is known for his killings. He killed a
total of 16 children. Hatcher used fake
identities, and was sometimes arrested under
those false names.
Many times Hatcher would confess to his
crimes, allowing him to decrease his sentence
times.
Victims.
Charles Ray Hatcher was convicted of killing 16 people, mainly children,
including these children:
• Steven Pellham(16)- attempted to kidnap while threatening him with a
butcher knife.
•
•
•
•
Jerry Tharrington- his inmate whom he raped and stabbed to death
William Freeman(12)- was abducted and strangled to death
Gilbert Martinez(6)- was beaten and sexually assaulted
Thomas Morton(7)- was assaulted and Hatcher had attempted to stab & kill
him
• Eric Christgen(4)- had been sexually abused and died of suffocation
• Michelle Steele(11)- had been beaten and strangled to death near the
Missouri River
His Punishments.
First time in jail he was sentenced for 2 years, however only was in for a
little over a year.
A few months later, he went back in for a few months for forging a check.
In 1951 Hatcher escaped prison, attempted a burglary, was caught and
was sentenced to an extra two years in prison.
Once released, he stole another car and was sentenced to 4 years; he
attempted to escape and received an additional two years.
In 1959, after attempting to abduct Steven Pellham, Hatcher received 5
years.
While in prison, he stabbed an inmate, and claimed to need psychiatric
treatment, however it was refused. His sentence was reduced to ¾ the
original time though.
After confessing to abducting William Freeman, Hatcher spent the
majority of his time going back and forth between court and the hospital.
In 1973, Hatcher was sentenced 1 year to life & sent to medium security
prison in Vacaville for attempting to escape prison again.
After being found guilty for more murders, Hatcher was sentenced to life
in prison, and so he requested a death sentence but the jury refused, and
a few days later, he killed himself.
His Disorders.
While on trials, Hatcher would continuously claim he heard
voices, faked delusions, and had multiple suicide attempts.
Was diagnosed with having a passive-aggressive personality
as well as paraphilia and pedophilia.
In January 1972, he was sent to California State Hospital as
a “mentally-disordered sexual offender.”
Was declared insane and incompetent to stand trial.
Was found to be a “manipulative, institutionalized sociopath”
Was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1973.
A.K.A. he was crazy!
Disorders in detail.
• Paraphilia- a medical term used to describe the sexual arousal to objects,
situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation.
• Pedophilia- a medical diagnosis characterized by a primary or exclusive
sexual interest in children(13 years or younger); the child must be at least five
years younger to be considered pedophilia.
• Paranoid schizophrenia- a mental disorder characterized by a
breakdown of thought processes and by poor emotional responsiveness.
Usually consists of hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized speech and
thinking, accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction.
About Charles.
The majority of the time Charles
got caught was because he
confessed to his crimes, but
would then claim he was ill. Other
reasons he got caught would be
for his reoccurring action of
stealing cars.
He is believed to have began his killing spree
based off his childhood. His father was an exconvict and abusive alcoholic. Hatcher was also
bullied in school, which led to him bullying
others.
Committed suicide on December 7, 1984 by
hanging himself in his cell at the Missouri State
Penitentiary
Also known as:
“Crazy Charlie”
“One-Man Crime Wave”
“Mr. Prince”
He was classified as a serial killer
Article.
• http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkillers/H/HATCHER_charles_ray.php
http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Hatche
r,%20Charles%20-%20fall,%202005.pdf]