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Clarence Hill (serial killer)

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For the murderer executed in Florida, see Clarence Hill (murderer).
Clarence Hill
Hill c. 1943–44
Born1911[2]
United States
DiedJuly 9, 1973 (aged 61–62)
United States
Other names"Mad Killer of Duck Island"[3]
"Moon-Mad Murderer"[4]
Conviction(s)Murder (×6)
Rape
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment; released after 19 years
Details
Victims6 murdered; 12 total
Span of crimes
1938–1942
CountryUnited States
State(s)
Date apprehended
December 29, 1943[1]

Clarence Hill (1911 – July 9, 1973) was an American serial killer who attacked couples at lovers' lanes in Duck Island, New Jersey, and the surrounding area between 1938 and 1942.

In 1944, he was convicted of six counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment; a model prisoner, he was released in 1964.

Personal life

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Clarence Hill was a former Sunday school teacher who fathered two children.[5][6] He was drafted into the Army on March 12, 1943.[7][8][9]

Duck Island murders

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Crime scene photo from the Tonzillo–Myatovich murders

On the night of November 8, 1938, 20-year-old Vincenzo "Jim" Tonzillo and 16-year-old Mary Myatovich[a] were parked at a lovers' lane on the remote Duck Island when they were ambushed by a "short, stocky colored man" armed with a 12-gauge shotgun.[13][14][15] The man demanded money, and when Tonzillo refused, he was shot dead. After Myatovich fled from the vehicle, she was shot in the lower body, chased down, and raped.[10][15] Following reports of screams, police arrived and took Myatovich to the hospital. She survived long enough to tell details of what had occurred but succumbed to her injuries the following day.[10][14] Initially, police were skeptical of her story, as Tonzillo was a married man having an affair with Myatovich.[13]

On October 1, 1939, a junk collector found a woman's prosthetic leg protruding from a pile of garbage on Duck Island. Nearby, he found a car containing the body of 28-year-old mechanic Frank J. Kasper, who had died from shotgun blasts to the head and neck the previous night. The woman was identified as 36-year-old Katherine Werner, whose body was discovered not far from the vehicle. As her skull was crushed, it was determined that she was beaten to death as she attempted to run away.[16][17] Similar to the first murders, Kasper and Werner were out on their spouses.[18][19] Both Kasper's wife and Werner's husband had "airtight alibis."[13]

After news spread about the murders on Duck Island, couples began parking elsewhere in the surrounding area. In the following year, two more incidents occurred in which couples were approached by a Black man armed with a shotgun, but only 19-year-old Howard Wilson sustained injuries from a shot to the arm.[13][20]

The final murders occurred in Hamilton Township on November 16, 1940, when 35-year-old Ludovicum J. Kovacs and 27-year-old Caroline Moriconi were found dead in their car parked in a wooded area off Cypress Lane.[20][21][22] The couple, who were also involved in an affair, died from shotgun blasts.[4]

The last attack came on March 7, 1942, near Morrisville, Pennsylvania, when 25-year-old John Testa and 21-year-old Antoinette Marcantonio were robbed of $9.30 and shot at while in their car. After fleeing, they were chased down and beaten with the stock of a shotgun. The couple managed to get away and turned in to police a part of the broken-off stock containing a partial serial number.[13][23][24]

Arrest, trial, and imprisonment

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After a lengthy investigation, the serial number of the shotgun was traced back to Hill.[13] On December 29, 1943, he was arrested at an Army camp in Moultrieville, South Carolina, and then transferred to Fort Dix and charged with six counts of murder.[7][22]

Hill maintained his innocence and claimed on the stand that his confession was beaten out of him. However, doctors looking into the alleged beatings were conflicted, and it was ruled that his typewritten confession was not done under duress.[25][2] On December 29, 1944, exactly one year after his arrest, Hill was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.[5]

Release

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On April 19, 1964, Hill, at this point a model prisoner suffering from throat cancer, was released on medical parole after serving 19 years.[26] Pennsylvania requested an extradition to charge him with previous crimes he had allegedly committed, but the request was refused by New Jersey governor Richard J. Hughes.[5]

Hill died from cancer in 1973, aged 61 or 62.[13]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Several contemporary sources claimed that she was 15 or spelled her surname as "Mytovich."[10][11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Who Is the Mad Killer Of Duck Island?". Daily World. September 2, 1945. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Court Studies 'Confession'". The Press of Atlantic City. December 14, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Duck Island Killer Admits Six Murders in "Lovers' Lane"". Palladium-Item. January 31, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Murders Petting Couples When the Moon Is Full". The Detroit News. January 26, 1941. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "'Duck Island' Killer Given His Release". Asbury Park Press. August 19, 1964. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Soldier Is Held In Duck Island Murder Series". The Record. February 8, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Suspect Held For 6 Murders". The Spokesman-Review. February 1, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Hold Soldier in Six Deaths". Minnesota Star Tribune. January 31, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Newton, Michael (1990). Hunting Humans: An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers. Breakout Productions Inc. p. 157. ISBN 1559500263.
  10. ^ a b c "Trenton Girl Dies, Attacked By Negro". The Press of Atlantic City. November 11, 1938. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Boy Quizzed In Slaying Of Couple At Trenton". The Press of Atlantic City. November 23, 1938. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Duck Island Murder Probe Bares Band of Peeping Toms". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 21, 1938. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Bovsun, Mara (December 11, 2011). "Justice Story: Cheaters slain on lovers lane on Duck Island near Trenton, N.J." New York Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Real Crime Shadows Fiction In Slaying On Duck Island". The Record. November 9, 1938. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Trenton Couple Attacked While Parked In Automobile". The Morning Call. November 9, 1938. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Duck Island Double Slaying Again Copies Murder Story". The Record. October 2, 1939. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Police Up Against Wall In 'Duck Island' Murders". The Press of Atlantic City. October 5, 1939. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Eye Witness Tells How 'Petters' Fled After Fatal Shots". Courier-Post. October 5, 1939. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Trenton Mother, Neighbor Slain On 'Duck Island'". The Press of Atlantic City. October 2, 1939. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Parked-Car Death of 3D Pair Spurs Hunt For Madman". The Buffalo News. November 18, 1940. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Two Murdered In Parked Auto Near Trenton". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 17, 1940. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b "Six Murder Charges Filed Against Soldier In Lover's Lane Slaying of Three Couples". Home News Tribune. February 8, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Soldier Shot, Girl Slugged". The Press of Atlantic City. March 8, 1942. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Soldier Shot, Girl Beaten by Island Killer". Courier-Post. March 9, 1942. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Hill Says Police Forced Him To Confess Murder". Trenton Evening Times. December 15, 1944. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Hill, Free Says He's Innocent". Courier-Post. April 25, 1964. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
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