United States of America
WICKLINE
William Dean Jr.
Active from 1979 to 1982, West Virginia and Ohio
DID YOU KNOW...
Suspicious Fact
Wickline Jr. was suspected of multiple murders for which others were later found guilty
Prison Fact
Wickline Jr. learned butchering skills while in prison
Legal Fact
Wickline Jr. was already serving time for burglary when he was charged with murder
THE DISPATCH
The Beginning
William Dean Wickline Jr. learned butchery while working at a prison slaughterhouse. He used his skills to dispose of the bodies of his victims, earning him the nickname of The Butcher. By dismembering and disposing of his victims, he also quickly became a suspect in 6 other murders, although they would later prove not to be his murders.
Early Crimes
Wickline Jr. was first arrested in 1971. He spent time in prisons in six different states, for crimes such as break & enter, drugs, grand theft, burglary, and being a pimp.
The Murders
Charles Morgan Marsh
- November 20, 1979
- Parkersburg, West Virginia
On November 20, 1979, thirty-four year old alleged drug dealer and Vietnam vet Charles Morgan Marsh was found by his girlfriend, decapitated on the bed. Marsh was handcuffed and bound, strangled with a cord and then beheaded. His girlfriend fled to a nearby bar screaming for help from astonished patrons.
Detectives at the time theorized he might have been unconscious but still breathing when his head was cut off. His head had been placed on a dresser or nightstand. The killer had scrawled “I came. You weren’t home. I love you.” on the wall. Hours later, his green pickup truck with white camper was found on a city street.
Peggy Anne and Christopher Lerch
- August 14, 1982
- Columbus, Ohio
On August 14, 1982, drug traffickers Peggy and Christopher Lerch made an error in judgement when they decided to drink and get high with Wickline Jr. and his girlfriend Teresa Kemp. After an argument about Christopher owing Wickline Jr. $6,000, Wickline Jr. went upstairs and called for Christopher to come up. There, Wickline Jr. attacked the man, slitting his throat. The killer then made his way downstairs and ordered his girlfriend, Kemp, to lie across sleeping Peggy’s legs while he strangled her to death. Wickline Jr. then dismembered the bodies in the bathtub, wrapped them in bags and disposed of them in various dumpsters around Columbus. Christopher and Peggy Lerch were never found, although Wickline Jr. kept Peggy’s wedding ring.
Peggy was 25 and Christopher was 28.
Arrest & Trial
Wickline Jr. Charged for Marsh Murder & Lerch Murders
- December 06, 1984
- Columbus, Ohio
Wickline Jr. was arrested multiple times over the years for burglary. While serving a 1 ½ year sentence for burglary, his former girlfriend Teresa Kemp confessed to police about the Marsh murder. On December 6, 1984, Wickline Jr. was charged with the 1979 slaying of Charles Marsh. Authorities also considered convening a grand jury to consider indictments against Wickline Jr. in the Lerch murders. It is the Lerch murders that will proceed, while charges in the Marsh murder are held.
Wickline Jr. Found Guilty in Lerch Murders
- August 07, 1985
- Columbus, Ohio
On August 7, 1985, a three-judge panel found Wickline Jr. guilty of two counts of aggravated murder of Peggy and Chris Lerch.
Wickline Jr. Sentenced to Death
- September 20, 1985
- Columbus, Ohio
Wickline Jr. was sentenced by a three-judge panel on September 20, 1985. He was given a life term for Chris’s murder. Wickline Jr. was given the death sentence for the murder of Peggy Lerch. She died while Wickline Jr. was trying to cover up another crime (the murder of her husband). No execution date was set. The death sentence was automatically reviewed by the state appeals court as part of Ohio’s death penalty law.
His appeal was denied, and on October 19, 1990, his first execution date was set.
Wickline Jr. Appeals Continue
- June 4, 1996 to December 24, 2003
- Columbus, Ohio
Wickline Jr. appealed his death sentence again and again.
On June 4, 1996, the day of his scheduled execution, Wickline Jr. was granted a stay by a federal judge.
His various appeals would delay his execution. On December 24, 2003, a new and final execution date was scheduled for March, 2004. He continued fighting for clemency.
Wickline Jr.’s Death
Wickline Jr. Executed
- March 30, 2004
- Lucasville, Ohio
On March 30, 2004, William Dean Wickline Jr. was executed by lethal injection. He was pronouned dead at 10:11a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. As of August, 2022, the bodies of Peggy and Christopher Lerch have not been found.
Other Alleged Murders
Wickline Hr. was suspected in other murders and disappearances. John Anthony (Tony) Muncy (Muncie) was a teenager who disappeared from Columbus in October, 1983. His dismembered body was found just two days later along a highway in Delaware County. In April 2020, authorities announced Daniel Alan Anderson was his murderer.
Wickline Jr. was suspected in the 1978 disappearance of Tory Gainer, a gambler who, according to jailhouse informants, was murdered and dismembered, his body parts left in various Fairfield County landfills.
Annette Johnston and Todd Schultz were murdered, dismembered and decapitated in 1982. Their sex organs were removed and never found. Wickline Jr. was suspected. Johnston’s step-father was found guilty and, after other men confessed, was later exonerated of the crime. Chester McKnight and Kenneth Linscott were arrested in 2008 for the murders.
Informants also told Columbus-area police that Wickline Jr. may have been hired to kill a Florida man. Columbus police were told about an unidentified man whose remains were found floating in a Miami, Florida canal in January, 1983.
He was never charged with any of these crimes.
BOOK
A Book including William Dean Wickline Jr.
Serial Killers on the Interstate by Lori Carangelo
Publisher : Access Press (July 7 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 202 pages
ISBN-10 : 0942605330
ISBN-13 : 978-0942605334
200 HIGHWAY KILLERS BY STATE – with over 200 Photos. This unique collection details Serial Killers who either picked up or disposed of their victims, some of whom were hitchhiking, along America’s highways and truck stops. Included are their known victims’ identities and the nicknames that media attached to their apparent “M.O.” or victim type — such as “The Bra Murderer,” “The Co-Ed Killer,”” “The Flat Tire Killer,” ” “The Orange Socks Killer,” “The Freeway Killer,” “The Trash Bag Killer,” etc. The FBI tells us that 6,000 people per year die at the hands of serial killers and that close to 300 Highway Serial Killers, specifically, are currently on the loose in the United States, prowling the nation — especially those who are among the 3.5-million truckers on the road today. Long-haul truckers who pick up prey in one state often dump the body several states away. And they are in every state – California and Texas having the largest number of such serial killers. But even the smallest states thought to be the “safest” have their share of these predators. So if you’re offered a ride by a smiling stranger, be afraid… Be very afraid.
VIDEOS & PODCASTS
Videos and podcasts about William Wickline Jr.
THE STATS
Statistical table for William Dean Wickline Jr.
| Killer Name | WICKLINE, William Dean Jr. |
| Killer AKA | The Butcher |
| Gender | M |
| Conviction Date | August 7, 1985 |
| Sentence | 1 Life term, 1 Death sentence |
| Birth Date | March 15, 1952 |
| Death Date | March 30, 2004 |
| Deceased | Yes |
| Executed | Yes |
| Cause of Death | Lethal injection |
| Height | 191 |
| School Other | considered a good student in grade school and outstanding athlete; poor grades by highschool |
| Caused Problems in School | egged the principal's car during high school |
| Job Types | prison slaughterhouse worker |
| Labour Type | Blue |
| Sexual Preference | Straight |
| Marital Status | Divorced/Separated |
| Number of Children | 1 |
| Killer Type | Revenge, Territorial |
| Drug Abuse | Cocaine, narcotics involved in each killing |
| comment1 | Already in custody for burglary when charged with murder. |
| comment2 | November 1979 decapitation of Charles Morgan Marsh never brought to trial as he was on death row |
| comment3 | The Franklin County Common Pleas judges sentenced him to life in prison for Christopher Lerch's murder and to death for the slaying of Mrs. Lerch because she was killed to cover up another crime. |
| Total Dead Victims | 3 |
| Victims (Suspected) | 6 (no proof, in some cases others were found guilty) |
| Victims (Convicted) | 2 |
| Victims (Misc) | 1 charged |
| Victim Gender | Various |
| Victim Race | White |
| Victim Age | 34, 25, 28 |
| Victim Type | drug associates |
| Method of Killing | stabbing/slashing, dismemberment |
| Weapon | knife |
| Overkill | Yes |
| Washing/Water | Yes |
| Body - Dismembered | Yes |
| Body - Moved, Hidden | Yes |
| Previous Crimes | break & enter, drugs, grand theft, burglary, pimping |
| Previous Prison Time | yes, in at least 6 different states |
Killer Rating
RESOURCES
- The Indianapolis News Indianapolis, Indiana 21 Nov 1979, Wed • Page 4
- Cumberland Evening Times, Cumberland, Maryland, US November 21, 1979 • Page 48
- The Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 06 Dec 1984, Thu • Page 78
- Chillicothe Gazette Chillicothe, Ohio Thu, Aug 08, 1985 · Page 2
- News-Journal Mansfield, Ohio Sat, Sep 21, 1985 · Page 10
- The Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio Sun, Apr 13, 1986 · Page 1
- The Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio Sun, Apr 13, 1986 · Page 6
- News Herald Port Clinton, Ohio 20 Oct 1990, Sat • Page 2
- The Newark Advocate Newark, Ohio 04 Jun 1996, Tue • Page 3
- News-Journal Mansfield, Ohio 25 Dec 2003, Thu • Page 9
- The Newark Advocate Newark, Ohio 24 Mar 2004, Wed • Page 7
- Dayton Daily News Dayton, Ohio 31 Mar 2004, Wed • Page 13