United States of America
Honolulu
Strangler
Active from 1985-1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii
DID YOU KNOW...
Strength Fact
Purdy's husband said he wife was so big and strong it would have taken 2 men to kill her
Safety Fact
Honolulu installed 2-way radios on their buses as a result of the attacks
Suspect Fact
One suspect contacted police saying he had information from a psychic
THE DISPATCH
The Murders
Vicki Gail Purdy
- May 29, 1985
- Keehi Lagoon
On May 29, 1985, Vicki Gail Purdy was dropped off near her car at the Shorebird Hotel by a cab driver. She was found at Keehi Lagoon with her hands bound behind her back. Her shoes were missing, and she had no personal effects on her. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Police thought she might have been dumped there.
Gary Purdy was a chief warrant officer with the 24th Aviation Battalion. At six feet tall and 165 pounds, he can handle his own. He told media Purdy she had once “knocked the —- out of me” during an argument. He believed it would have taken two people to nab her. Her car was found in the Shorebird Hotel parking lot. It had a new dent in it.
Her husband thought it might be related to Purdy’s job, an adult video rental store. It was rumoured 2 women had been stabbed to death years earlier at that location.
Regina Sakamoto
- January 14, 1986
- Keehi Lagoon
Regina Sakamoto missed the bus to highschool, and had to take local transit. On January 14, 1986, she was seen waiting for the Waipahu bus. Her body was found the next day at Keehi Lagoon, a few feet off shore near an access road. She was partially nude. Her hands were bound, like the first victim, Purdy. She had been sexually assaulted.
Sakamoto was 17.
Denise Hughes
- January 30, 1986
- Moanalua Stream
Just two weeks after Sakamoto was killed, Denise Hughes was found raped, bound and strangled like the other victims. She was found along Moanalua Stream by 3 young fishermen on February 1, and identified February 6. She was clothed and wrapped in a blue tarp. Her hands were bound. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Hughes and Sakamoto had been last been seen at a bus stop. Hughes and Purdy were both married to military men.
The Honolulu Strangler Task Force
On February 5, 1986 , the police established a 27-person task force to investigate the stranglings. On February 13, the City puts 2-way radios in its buses. This allows drivers to call for help should they see something. Four women had been abducted at bus stops, and two – Sakamoto and Hughes – had been murdered.
Louise J. Medeiros
- March 26, 1986
- Waikele Stream
The task force and radios cannot not help Louise J. Medeiros, who goes missing on March 26. Medeiros, who had lived with beach people at Makaha, was 3 months pregnant when she was murdered. She had returned home for the reading of her mother’s will the day before she disappeared. Medeiros was planning to catch a bus from the airport to her Waipahu apartment.
On April 2, 1986, Medeiros’s body is found near the Waikele Stream. She was spotted beneath a freeway overpass by road workers. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was partially nude.
Linda Pesce
- April 29, 1986
- Sand Island
Linda Pesce was last seen by her roommate on April 29, 1986. Her light-blue Toyota was spotted near Heehi Lagoon with its emergency flashers on. In early May, Howard Andrew Gay, 43, contacted police. A psychic told him where the Pesce body was. He led police to Sand Island, but not to exactly where the body was.
On May 4, her body was found off a dirt road at Sand Island. Police immediately linked her to the previous slayings. Pesce’s hands were tied behind her back and she was partially covered by dirt and debris. A cement block had been placed on her back.
Previous women had been abducted at bus stops, and it is possible that Pesce had gone to a bus stop after her car broke down. It is also possible the killer caused a minor accident, as it appeared he did with Purdy. Witnesses said they saw a man and a van parked near her car.
She was the last victim of the “Honolulu Strangler”.
She was 36 years old.
Suspect Arrested and Released
The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit released a profile of the Honolulu Strangler. He was described as Caucasian or mixed ancestry, about 30-40 years old. He drove a cargo van and lived or worked in the area between Sand Island and Waipahu. He was having relationship problems with a girlfriend or wife, they said. He would have no prior criminal charges. Police considered their suspect pool, and began to hone in on Gay.
Howard Arthur Gay was a military man and was stationed at George Air Force Base (now closed) until his honourable discharge in 1985. He worked as a telephone lineman, delivery driver and mechanic.
Gay was arrested for the murder of Pesce on May 9, 1986. Pesce had written his name and number on a notepad in her office the day she disappeared. He was a potential customer. He drove a van for his company. His age and race were correctly profiled by the FBI. He was divorced and had no previous criminal record. He worked in the area.
Gay was quickly released, but kept under police surveillance for years. Gay told the media that police had “good cause” to arrest him, but said it was circumstantial. Gay died on November 2, 2003 at age 60.
Police believe the victims were all killed by the same man, but no charges have ever been laid.
SIMILAR SERIAL KILLERS
Frankford Slasher
Pennsylvania's Frankford Slasher is also an unknown serial killer
B1 Butcher
The B1 Butcher (Khomas Ripper) also had 5 victims
Texarkana Moonlight Murders
The Texarkana Moonlight Murders also had a prime suspect who was neither arrested nor charged
BOOKS
Books including The Honolulu Strangler
Honolulu Homicide: Murder and Mayhem in Paradise by Gary A. Dias, Robbie Dingeman
Publisher : Bess Pr Inc (Oct. 1 2003)
Language : English
Paperback : 232 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1573061568
Includes the Honolulu Strangler
Retired homicide lieutenant Gary A. Dias and reporter Robbie Dingeman provide inside information about some of Oahu’s most disturbing crimes. Including the murders of State Representative Roland Kotani, police officer Troy Barboza, Diane Suzuki, Lisa Au and seven employees of the Xerox Corporation. In describing the circumstances surrounding domestic violence, sex crimes, serial killings, arson, child abductions, hostage taking and other crimes, Dias and Dingeman honor the victims and their families as they describe the responsibilities of the police, the courts and the media in investigating and reporting these crimes.
Getting Away With Murder: 15 Chilling Cold Cases That Will Make You Think Twice About Going Outside (Cold Case Crime) by William Webb
Publisher : Minute Help, Inc. (July 30, 2020)
Language : English
Paperback : 196 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1629174624
Includes 1 chapter on the Honolulu Strangler
Despite a decline in the number of murders in the United States since the 1960s, thousands go unsolved each year.
As of 2013, the solve rate was at an all-time low at only 65 percent of the total committed.
The 15 murders profiled in this book were committed between 1958 and 2014. The oldest of the set involves the bizarre murder of Pearl Eaton, one of the famous Ziegfeld Follies Girls of the 1920s. From the beginning, the crime had no leads or suspects and remains among the coldest of the 15 unsolved crimes.
The most recent – the murder of four members of the McStay family found buried in the California desert in November 2013 – is under active investigation.
VIDEOS & PODCASTS
Podcases and videos about the Honolulu Strangler
Honolulu Strangler Cold Case File
Daily Motion’s video on the Honolulu Strangler
Casefile Podcast: Case 62: The Honolulu Strangler
Mom’s and Murder Podcast “The Honolulu Strangler”
THE STATS
Killer in a Historical Timeline
Statistical table for The Honolulu Strangler
| Killer Name | Honolulu Strangler |
| Killer AKA | Honolulu Rapist |
| Gender | M |
| Suspected Only | Yes |
| Sentence | |
| Status | Alive or Unknown |
| Military Service | Possibly in the military given the locations and associations with military bases and people |
| Killer Type | Sexual/Sadistic, Territorial |
| Total Dead Victims | 5 |
| Victims (Suspected) | 5 |
| Victim Gender | F |
| Victim Race | White, Unknown |
| Victim Age | 17, 36 |
| Victim Type | Waiting for a bus, married to military man |
| Method of Killing | Strangulation |
| Abduction | Yes |
| Robbery | Yes |
| Sex Assault | Yes |
| Binding | Yes |
| Washing/Water | Yes |
| Body - Moved, Hidden | Yes |
Killer Rating
RESOURCES
- Hawaii Tribune-Herald (Feb 06, 1986)
- The Honolulu Advertiser (Apr 05, 1986)
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin (May 01, 1986)
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin Pt. 1 (May 04, 1986)
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin Pt. 2 (May 04, 1986)
- Honolulu Star-Bulletin (May 6, 1986)
- The Honolulu Advertiser Pt. 1 (May 10, 1986)
- The Honolulu Advertiser Pt. 2 (May 10, 1986)
- Find A Grave - Howard Andrew Gay
- KITV.com (May 19, 2005 - archived)