The St. Augustine Serial Killer No One Remembers

People often ask how I get ideas for my stories. In the Shadow of Angels began because I heard a story I had never heard before and set out to learn whether it was true.

One day, I was talking with a college student in St. Augustine. During the conversation, he mentioned a serial killer who had lived in the area and killed several women there.

At first, I didn’t believe him.

How could a serial killer operate so close to my own hometown and yet I had never heard of him?

Curious, I decided to do what writers do best: research.

That was how I first encountered the story of William “Crazy Bill” Lindsey.

Born in Palatka in 1935, Lindsey is believed to have murdered seven women in St. Augustine during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as one victim in Asheville, North Carolina. Like many violent offenders, he appears to have had a deeply troubled childhood and showed disturbing behaviors early in life.

Sadly, stories like this are not uncommon in the history of serial crime.

What troubled me most was something else entirely.

Why had I never heard of this case?

I still do not have a clear answer. There is a book about him entitled "Deadly Lust," published by Marie and McCay Vernon in 2005. There is an episode about him in the "Evil Lives Here" television series. I follow podcasts and documentaries that examine criminal history, yet Lindsey’s crimes seemed strangely absent from the stories that circulate widely.

The only explanation I can imagine is an uncomfortable truth: we now live in a world saturated with stories about violence. Some crimes receive widespread attention, while others quietly fade into obscurity.

And sometimes the difference lies in who the victims were.

The women Lindsey killed were sex workers. Too often, violence against women in that profession receives less attention, less outrage, and less remembrance than it deserves.

That realization breaks my heart.

While I am fascinated by the psychology of crime and the mysteries that surround it, I believe it is important to remember that every crime story begins with a human life that was lost.

These women were not simply part of a criminal case.

They were people.

Lisa Foley

Anita Stevens

Connie Terrell

Lashawna Streeter

Donetha Snead-Haile

Niecey Lucas

Diana Richardson

Lucy Raymer

And perhaps others whose names we may never know.

I hope their families found some measure of justice in Lindsey’s conviction, and I hope the unnamed victims—those whose stories remain incomplete—can rest in peace.

Stories like this remind me that the past is never as distant as we think. In old coastal cities like St. Augustine, history lingers just beneath the surface—sometimes in beautiful ways, and sometimes in darker ones.

As a writer, that awareness shapes how I approach the fictional crimes in my novels. The mystery may drive the story, but the people within it must always matter most.

Stay Connected

If you enjoy mysteries inspired by the history and hidden stories of coastal cities, you may enjoy my St. Augustine Mysteries and Savannah Mysteries series.

You can explore the books and learn more here:https://www.rlimre.com

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