Robert Shulman (serial killer)

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Robert Shulman
Robert Shulman (serial killer).jpg
Mugshot
Born
Robert Yale Shulman

(1954-03-28)March 28, 1954
Hicksville, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 13, 2006(2006-04-13) (aged 52)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Criminal penaltyDeath, commuted to Life imprisonment
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
1991–1996
CountryU.S.
State(s)New York
Date apprehended
April 6, 1996

Robert Yale Shulman (March 28, 1954 – April 13, 2006) was an American serial killer. Shulman, a postal worker from Hicksville, New York on Long Island, was convicted of murdering five prostitutes between 1991 and 1996, the year when he was arrested.[1]

Victims[]

Shulman was ultimately convicted of five murders.

Identified

Lori Vasquez[]

Vasquez was a 24-year-old who lived in Brooklyn. Her body was found on August 31, 1991. Robert Schulman's brother, Barry Shulman, with whom he lived, was convicted of disposing of Vasquez's body in Yonkers. [1][2]

Lisa Ann Warner[]

Warner was an 18-year-old who lived in Jamaica, Queens. Her body was found on April 6, 1995, at a recycling plant in Brooklyn, New York. She had been beaten and dismembered.[3]

Kelly Sue Bunting[]

Bunting, also known as "Melani", was a 28-year-old who lived in Hollis, Queens. She worked as a sex worker and was last seen alive on December 8, 1995. Her body was found in Brooklyn wrapped in a sleeping bag. Her hands had been removed.[3]

Unidentified[]

"Jane Doe Medford"[]

On December 7, 1994, an unidentified woman was found on the shoulder of Long Island Avenue by an employee of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works between Yaphank and Medford. She had a tattoo on her left arm depicting a red heart and a banner with the name "Adrian." She had been beaten and dismembered.[3][4]

Unidentified woman[]

Another unidentified woman was killed June 1992 and her body was dumped in Yonkers. Police have stated that the woman was white or possibly Hispanic, in her late 20s or early 30s, and had dark hair. She had a tattoo of a green butterfly on the back of her right shoulder.[1][2]

Investigation[]

Looking for the murder site, a detective canvassing hotels heard about a man driving a blue Cadillac who cruised the area. Trying to track the man down with this information, women were located who led them, not to a hotel, but to a residence where a blue Cadillac was seen. The registration was obtained, and the car was registered to Shulman's brother.[3]

Trying to get information about the sleeping bag in which Bunting was found, detectives learned Sears was the only manufacturer. Sears was contacted to see if the brother had purchased one with a credit card. Sears said the brother had no card, but pointed out that Shulman had a card. This was how police were initially pointed towards Shulman as a possible culprit.[3]

Women later identified him as the man cruising in the Cadillac, and cadaver dogs signaled the possibility of dead remains having been present in the Cadillac. Police searched Shulman's work place and found trace evidence matching that found on the body. Shulman was arrested on 6 April 1996. After interrogation, Shulman confessed to the three murders. (Shulman confessed to the earliest two murders at a later date.) A search of his room revealed hundreds of bloodstains scattered over almost every surface.[3]

Trial and aftermath[]

Shulman was sentenced to death in 1999 for the only murder he committed after New York State reinstated the death penalty in 1995. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his other murders because New York's death penalty law was not in effect at the time he committed them. His sentence was reduced to life in prison after the New York State Court of Appeals invalidated the death penalty in 2004.[1]

He died 13 April 2006 in Albany, New York of undisclosed causes.[5]

Shulman's brother Barry was indicted on charges of hindering prosecution and unlawfully disposing of dead bodies.[6]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d McQuiston, John T. (2000-01-05). "An Inmate On Death Row Pleads Guilty In More Killings". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Lerner, Jane (June 2, 2015). "Crime Scene: No ID for serial killer's '92 victim". USA Today. lohud. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f People v. Shulman (Court of Appeals of New York 25 October 2005).Text
  4. ^ People v Shulman 2005 NY Slip Op 07827 [6 NY3d 1] October 25, 2005 Read, J. Court of Appeals. Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
  5. ^ Van Sant, Will (9 April 2011), "The region's solved serial killer cases", Newsday
  6. ^ Sutton, Larry (26 April 1996). "Killer's Kin Gave Help, Police Say". New York Daily News.
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