ID’s Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks explores the case of Lorenzo Gilyard, dubbed Kansas City Strangler. The all-new episode titled after the notorious killer’s moniker will air on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET.
Gilyard, a former trash company supervisor from Kansas City, reportedly murdered at least thirteen women and girls between 1977 and 1993. The now-convicted serial killer strangled his victims to death right after he had sex with them. In 2007, a judge found him guilty of six counts of murder, sentencing him to life in prison without parole.
According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, Gilyard is currently serving his sentence at the Crossroad Correctional Center in Cameron.
Serial killer Lorenzo Gilyard aka the Kansas City Strangler had a troubled family
The Sun reported that serial killer Lorenzo Gilyard came from a family of murderers and convicts. His brother and sister were convicted murderers and his father, Lorenzo Sr, was a convicted rapist. The serial killer’s other brother Darryl was also convicted in a 1989 drug-related murder, receiving a life sentence without parole. His other sister Patricia sister, a prostitute, was also a convicted murderer. She reportedly murdered a client and eventually got a 10-year term.
Several reports such as NBC News further state that Gilyard allegedly murdered at at least 13 women and girls. Most of his victims were prostitutes. He would first have sex with his victims and then strangle them to death. Most of his victims were prostitutes and their shoeless bodies were found dumped in isolated areas around Kansas City, Missouri.
The outlet stated that Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar commented on the case: “All were found dead during the same one-and-a-half-year period, all were left in secluded or obstructed locations, all were strangled, all showed signs that they were involved in a struggle, all were missing their shoes and all but one showed distinct signs of sexual intercourse.”
Where is Lorenzo Gilyard aka the Kansas City Strangler now?
NBC’s report claimed that DNA evidence linked Lorenzo Gilyard to all 13 killings. In fact, he had been a suspect for years before police finally arrested him in April 2004. The names of his victims are Catherine Barry, Naomi Kelly, Ann Barnes, Kellie Ford, Angela Mayhew, Sheila Ingold, Carmeline Hibbs, Stacie L. Swofford, Gwendolyn Kizine, Margaret Miller, Debbie Blevins, Helga Kruger, and Connie Luther.
In early 2007, prosecutors charged the Kansas City Strangler with seven counts of first-degree murder. They dropped six counts and agreed not to seek the death penalty. In exchange, they asked the serial killer’s defense to accept a trial in front of a judge without a jury. The judge found him guilty on six counts, sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, Gilyard is currently serving his life sentence at the Crossroad Correctional Center in Cameron.
Evil Lives Here: The Killer Speaks airs on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ID with a new episode.
