Bob Berdella; Imprisoned After Torture Killings of 6 Men

Bob Berdella, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the sadistic murders of six young men, has died of a heart attack. He was 43.

Berdella died Thursday at Still Regional Medical Center, where he was taken after complaining of chest pains, said Gail Hughes, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Berdella pleaded guilty in 1988 to torturing and killing six men and cutting up their bodies. Prosecutors said he put the remains out with the trash.

Berdella, an art collector and antiques dealer, was arrested in 1988 after a man wearing only a dog collar ran screaming from Berdella’s house. He told police Berdella had sexually tortured him, beaten him and injected him with drugs.

Berdella said two victims suffocated when he tied plastic bags around their heads. Another died from blood loss and infection after being sexually tortured and others died after being injected with animal tranquilizers.

Berdella was serving his sentence at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, formerly the Missouri State Penitentiary.

Once asked if his crimes were “wantonly vile, horrible and inhuman,” Berdella replied: “I won’t disagree.”