FBI: Convicted Serial Killer Confessed To 90 Murders Including Six In South Florida

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A 78-year-old convicted murderer sitting in prison in Texas, could be linked to over 90 killings across US including in Florida. According to the FBI, Samuel Little may be one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history.

Samuel Little has confessed to murdering 90 women, according to a statement release by investigators. Now the FBI says it is working with the Texas Rangers and dozens of state and local agencies to match Little's confessions with evidence from women who turned up dead in states from California to Florida between 1970 and 2005.

Samuel Little is currently serving three life sentences for strangling three women in the Los Angeles area between 1987 and 1989.

He was convicted in 2014.

Little's criminal history dates back to 1956, and includes many shoplifting, fraud, drug, solicitation, and breaking and entering charges, according to the FBI. Now investigators think they are just beginning to unravel the true extent of his crimes.

The Los Angeles Police Department detectives used DNA to match Little to three unsolved homicides from 1987 and 1989. In all three cases, the women had been beaten and then strangled. He was charged with three counts of murder, and in 2014, Little was convicted and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.

"When Los Angeles got the DNA hit on Little, they asked the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) to work up a full background on him. The FBI found an alarming pattern and compelling links to many more murders," FBI officials stated.

ViCAP Crime Analyst Christina Palazzolo and ViCAP Liaison Angela Williamson with the Department of Justice Senior Policy Advisory accompanied Texas Ranger James Holland to California to interview Little in the spring of 2018. The convicted murderer was hoping to move prisons and in exchange, he was willing to talk.

"Over the course of that interview in May, he went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place. Jackson, Mississippi—one; Cincinnati, Ohio—one; Phoenix, Arizona—three; Las Vegas, Nevada—one," Palazzo was quoted as saying.

So far, the team has confirmed 34 killings. Investigators say they are working to confirm many more.

Six of the unmatched murder confessions from Little took place in South Florida including a 22-year-old woman possibly named "Linda" in 1971, an 18-year-old man possible named "Mary Ann" or "Marianne" in 1971 or 1972, a 28-year-old woman who possibly worked on Homestead Air Force Base, killed in 1971 or 1972. There was also a 23 or 24-year-old woman possibly named "Emily" and may have worked at the University of Miami, killed in the mid 1970s, a woman in Kendall possibly named "Sarah" in 1973 and a woman in Homestead killed in 1970 or 1971.

There are others in Fort Myers, and Tampa Bay in 1984, Plant City in 1977 or 1978 and Perry, Florida in 1993.

Investigators say Little remembers his victims and the killings in great detail.

"He remembers where he was, and what car he was driving. He draws pictures of many of the women he killed," according to the statement from the FBI.

Investigators say he led a nomadic lifestyle — and the victims he targeted — may explain how he got away with murder for decades.

"Little chose to kill marginalized and vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs. Their bodies sometimes went unidentified and their deaths uninvestigated," FBI officials stated. "Little's method of killing also didn't always leave obvious signs that the death was a homicide. The one-time competitive boxer usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches and then strangled them. With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes."

Additionally, many of the killings occurred in the 1970s and early 1980s, before DNA profiling was widely available. Even after DNA analysis came into play, the victims' involvement in prostitution made it difficult to gather physical evidence.

"Little is in poor health and will likely stay in prison in Texas until his death," according to the FBI statement. "The goal now is to identify his victims and provide closure and justice in unsolved cases."

You can see a map and full list of his confessions here.