The Glamour Girl Slayer Case: Inside Harvey Glatman’s Twisted Crimes Against Models
- Daniel Holland
- Sep 18, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 18
When people picture a serial killer, the image that often comes to mind is someone lurking in the shadows, a figure clearly out of step with the world around them. But what if that killer was a man of above-average intelligence, unremarkable in appearance, and even trusted by those who encountered him? This is the chilling story of Harvey Glatman, a predator whose heinous crimes shocked America in the 1950s.
What makes Glatman’s story so disturbing isn’t just the brutality of his acts, but the cold, calculated way he used his intellect to outwit his victims, and the law. His twisted mind, paired with a façade of normalcy, allowed him to carry out a string of brutal murders that would leave an indelible mark on criminal history.
A Dark Path from Childhood
Harvey Glatman’s life didn’t begin in darkness, but the signs of something terribly wrong emerged early on. Born in 1927 in the Bronx, New York, Glatman was a bright child. In fact, his IQ was measured at 130, suggesting potential for a life of achievement. Yet, his intelligence wasn’t used to build a career or pursue knowledge. Instead, it fuelled a lifetime of manipulation, control, and sadism.
From a young age, Glatman exhibited deeply troubling behaviours.
As a small child, he found pleasure in pain, tying a string around his genitals and pulling it to achieve a perverse sexual thrill. By the age of 12, his dark impulses had escalated further. Glatman began placing a rope around his neck, running it through the drain of the family bathtub, and pulling it tight against his throat, flirting with asphyxiation. This wasn’t a fleeting phase. His mother, deeply concerned, sought the advice of their family physician, who reassured her that her son would simply “grow out of it.” But Harvey Glatman wasn’t destined to outgrow anything. Instead, these early acts foreshadowed the horrifying path he would eventually follow.
A Teenager Turned Burglar and Predator
As Glatman entered his teenage years, his disturbing tendencies began to manifest in more outwardly dangerous ways. He started breaking into women’s apartments, stealing random items, often lingerie, sometimes even more personal objects. His invasions were about control, not the value of the items. In one break-in, he stole a handgun, a haunting symbol of how his fantasies were inching toward violence.
By August 1945, Glatman’s behaviour had escalated to physical assault. He was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman, a crime that landed him in Elmira Reformatory with a sentence of 5 to 10 years. But instead of being rehabilitated, Glatman’s time in prison only deepened his descent into madness. During his imprisonment, psychiatrists diagnosed him with a “psychopathic personality, schizophrenic type,” pinpointing his “sexually perverted impulses” as the root of his criminality. Yet, despite this, Glatman was paroled in 1948, and the world was once again exposed to the monster lurking within him.
Los Angeles: A Predator on the Prowl
By 1957, Glatman had relocated to Los Angeles, a sprawling city that provided him with anonymity and a new hunting ground. Here, he began a chilling ruse that would allow him to entrap his victims with frightening ease. Posing as a photographer for pulp magazines, Glatman contacted local modelling agencies, offering young women the chance to have their photos taken for potential publication.
His ploy seemed professional, innocent even. The aspiring models who met him thought they were taking steps toward launching their careers. But once inside Glatman’s apartment, their dreams quickly turned into nightmares. He would tie them up under the guise of a photoshoot, assault them, and take grotesque photographs of them in their most vulnerable state. After torturing them mentally and physically, Glatman would strangle his victims and discard their bodies in the desolate deserts outside Los Angeles.
Judith Dull, a 19-year-old aspiring model, was one of his first known victims. Ruth Mercado followed shortly after, another young woman lured by the promise of modelling work. Both met a tragic fate at Glatman’s hands, their lives cut short by his insatiable thirst for power and control.
The Lonely Hearts Trap
But Glatman’s methods of finding victims weren’t limited to modelling agencies. His thirst for violence expanded as he became more emboldened. Through a Lonely Hearts ad in a local newspaper, he met Shirley Ann Bridgeford, a woman looking for companionship. Instead of the romantic date she expected, she found herself at the mercy of a sadistic killer. Glatman’s control over his victims was not just physical, but psychological, a predator who thrived on their terror.
The Mystery of Boulder Jane Doe
While Glatman’s confirmed killings took place in California, his reach may have extended far beyond the state's borders. In 1954, three years before he began his killing spree in Los Angeles, the body of an unidentified woman was discovered near Boulder, Colorado. For over five decades, she remained known only as "Boulder Jane Doe."
It wasn’t until 2009, thanks to advancements in DNA technology, that the woman was finally identified as Dorothy Gay Howard, an 18-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona.
Though Glatman was never formally charged with Howard’s murder, many believe she could have been one of his early victims. His presence in Colorado at the time, combined with the brutal nature of her death, aligns with his established pattern of violence.
Caught in the Act: The Fall of a Killer
Harvey Glatman’s reign of terror might have continued unchecked if not for a fortunate twist of fate. In 1958, he attempted to kidnap his next victim, a woman named Lorraine Vigil. As he struggled to subdue her on the side of a road, a passing patrolman noticed the altercation and intervened. Glatman was arrested on the spot, ending his brutal spree of murder.
Once in custody, Glatman confessed to three murders without hesitation. He even led investigators to a toolbox where he had stored photographs of his victims, grotesque mementoes of his twisted acts. These photos, haunting in their cruelty, were a chilling testament to the suffering he inflicted on his prey.
The End of Harvey Glatman
Glatman’s trial was swift. He was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. In an unsettling display of calm acceptance, he refused to appeal the sentence, even asking the warden to ensure that no efforts were made to save his life. On September 18, 1959, Glatman was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison. His death brought an end to his killing spree, but the nightmares he created would linger in the memories of his victims' families (and the history books) forever.
Sources
Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Checkmark Books, 2000.
Schechter, Harold. Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho. Pocket Books, 1989 (context on contemporaneous killers).
Gilmore, John. The Dark Side: The Strange Case of Harvey Glatman. Amok Books, 1990.
Los Angeles Times Archives: “Model Slayer Harvey Glatman Arrested” (1958).
Denver Post: “Boulder Jane Doe identified as Dorothy Gay Howard” (2009).
Crime Museum – Harvey Glatman profile: https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/harvey-glatman/
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