The Kauai serial killer is an unidentified

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

and

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person wh ...

who murdered two women and injured another on the island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, between April and August 2000. Despite a composite sketch of the perpetrator and the availability of his DNA, he was never caught, and the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

s remain unsolved.

Murders

Lisa Bissell

On April 7, 2000, the body of Lisa Bissell, a 38-year-old woman from Hanapepe, was found in a ditch close to

Polihale State Park Polihale State Park is a remote wild beach on the western side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is the most western publicly accessible area in Hawaii, although the privately owned island of Niihau is farther west. The park is miles away f ...

. She was raped, beaten, and later stabbed to death. Her throat was also slashed. Some of her belongings were found off of a road in Waimea, so it's believed she was abducted from there.

Attempted murder

On May 22, 2000, a 52-year-old woman was severely wounded by the perpetrator in Kekaha. The perpetrator approached the victim in the yard she was working in and told her, "My name is John and I'm homeless." The victim recommended that he visit her neighbors home, where the owners frequently let

homeless people Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

camp on their property. When she turned around to continue working, the assailant forcefully took her behind the house and beat her, breaking one of her arms. He then sexually assaulted the victim. He later stabbed her in the chest with a knife, but the knife bent after it hit the victim's

breastbone The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood ve ...

, so he threw it in a bush and fled. The victim crawled for three hours until she reached a telephone and called for help.

Daren Singer

On August 30, 2000, the decomposing body of Daren R. Singer, a 43-year-old woman from

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, was found at a remote campsite near ''Pakala Point Beach''. She was raped, stabbed in the throat, and beaten to death. Her face was almost beaten beyond the point of recognition. Investigators determined that she was murdered at least 12 hours prior to the discovery of her body. A memorial service held for Singer in September of the same year was attended by more than 500 people.

Investigation

The surviving victim described her attacker, and a

composite sketch A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images a ...

of the perpetrator was created. A few months after the attack, she was flown to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and shown a

police lineup A police lineup (in American English) or identity parade (in British English) is a process by which a crime victim or witness's putative identification of a suspect is confirmed to a level that can count as evidence at trial. The suspect, along ...

. The woman was able to eliminate two men from the lineup as being the perpetrator but was not able to narrow down the lineup any further. The police also questioned the seventy registered sex offenders on the island.

Similarities between murders

* All victims were middle-aged Caucasian women with similar heights and weights. * All of the victims were sexually assaulted. * All of the victims were alone when they were attacked. * A knife was used in every attack. * All of the attacks happened on the west coast of Kauai.

Suspect

The prime suspect in the case is Waldorf Roy Wilson, a Hawaiian

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

. He was convicted of a rape and kidnapping on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

in 1983. Wilson was

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

d on January 9, 1999, and moved to Kauai. On September 12, 2000, Wilson was arrested again for violating his parole. After he was arrested, ''KHNL Channel 8 News'' broadcast that Wilson had been arrested for parole violations after being questioned about the murders. This led to Wilson suing the Kauai County Police Department and

Honolulu Magazine ''Honolulu'' is a city magazine covering Honolulu and the Hawaii region. It dates back to 1888 when it was called ''Paradise of the Pacific.'' It is the oldest magazine in the state of Hawaii and is the longest published magazine west of the Mis ...

for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

, but this lawsuit was later dismissed in 2009. Waldorf Wilson's

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

was tested against the DNA of the perpetrator, and the result was inconclusive. He was never charged with the murders.

In media

The case was featured on season 21, episode 7 of

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

. The episode, titled, "Trouble in Paradise," was first aired on November 10, 2007.

References

{{reflist

External links

Cold Case - Lisa Bissell
Kauai County
Cold Case - Daren Singer
Kauai County 2000 in Hawaii 2000 murders in the United States 21st-century American criminals American male criminals American rapists April 2000 crimes in the United States August 2000 crimes in the United States Deaths by stabbing in the United States May 2000 crimes in the United States Serial killers from Hawaii Unidentified American serial killers Unidentified American rapists Unsolved murders in Hawaii Violence against women in Hawaii Year of birth unknown