NY NY - Hudson River, 6 Males found dismembered in garbage bags “Bag Murders”, 1970s

[madamx]

Oh goodness, what a blast from the past! I definitely remember and even visited a handful of these! Fun times!

That first bar (Badlands) closing because two people were shot and killed inside in 1981 really does speak to the times. I don't remember the scene being like that in the 2010s.

Great point that any of the men could've been on business from out of town. Heck, same goes for the perpetrator(s)! Maybe that's why so many years have passed with no answers. If the perp was the one visiting, that might explain why the murders stopped so abruptly in 1977. He could've left the area and maybe continued elsewhere.

Yes love me those Old NYC blasts from the pasts too! Glad you enjoyed it! And I never thought of it the prep being from out of town also! Good call.. makes me wonder if there are any similar bag murders elsewhere around and after the time they stopped here.

 

[madamx]

So Today I came up with this article from the New York Times. I found interesting because it was from 1973 and I wonder if they are connected to the bag murders? I wonder if the unidentified guy was ever identified?

January 19, 1973

The discovery of the bodies of two young men floating in the Hudson River off Greenwich Village added yesterday to the fears of the homosexual community, already stunned by three recent murders of homosexuals in the area.

The police declined to link the two dead men found Wednesday with the three murders. One of the men found Wednesday off 23d Street was not identified; the other, found off Morton Street, had been identified earlier as Robben Borrero, 23 years old, a Queens College student.

No progress was reported in the investigation of the murders of Ronald Cabo, 29, of 234 Thompson Street, and Donald MacNiven, 40, and John P. W. Beardsley, 53, both of 11 Varick Street. All were found stabbed to death in their apartments, Mr. Cabo on Jan. and the other two on Jan. 8.

The police set up a special telephone, OR 4‐0770, for information about the crimes. Other special numbers were set up by the Gay Activists Alliance, 966‐6963, and the Mattachine Society, 691‐1068.

RIVER DEATHS RAISE HOMOSEXUALS' FEAR (Published 1973)

discovery on Jan 17 of 2 bodies in Hudson River off Greenwich Village adds to fears of homosexual community, already stunned by 3 murders of homosexuals in area; police, declining to link recent murders to others, identify 1 of bodies as R Borrero

www.nytimes.com

 

[madamx]

I came across this guy Craig Steven Chiarappa who often went to NYC

CT Post in thread 'CT - Craig Steven Chiarappa, 23, Middlefield, 11 Apr 1976'

Sep 27, 2023

Obituary for Angela CHIARAPPA (Aged 86) - Newspapers.com
Craig's mum, Angela Chiarappa died in 2016. Her husband is Elmer Chiarappa (died 2020), they came over from Italy in 1950 and owned a jewellery shop. Their children are David, Lori, Craig and Alan. Craig and Alan are both listed as deceased.
Angela Mancini Chiarappa (1929-2016) - Find a...
Elmer Emilio Chiarappa (1925-2020) - Find a Grave...

Alan Chiarappa (1955-1988) - Find a Grave...
Alan did die in 1988, aged just 33.

There are also a lot of articles about Craig playing sports and being involved in High...

• cheemsg

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[dotr]

Just found this thread so the article may already be posted, it includes info about a number of possibly related cases.
September 15, 2021

PATTERN IN A TRAIL OF DEATH

Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man …

www.courant.com

''Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man in Maine in 1973 — a potential suspect in similar dismemberment killings in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.''

 

[iamshadow21]

Just found this thread so the article may already be posted, it includes info about a number of possibly related cases.
September 15, 2021

PATTERN IN A TRAIL OF DEATH

Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man …

www.courant.com

''Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man in Maine in 1973 — a potential suspect in similar dismemberment killings in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.''

I mentioned Richard Rogers as a potential for this series of killings in February.

There are a book and a documentary series based on it, both called Last Call, about his known crimes. They're both worth the time, as they take slightly different angles to each other, and the documentary series has at least one excellent interviewee that was located and talked to only by them, the author hadn't located or known about her. The book won an Edgar.

MOO

 

[dotr]

Hopefully posting this lengthy article in the right spot..

5 Serial Killers Of Gays On Loose, Activists Say Groups Claim Investigations Of Gay Deaths Not As Thorough

Andrew Cunanan's suicide halted one of the nation's most lurid cases of serial murder. But from New Jersey to Virginia to Texas, the slayings of as many as 30 gay men or transvestites, which activists believe are the work of five serial killers, remain unsolved. In some cases, investigators...

www.spokesman.com

Aug. 4, 1997
"POSSIBLE HATE CRIMES Associated Press A list of serial killings that gay rights activists believe are hate crimes targeting gay men: New York metropolitan area: Dismembered bodies of five men found 1991-1994 in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rockland County, N.Y. Four victims last seen in Manhattan gay bars. Police link at least three of the killings. Victims are Peter Anderson, 54, Philadelphia; Thomas Mulcahy, Boston; Anthony Marrero, 44, hometown unknown; Michael Sakara, 56, New York City; Benjamin Rosario, 45, Bridgeport, Conn. Virginia: Twelve men who were homosexual or frequented gay hangouts in Chesapeake, Va., oceanside suburb of Norfolk, found strangled 1987-94 - Charles Smith, Joseph Ray, Stacey Reneau, John W. Ross Jr., Billy Lee Dixon, Reginald Joyner, Raymond Bostick, Robert Neal, Garland Taylor Jr., Samuel Aliff, Jesse James Spencer and Andre Smith. All from Norfolk area; all but Charles Smith found nude. Elton Jackson of Portsmouth, Va., scheduled to stand trial for Andre Smith murder next month. Texas: Larry David Allen, 38, Larry Leggett, 43, and Leopoldo Quintanilla Jr., 29, stabbed to death in 1994 in Irving, Texas. Police believe all were homosexual and frequented same bars in largely gay Dallas neighborhood. Denver: Four men - James Holman, 36, Benjamin Zesch, 61, Robert Ferrell, 57, Anthony Carr, 33 - found stabbed to death in same Denver neighborhood in 1992; each last seen in gay bar. Activists believe killings linked, but police say victims were killed with different knives and that witness accounts vary greatly. Atlanta: Six Atlanta men believed to be transvestites shot dead 1987-92. No arrests.''
Newly started thread..

D

CT Thread 'CT- Benjamin Rosario, 45, dismembered body found in 8 separate black garbage bags strewn throughout Bridgeport, Aug; 1994, *New initiative*'

Apr 24, 2025

April 24, 2025

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/bridgeport-park-city-confidential-benjamin-rosario-20290073.php

An evidence photo of a bag containing the remains of Benjamin Rosario in 1994. City police are focusing on Rosario's killing in the third installment of a cold case video series in the hope of gathering leads into the unsolved murder.
Courtesy of Bridgeport police

'BRIDGEPORT — The unsolved 1994 death of Benjamin Rosario, whose dismembered body police say was found in eight separate black garbage bags strewn throughout the city, is perhaps...

• dotr

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[madamx]

Just found this thread so the article may already be posted, it includes info about a number of possibly related cases.
September 15, 2021

PATTERN IN A TRAIL OF DEATH

Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man …

www.courant.com

''Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man in Maine in 1973 — a potential suspect in similar dismemberment killings in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.''

Richard Rogers was charged this week with killing two men and dumping their dismembered remains along highways in New Jersey. Police also consider Rogers — who was acquitted of killing a man in Maine in 1973 — a potential suspect in similar dismemberment killings in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.


MAINE

1973: Frederic Spencer


CONNECTICUT

1986: Jack Franklin Andrews

1994: Benjamin Rosario


NEW YORK

1993: Michael Sakara


NEW JERSEY

1992: Thomas Mulcahy

1993: Anthony Marrero

PENNSYLVANIA

1991: Peter Anderson


Police are investigating whether two grisly killings in Connecticut, in which the victims’ bodies were butchered and dumped in bags along highways, were the work of a suspected serial killer of gay men who may have prowled the Northeast for years



Thanks for the article with the timeline. I have suspected this guy too.

These bag murders are from the mid to late 70s….
What was this guy doing from 1973 to 1986??? Where was he