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since 1968 and was described as an unemployed former drug addict. Soto confessed to the 1973 slaying of
Cropper. His only surviving victim did say that Soto looked like his attacker but refused to positively identify him. Manhattan State Hospital officials stated that Soto was in their custody at the
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On March 9, 1972, eight-year-old
Douglas Owens was found dead, stabbed 38 times. His penis had been cut but not severed from his body. On April 20, another black youth was repeatedly stabbed; his genitals were severed from his body, although he survived his injuries. On October 23, nine-year-old
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child named Luis Ortiz was stabbed 38 times and likewise mutilated. Finally, on August 17, 1973, eight-year-old Steven
Cropper was repeatedly slashed with a razor on the roof of a tenement block. He bled to death from an injury to his arm, although his penis was left intact.
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Despite a lack of evidence, investigators still believe that he is a likely suspect, citing the fact that the murders ceased after his arrest and that an anonymous source placed him as a potential culprit on the first killing. However, due to his acute
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While the case is still considered an open one, Ernesto "Erno" Soto was held as a suspect and confessed to one of the murders, but was considered unfit for trial in
December 1976 and returned to a
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of a Puerto Rican boy on May 15, 1974, Ernesto Soto, 33, was arrested by the police while "babbling a religious slogan." He had been an intermittent patient at the
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and placed in a "non-secure hospital," despite continued violent behavior and Soto claiming he still felt the need to "sacrifice someone to God."
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time of the murder but also later confirmed that he might have escaped confinement, as it had happened before.
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All the victims of
Charlie Chop-off were male, and all but one of the attacks involved
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and used Miguel Rivera as a pseudonym for Soto. Since then, numerous authors, such as
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or Lane and Gregg, have erroneously cited the name as being that of the killer.
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known to have killed three black children and one Puerto Rican child in
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tenement block. His penis had also been severed from his body.
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In 1993, Soto's lawyers requested for him to be released from
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between 1972 and 1973. The assailant is also known to have
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SOTO Erno aka
Charlie Chopoff at the True Crime Library
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Wendell
Hubbard was stabbed to death on the roof of an
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568:Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters
478:Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters
402:"Slaying Suspect Is Tied to Deaths Of 3 More Boys"
35:One of several composite sketches released by the
163:or attempted genital mutilation of the victims.
376:"Link Hinted in Harlem and East Side Slayings"
253:List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
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532:. U.K.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing.
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258:List of serial killers in the United States
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642:Violence against men in the United States
551:. U.K.: Bonanza Books. pp. 270–271.
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549:Encyclopedia of Modern Murder: 1962-1982
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97:March 9, 1972 – August 17, 1973
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547:Wilson, Colin; Seaman, Donald (1988).
570:. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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637:Unidentified American serial killers
632:Serial killers from New York (state)
622:Child abduction in the United States
429:The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
356:The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
305:The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
277:The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers
186:On March 6, 1973, a nine-year-old
144:given to an unidentified American
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612:1972 murders in the United States
530:America's 14 Worst Serial Killers
503:"The Mysterious Charlie Chop-off"
221:Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center
216:, he is unlikely to stand trial.
522:Cited works and further reading
617:American murderers of children
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332:"A 'monster' may win freedom"
307:. New York: Checkmark Books.
528:Rockefeller, J. D. (2016).
465:– via newspapers.com.
418:– via newspapers.com.
342:– via newspapers.com.
50:The Pied Piper of Manhattan
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16:Unidentified serial killer
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303:Newton, Michael (2000).
205:Manhattan State Hospital
627:Murder in New York City
566:Vronsky, Peter (2004).
449:"The nightmare is back"
476:Vronsky, Pete (2004).
237:On the Track of Murder
607:1972 in New York City
501:Ramsland, Katherine.
480:. New York: Berkley.
507:TruTV Crime Library
454:New York Daily News
407:New York Daily News
154:attempted to murder
93:Span of crimes
39:of Charlie Chop-off
457:. February 2, 1993
380:The New York Times
334:. January 29, 1993
214:mental instability
199:After the botched
168:mental institution
161:genital mutilation
577:978-1-101-20462-7
558:978-0-517-66559-6
539:978-1-530-61924-5
436:978-0-747-23731-0
382:. August 20, 1973
363:978-0-747-23731-0
284:978-0-747-23731-0
156:one other child.
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45:Other names
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286:pp. 320–321
181:East Harlem
601:Categories
461:August 22,
338:August 23,
264:References
235:published
414:March 31,
231:In 1975,
201:abduction
195:Erno Soto
150:Manhattan
142:pseudonym
247:See also
116:New York
111:State(s)
174:Murders
140:is the
102:Country
84:Victims
79:Details
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572:ISBN
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388:2018
359:ISBN
340:2024
309:ISBN
280:ISBN
37:NYPD
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