303:. Angered, he confronted them both and an argument ensued, causing Fitzsimmons to grab a hunting knife and stab DeAlton twice in the heart. He then turned towards Euphresia, whom he cornered in the kitchen and stabbed to death. He then got into their car and drove to a sandwich shop in Buffalo, where he called his lawyer and told him what had happened, saying that he wanted to go back to the Buffalo State Hospital. He then sat on the curb and waited for police to take him in.
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and that at the time of the murders, he was supposedly out on a walk. The latter claim was disputed by a tape-recorded interview with
Buffalo police officers on the day of his arrest, in which he explicitly said that he had just killed his aunt and uncle. The case also drew attention due to the actions of his attorney, who left mixed impressions on the jurors for a variety of reasons.
315:, was officially charged with the Nicholses' murders by a grand jury. Shortly after his arrest, his wife officially filed for divorce, in addition to a lawsuit for battery. Using his inheritance money, Fitzsimmons hired famed lawyer F. Lee Bailey as his attorney, with one of his first actions being a request for a
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At the trial itself, psychiatrists were called on both the defense and prosecution's side to testify their findings. While it was supposed that Bailey's defense team would proceed with an insanity defense, this was temporarily hampered by
Fitzsimmons himself, who claimed that he was not mentally ill
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by the judge and ordered to be interned at the
Buffalo State Hospital, thus acquitting him of murder charges. This decision caused further controversy when it was announced that he could be legally eligible to inherit his parents' $ 123,000 estate, as he was technically considered innocent under the
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After a failed attempt by his lawyer to persuade him to go back to the mental hospital, Fitzsimmons moved in with his aunt and uncle, Euphresia and DeAlton
Nichols, both 80, in Roulette, Pennsylvania. With each passing day, his paranoid delusions grew worse and worse, with him eventually coming to
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After spending less than three years in psychiatric care, a panel of doctors declared that
Fitzsimmons "no longer posed a danger to society" due to his exemplary behavior, and released him. Shortly afterwards, he and his wife Beverly, whom he had met in the mental hospital, moved to a house in
270:, where he wrote a telegram to a bank in Buffalo, asking that money be transferred into his bank account. As the employees had already been notified that a warrant was issued for his arrest, they notified the police, who subsequently apprehended Fitzsimmons.
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On
January 12, 1969, Fitzsimmons got into an argument with his parents over attending church, causing him to fly into a rage and bludgeon both of them using a souvenir tomahawk and karate chops. He then stole one of his father's cars and fled to
214:, the only child of William and Pearl Fitzsimmons (nÊe Tate). Little is known about his childhood and upbringing, aside from dropping out of college during his teens. Shortly thereafter, Fitzsimmons joined the
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346:, where he initially proved to be a problematic inmate, but over the years, he became a recluse who often muttered to himself. Fitzsimmons spent the remainder of his life at the institution, and died of
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Despite Bailey's efforts to convince the jurors that his client was insane, Fitzsimmons was found guilty, convicted and subsequently sentenced to two life terms. He was interned at the medium-security
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295:. Mere weeks later, Fitzsimmons beat up his wife so severely that she had to be hospitalized, but was only convicted of simple assault since she did not want to press charges against him.
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After he was extradited back to New York, he was charged with two counts of murder, after presiding
Justice Edward Robinson denied his attorneys' requests that the charges be reduced to
245:, but eventually quit and moved back in at his parents' apartment in Eggertsville, New York, where he became known by locals for his expertise in karate and his love for weightlifting.
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the conclusion that his aunt and uncle were trying to poison him by lacing his food with
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in 1973, after being previously deemed insane for the 1969 murders of his parents in
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in 1999. Decades after his death, Bailey, who by then worked as a law consultant in
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194:. At Fitzsimmons' subsequent trial, in which he was represented by famous attorney
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In an attempt to improve his condition, Fitzsimmons' parents sent him to the
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691:. Wellsville Daily Reporter. February 17, 1975 – via Newspapers.com.
534:. Morning Times. January 22, 1969. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
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625:. Latrobe Bulletin. November 19, 1973 – via Newspapers.com.
327:. This request was granted, and the trial location was moved to
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Two days after his arrest, Fitzsimmons, who was held without
222:, where he took a keen interest in learning and practicing
520:. January 22, 1969. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
226:. However, at the same time, he developed an addiction to
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Murder, an
Analysis of Its Forms, Conditions, and Causes
724:. Potter Leader-Enterprise – via Newspapers.com.
709:. Potter Leader-Enterprise – via Newspapers.com.
658:. Potter-Leader Enterprise – via Newspapers.com.
739:"Famous attorney breaks silence on local murder case"
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277:. At his subsequent trial, however, he was ruled a
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793:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
469:. EndeavorNews. November 15, 2008. Archived from
643:. November 20, 1973 – via Newspapers.com.
611:. December 24, 1970 – via Newspapers.com.
532:"Karate Expert Sought in Deaths Of His Parents"
514:"Karate Expert Sought in Deaths Of His Parents"
656:"George Fitzsimmons Is Indicted By Grand Jury"
591:. January 29, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
573:. January 26, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
555:. January 24, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
741:. EndeavorNews. July 16, 2011. Archived from
585:"County Natives Are Victims Of Double Murder"
286:Release, move to Pennsylvania and new murders
8:
843:Prisoners who died in Pennsylvania detention
623:"Police Arrest Man In Deaths Of Aunt, Uncle"
420:. Oxford University Press. pp. 11â16.
368:List of serial killers in the United States
202:, which he served until his death in 1999.
186:convicted of killing his uncle and aunt in
823:People convicted of murder by Pennsylvania
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858:Serial killers who died in prison custody
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467:"ROULETTE MURDERS: 35 YEARS HAVE PASSED"
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441:
416:Charles Patrick Ewing (April 7, 2008).
340:State Correctional Institution â Dallas
62:State Correctional Institution â Dallas
813:People acquitted by reason of insanity
603:"Gains 123G Estate Of Parents He Slew"
418:Insanity: Murder, Madness, and the Law
319:to a larger metropolitan area such as
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848:Serial killers from New York (state)
549:"Son Charged In Slaying His Parents"
198:, he was convicted and sentenced to
818:American people acquitted of murder
788:American people convicted of murder
803:Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania
488:"George Kearon Joseph Fitzsimmons"
397:Gerhard and Clifford Falk (1990).
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722:"Bailey Leaves Mixed Impressions"
853:Serial killers from Pennsylvania
669:Matt Leone (December 20, 1974).
654:Lois Kerry (December 26, 1973).
637:"Former Inmate Found in Buffalo"
176:George Kearon Joseph Fitzsimmons
33:George Kearon Joseph Fitzsimmons
16:Convicted American serial killer
798:Criminals from New York (state)
773:20th-century American criminals
178:(May 7, 1936 â 1999), known as
66:Jackson Township, Pennsylvania
1:
828:People from Buffalo, New York
720:Paul Heimel (July 23, 1975).
705:Paul Heimel (July 16, 1975).
307:Trial, imprisonment and death
385:Matter of Fitzsimmons (1970)
689:"Murder trial site changed"
677:– via Newspapers.com.
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671:"Bailey wants trial moved"
354:, discussed the case with
833:People with schizophrenia
675:Wellsville Daily Reporter
401:. McFarland. p. 10.
293:Coudersport, Pennsylvania
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589:Potter Leader-Enterprise
571:Press & Sun-Bulletin
567:"Suspect Held In Murder"
256:Attleboro, Massachusetts
77:"The Karate Chop Killer"
778:American male criminals
707:"Psychiatrists Testify"
266:, but first stopped in
783:American male karateka
494:. Ancestry Institution
279:paranoid schizophrenic
235:Buffalo State Hospital
192:Eggertsville, New York
188:Roulette, Pennsylvania
180:The Karate Chop Killer
58:October 1999 (aged 63)
745:on December 28, 2021.
473:on December 28, 2021.
218:and was stationed in
79:"The Buffalo Ripper"
608:New York Daily News
373:List of familicides
127:Span of crimes
107:Life without parole
96:First degree murder
641:The Ithaca Journal
268:Altamont, Illinois
182:, was an American
23:George Fitzsimmons
200:life imprisonment
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154:Pennsylvania
768:1999 deaths
763:1936 births
241:at a local
43:May 7, 1936
808:Parricides
757:Categories
553:The Record
436:References
408:0899504787
329:Greensburg
325:Pittsburgh
206:Early life
98:(2 counts)
39:1936-05-07
249:Parricide
239:lifeguard
131:1969â1973
492:Ancestry
362:See also
150:New York
145:State(s)
301:arsenic
264:Arizona
260:Chicago
136:Country
118:Victims
113:Details
498:4 June
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348:cancer
224:karate
68:, U.S.
49:, U.S.
352:Maine
282:law.
220:Korea
500:2023
422:ISBN
403:ISBN
321:Erie
313:bail
243:YMCA
216:Army
55:Died
29:Born
342:in
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262:or
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