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Decades after committing a string of heinous murders, American serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards was apprehended when his own daughter turned him in due to deep-seated suspicions. As one of the most prolific serial killers, he confessed to five killings and is suspected to have committed many more. Some even say that Edward Edwards was the notorious Zodiac Killer.
His crimes were first revealed when his daughter, April, connected her father to a 1980 double homicide case in Watertown, Wisconsin that remained unsolved for years. A perfect DNA match led to an arrest, which was then followed by a series of shocking revelations. However, Edwards died in 2011 before receiving the ultimate death penalty.
To date, the cries of his victims remain in the theorized narratives of true-crime investigators who still believe in his involvement in some of the most infamous crimes of the past few decades. Living With a Serial Killer's upcoming episode is also scheduled to address the matter while it's still up for discussion. The episode, titled Edward Wayne Edwards, will air on Saturday, August 20, 2022.
Read on to learn more about serial killer Edward Edwards.
Five lesser-known facts about serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards
1) Edward Wayne Edwards allegedly endured abuse as a child
April Balascio, serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards' daughter, allegedly claimed that her father had a troubled past that began when he was two years old and witnessed his mother's suicide. He spent his early years in an orphanage, where he was mistreated and tormented for years.
Edwards was then inconsiderately dismissed from the army and eventually started engaging in criminal activities. He is believed to have served time in prison for committing crimes such as arson and robbery, but he managed to escape custody at least twice. After being molested as a child, Edwards turned into an abuser as a grownup. Sources state that he even stabbed his wife during a disagreement over potato chips.
2) He made it to FBI's 10 most wanted list
After being wrongfully discharged from the US Army, Edwards went on a criminal spree. He escaped from an Akron jail and vanished in 1955. During this time, he was charged with arson and for robbing gas stations. Edwards was even named as a suspect in a 1960 murder.
He ended up on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list as a result of his notoriety. Police finally managed to apprehend Edward Wayne Edwards, this time in Atlanta in 1961. He was found guilty and sentenced to time served before being granted parole in 1967.
3) Edward Edwards apparently changed his way during the '60s
Edwards Wayne Edwards claimed he had changed after spending time in prison for burglaries in the 1950s and 1960s as a con man. He asserted that the prison guard he met while serving time in a federal prison in Kansas changed his perspective after consecutive trips to jail.
Edwards ambitiously transitioned into a motivational speaker after that and undertook multiple speaking tours. Unsurprisingly, he continued to murder people in horrific ways, proving that he had not improved after all. The fact that he got married and had five children contributed to creating the impression that he was a dedicated family man. It goes without saying that this was not the case.
By the time the 1970s rolled around, Edwards had successfully recreated his image to the point where he was invited to appear on not one but two major game shows-To Tell the Truth and What's My Line?
4) He took pride in his crimes and "wanted the world to know it"
Edwards demonstrated no remorse when it came to his criminal activities and string of crimes. He robbed multiple gas stations in the western part of the country while on the run after escaping from the Akron jail. He didn't bother to hide his true identity considering that he was extremely proud of his exploits and loved the attention that came with them.
Throughout his autobiographical book titled The Metamorphosis Of A Criminal, Edwards stated that,
"I was Ed Edwards, master crook! And I wanted the world to know it."
5) People believe Edward Wayne Edwards was responsible for more killings
Edward Wayne Edwards has been positively linked to the deaths of five people since his confessions, though it's probable that he was responsible for significantly more unsolved deaths. Unsurprisingly, there are a ton of rumors and theories circulating online.
According to popular belief, it's possible that he was the one responsible for the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the child beauty queen, in 1996. Similar speculations have been made around the subject of the Zodiac Killer, who has become a household name. It's possible that Edwards was the infamous killer who terrified California during the time period in which he was most active.
To date, veteran investigator John Cameron claims that Edwards was one of America's worst serial killers and was accountable for more than 100 murders. He would reportedly kill his victims and then set someone else up to take the blame for the killings.
However, one of the most intriguing hypotheses is that he murdered Teresa Halbach, whose horrific death was featured in the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer. The internet has been rattled by Cameron's assertion that Edwards killed Halbach before accusing Steven Avery of the crime. Cameron reportedly stated:
"Every one of his murders was about setting anybody but him up. He did exactly what he did in the Avery case, all over the country."
Catch Edward Wayne Edwards' full story on Living With a Serial Killer this Saturday, August 20, at 9 pm ET on Oxygen.
