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Samuel Little: US's deadliest serial killer who claimed 93 victims dies at 80, Internet says 'good riddance'

Little, who had 60 confirmed victims, had illnesses such as diabetes, heart trouble and others died at a California hospital

Samuel Little who is the most prolific serial killer in US history died in prison at the age of 80 on Wednesday, December 30. Little who had 60 confirmed victims had illnesses such as diabetes, heart trouble, and other ailments died at a California hospital, as per the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. At the time of his death, Little was serving three life sentences after being convicted of multiple counts of murder in 2014. 

According to the California corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters, there had been no sign of foul play and the cause of his death will be determined by a coroner. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had released a statement which said that Little was pronounced deceased on December 30 at 4:53 am. 

Corrections officials had said that he had been ill for a while while the official cause of death was not released. Little was serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder of three women in Los Angeles County in the 1980s. However, he also claimed responsibility for many more murders that had taken place all over the country which lead the FBI to dub him the 'most prolific serial killer' in US history. Eventually, Little had confessed to strangling around 93 women across the country between 1970 and 2005. 

It is believed that the crimes had taken place across 19 states with a majority of his victims in California and Florida. Before he was caught for the murders, he was always in and out of prison with the California authorities saying that he had served four years for assault with a deadly weapon in the mid-1980s. In 2018, he opened up to Texas Ranger James Holland who had been tasked with questioning him about a killing it turned out Little was not responsible for. However, during the 700 hours of questioning and interviews, Little did provide details of slayings that only the killer would know. 

He had even provided Holland with many sketches and artworks which he had done of his victims and in some cases had also scribbled their names when he could remember them along with details of the year he killed them and the location of the murder. He would also sometimes scribble where he had dumped the body. By the time he died, Little had confessed to killing around 93 people between 1970 and 2005. The authorities who investigated his claims say that they have been able to confirm around 60 killings but have no reason to doubt that the other murders. Almost all of Little's victims were women with many of them being prostitutes, drug addicts, or poor people who lived at the edge of society. 

MEAWW had earlier reported that he was born in Reynolds, Georgia on June 7, 1940, but he was raised by his grandmother in Ohio. Investigators believe that he may have been born in prison, while his mother, who he described as "a lady of the night" by the New York Times, was serving time. 

He has also claimed that he had been abandoned by his mother before being raised by his grandmother. His problems with the law started increasing between 1971 to 1974 and he is said to have been arrested for violent crimes like armed robbery, rape, theft, solicitation of a prostitute, aggravated assault on a police officer along with other charges in eight states.

As the news of his death spread, many social media users have taken to expressing their relief in the comments. One such user had written, "Good riddance. The world is a better place." Another wrote, "Well at least something good happened this year."

"Good! Another monster gone from this world," shared another.