True Crime Friday: Larry Dean Bright, the Bonecrusher serial killer

Larry Dean Bright was born July 8, 1966. He is a serial killer and has murdered at least eight women in Illinois. His reign of terror was between 2003 and 2004 before he was finally apprehended. He earned the moniker of the Bonecrusher because he would burn his victims’ bodies and then crushed their bones with a hammer. He could not cover up his crimes when four other victims’ bodies were found before he was able to burn them. Bright was convicted of eight murders and received eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The Early Childhood of Larry Dean Bright

Not much is known of Bright’s childhood. One can only guesstimate that it was probably dysfunctional. There have been a significant number of advancements that can assist with assessing whether a child will eventually become a serial killer. Authorities have access to large databases of those who commit serial homicides. There are predictive models to assist with these types of killers. Researchers are now beginning to develop models to help to predict who is likely to become a serial killer. The police can now interpret offending patterns to predict later offending behavior.

The Less Dead

Larry Bright began to spend a great deal of free time around sex workers. He was mostly interested in Black sex workers. Serial killers often will seek out the most vulnerable people to prey on, and sex workers are their favorite targets. It is believed that Larry Bright chose black women because the police were hostile to them. A Black sex worker name Vickie Bomar was attacked by Bright, but she managed to escape. After hearing about the attack on sex workers Bomar went to the police but since this attack happened five months before the bodies were found the police did not believe the victim.

Authorities checked her criminal history and felt she would not make a good witness. Authorities did investigate Bright and found at least six cases where he had acted aggressively toward Black women. Most people that read my articles are aware of the Less Dead. Here are a few highlights of how they are treated. There are systemic inequalities in how society values human life. It underscores the need for justice and media representation for all victims regardless of social status. Police and media bias allows crimes against marginalized groups to go underreported or unsolved.

The Victims of Larry Dean Bright

• Sabrina Payne
• Laura Lollar
• Linda K. Neal
• Barbara Williams
• Tamara Walls
• Shirley Ann Trapp
• Shaconda Thomas
• Brenda Erving

The Survivors of Larry Dean Bright

• Vickie Bomar
• Unknown Survivor

Lady Justice

Larry Dean Bright downfall happens when six bodies were discovered in rural Illinois. There were also reports of four other women missing in the area. A police tasks force was formed with at least thirteen officers assign to the cases of the missing or dead women. Neighboring law enforcement agencies also assisted in the investigations of the cases. Bright came under suspicion, after police arrested a sex worker for theft. While in the county jail, the woman offered to help investigators in exchange for a plea deal. Larry Bright was convicted of eight murders and received eight life sentences without the possibility of parole. He is serving his time in a maximum-security prison.

References

• Wikipedia - Larry Bright
• Serial Killer Database - Larry Dean Bright
• IMDB - Evil Lives Here
• Larry Bright: The Peoria Serial Killer and the Psychology of the “Hidden” Predator
• Larry Bright | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers