An Ohio Serial Killer May Have An Unusual Connection To A Netflix Series And The Zodiac Killer
By Nikki Rhoades|Published July 12, 2019
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Cleveland and its surrounding area abound with history, much of which has been made in the recent past. While many of our historic events are great and groundbreaking, others are truly terrifying – including the story of this convicted murderer who grew up in Akron and committed his earliest known murders right here in Ohio. Though we may never know the extent of his criminal activity, true crime fanatics speculate that his possible ties to other prominent murder cases – including some that have been featured in documentary series and TV shows – might just make him one of the most infamous serial killers in American history.
Charles Murray was born in Akron in 1933 and was destined to live a hard life from day one. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you may recognize his alias: Edward Wayne "Ed" Edwards.
Edwards’ mother took her own life early in his childhood and his tumultuous years in an orphanage were said to be rife with abuse. Though he traveled from place to place throughout his early adult life, it seems he never forgot his roots here in Northeast Ohio. Edwards returned to his home state in both 1977 and 1996.
How do we know this? Well, the bodies he left in his wake are tell-tale signs of his presence.
This once-tormented child became a murderer in his adult life, taking the lives of five confirmed victims, three of which were Ohioans.
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Billy Lavaco and Judy Straub (pictured below) were murdered in Norton, Ohio in 1977, and Dannie Boy Edwards (his adopted son) was killed in Burton, Ohio in 1996.
DNA evidence connected him to the Wisconsin victims and he confessed to all five murders in 2010. Edwards was on Death Row for the murder of Dannie Boy Edwards when he died of natural causes in 2011.
However, some believe that Ed Edwards took the knowledge of additional victims with him to his grave.
One of the most widely-know murder cases Edwards may have ties to is that of the infamous Zodiac Killer.
Edwards is known to have lived in Northern California during the 1960s, and his resemblance to sketches of the Zodiac Killer (pictured above) raised questions about his possible involvement in the mysterious murders. Edwards’ daughter later revealed her father’s obsession with the Zodiac Killer case, leading theorists to suggest that his interest may point to a more personal connection to the crimes. As some believe there is a connection between the Zodiac Killer and the JonBenet Ramsey case, Edwards may have had a hand in her murder as well.
If you think the suspicions end there, think again. According to some, Edwards may also have a connection to the crimes brought back into the spotlight by Netflix’s hit series Making A Murderer.
While Edwards was 72 at the time of Teresa Halbach’s death, he lived in the area where her murder took place and some point to a mysterious individual in the background of Episode 6 of Making A Murderer (just seconds after the 12:30 mark), claiming the figure bears a great resemblance to Edwards.
Opinions vary over whether or not there is any weight to the controversial claims of involvement in additional homicides, but there are certainly a few strange details about Edwards’ story that raise some eyebrows.
Prior to the 1977 murders, Edwards appeared as a guest on the shows "To Tell the Truth" and "What’s My Line?," and - perhaps the most compelling indication that the Ohio murders may not have been his first - wrote an autobiography titled "Metamorphosis of a Criminal," portraying himself as a reformed man, yet alluding to some oddly specific details of several unsolved murder cases in 1972… five years before the deaths of his first confirmed victims.
As Edwards passed away without confessing to or being charged with other murders, we likely won’t ever know if he played a role in other infamous cases. What we do know, however, is that Ed Edwards’ story has remained in the spotlight long after his death, earning mentions in documentaries, crime podcasts, books, and blogs from all around the world.
Communities just outside of Greater Cleveland certainly have their own stories to tell. What are your thoughts on Ed Edwards… could he be tied to more murders than he admitted?
