Confronting a Serial Killer

In 2018,

Sam Little confessed

to 13 murders to me.

It left me, like, frozen.

Then he told me about a victim in Omaha

that was left in a barrel,

and I said, "Stop.

Say that again."

I wasn't trying to solve a murder.

I was just listening.

And I got that weird little detail

that helped law enforcement put the pieces together.

That was how they identified her.

It was Agatha White Buffalo.

Her murder is no longer a cold case.

Omaha police tell me it's officially classified now

as exceptionally clear.

That lit a fire in me

to try to identify more victims

before he dies.

So this is Audrey.

Did you ever ask Sam about Audrey?

My mother?

Yes.

How much do you wanna know?

I have a compulsion

or an obsession

because we have limited time.

It is a mission.

It's about these victims.

So are we rolling? We're going?

-Going? -Okay.

All right.

I'm Michael Connelly,

and this is Murder Book.

So I'm here with Jillian Lauren,

who is writing a book about Sam Little.

She's been talking to Sam.

She's, uh, elicited some of his confessions.

Right.

And I would daresay she may know more about Sam

than anybody other than Sam himself.

He's in prison,

but then, of course,

I was told by detectives

that they suspected there were many more murders,

many, many more victims

all across the country,

and, I, uh, was haunted by that idea.

What is it you're doing?

You're out there trying to solve cases.

Yeah.

I just wound up in this very strange position

where, uh, uh, I have the ear of this killer.

Mm-hmm.

Mr. Sam.

Can I ask you a couple of questions?

Most people don't interview killers

over the course of two years,

and I sort of speak Sam.

Yes.

You're the most important person to me,

and I am listening to you.

It's definitely a really expansive case,

and then also, there's this broader social context.

I think that Sam is a lot smarter

than he lets on,

and there is a big social aspect

to how he chose his victims.

So I wanna know what type of woman.

As a predator, I wanna know

how you knew.

I mean, and you're gonna pick

the weakest one, right?

Right.

Mm-hmm.

The FBI calls Samuel Little

America's most prolific serial killer.

If you want me to tell my secrets to you,

come down here and look me in my eye

while I do.

My deal with the devil is,

"You will not die alone if you tell me the truth."

I'm not gonna admit to those girls.

I don't believe you.

So you tell me the truth right now.

Little strangled 93 victims

between 1970 and 2005.

He was tried and got off

again and again and again.

Investigators believe

that Samuel Little killed more people

than serial killers Ted Bundy,

John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer combined.

If you weren't locked up,

I'd probably be dead by now.

You're right.

After Sam started confessing to me,

then it was like the floodgates opened,

and he told me about another one

and another one, another one.

And then I'm dealing with law enforcement,

and Texas Ranger James Holland

came into the picture.

He is the lead investigator on this now.

And it became a nationwide effort

to solve these cold cases.

All right, now, this-this one is later on,

around '91, '92.

Remember some young lady you dumped?

-See if she-- -Oh, ho, ho! God, yeah.

-What do you know? -I did that to her.

What do you remember about her?

Them eyes and that face.

Seventy-eight-year-old

Samuel Little [who the DA says] confessed to killing

Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa in 1994,

but that confession may be just one of many.

And then Sam's confessions

started to pile up.

Thirteen murders

turned into 23,

turned into 33.

His killing spree could span

19 states over three decades.

Sam was talking about all of these cold cases,

all of these murders that had been long unsolved

throughout the United States.

Now investigators

from Texas to Indiana to Arizona

who have interviewed Little

are considering their own cases.

Okay.

Investigators believe

that Samuel Little killed more people

than serial killers Ted Bundy,

John Wayne Gacy,

and Jeffrey Dahmer combined.

Ultimately,

Sam confessed to 93 murders.

Seventy-nine-year-old

Samuel Little, the most prolific serial killer

in U.S. history, according to the FBI.

Ninety-three women,

which is like--

that number is incomprehensible,

but that is the number of lives lost.

I always thought he was...

good for many.

I never thought...

that many.

It's mind-boggling.

He would've never gained that title

had the system dealt with him correctly,

so it just makes me sad.

He's the most prolific serial killer

in American history,

and I'm the only journalist he'll talk to,

and it's a great responsibility.

Little is in poor health, but he's still talking a lot

and drawing pictures.

Tonight time is running out to verify his confessions

and provide closure to the victims' families.

Do you remember one of your victims?

Her name is Daisy.

Sam explains to me

that he believes he owns the souls

of every one of his victims.

They belong to him.

"Mine," he says over and over.

He told them he loved them.

He told them they were his forever.

Sometimes he made them say it back to him

before he killed them.

Daisy.

She's from Houma, Louisiana.

You remember her?

Daisy's life was taken from her in 1996,

and her murder went unsolved for decades.

Mr. Sam,

do you remember anything about Daisy?

Right.

Do you think about the families

of the women who you murdered?

Mm-hmm.

The families are also Sam's victims.

I feel beholden to them,

and I also know

Daisy had a lot of family...

...who loved her

and who are still i-in a lot of pain.

I can see you. I can't hear you, though.

- I can see you. -Ah!

Can you hear me now?

Yes, ma'am.

For the most part, the families I've spoken to--

some of these cases have been cold for 30 years.

I feel incredibly moved

by my connection with these families,