(eerie music) - [Narrator] What is up, EWU Crew? Today, we are going to
be covering three stories of a few of the world's
youngest serial killers. Buckle up because these
shockingly true stories are bound to give you nightmares. If you enjoy true crime,
mysteries, and true stories, be sure to hit the like
button and subscribe. Now let's get into it. The first case we will be covering in today's video is that
of Harvey Miguel Robinson. Harvey was born on December 6th, 1974 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father, unfortunately,
was an alcoholic who was constantly quick to anger. Especially within the
walls of his own home. Mr. Robinson's physical
and verbal assaults on his wife eventually led Mrs. Robinson to leave both him and Harvey behind in search of her own safety. As he was left alone with his father, Harvey had a remarkably rough childhood. Throughout the course of his
early life and adolescence, the constant maltreatment
that Harvey faced at his father's hand resulted in Harvey developing
anger issues of his own. With so much violence and
pent-up hatred in his life, it was evident by the time
Harvey was 17 years old that something about him
appeared to be inherently off. Perhaps if the people in Harvey's life had paid a bit more attention to his strange and malicious
tendencies as a boy, someone could've prevented
the shocking events that would later come. In August of 1992, the violence in Harvey's life reached a limit. In fact, it overflowed.
(eerie music) When 29 year old Joan Burghardt got home from a long
shift as a nurse's aide in East Allentown, she was relieved beyond belief
to finally relax in bed. Joan was an aspiring nurse who had studied at Lehigh
County Community College in the years leading up to 1992. As a recent graduate,
she had begun new hobbies that involved joining a local
art museum and a hiking club to take up her spare time outside of work. Exhausted from the day's events, Joan found that she could
barely keep her eyes open once she was in bed.
(eerie music) In fact, she was able to bypass her usual insomnia completely and slip into a peaceful
sleep within moments. Unfortunately for Joan, she had no idea what kind of
monsters were lurking around in the darkness of the night
she believed to be so peaceful. As she slept, Joan was entirely unaware that she had unwelcome
company in her home. None other than
17-year-old Harvey Robinson had managed to silently
break into Joan's house. And before she was even
aware of his presence, Harvey was already inside her bedroom. Harvey assaulted Joan and then proceeded to quite literally bludgeon her to death. Just like that, Harvey
became a violent murderer and his killing spree had just begun. (eerie music) In the weeks following after
Joan Burghardt's murder, local officials were able to
swiftly track down Harvey. They found evidence that he
had broken into Joan's home in the weeks prior to killing her. Despite knowing that Harvey was guilty of burglarizing Joan's
home before her death, the investigators had no reason to believe that his burglary
was associated with the murder. But, in fact, he had been
stalking Joan before he struck. Though Harvey was
arrested for the burglary, he only ended up going to prison for a total of eight months.
(eerie music) Those eight months served as a buffer that prevented Harvey from
continuing his killing spree. But then he got out. In June of 1993, Harvey found
himself once again looking to continue what he had just started. On a clear June morning,
just like any other, 15-year-old Charlotte Schmoyer was on her daily newspaper
route for the Morning Call when her path collided with Harvey. Harvey convinced
Charlotte to come with him and successfully abducted her. After taking her to a nearby wooded area, Harvey assaulted Charlotte
before ultimately stabbing her over 20 times until she
drew her last breath. (eerie music) Later that afternoon, one of Charlotte's regular customers noted that they had seen
Charlotte's car parked outside their house, but had not seen her at all. Knowing that Charlotte
would never willingly leave her vehicle unattended, they decided to call into
Charlotte's workplace to report their concern. The Morning Call also felt
that something was wrong with Charlotte because they
hadn't heard from her either. And so they contacted
the local law enforcement to report that the 15 year
old appeared to be missing. Just hours later, Charlotte's
body was found near where she had been abducted.
(eerie music) Almost immediately
following his brutal murder of Charlotte Schmoyer, Harvey was actually pulled
over by a police officer. Nervous to face the
consequences of his actions, Harvey accepted that he had been caught and anticipated his arrest.
(eerie music) However, the officer simply
handed Harvey a speeding ticket and let him go on his way.
(eerie music) Having once again got away with murder, Harvey felt unstoppable. And he refused to quit while he was ahead. In July of 1993, just one month after murdering Charlotte, Harvey struck once more. While her entire family
slept safe and sound in the comfort of their
shared family home, 47-year-old Jessica Jean Fortney
found herself face to face with a young serial killer. Harvey Robinson mercilessly
attacked Jessica in her own home, forcefully assaulted her,
and beat her to death. Harvey even left her body for her family to eventually
find in the morning. While investigators searched
for the killers responsible for Joan, Charlotte,
and Jessica's murders. They had no idea that they
were looking for just one man, responsible for all of the heinous crimes. And yet Harvey was far from
satisfied with his crime spree. Over the course of nearly a week, Harvey stalked a five-year-old girl who he had intended to
take as his next victim. When Harvey finally determined that he had found the
proper time to strike, he broke into the girl's
family home and attacked her. Harvey brutally assaulted the child in the same way he had with
all of his previous victims. This time he decided to choke
the young girl to death, or rather he had intended to do so. The child fell unconscious and Harvey believed that she was dead. So, just like Jean Fortney, he left her limp body to be
discovered by her family. By some miracle, the girl actually managed to
survive the horrific attack. And when her parents found her, she proceeded to tell them
exactly what had occurred. Just weeks later, Harvey
broke into the home of another woman by the
name of Denise Sam-Cali. Harvey attempted to assault Denise, but was unsuccessful as she fought back and was able to break free from his grasp. Having escaped Harvey's hold on her, Denise ran outside only to find that Harvey was still on her heels. He once again tried to subdue her, but Denise refused to
go down without a fight. And, eventually, Harvey
gave up and fled the scene. (eerie music) After reporting the attack
to local authorities, Denise actively worked with the police to assist them in their investigation. Assuming that Harvey would come back to finish what he had started, police used Denise as bait to trap Harvey and catch him red handed. And, fortunately, it worked like a charm. (eerie music) After she had gotten away, Harvey had started stalking Denise, waiting to finish off his attack. Just days after he first
tried to assault and kill her, police watched as Harvey once again approached Denise's home. Swiftly, officers attempted to arrest him, but Harvey had come to
Denise's house armed. And he pulled a gun on the police officers and abruptly opened fire on them. Police responded with
gunfire of their own, which wounded Harvey, but not enough to stop him from escaping. (eerie music) Fortunately, Harvey ended up needing significant medical attention as a result of his wounds. He ended up checking himself into a nearby hospital
where officers were able to locate him just hours later. At Harvey's trial, the prosecution was able to connect Harvey to his three murders and
two attempted murders by presenting matching DNA that had been collected at
each of the crime scenes. At Harvey Robinson's trial, District Attorney James
B. Martin noted quote, "These were horrific killings "and I just thought the
death penalty was appropriate "under the circumstances. "I still think it's appropriate." Harvey Robinson was
ultimately sentenced to death and received two additional life sentences for the assaults and
serial murders he committed at the age of 17. As of 2021, Harvey is 46 years old and is still imprisoned on death row. To date, he is one of the youngest serial
killers in American history. His crimes were later
used as an inspiration for a character featured in
the show "Criminal Minds." The next case we have for you today is that of
15-year-old James Fairweather. James Fairweather was
born on August 5th, 1998 in Colchester, Essex.
(eerie music) His parents, Anita and James
Sr. loved their son dearly and wanted to ensure that
their small, little family would live a quaint and normal life. Growing up, James was
described by teachers as quote, "Well behaved and sensitive
to the needs of others." Unfortunately, the quiet behavior that James had been known for would eventually end up
taking a turn for the worse. Throughout his academic career, James became a rather noteworthy bully. As he claimed that he had feared that he would be bullied himself. James would often get into trouble and ended up blaming anyone
and everyone around him for his own bad behavior. Various reports from
James's school demonstrated that other bullies often teased
James for having larger ears and many would even
referred to him as Dumbo. But the bullying was only a piece of James's rather dark side.
(eerie music) Perhaps the most chilling part of James's childhood was the fact that he often claimed that
his only career aspiration was that he wanted to become a murderer. He had actually grown to have
a rather disturbing obsession with serial killers, including the Yorkshire
Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe. When James's grandmother passed away, the building rage he constantly
felt toward the world seemed to significantly amplify.
(eerie music) Shortly after her passing,
James committed his first crime when he robbed a store at knife point. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to one year of youth supervision. Unfortunately, small, semi-violent crimes were not enough to
satisfy James Fairweather. When James was only 15 years old, he decided to push the limits on what he believed he
was capable of doing. (eerie music)
So on March 29th, 2014, he managed to sneak out
of his parents' home. He had armed himself with gloves and was wielding a knife, in search of anyone unfortunate enough to come across his path.
(eerie music) Mere moments into his walk James approached a 33-year-old
man named James Attfield, who had been asleep at the
moment James spotted him. Attfield had spent the evening
drinking with his friends and had overdone it, which led to him inevitably passing out in a field and Colchester Castle Park. When James realized that
Attfield was unconscious, he decided to make
Attfield his first victim. With the knife he had brought with him, James stabbed Attfield in
the abdomen, head, and face. According to the later autopsy, James had stabbed him
a staggering 102 times. Then, believing that he
heard someone coming, James fled from the scene and ran straight home.
(eerie music) Though James arrived home
around 2:30 in the morning, Attfield's body was not discovered until over three hours later.
(eerie music) When authorities found Attfield, they quickly rushed him
to a nearby emergency room but he was pronounced dead at 6:31 AM. Attfield was a father of five children and had lived with permanent brain damage after a car accident he had been in years prior to his murder.
(eerie music) According to his autopsy, Attfield had a variety of defensive wounds on his arms and hands, leading investigators to believe that he had been conscious enough to try to fight James
off during the attack. As part of the investigation
into Attfield's death, James was actually interviewed
by police as a suspect. But he had a solid alibi, saying that he had been home at the time. And as no one could say otherwise, all suspicion moved on.
(eerie music) Just like that, James Fairweather got away with his first murder at the age of 15. Just months later, on June 17th, 2014, James, once again, found himself looking to take another life. This time, James was far
bolder in his attack. This time, he decided to
strike in broad daylight. As a 31-year-old college
student, Nahid Almanea, was walking to her university
at 10:30 in the morning. She had no idea what kind of
dangers were lurking nearby. James managed to sneak up behind Nahid and stab her in the back
with a bayonet knife, before spinning her around and knocking the
sunglasses off of her face. Then James stabbed both
of her eyes until she fell to the ground and obtained
a massive skull fracture. James stabbed her an
additional nine times, fracturing Nahid's rib
before he fled the scene. (eerie music)
After two disturbing murders, Essex police were on high alert and ended up questioning
around 70 local residents who had been known to have a history of knife related-crimes.
(eerie music) Once again, including James himself. But he, again, had an alibi and he was not questioned any further. By January of the following year, Essex police had located
and interviewed more than 900 potential witnesses to both Attfield and Nahid's murders. Perhaps the most confusing
aspect of the two killings was that Attfield and Nahid
had been two complete strangers with no connection to each other. Considering the fact that
they had both been killed at different times of the day, investigators had first assumed that there could have been
two separate individuals responsible for their deaths.
(eerie music) Eventually, however, it was determined that, though both victims
were selected randomly, Attfield and Nahid were
killed by the same person. James did not attempt another murder for well over a year
after he had killed Nahid because the local police and
residents were on high alert. In fact, the community even went so far as to remove brush and
bushes from local parks and areas where the
victims had been selected. (eerie music)
On May 27th, 2015, James was seen loitering around
bushes early in the morning in a manner that raised suspicion
and the local dog walker who had spotted him. As a result, the woman
called the police right away, leading officers to take
James in for an interview. At the time police located him, he had been wearing rubber
gloves and had a knife on him. (eerie music)
He was immediately arrested and taken in for questioning
regarding his potential roles in the recent Colchester stabbings. When authorities looked closer
into James's background, they found that he had
been completely obsessed with documentaries about serial killers and had even told his
psychiatrist that quote, "Voices were telling him to burn babies "and maim prostitutes." His psychiatrist later
said that she believed that the documentaries he watched and violent video games he played could have desensitized
him to the idea of murder. In the following interrogation,
executed by Essex police, James recounts the night
he murdered Attfield, asserting that the voices in
his head ordered him to do it. - Like, 'cause my voices
was talking to me. You need to make a sacrifice or we're gonna come and get you. You need to do it. And I saw him. He was layin' on the grass, like that. Just like that. Just fast asleep. I swear he was drunk. Then he goes, you're the one,
he's the one, he's the one. Do it. Do it. So I went up to him. Can I stand up?
- Yes. - Went up to him. Stood over like that. So I stabbed him first there. And I done it a few times. While I was doing that, my voices were laughing and laughing and
laughing, louder and louder. - [Narrator] After his arrest, James's name was not
disclosed to the public, as he was a minor at
the time of his crimes. But he nonetheless went to
trial denying the two charges of murder and possession
of an illegal weapon. Instead, James admitted to
two counts of manslaughter, but also asserted that he had psychosis. His psychosis was not confirmed by the court psychiatrist. Though all four psychiatrists who looked into James's mental state agreed that James had an autistic
spectrum disorder. James was found unanimously
guilty on April 22nd, 2016 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 27 years for the atrocious
murders he had committed. One of Essex's youngest
killers remains imprisoned and is now 22 years old. (eerie music) Finally, the last case we have for you may be one of the most
shocking cases of child killers the world has ever seen. The story of Craig Price. Craig Price was born and raised in the Buttonwoods neighborhoods
of Warwick, Rhode Island in a small working class family. As a teenager, Craig was
often described as quote, "A hulking teenage football
player with a baby face "and a winsome smile who
lived with his parents "in a small ranch house
in the Buttonwoods." Though most serial killer cases include some level of trauma, paired with heightened mental issues, there was nothing particularly significant about Craig's childhood that would ultimately
influence his later actions. Perhaps that is what makes Craig's behavior
all the more chilling. (eerie music) In July of 1987 when Craig
was only 13 years old, something inside of him appeared to have shifted dramatically. On the night of July 27th, Craig set out to do something
he had never done before. He wanted to kill.
(eerie music) With a rather basic plan
created and a victim selected, Craig set out in the middle of the night, intent to break into the home of one of his neighbors who lived just two doors
down from his own house. After letting himself
into the home with ease, Craig quickly went into the kitchen and armed himself with a single knife from the homeowner's kitchen set. Then, he snuck into the bedroom of 27-year-old Rebecca
Spencer where she slept. Sealing his fate and Rebecca's, Craig proceeded to stab
the young woman 58 times until she drew her last breath. Craig swiftly vacated the premises and snuck back into his own
home, virtually undetected. Even with his lack of life experience and status as a 13-year-old boy, Craig managed to thoroughly clean himself and ensure that there would
be no evidence left behind that could potentially connect
him to Rebecca's murder. The initial investigations
into Rebecca's death went cold in the months following the attack. In fact, it was completely
unsolved for two whole years. And Craig managed to fly under the radar and avoid any and all suspicion. Thrilled by the feeling of success, Craig was satisfied with his first murder. And, though he was
determined to kill again, he found it best to wait
before striking again. So two years later, when
Craig was just 15 years old and a freshman in high school, he decided to test his luck once more. Or, rather, three times more.
(eerie music) On September 1st, 1989, Craig was high on both marijuana and LSD
and itching for a thrill. So he stuck to what he was familiar with and set out into his neighborhood in search of a home to
infiltrate in the same fashion that he had previously
done to Rebecca's home. Having faced various
racially charged situations in his youth, Craig decided it would only be appropriate to attack one of the white households in his neighborhood as a sort of revenge. Silently, Craig broke into the home of 39-year-old Joan Heaton, while she and her two
daughters, Jennifer and Melissa, were sound asleep. Stumbling upon Joan's room first, Craig stabbed the single mother 57 times before leaving her to bleed out. He then found 10-year-old Jennifer, who he stabbed 62 times until
he was certain she was dead. Finally, he crushed the skull
of eight-year-old Melissa before stabbing her a total of 30 times. Police noted that the stabbings had been so incredibly brutal that Craig had actually broken the handles off of the knives, leaving the blades inside the bodies of his victims.
(eerie music) As the brutality of the
murders was so significant, local law enforcement was quick to associate the Heaton and family murders with Rebecca's earlier murder. In response to the killings,
the FBI was called in to profile what everyone assumed to be a cunning serial killer. What they failed to consider was that the serial killer on their hands was a 15-year-old boy.
(eerie music) In fact, the only reason that
Craig was even caught was that a particularly observant
detective had noticed Craig in the neighborhood and realized that he had
some noticeably deep cuts on his hands.
(eerie music) Officials quickly took
Craig in for questioning, where the boy openly and proudly admitted to committing the murders
on his own accord. At the time of his official arrest, Craig was considered the
youngest serial killer in the history of the United States. As a result of his intense crimes, Craig gained the nickname
the Warwick Slasher and was considered a poor
candidate for rehabilitation. At his trials, Craig was charged with the murder of Rebecca,
Joan, Jennifer, and Melissa and was incarcerated until his
21st birthday for his crimes. While imprisoned, Craig
refuse to stay out of trouble and was additionally charged
with criminal contempt for refusing a psychological evaluation, extortion for threatening
a corrections officer, and assault and violation of probation for fights while in prison. As a result, he was sentenced to an additional 10 to 25, which he is still in
the process of serving at Florida State Prison.
(eerie music) Just like Harvey Robinson,
Craig Price's murders inspired an unsub character
on "Criminal Minds." As crazy as these three cases may be, they are not the only horrifying cases of the youngest serial
killers in the world. In fact, these cases are
barely scratching the surface. Keep your eyes peeled for the second video in this short series,
(eerie music) where we dive into the stories of three more equally
chilling individuals. And remember, trust no one. The most terrifying monsters in life are often the ones who walk among us. Even the ones who seem the most innocent.
