The terrifying fictional killer Buffalo Bill from the Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs has a chilling real-world counterpart. The character is widely believed to be based on the horrific crimes of Gary Heidnik, a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer from Philadelphia who kept six women chained in a pit in his basement.
The House of Horrors on North Marshall Street
Heidnik's reign of terror began in November 1986. He kidnapped his first victim, a sex worker, after agreeing to a $20 transaction. At his home, he choked her unconscious and took her to the basement. There, she was shackled and forced into a hole he had dug in the floor. Over the following months, five more women, all aged between 18 and 25, would join her in the subterranean prison.
The captives were subjected to repeated beatings and sexual assaults. Heidnik kept them alive on a minimal diet of store-brand pet food and would force them to beat each other. The basement became a torture chamber where the women were chained to a pipe.
Deaths, Dismemberment, and a Sickening Smell
Tragically, two of the women did not survive. Sandra Lindsay was hung by her arms as punishment for three days until she died. Another victim, Deborah Dudley, was electrocuted by Heidnik. The killer then dismembered Lindsay's body. Survivors reported hearing the sound of an electric saw, followed by a terrible odour that lingered for days.
Neighbours had long complained about a sickening smell emanating from Heidnik's house. One neighbour, Doris Zibulka, repeatedly called the authorities. When she confronted Heidnik, he dismissed it, saying, "I've been cooking. Maybe you just don't like my cooking." Even a police officer who visited the property was told the smell was a burnt roast and left without investigating further.
His lawyer, Chuck Peruto, later revealed gruesome details, stating, "Heidnik was cooking the girl's head, and was getting ready to get rid of certain body parts, because he didn't want anybody to be identified."
The Escape and Grisly Discovery
Heidnik was finally caught in March 1987 after he took one of his captives, Josefina Rivera, out to find another victim. She convinced him to let her go alone, then fled to a phone booth and called the police. Officers responding to her "bizarre tale" descended on Heidnik's fortified home, which had metal doors and barred windows.
Inside, they found what the media would dub the "house of horrors." In the basement, three surviving women were found chained in the pit, screaming, "We're saved!" Police also opened a freezer to discover human body parts. Another victim's remains were found buried in a remote area.
At his trial, the defence attempted to have Heidnik declared legally insane, a claim undermined by the fact he had amassed over $500,000 through savvy investments. He was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, six counts of kidnapping, and five counts of rape. Sentenced to death, Gary Heidnik was executed by lethal injection in Pennsylvania on July 6, 1999, the last man to be executed in the state.
Sandra Lindsay's sister, Tracey Lomax, later said she wished Heidnik had remained in prison to be haunted by his victims, stating his death was "so much easier than his victims'." While author Thomas Harris has never officially confirmed the inspiration, the parallels between Heidnik's real-life dungeon and Buffalo Bill's fictional pit remain a stark and disturbing legacy of his crimes.
