A twisted murderer who inspired the film Silence of the Lambs once joked about the smell of his victim's head boiling on his stove. Gary Heidnik, who held six women captive in a pit in his basement, killed two before being caught.
Neighbour Doris Zibulka recalled the terrible stench coming from his home. When she asked about the smell, Heidnik replied, 'I haven't smelled anything. I've been cooking. Maybe you just don't like my cooking.' A police officer also investigated but left after Heidnik claimed he had burnt a roast.
Heidnik's crimes began in November 1986 when he kidnapped a woman, took her to his basement, and chained her in a pit dug in the floor. Over the next few months, he captured five more victims, all aged 18 to 25. He kept them alive on dog and cat food, beating and raping them repeatedly.
One victim, Sandra Lindsay, died after being hung by her arms for three days. Heidnik then cut up her body and boiled her head on the stove, causing the smell neighbours noticed. Another woman, Deborah Dudley, was electrocuted and buried in a remote area.
Heidnik was finally caught when he allowed a victim to go out alone to find another woman to kidnap. She escaped and called the police from a phone booth. Officers entered his home and found three women still chained in the basement pit.
