The depraved crimes of Gary Michael Heidnik, a killer whose actions are said to have inspired a famous cinematic monster, were matched only by his chilling nonchalance when questioned about the foul odours emanating from his Philadelphia home.
The Neighbour and the 'Cooking' Excuse
In a quiet neighbourhood, a terrible smell began to plague those living near Heidnik's property. Doris Zibulka, who lived next door, was so concerned she repeatedly contacted the authorities. One day, she confronted Heidnik directly. "I asked Gary about the smell," Zibulka later told Philadelphia Magazine. "He said 'I haven't smelled anything. I've been cooking. Maybe you just don't like my cooking.'"
Even when a police officer was called to investigate the stench, Heidnik remained unnervingly calm. The officer reported knocking for over ten minutes before peering through a rear window. "I could see a large pot. Something was overboiling, and the smell was twice as strong," he recalled. As the officer prepared to call for backup, Heidnik emerged, blaming a burnt roast he had fallen asleep cooking. Satisfied with the explanation, the officer left.
A Basement Dungeon of Torture
Behind the barred windows and reinforced doors of his home, Heidnik was orchestrating a nightmare. Between November 1986 and March 1987, he kidnapped six women, aged between 18 and 25. He imprisoned them in a self-dug pit in his basement floor, where they were shackled and subjected to repeated beatings and sexual assaults.
The women were kept alive on minimal rations, including store-brand pet food. Heidnik enforced a brutal regime, forcing his captives to beat each other. His punishments were sadistic. For the perceived crime of eating too slowly, he hung one victim, Sandra Lindsay, by her arms for three days until she died.
Another survivor recounted the aftermath: "Gary took her chain off, and he carried her body upstairs... Later on, we could hear a sound like an electric saw. Then we started to smell a terrible odour for like three or four days." Heidnik had dismembered her body, boiling parts on his kitchen stove.
A Narrow Escape and Grisly Discovery
Heidnik's reign of terror finally ended in March 1987, when he took one of his captives out to help him find another victim. She bravely convinced him to let her act alone, then immediately fled to a phone booth and called the police.
Officers responding to her "bizarre tale" rushed to Heidnik's address. Upon forcing entry, they were met with a scene from hell. Three emaciated women were found chained to a pipe in the basement pit, screaming "We're saved!". A search of the property revealed the full horror. Former police lieutenant James Hansen opened a freezer to find human body parts. Deborah Dudley, a second victim, had been electrocuted by Heidnik and buried in a remote area.
Tragically, an opportunity to stop Heidnik earlier had been missed. He had established his own church and held services at his home. One attendee had fled, reporting a woman was imprisoned in the basement, but the claim was dismissed as too far-fetched to be believed.
Trial and Execution
At his trial, Heidnik's defence attempted to prove he was legally insane. This argument was undermined by evidence of his shrewd financial mind; he had amassed over $500,000 through savvy investments. He was found guilty on all counts, including two charges of first-degree murder, six of kidnapping, and five of rape.
Gary Michael Heidnik was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on July 6, 1999. He remains the last person to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania. His case endures as one of the most shocking examples of domestic depravity, a story where a neighbour's complaint about a bad smell uncovered a house of unimaginable horrors.
