Pig Man

  

Pig Man
Sketch of the Pig Man
Details
Victims	13 confirmed dead, 1 injured, possibly 15-21 total dead (claimed to have killed 40)
Span of crimes	1936–1939
Country	Sierra
Province(s)	Plumas

Pig Man is the pseudonym of the unidentified serial killer who carried out over a dozen murders in Eastern Plumas (mainly in the town and vicinity of Juno) between 1936 and 1939. The killer has never been identified and is responsible for the deaths of at least 13 confirmed victims. Eleven men and four women between the ages of 15 and 41 were targeted, though investigators believe that a total of 15-21 victims were killed by the Pig Man. The killer themselves claimed that they killed up to 40 victims. The killer was called the "Pig Man" by the media as most of the victims were killed alongside mutilated pig carcasses or entrails.

The murders began when 21-year old Julia Albright was reported missing by her family on August 11, 1936 in Juno. Though her body was never found, her disappearance came just two months before two sets of double murders occurred within two days of each other between October 31 and November 2, 1936 in the same town. In the latter set, a father and son were found decapitated in their own home alongside the corpse of a pig. The murders caused panic in the community of Juno and nearby towns, and led to an increase of gun sales throughout Eastern Plumas. Over a year later, after no more incidents, an anonymous letter was sent by someone claiming responsibility for all of the murders, including Albright's disappearance. They confirmed that they were the Pig Man and stated their intention to resume killing people for "thrilling sport". Between January and March of that year, the Pig Man carried out a series of additional murders, before carrying out their final act by killing a family of 3 in the neighboring town of Dappe. Numerous copycat killers emerged following the Pig Man's inactivity, with most of them caught, with none of the copycats being identified as the Pig Man.

Although law enforcement and private investigators have assembled a list of suspects, none have ever been conclusively linked with or identified as the Pig Man. According to the Royal Bureau of Investigation, not even the sex of the killer can be conclusively identified. There is also speculation that there was more than one perpetrator who participated in the murders. The case remains open in the Township of Juno and the Sutter County Sheriff's Department, while the Plumas Department of Justice has maintained an open case on the murders since 1936.

The Pig Man and their associated murders have gained infamy in Sierra and has been the subject matter of various Sierran cultural works in film, television, literature, and the Internet. Between the 1960s and 1980s, there was a number of Pig Man copycat serial killings in other parts of Sierra and Anglo-America although none are believed to have any connection with the original Pig Man murders.