Charles Wilson Brooke

  

Charles Wilson Brooke
A photograph of Brooke taken in 1897
Born	Charles Wilson Brooke March 3, 1873 San Francisco City, San Francisco, K.S.
Died	December 5, 1903 Juno Provincial Penitentiary, Plumas, K.S
Other names	Doctor Death, Mr. Death, Sierra's First Serial Killer, The Devil of the Paris of the Pacific, The Northern Butcher
Occupation	Physician Businessman
Criminal status	Deceased (executed by hanging)
Conviction(s)	First-degree murder (x9) Attempted murder (x1) Attempted kidnapping
Criminal charge	Murder
Penalty	Death
Details
Victims	9 killed and confirmed; 14 suspected
Span of crimes	January 1, 1894–December 12, 1899 (confirmed)
Location(s)	San Francisco San Joaquin Plumas Tahoe
Date apprehended	January 5, 1900

Charles Wilson Brooke (March 3, 1873–December 5, 1903) was a Sierran serial killer who tortured and murdered a number of people in the Styxie region during the late 1890s. Although Brooke officially confessed to nine murders, it is widely believed by historians and law enforcement that Brooke had killed upwards to fourteen people during his murder spree. Infamously referred to as Doctor Death, Brooke is considered one of Sierra's first and prominent serial killers.

Born in into an aristocratic family in San Francisco City, Brooke attended the prestigious University of Sierra, Berkeley. During his childhood, Brooke developed an extremely "elitist" attitude and would be a strong adherent to social Darwinism. He would become a practicing physician in 1893 and began his practice in his hometown, using a former saloon as his office. Beginning in 1894, using his position as a physician, Brooke would lure a total of five victims into his office, where he would kill them and frequently used a trap door he personally developed that would send their bodies to his basement for further dismemberment. Brooke would continue to operate in San Francisco until 1896, when he fled the city after police became aware of the disappearances at his office.

Travelling across the Styxie, Brooke would commit four more murders before being captured in Sacramento. He would be charged with nine counts of first-degree murder and one count in both attempted murder and attempted kidnapping. After a very publicized trial, Brooke would be convicted and given the death penalty, being sent to the Juno Provincial Penitentiary in Plumas before being executed by hanging in 1903.

Brooke has been described as one of Sierra's first serial killers, though that title has been disputed in contemporary times. For a long period of time, it was believed that Brooke's victims were randomly selected. However, uncovered diaries and letters written by Brooke detailed a system were he would chose targets based on the appearance of their wealth and status, targeting those who appeared to be of lower class than him in a deluded effort to "purge" society of "parasites who feed upon the successes of those above them". Brooke's full diaries would be published alongside a psychological profile of him in 2003, a hundred years following his execution.

Biography

Charles Wilson Brooke was born on March 3, 1873 in San Francisco City. Brooke was born into an extremely wealthy family, with his grandfather being one of the first to discover gold during the Sierran Gold Rush and his father expanding that wealth through a number of business ventures. Brooke and his two older brothers would experience a especially privileged childhood and among his siblings, Brooke would receive the most attention from his parents. During his early teenage years, Brooke's privileged background would begin to seep into his social and world views, developing an elitist attitude and disdain, and later outright hatred, for those socially and economically below him. According to his journals recovered following his arrest, Brooke frequently referred to the impoverished citizens of San Francisco as "parasites" who, according to Brooke, were "leeching on society".

In 1890, Brooke would begin attending the University of Sierra, Berkeley, a prestigious university that is apart of the Pacific Ivy League. During his time at Berkeley, Brooke was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, eventually becoming its vice president. In 1892, Brooke was temporarily detained by local authorities after being accused of harassing other students. Despite admitting to harassing students "who don't belong here", he would be released a day later due to insufficient evidence. Studying to become a physician, Brooke would graduate from Berkeley in 1893, becoming a licensed physician in the same year. He would begin operating in San Francisco City near the end of 1893.