Anthony McKnight

Anthony McKnight (1954 - October 17, 2019), also known as The East Bay Slayer, was an American serial killer and rapist who attacked ten women in Oakland, California between October 1985 and January 1986, killing five of them. He was found guilty of these murders and sentenced to death, but died awaiting execution.[1]

Anthony McKnight
Born1954 (1954)
United States
DiedOctober 17, 2019(2019-10-17) (aged 64–65)
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, U.S.
Cause of deathUnspecified
Other names"The East Bay Slayer"
Conviction(s)Murder x5
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
September–December 1985
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Date apprehended
January 24, 1986

Early years

Little is known about McKnight's early life. He was born in 1954, and enlisted in the army in 1982. He was enlisted in the Navy and later served at Naval Air Station Alameda, located in the San Francisco Bay near the cities of Alameda and Oakland. He was married, and had a child. McKnight was known as a lively and friendly man, thanks to which he was popular in the area, with his many friends describing him very positively.[2]

Crimes

In 1982, Anthony McKnight was arrested by Oakland police while attempting to rape a girl who refused to have sex with him. He was not convicted and got off with a fine, but his information was entered in a sex offender database and his fingerprints entered in the USA database.[3]

In October 1985, McKnight committed his first attack, stabbing a girl in the neck and chest, then raping and leaving her unconscious on the outskirts of one of the western districts of Oakland, where she was found and taken to a hospital. A few days later, McKnight raped and beat up another girl at one of the city's construction sites. Seizing the moment, the victim managed to escape her attacker and hid in a drainage ditch, after which she notified the police. By December 1985, Anthony McKnight had carried out two more similar attacks, in one case inflicting 10 stab wounds on the victim, and stabbing the other in the face, but both survived and subsequently gave law enforcement officers a description of the offender, his vehicle and part of the license plate. In January 1986, McKnight carried out another attack, during which he raped the victim and attempted to strangle her, dumping her in Oakland's industrial area. She survived the ordeal.[4]

In November 1985, McKnight's car was stopped by law enforcement during a routine ID check. Since his car matched the description in which the unknown attacker was supposedly travelling in, he was interrogated and subsequently released. Nevertheless, as a known sex offender, Anthony came under suspicion. His photograph was shown to three of the victims, all of whom identified him as their rapist, and he was arrested on January 24, 1986. In addition to these charges, he became the main suspect in the murder of at least seven women and girls in Oakland and its suburbs, whose killer demonstrated the exact same modus operandi. He did not plead guilty, however, based on the victim testimony and the results of a complete blood count, his blood matched that of the rapist. On August 24, 1987, Anthony McKnight was found guilty of several cases of kidnapping, assault, rape and attempted murder, receiving 63 years imprisonment.[5][6][7]

Following his conviction, he was transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison to serve his sentence. In 1999, he gave a blood and saliva sample. In subsequent years, thanks to a DNA profiling test, McKnight was connected to five rape-murders: 22-year-old Betty Stewart, whose throat was slit on September 22, 1985; 17-year-old Diana Stone, whose corpse was found on the grounds of a primary school in Oakland with knife wounds to the neck on September 29, 1985; 13-year-old Talita Dixon, who was stabbed to death on October 8, 1985; 18-year-old Monica Davis, who was killed by several blows to the head with a blunt object on December 9, 1985; and finally, 24-year-old Beverly Bryant, who was beaten to death on December 25, 1985.[8][9][10] In a new trial, Anthony McKnight was found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death on November 17, 2008. He did not admit his guilt.[11][12]

Death

After his second conviction, Anthony McKnight was transferred to San Quentin State Prison, where he spend the next years of his life awaiting execution. On October 17, 2019, after having spent more than 33 years behind bars, McKnight died at the age of 65 from unspecified causes.[13]

References
  1. "McKnight gets death penalty for East Bay murders. November 18, 2008".
  2. "The State JAN. 26, 1986".
  3. "DNA trail points to '85 killings. June 26, 1999".
  4. "East Bay serial killer, rapist on death row dies of unknown cause. October 18, 2019".
  5. "1980s serial killer found guilty. September 17, 2008".
  6. "Condemned Inmate Anthony McKnight Dies of Unknown Cause. OCTOBER 18, 2019".
  7. "The State FEB. 10, 1986".
  8. "Man accused in five Bay Area slayings takes stand. August 27, 2008".
  9. "Jury wants death for inmate in 1985 murders. Oct. 21, 2008".
  10. "Rapist guilty of 5 murders in East Bay in '85. Sep. 18, 2008".
  11. "Death penalty for 5 East Bay killings in '85. Nov. 18, 2008".
  12. "Accused Oakland serial killer 'cold, calculated,' prosecutor says. Sep. 3, 2008".
  13. "Serial killer Anthony McKnight dies in San Quentin State Prison. October 19, 2019".
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