A Notorious Serial Killer And His Bloody Ties To Odessa, Texas

There is a fair share of true crime junkies nowadays. Even though this feels like something new with the kids today, millennials fell victim to true crime shows early on with Mariska Hargitay playing Olivia Benson in Law and Order: SVU. But do we all still feel the same when it hits too close to home?

What if I told you that one of the most prolific serial killers was arrested and charged for a cold case murder in Odessa?

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WHO IS DENISE BROTHERS

Denise Christie Brothers was a beloved mother and daughter. She was born on January 19, 1956. Denise was living in Odessa and was 38 at the time of her murder.

THE SUSPECT

Samuel Little was born Samuel McDowell in Reynolds, Georgia on June 7, 1940.  Samuel was born to a teenage mother and raised by his grandparents in Lorain, Ohio. Little made claims that his mother was a prostitute.

Little had a tough time in high school and eventually dropped out. It was around this time, his criminal history began. At first, it was crimes like theft that got Little thrown in a detention center, then as he got older the crimes progressed in severity. Some of these crimes were fraud, driving under the influence, assault, armed robbery, and rape. By the time he reached his mid-30s, he had been arrested in more than 10 states.

HOW DID THEY MEET

Although no one really knows how Denise and Samuel met, there has been some speculation. Samuel liked to target street workers, drug addicts, and homeless women. Denise was speculated to be a street worker working on the wrong side of town.

MISSING & SUBSEQUENTLY FOUND

Denise Christie Brothers was reported missing on January 1, 1994. She was last seen in a motel parking lot off of 2nd St and West County Rd in Odessa. Her body was found a month later on February 2, 1994. The cause of death was determined to be a homicide by strangulation.

THE CHARGES, CONVICTION, AND CONFESSIONS

Samuel was originally captured at a homeless shelter in Kentucky. He was soon discovered there and sent to LA for a drug charge he had evaded. While in prison he was swabbed and had his DNA run through the database in California.

That swabbing proved to be fateful as it linked him to 3 homicides between 1987 and 1989. This led Little to confess to 93 killings throughout the United States. The FBI has been able to confirm at least 50 of these murders. Even with Little's detailed confessions, there are still many victims that have not been identified. He told police he committed murders in 19 states between 1970 to 2005.

Little died in custody in a Los Angeles hospital on December 30, 2020. He was 80 years old. Before his death, Little claimed that he had at least 2 more murders in Texas that had not been solved.