Derrick Todd Lee

Not to be confused with Derrek Lee.

Derrick Todd Lee
Mugshot
Background information
Birth name	Derrick Todd Lee
Also known as	The Baton Rouge Serial Killer
Born	November 5, 1968 (1968-11-05) (age 42) St. Francisville, Louisiana
Conviction	Assault, Burglary, Murder, Misdemeanor trespassing, Stalking, Trespassing, Voyeurism
Sentence	Death
Killings
Number of victims:	7+
Span of killings	August 23, 1992–March 3, 2003
Country	USA
State(s)	Louisiana
Date apprehended	May 27, 2003

Derrick Todd Lee (born November 5, 1968 in St. Francisville, Louisiana, USA) is a convicted serial killer, nicknamed the Baton Rouge Serial Killer.^[1]

He was linked by DNA to the deaths of seven women in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas in Louisiana, and in 2004 was convicted of the murders of Geralyn DeSoto and Charlotte Murray Pace. Newspapers have suggested Lee can be linked to other unsolved murders in the area, but the police lack DNA evidence to prove these connections. After Lee's arrest, it was discovered that another serial killer, Sean Vincent Gillis, was also operating in the Baton Rouge area during the same time as Lee.

Lee's methods varied with nearly each murder. Similarities between the crimes included the removal of cell phones from the victim's belongings, and a lack of any visible signs of forced entry into the location where the victim was attacked. Most of the murders were committed in the area around Louisiana State University (LSU). Two of the victims' bodies were discovered at the Whiskey Bay boat launch, approximately 30 miles west of Baton Rouge, just off of Interstate 10.

Geralyn DeSoto

Once Lee was identified (using DNA evidence) as the primary suspect in these crimes, law enforcement located and captured him in Atlanta, Georgia. Lee waived extradition and was returned to Baton Rouge, where he was tried in August 2004 for the murder of Geralyn DeSoto. Desoto had been found dead in her home in Addis, Louisiana, and she had been stabbed numerous times. DeSoto's husband had initially been the primary suspect in her murder, but as the investigation progressed, DNA evidence linking Lee to the crime had been discovered. Although Lee was eligible for first degree murder charges, the District Attorney elected to try Lee for murder in the second degree, because DeSoto had not been sexually assaulted and thus a first-degree murder conviction would be harder to obtain. Lee was convicted by jury and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Charlotte Murray Pace

There was some argument that Derrick Lee was perhaps incompetent to stand trial; during psychiatric evaluations he scored an average of 65 on various standardized I.Q. tests, and a score below 69 is considered to be the threshold for what can be considered mental retardation. However, Lee was deemed fit to stand trial.

Lee was convicted on October 14, 2004, for the May 31, 2002 rape and murder of LSU graduate student Charlotte Murray Pace. Lee was sentenced to die by lethal injection. On January 16, 2008, the state Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction and death sentence.^[2]

Lee is currently on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana.^[3]

During the manhunt, John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted, named the Baton Rouge Serial Killer to his Top 10 Fugitives of 2002 at #3.

References

1. ^ "Derrick Todd Lee, the Baton Rouge Serial Killer", crimelibrary.com
2. ^ "Review of death sentence for Derrick Todd Lee refused", Associated Press, March 8, 2008
3. ^ "Execution Date Pending For Baton Rouge Serial Killer Derrick Todd Lee", BayouBuzz, June 29, 2009

External links

• "Hunting a Killer: Did racial profiling slow the search for a Louisiana serial murderer?" Newsweek. May 31, 2003. (subscription required)
• "DNA Dragnet", CBSnews.com (multimedia presentation)

Persondata
Name	Lee, Derrick Todd
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 5, 1968
Place of birth	St. Francisville, Louisiana
Date of death
Place of death