been his fifth victim in only ten days. Pathology Though there are many extant documents regarding Nelson and his trial, few of them contain psychiatric information regarding his pathology. During Nelson's incarceration leading up to his trial, he was examined by Dr. Alvin T. Mathers, chief of the psychiatric ward and Winnipeg General Hospital, on five separate occasions between July 27 and October 24, 1927. Based on these sessions, Mathers testified in court: "I did not find any evidence that to me would constitute insanity." Historical significance Nelson was the first serial murderer in American history whose crimes were subject to widespread media attention in newspaper, national magazines, and the then-new medium of the radio. His crimes and trial received international media attention, appearing in newspapers across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Nelson's confirmed murder count, which exceeded twenty, remained a record high for nearly fifty years until the discovery of Juan Corona's crimes in 1971. According to crime historians Harold Schechter and David Everitt, Nelson was the first serial sex murderer in twentieth-century America. Victims Though Nelson refused to admit to any of the crimes of which he was accused, he has been linked to a total of 22 murders that occurred between 1926 and 1927; his victims consisted near-exclusively of women, along with one male infant child. 1926 California, Oregon, Washington Iowa, Missouri 1927 East Coast and Midwest USA Manitoba, Canada Other possible victims In popular culture Nelson's murder spree served as a source of inspiration for the 1943 Alfred Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt, which focuses on a serial killer, the "Merry Widow Murderer" (portrayed by Joseph Cotten), who targets elderly widows. Notes See also List of serial killers in the United States List of serial killers by number of victims References Works cited External links Historical account of Nelson's arrest from the Winnipeg Police Service 1897 births 1928 deaths 20th-century executions by Canada 20th-century executions of American people American male criminals American murderers of children American Pentecostals American people of English descent American people of Spanish descent American people executed abroad American rapists Criminals of the San Francisco Bay Area Executed American serial killers Executed people from California Infanticide Male serial killers Murder in California Murder in Oregon Necrophiles Pentecostals from California People convicted of murder by Canada People executed by Canada by hanging People from San Francisco