Charles Ray Hatcher (July 16, 1929December 7, 1984) was an American serial killer who confessed to having murdered 16 people between 1969 and 1982. Childhood and youth Charles Ray Hatcher was born in Mound City, Missouri, a small town north of St.Joseph. He was the youngest of Jesse James and Lula Novada (Bomar) Hatcher's four children. His father was a bootlegger, an ex‑convict and an abusive alcoholic. Hatcher was bullied in school, and in turn bullied his classmates and would carry this practice into adulthood. In the spring of 1936, he and his older brothers were flying a kite with copper wire they had found in an old ModelT Ford. His oldest brother, Arthur Allen, was about to hand the kite to him when it hit a high‑voltage power line and electrocuted him. Arthur was pronounced dead at the scene. Soon afterward, his father left home and divorced his mother. His mother remarried several times, and in 1945, Hatcher moved with his mother and her third husband to St.Joseph. Crimes 1947–1963 In 1947, Hatcher was convicted of auto theft in St.Joseph after stealing a logging truck from Iowa–Missouri Walnut Company, his employer of two weeks. He received a two‑year suspended sentence. In 1948, he was convicted of auto theft a second time for stealing a 1937 Buick in St.Joseph. Hatcher was sentenced to two years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. On June 8, 1949, Hatcher was released from prison after serving a little more than half of his time. He was back in prison in just a few months, after being convicted of forging a $10 check at a gas station in Maryville, Missouri. On March 18, 1951, Hatcher escaped from prison and attempted a burglary. He was caught and received an extra two years in prison. After serving his additional time, Hatcher was released from prison on July 14, 1954. He stole a 1951 Ford in Orrick and was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison. Before he was sentenced, Hatcher attempted to escape from the Ray County Jail in Richmond and received an additional two years. On March 18, 1959, Hatcher was released from prison after the sixth prison sentence of his life. On June 26, 1959, Hatcher attempted to abduct Steven Pellham, a 16‑year‑old in St.Joseph who delivered newspapers, threatening him with a butcher knife. Pellham reported the crime, and Hatcher was arrested when the police stopped