David Elliott Penton | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Elliott Penton February 9, 1958 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Mechanic |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Motive | |
| Convictions | Ohio Aggravated murder Kidnapping Texas Murder (3 counts) Manslaughter |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5–9+ |
Span of crimes | 1984–1988 |
| Country | United States |
| States | |
Date apprehended | 2020 |
David Elliott Penton (born February 9, 1958) is an American child molester and serial killer. [1] Penton, an Ohio native and mechanic, was convicted of manslaughter in the child abuse death of his own infant son in 1984; during an appeal of his sentence, he fled and remained a fugitive until 1987, when he was charged and convicted with the murder of a friend's 9-year-old niece in Ohio.
Penton was extradited to Texas in 2003 and charged with the deaths of three young Dallas-area girls in the mid-1980s. [2] Penton signed a plea agreement admitting to the murders. Officials in Texas and several other states are investigating the possibility Penton may be involved with other unsolved cases and suspect that he could be the most prolific child killer in American history.
David Penton was born an only child on February 9, 1958, in Columbus, Ohio and was raised by his mother after his father abandoned both David and his mother when he was a child. After graduating high school he joined the U.S. Army in 1977 working as a track vehicle mechanic until 1984. [3]
Penton was an expert marksman and soldier with an excellent record, who his commanding officer called "highly motivated." In 1980, Penton was charged with storing alcohol in his foot locker and several months later he was charged with lying about his marital status to obtain military benefits which resulted in him being demoted from a sergeant to a specialist. [3] [4]
When he was stationed in Korea during his service, Penton frequently solicited many prostitutes, some of whom were underage, and abused illegal narcotics, such as LSD and cocaine. [3] "I'm not going to lie. I was with a lot of prostitutes and some of them could have been underage," he said. "But I didn't fancy little kids like the cops say. It wasn't so much that I fancied the age as it was about the cleanliness. I mean there were a lot of diseases out there." [3]
Between 1984 and 1988, Penton is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of at least five individuals. After killing his own son, Penton is believed to have subsequently murdered three girls in Dallas and another in Ohio. He is also suspected of one additional non-fatal abduction. [5] Penton was charged with the kidnapping and aggravated murder in the Ohio case in 1988 and was convicted in 1990. In June 2003, Penton was indicted for murder in the deaths of the three Texas girls. He signed a plea deal to avoid a possible death sentence and pleaded guilty to all three cases in January 2005. [6] Penton will remain imprisoned in the Ohio State Penitentiary until he finishes his sentence, where he is eligible for parole in 2027. Afterward, Penton will serve three consecutive life sentences in Texas. [7]
In 2007, authorities announced they considered Penton as a person of interest in the disappearances and murders of several other girls. Penton has made claims to killing more than 50 children but law enforcement suspect that the actual number is between 25 and 30.