Night Watchman Abe Issac Pipkin

Abe Issac Pipkin

Watchman Abe Pipkin was beaten to death with a crowbar while attempting to arrest a burglary suspect he caught breaking into a drug store.

On June 11, 1983, the suspect, now 47, was arrested in Montaque County, Texas, by the sheriff for a weapons violation. The sheriff had been suspicious of the suspect since September 19, 1982. The sheriff suspected he had murdered a woman on that date at a ranch in the northeast corner of his county. The suspect had been living at the ranch for several months. For nine months, the sheriff tracked the suspect through Oklahoma, Louisiana, and California. Citizens of his county felt that he was neglecting his other duties and it cost the 62-year-old sheriff his reelection the following November.

After the arrest the suspect asked to see him. What he had to say would make him the "WORST AMERICAN SERIAL KILLER in AMERICAN HISTORY". The suspect said he had murdered close to 600 people. He was convicted of 10 murders in Texas and sentenced to death. Officials discredited him for most of the murders he said that he committed but still think he committed several others. His death sentence was commuted to life in 1998 by then Governor George W. Bush. He was found dead in his prison cell on March 12, 2001.

His case changed forever the way serial killers are investigated. It was learned the hard way that as long as you give him milkshakes, steak dinners, and access to a TV, they will keep giving you false information. Many of his claims have been cleared by the use of DNA and some are still being investigated. His grave is unmarked due to theft and vandalism.

Watchman Pipkin had served with the Beebe Police Department for 18 months. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and three sons.