Larry Bright

Larry Dean Bright (born July 8, 1966), also known as The Bonecrusher, is an American serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least eight women between the ages of 30 and 41 in central Illinois. The murders occurred between July 2003 and October 2004, in Peoria and Tazewell County, Illinois. His nickname derives from his purported propensity for burning his victims' bodies before crushing their bone fragments with a hammer. After confessing to his crimes in May 2005, Bright was convicted of eight counts of murder and sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole. Not long after 2000, Bright began to spend a great deal of free time around sex workers, taking particular interest in African-American women. Between March 2001 and October 15, 2004, the bodies of six women were found in rural areas around the Illinois counties of Peoria and Tazwell, and four other women were reported missing from the area. In October 2004, the Peoria City Police Department formed a task force of 13 police officers, with input from neighboring law enforcement agencies, to investigate the cases. Bright came under suspicion that December, after police arrested 35-year-old sex worker Vickie Bomar for theft. While residing in the county jail, the woman offered to help investigators in exchange for a plea bargain. Bomar claimed that, in July, a client named Larry Bright lured her into the outbuilding of his mother's home, where he lived. After sharing alcohol and drugs, Bright attacked her, and attempted to rape her at knifepoint, but Bomar managed to escape after a struggle. Since the alleged incident occurred five months prior to her arrest, authorities questioned the legitimacy of her statement. Bomar claimed that she was afraid to report the incident earlier, as she had failed to appear in court on other charges, which officers later confirmed when checking her criminal history. While investigating the suspect, investigators became aware of at least six similar cases during which Bright had displayed aggressive behavior, particularly towards African-American sex workers.