Adam Grafton was a suspect in a string of country-wide murders, including that of former EADA Sonya Paxton.
History[]
He began killing as a teenager and claimed victims in "clumps" of several in a short period of time, with occasional cooling-off periods in between. His modus operandi was to stalk a woman or teenage girl, attack and paralyze her, rape her repeatedly as she lay helpless, and then finally stab her to death. He claimed to have murdered 43 women, including 13-year-old Vanessa Harding in 1986.
Grafton began stalking Alicia Harding, a television journalist and the sister of one of his victims. He began a relationship with Harding's assistant in order to gain access to Harding's personal information and sent Harding threatening messages to intimidate her and get media attention. He also began stalking Paxton, eventually murdering her at one of her AA meetings. During the struggle, however, Paxton managed to get some of Grafton's DNA by biting him. Detectives Benson and Stabler tracked him down, and with Harding's help, they subdued and arrested him.
He confessed to Benson and Harding while in prison and remains on death row. (SVU: "Pursuit")
Known Victims[]
- Unknown dates and locations: 36 unnamed women (all raped and murdered)
- Unknown date, Lorton, Virginia: Unnamed prostitute (assaulted; raped and beaten nearly to death)
- 1986, New York City, New York: Vanessa Harding (raped repeatedly and stabbed once in the chest, stomach, and back)
- 2009-2011, New York City, New York: Five unnamed women (all raped repeatedly and stabbed once in the chest, stomach, and back)
- 2011, New York City, New York:
- Unknown dates:
- Alicia Harding (Vanessa Harding's sister; stalked and broke into her house to steal her book; later held at knifepoint on February 10, 2011)
- Annie Pruitt (kidnapped from Dundalk, Maryland; was raped repeatedly, then stabbed once in the chest, stomach, and back)
- February 9: ADA Sonya Paxton (bashed her head against a mirror and slashed her throat)
- Unknown dates: