Adam Grafton

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 long cooling-off periods in between. His modus operandi was to stalk a woman, attack and paralyze her, rape her repeatedly as she lay helpless, and then finally stab her to death. He claimed to have murdered 44 women.

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 (beaten, raped, and attempted to murder)
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)
  - 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 and slashed her throat)