Serial Killer Morris Solomon aka The Sacramento Slayer (Crime Documentary)
- 5 years ago
Morris Solomon Jr. (born March 15, 1944) is a convicted serial killer now sitting on death row in San Quentin, California.
Relatives and friends described Solomon's upbringing in rural Georgia as abusive. He was raised primarily by his grandmother, Bertha, who beat him and his brother daily for infractions such as bedwetting, mispronouncing words, or crying during a beating. Sometimes, she hit them for no apparent reason. When Solomon was very young, Bertha beat him by laying him over her lap and hitting him repeatedly. She also made him remove all his clothing and stand on a stool in the corner, where she beat his bare body, including his genitalia, with an electrical cord or switches she made him bring to her. Bertha sometimes beat him until he bled. Once, she tied his hands around the pole of a bed with an extension cord to keep him from backing away from her during a beating.
Solomon had little contact with his parents for the first 13 years of his life. He was reunited with them when Bertha and the family moved to Isleton, a small farming town 40 miles south of Sacramento. They were among a handful of black families living in a poor, rundown section of the town known as “Cannery Row” or “Tinpan Alley.” His parents frequently beat and sexually assaulted one another in front of him. His mother and grandmother often beat him and verbally abused him in public. Friends and relatives would later describe his mother as a “loose woman” who regularly “entertained” different men.
After high school, he attended community college and worked at various jobs, including carpentry, car repair, and bus driving.
He served in Vietnam for one year starting in the summer of 1966. He returned to Isleton after his tour of duty ended in the summer of 1967. During this time, he became engaged to a woman he had known before going to Vietnam. When she broke off the engagement, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, got married, and fathered a daughter. After he and his wife divorced, he moved back to Sacramento, where he found employment as a handyman.
The investigation began with a report to police of the discovery of Yolanda Johnson's body. The report was made by Solomon. Johnson, a drug user, and a prostitute had been bound and was found partially nude. Apodaca, also a drug user and a prostitute was bound and buried wrapped up in bedding. Polidore was bound and partially nude. Washington, a prostitute and possibly a drug user, may have been bound and wrapped up in bedding. Vitela, a drug user, and prostitute was nude and wrapped in bedding. This was also true of Jacox. Massey, possibly a drug user and prostitute, was bound, nude, and wrapped in bedding. These common factors were interpreted by police to mean they were dealing with only one killer.
Solomon possibly took the initiative to report Johnson's body in order to appear innocent.
Relatives and friends described Solomon's upbringing in rural Georgia as abusive. He was raised primarily by his grandmother, Bertha, who beat him and his brother daily for infractions such as bedwetting, mispronouncing words, or crying during a beating. Sometimes, she hit them for no apparent reason. When Solomon was very young, Bertha beat him by laying him over her lap and hitting him repeatedly. She also made him remove all his clothing and stand on a stool in the corner, where she beat his bare body, including his genitalia, with an electrical cord or switches she made him bring to her. Bertha sometimes beat him until he bled. Once, she tied his hands around the pole of a bed with an extension cord to keep him from backing away from her during a beating.
Solomon had little contact with his parents for the first 13 years of his life. He was reunited with them when Bertha and the family moved to Isleton, a small farming town 40 miles south of Sacramento. They were among a handful of black families living in a poor, rundown section of the town known as “Cannery Row” or “Tinpan Alley.” His parents frequently beat and sexually assaulted one another in front of him. His mother and grandmother often beat him and verbally abused him in public. Friends and relatives would later describe his mother as a “loose woman” who regularly “entertained” different men.
After high school, he attended community college and worked at various jobs, including carpentry, car repair, and bus driving.
He served in Vietnam for one year starting in the summer of 1966. He returned to Isleton after his tour of duty ended in the summer of 1967. During this time, he became engaged to a woman he had known before going to Vietnam. When she broke off the engagement, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, got married, and fathered a daughter. After he and his wife divorced, he moved back to Sacramento, where he found employment as a handyman.
The investigation began with a report to police of the discovery of Yolanda Johnson's body. The report was made by Solomon. Johnson, a drug user, and a prostitute had been bound and was found partially nude. Apodaca, also a drug user and a prostitute was bound and buried wrapped up in bedding. Polidore was bound and partially nude. Washington, a prostitute and possibly a drug user, may have been bound and wrapped up in bedding. Vitela, a drug user, and prostitute was nude and wrapped in bedding. This was also true of Jacox. Massey, possibly a drug user and prostitute, was bound, nude, and wrapped in bedding. These common factors were interpreted by police to mean they were dealing with only one killer.
Solomon possibly took the initiative to report Johnson's body in order to appear innocent.