Former death row inmate reveals the 'evil' killer who was like Ted Bundy
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape and sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
A former death row inmate who spent more than two decades in prison has revealed the 'evil' encounter he had with a killer he likened to Ted Bundy.
Nick Yarris spent 23 years behind bars after being sentenced to death in 1982, after being wrongfully convicted of the 1981 murder of Linda Mae Craig.
Before his release in 2005, after DNA evidence proved his innocence, the 65-year-old crossed paths with some of America's most prolific criminals, including serial killer Ted Bundy.
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But despite the horrifying nature of his infamous crimes, Yarris claims to have encountered another man on death row whom he considered every bit as 'evil'.
Speaking with VT about his experience with the criminal, Gary Heidnik, Yarris said: "When they walked Gary Heidnik past my cell to execute him, I physically felt evil.
"It was like cold blackness. When he walked two feet from my cell I actually stepped backwards. The energy pushed me back."
But he noted that during his final moments, his demeanour completely switched up.
"When they got him into the death chamber they showed him the daughter he'd fathered through rape. All that bravado disappeared. God broke him at the end."
Who was Gary Heidnik?
Heidnik was convicted of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering six women in Philadelphia before being executed in 1999.
He infamously held his victims captive in a self-dug pit in his basement floor between 1986 and 1987.
In fact, his disturbing crimes and perversions partly inspired the character Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.
What is Nick Yarris doing now?
Following his release from death row over two decades ago, the author has dedicated much of his life to campaigning against capital punishment.
And the true killer of Linda Mae Craig remains unknown.
The 32-year-old was abducted after her shift as a sales associate on December 16, 1981, and her body was found the following day by officers - beaten, stabbed, and sexually assaulted in a church parking lot.
Police concluded that the murderer had cut open her winter clothing to commit the assault.
How was Nick Yarris wrongfully convicted?
The true killer of Craig remains unknown 44 years on.
Four days after her body was found, 20-year-old Yarris was pulled over in Pennsylvania for a traffic violation.
The stop turned violent, and he was arrested for the attempted murder of a police officer.
While in custody, Yarris accused an someone he knew of Craig's killing, but when police ruled out the accusation, they turned their attention to Yarris as the prime suspect.
Detectives claimed Yarris responded, 'I never meant to kill anyone', when asked if he meant to kill the victim, which they treated as a confession.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Mia Williams