Carroll Cole
A drifter whose confessed compulsion to strangle women he deemed 'immoral' marked him as one of America's most nomadic and self-proclaimed serial killers.
1938–1985 (age 47)·American serial killer·Birthday: May 9·The Silent Generation
Biography
Carroll Cole's story is a bleak journey across the American West, defined by violence and a twisted personal morality. His troubled childhood, which he claimed included being forced by his mother to wear dresses, foreshadowed a lifetime of instability. He became a transient, drifting through states, marrying and divorcing repeatedly, and serving time for lesser crimes. His murders were not acts of frenzy but of chilling deliberation; he targeted women in bars, often after drinking with them, and strangled them, later claiming he was ridding the world of 'bad' women. His killing spree, which he confessed spanned decades and dozens of victims, was finally interrupted by his arrest in Nevada in 1980. Cole's case became notable for his detailed confessions and his apparent willingness, even desire, to be executed, which the state of Nevada carried out by lethal injection.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Carroll was born in 1938, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carroll Was Born
The biggest hits of 1938
#1 Movie
You Can't Take It with You
Best Picture
You Can't Take It with You
Carroll's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1938Born
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1943Started school
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1951Became a teenager
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Could drive
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1956Could vote
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Turned 21
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1968Turned 30
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 40
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1985Died at 47
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
Key Achievements
- Was convicted and executed for the 1980 murders of two women in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Confessed to murdering three women in Texas during the 1970s, for which he was also convicted.
- Provided confessions to law enforcement detailing involvement in homicides across multiple states over 30 years.
- His case is frequently cited in studies of serial killers who specifically used strangulation as their method.
- Became one of the first inmates executed in Nevada after the state reinstated the death penalty.
Did You Know?
Cole claimed his first murder was at age 10, when he drowned a schoolmate, though this was never proven.
He attempted suicide multiple times while on death row.
He married at least five times, with several marriages occurring between prison sentences.
Cole specifically requested the death penalty and waived all appeals, hastening his execution.
He was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and alcohol dependence.
“I killed those women because they were no good.”
