Henry Lee Lucas Research Paper

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Henry Lee Lucas was born on August 23, 1936, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Henry was one of nine other siblings. He was born under Viola and Anderson Lucas. Lucas fought a lot as a child and ended up losing an eye at the age of 10 due to an infection after a neighborhood street brawl Henry’s mother Viola made money by prostituting herself in the backwoods community and made him sit and watch her when she brought home clients. Viola also made Henry crossdress in public for the humiliation he felt over it. Henry’s father Anderson died in 1949 due to Hypothermia caused by falling outside of their house in the middle of a blizzard. He had two amputated legs thanks to a railroad accident early in his life. Because of Henry’s mother making him watch her “work” …show more content…

In sixth grade, he ran away from home and became a drifter in the state of Virginia. He then claimed to have committed his first murder at only 15 by strangling 17 year old Laura Burnsley after she refused to his sexual advances, but was only convicted of theft and was sentenced to four years in prison. Henry escaped his first prison sentence in 1957 but was recaptured three days later and then was released in 1959. After getting released, he moved to Tecumseh, Michigan with his half-sister, Opal. He was engaged to his pen pal during this time whom he met while still being incarcerated. During a visit from his mother for Christmas, she explained that she didn’t approve of her son’s wife-to-be which caused many fights and arguments in the house. Both Opal and his mother insisted he moved back home to Blacksburg and he refused, wanting to stay in Tecumseh. On January 11, 1960 in Tecumseh, Michigan, Henry Lee Lucas killed his mother Viola Lucas during an argument in the house. The argument was about Henry moving back home to Blacksburg so that he could care for her in her old

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