William George Heirens (November 15, 1928 – March 5, 2012) was a convicted American serial killer who confessed to three murders in 1946. Heirens was called the Lipstick Killer due to a notorious message scrawled in lipstick at a crime scene. At the time of his death, Heirens was reputedly the world's longest serving prisoner, having spent 65 years in prison.He spent the later years of his sentence at the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, Illinois (Inmate No. C-06103). Though he remained imprisoned until his death, Heirens had recanted his confession and claimed to be a victim of coercive interrogation and police brutality.Charles Einstein wrote a novel called The Bloody Spur about Heirens. The novel was later adapted into the film While the City Sleeps by Fritz Lang.On March 5, 2012, Heirens died at the UIC Medical Center.
He is currently the world's longest serving prisoner.
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He was an exceptional student in school and was accepted at the University of Chicago, studying electrical engineering.
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He was only seventeen when convicted of his crimes.
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He is currently the longest serving Illinois inmate having been imprisoned in 1946.
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He was called the 'lipstick killer' because he had scrawled the following message on one of his victim's wall with her lipstick: For heavens sake catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself.
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At aged 17, he allegedly killed three people, one of them who was just six years old.
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Currently incarcerated in Joliet State Penitentiary.
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Earned a college degree (Bachelor of Arts) in February 1972, the first ever inmate in Illinois to earn a degree.
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