It seemed like George Russell could charm anybody he met.

He was outgoing, could hold an engaging conversation that put a smile on everyone's faces.

He was a good dancer, a flirt without being a creep, and always down for a good time.

But if you paid really close attention, you could probably tell that there was something off about him,

that he was a little too nice, that he tried a little too hard

to get people to like him. And when George drank too much or got angry, that charming mask

sometimes slipped off, revealing the monster behind it. George Russell is the lesser-known serial

killer who brutally killed his victims in 1990. He found his victims in the bars and nightclubs in the

boogie Seattle suburb of Bellevue. After killing them, Russell would mutilate their bodies

and commit acts of necrophilia, then shockingly posed the victims in bizarre positions to taunt

investigators. The degradation and viciousness of his attacks suggested a deep hatred of women,

which was accurate.

As we'll see, Russell loved being around women until he felt that they had wronged him or disrespected him in some way. Then they became the target of his rage. As investigators found

body after body, George continued going out to his favorite nightclubs, frequently portraying himself as an

undercover police officer. He enjoyed talking about the murders and pointing out that the police

were blind to the fact that the same man was involved in all three cases. And despite his

obsession with these killings, only a few people, those who had seen the dark side of George

Russell, had any suspicion that he,

in fact, was the murderer, labeled as the East Side Killer, the Bellevue Killer, and

The Charmer.

Another true crime, serial killing, Scum of the Earth edition of TimeSuck.

This is Michael McDonald, and you're listening to Time Suck.

...