Timothy Wilson Spencer

Who was Timothy Wilson Spencer?

Timothy Wilson Spencer, also known as the "Southside Strangler," was an American serial killer who committed four rape/murders in Richmond, Virginia in the fall of 1987. In addition, he is believed to have committed at least one previous murder, in 1984, for which a different man, David Vasquez, was wrongfully convicted.

Spencer became the first murderer in the United States to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence, with David Vasquez being the first to be exonerated following conviction on the basis of contradictory DNA evidence.