Alex J. Mengel, born in 1955, was a Guyanese-born suspected serial killer and cop killer who was responsible for two killings in 1985 but suspected in many more. After 31 months of his death, many more discoveries were made suggesting his hand in many disappearance cases.
Was he another psychopath serial killer? Did he also have his hands in other unidentified cases too? Let’s find out by reading more about him.
How Did Alex Mengel Commit Crimes?
It was the time of February 24, 1985, when a 27-year-old Westchester County police officer Gary Stymiloski, who was engaged to be married, was on patrol in Yonkers, New York, and spotted the vehicle of Alex with shotgun shells in the car. He immediately informed the headquarters for support, but he was shot to death with a single bullet in his brain by Alex due to his bad luck.
The investigators learned that Alex was returning from a weekend’s shooting in the Catskills with his friends when the police officer flagged him for speeding. Two of his friends of Alex were held in custody with the issuance of the murder warrant on February 27.
The following day, Beverly Capone, a 44-year-old IBM computer programmer, disappeared after leaving work while heading to her white Toyota. The police noticed her missing complaint after her family filed her missing report in Mount Vernon, New York, on February 26.
Two days later, on February 27, he also attempted to abduct a 13-year-old girl in Skaneateles, New York. Three days later, Alex was seen by the police officers in Toronto outside a shopping mall. He crashed the white Toyota he was driving with the wall in Scarborough but finally got arrested. It was found that the vehicle he was driving belonged to Beverly Capone.
Two guns, four knives, women’s clothing, and a scalp were found inside the car. It was found from the tests that one of the guns had been used to kill the police officer in Yonkers. As the investigation proceeded further, the items of Beverly were found in a summer cabin near Durham. Eleven days later, the remains of her body were found in the heavy woods, a half-mile from the cabin, buried in a stone wall.
It was found that she was stabbed once in the chest, and her scalp and the skin of her face were slid away by the killer. Later on, the tissue samples of the scalp found in the car matched with this scalp.
Beginning Of The Investigation
The first time Alex Mengel was arrested was for assaulting his ex-wife in 1984. In 1985, after killing the police officer Gary, his arrested friends told the police that he shot the cop in the head without any reason or provocation. They also told the police that Alex told them that he was going to kill the police officer and, with his instruction, they just had to drive the car back to his home when they heard the gunfire.
Alex dropped the patrol car a few meters away as they fled from the scene and abandoned it. The 13-year-old girl told the police that the man who abducted her was wearing a wig that resembled the scalp of any woman and lipstick.
The police tracked down all his relatives and friends of Alex, including his brother, Gustav, who lived in Queens. He told them that Alex was a tool and dice maker and came to the United States in the late 1970s.
In his starting days, he faced many troubles, including unemployment and eviction. They also met with his wife, who had taken their child with her. Terrified with him that he would beat her to death, she remained in hiding.
Charges Against Alex Mengel
On March 2, Alex was finally arrested, and two murders by his hands with the attempted abduction of the young girl made him one of the wanted criminals. He was deported from Canada and was charged with murder cases.
On March 27, he was returned to the United States and charged with the murder of Gary Stymiloski. He was also prosecuted for the murder of Beverly Capone.
Alex Mengel’s Attempt To Flee and Death
After sentencing, on the way back to Westchester, he attacked the state trooper, sitting in the back seat with him despite the handcuffs. Being undaunted, he managed to pull the sidearm of the police officer and started biting to release his grip on the weapon.
Another state trooper, who was driving the vehicle, stopped the car and ended the life of Alex with a single bullet. The first state trooper had deep bite wounds on his arm and shoulder, but still, his brother called it a cold-blooded murder, although both the state troopers received commendations for their actions.
Although the case had a “The End,” Alex’s name was linked with many other unresolved cases, such as the 1984 disappearance of a 13-year-old Antonella Mattina, the girl living near Alex’s brother. His skull was later found in Westchester.
After 31 months to the day on which Alex was killed, the retired police officer David Paul and writer Kevin F. McMurray concluded in their book “Unearthing a Serial Killer” that Alex was a psychopathic serial killer.
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