Melvin Rees
The Sex Beast
Active for 3 years
(1957-1959) in United States
5
CONFIRMED
VICTIMS
9
POSSIBLE
VICTIMS
Jump to:
- Summary
- Serial Killer Profile
- Serial Killer Type
- General Information
- Characteristics
- Childhood
- Cognitive Ability
- Incarceration
- Death
- 5 Timeline Events
- Serial Killers Active During Spree
- Boolean Statistical Questions
- 11 Books Written About Melvin Rees
- 5 External References
- Internal References
Melvin Rees (Melvin David Rees Jr.) an American serial killer known as The Sex Beast. Rees shot and defiled a woman in 1957, he tortured and murdered a family of four in 1959 and is suspected in four other killings. Rees would beat, rape suffocate, strangle torture and shoot his victims. In 1960, the FBI arrested and charged Melvin Rees with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution of a murder in Maryland. At the time of his arrest he was living with a woman who was a nightclub stripper and working at a music store in West Memphis, Arkansas. In 1961, Rees was sentenced to life in prison in Maryland, sentenced to death in Virginia in 1961. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972. Melvin Rees died in prison in 1995.
Melvin Rees Serial Killer Profile
Serial Killer Melvin Rees (aka) The Sex Beast, was active for 3 years between 1957-1959, known to have ( 5 confirmed / 9 possible ) victims. This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: United States
He completed 13 years of school, attended some college, no degree received. He never married. He had no children mentioned.
Prior to his spree he had commited crimes, and served time in jail.
In 1957 Melvin Rees started his killing spree, during his crimes as a serial killer he was known to torture, strangle, rape, and murder his victims. Melvin Rees used a weapon and was in possession of a firearm during his crimes. He was known to kill at the home of the victim. At the time of his crimes he was living with himself, alone travelled around the D.C. area, playing at local jazz clubs, where he was known to work as a serial killer.
He was arrested on June 24th 1960, convicted on February 28th 1961, sentenced to death commuted to life in prison at an unnamed prison in Maryland, US. He was convicted on charges of murder and other possible charges during his lifetime.
Melvin Rees died on July 10th 1995, cause of death: heart attack at a federal facility in Missouri, US.
Profile Completeness: 81%
serial killers by profile completenessMelvin Rees has been listed on Killer.Cloud since November of 2016 and was last updated 5 years ago.
Melvin Rees a known:
( 651 killers ) SERIAL KILLER
The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. Serial Killer as defined by the FBI at the 2005 symposium.
( 308 killers ) RAPIST
Rape is usually defined as having sexual intercourse with a person who does not want to, or cannot consent.
( 89 killers ) TORTURER
Torture is when someone puts another person in pain. This pain may be physical or psychological. Tourturers touture their victims.
( 251 killers ) STRANGLER
Strangulation is death by compressing the neck until the supply of oxygen is cut off. Stranglers kill by Strangulation.
Melvin Rees
Serial Killer Profile:
Updated: 2019-05-12 Collected by Killer.Cloud
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Melvin Rees |
| Nickname: | The Sex Beast |
| Victims: | 5 - 9 |
| Years Active: | 1957 - 1959 |
| Active Countries: | United States |
| Convicted Of: | murder |
| Life Span: | - 1995 |
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Sexual Preference: | heterosexual |
| Marital Status: | never married |
| Children: | no children mentioned |
| Living With: | himself, alone travelled around the D.C. area, playing at local jazz clubs |
| Occupation: | serial killer |
| Childhood Information | |
|---|---|
| D.O.B.: | N/A |
| Given Name: | Melvin |
| Birth Location: | an unknown location in 1933 |
| Birth Order: | N/A |
| Siblings: | N/A |
| Raised By: | N/A |
| Birth Category: | N/A |
| Mother: | N/A |
| Father: | N/A |
| Cognitive Ability | |
|---|---|
| IQ: | N/A |
| Highest School: | 13 years of school |
| Highest Degree: | some college, no degree |
| Incarceration | |
|---|---|
| Arrested: | Jun 24, 1960 |
| Convicted: | Feb 28, 1961 |
| Sentence: | death commuted to life in prison |
| Prison Location: | an unnamed prison in Maryland, US |
| Executed: | N/A |
| Previous Crimes: | TRUE |
| Previous Jail: | TRUE |
| Previous Prison: | FALSE |
| Death Information | |
|---|---|
| Death Date: | Jul 10, 1995 |
| Cause of Death: | heart attack |
| Death Location: | a federal facility in Missouri, US |
| Killed In Prison: | FALSE |
| Suicide: | FALSE |
5 Timeline Events of Serial Killer
Melvin Rees
The 5 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer Melvin Rees. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline.
| Date | Event Description |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Melvin Rees started his serial killing spree. #1957 |
| 1959 | Melvin Rees ended his serial killing spree. #1959 |
| Jun 24 1960 | Melvin Rees arrested. #19600624 |
| Feb 28 1961 | Melvin Rees was convictedand sentenced to death commuted to life in prison at an unnamed prison in Maryland, US. #19610228 |
| Jul 10 1995 | Melvin Reesdied.cause of death:heart attackat a federal facility in Missouri, US. #19950710 |
Back to top Serial Killers Active During
The following serial killers were active during the same time span as Melvin Rees (1957-1959).
Serial Killers By Active Year
| 30 / 40 ANSWEREDSerial Killer Boolean Questions: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killer Question | Killer Answer | Total Answered | ||
| previous crimes | TRUE | 367 | ||
| previous jail | TRUE | 352 | ||
| kill at victims home | TRUE | 323 | ||
| used weapon | TRUE | 453 | ||
| used gun | TRUE | 451 | ||
| rape | TRUE | 453 | ||
| torture | TRUE | 426 | ||
| strangle | TRUE | 443 | ||
| suicide | FALSE | 225 | ||
| killed in prison | FALSE | 218 | ||
| problems in school | FALSE | 221 | ||
| teased in school | FALSE | 218 | ||
| physically defect | FALSE | 300 | ||
| speach defect | FALSE | 300 | ||
| head injury | FALSE | 299 | ||
| psychologist | FALSE | 258 | ||
| forensic hospital | FALSE | 257 | ||
| previous prision | FALSE | 336 | ||
| kill at killers home | FALSE | 320 | ||
| stalk | FALSE | 418 | ||
| blindfold | FALSE | 363 | ||
| bound | FALSE | 406 | ||
| sex with body | FALSE | 430 | ||
| mutilated | FALSE | 447 | ||
| ate part of body | FALSE | 451 | ||
| drank blood | FALSE | 442 | ||
| posed body | FALSE | 365 | ||
| totem body part | FALSE | 365 | ||
| totem personal item | FALSE | 354 | ||
| robbed | FALSE | 418 | ||
Books that Mention Melvin Rees
Kevin Smith
Serial Killer Rapists
Peter Vronsky
Serial Killers
Harold Schechter
The Serial Killer Files
Ian Schott
The Giant Book of Bad Guys
Michael Newton
Rope
Mike Mayo
American Murder
Michael Newton
The Texarkana Moonlight Murders
Gini Graham Scott
American Murder: Homicide in the early 20th c...
11 Books that mention Serial Killer
Melvin Rees
| ISBN10 | Book Title | Author | Killers Mentioned | Killers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1733630619 | Serial Killer Rapists | Kevin Smith | 266 Total Including Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour | 266 |
| 0425196402 | Serial Killers | Peter Vronsky | 24 Total Including Yang Xinhai | 24 |
| 0345472004 | The Serial Killer Files | Harold Schechter | 20 Total Including Anatoly Onoprienko | 20 |
| 1845297520 | The Giant Book of Bad Guy... | 4 Total Including Ian Schott | 4 Total Including Robert Joe Wagner | 4 |
| 0671017470 | Rope | Michael Newton | 3 Total Including Harvey Carignan | 3 |
| 1578592569 | American Murder | Mike Mayo | 4 Total Including Christopher Wilder | 4 |
| 1476605785 | The Texarkana Moonlight M... | Michael Newton | Melvin Rees | 2 |
| 0275999777 | American Murder: Homicide... | Gini Graham Scott | Melvin Rees | 1 |
| 0816069875 | The Encyclopedia of Seria... | Michael Newton | 108 Total Including Anatoly Onoprienko | 108 |
| 1629149381 | Evil | Colin Wilson | Melvin Rees | 1 |
| 0313024766 | American Murder [Two Volu... | Gini Graham Scott | 4 Total Including Dorothea Helen Puente | 4 |
Melvin David Rees (1933 – 1995) was an American serial killer who committed five murders in Virginia and Maryland between 1957 and 1959. He murdered and sexually assaulted Margaret Harold, the girlfriend of US Army soldier Sgt. Roy D. Hudson, during a highway encounter near Annapolis; two years later, he murdered the four members of the Jackson family near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
External References
- Q6814059 on www.wikidata.org, Retrieved on Mar 17, 2019.
- Melvin Rees on en.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on Mar 17, 2019.
- Juan Ignacio Blanco, Melvin David REES Jr. on murderpedia.org, Retrieved on Mar 17, 2019.
- Death of Innocence: Jackson Family Murders Shock Area on www.fredericksburg.com, Retrieved on Mar 17, 2019.
- A serial killer preys upon a woman out for a drive on www.history.com, Retrieved on Mar 17, 2019.
Internal References
Melvin Rees is included in the following pages on Killer.Cloud the Serial Killer Database
- #64 of 89[ Page 5 ] of Serial Killer Torturers sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #166 of 250[ Page 12 ] of Serial Killer Stranglers sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #204 of 327[ Page 14 ] of Serial Killers active in the United States
- #205 of 307[ Page 14 ] of Serial Killer Rapist sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #219 of 651[ Page 15 ] of serial killers sorted by Profile Completeness
- #386 of 651[ Page 26 ] of serial killers sorted by Years Active
- #411 of 651[ Page 28 ] of serial killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #491 of 651[ Page 33 ] of the A-Z List of Serial Killers
- Statistics:
- Serial Killers Statistics, charts Melvin Rees is included in: Active Serial Killers by Country, Serial Killers By Gender, Serial Killers IQ Level, Highest Degree Achieved, Sexual Preference, Active Serial Killers by Year and Statistical Boolean Questions.
- Years Active: