How popular ‘boy next door’ became America’s youngest serial killer with murders so brutal cops hunted a seasoned psycho

A LONE teenager wandered down his quiet street late at night and spied a woman through her living room window, dozing in front of the TV. The twisted schoolboy stood and watched Rebecca Spencer sleeping, wearing just her underwear. Price, at a hearing in 2004, was just 13 when he murdered for the first time Credit: AP Joan Heaton and her daughters, Jennifer and Melissa were all brutally murdered by Price Credit: Unknown Rebecca Spencer, Craig Price’s first victim Credit: Unknown Police officers escort 15 year-old Craig Price into court in September 1989 Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Hours later Rebecca was discovered in a horrifying bloodbath with 58 stab wounds to her head, neck, back, torso and legs. There was chilling evidence that Rebecca had fought for her life with every ounce of her strength. But there was no sign of a sexual assault, nothing had been stolen. And as cops struggled to unravel the seemingly motiveless crime, they scoured the local area for clues. Near Rebecca’s back fence, they discovered found a tyre iron and a bloody 10-inch knife, which matched other knives in her kitchen. A bunch of local kids who were hanging around outside the house told police they had seen a white man arrive and leave from the house, adding that he had threatened them too. One of those so-called young witnesses was Craig Price, the youngest son of the only black family in the street who lived just two doors down from Rebecca. Police never traced the mystery man and for two years it looked like the brutal and frenzied stabbing would go down as an unsolved murder as police had no credible suspects. But then the killer struck again – this time committing a vile triple murder of a mother and her two children as they slept peacefully in their beds. In September 1989 cops were called to the home of Joan Heaton, who lived with her daughters, Jennifer, ten, and Melissa, eight. There was so much blood at the scene it was hard to tell one victim from another. A knife was found still plunged into in Jennifer’s body, with the handle broken. There were bite marks on the bodies, and Jennifer bore the brunt of the savagery, with 62 wounds. All three murder victims had been covered with bedsheets as if to hide what had happened. There did not appear to be any signs of sexual assaults and they looked to have been surprised as they slept. Again police suspected it had been a break-in gone wrong. While the police believed there may have been more than one killer this time, they were sure the same person was responsible for both attacks. The barbaric crimes rocked the peaceful neighbourhood of Buttonwoods, a small town where hardly anyone locked their doors at night. In the aftermath of the triple stabbing shotgun and knife sales rocketed as fearful residents tried to arm themselves from the night time prowler. Dog shelters reported record adoptions too. Craig, with his brother and sister, lived just yards from his first victim Credit: N Leigh Hunt Cops were convinced at least two seasoned killers must have carried out the crimes Credit: N Leigh Hunt Now in a far-reaching new book, The Boy Next Door, author N. Leigh Hunt delves into Price’s troubled childhood to see if there were any hints at the violence to come. He told us: “As police interviewed kids in the street, they noticed Craig Price, then 15, had a large cut on his finger. But cops believed the crimes were so savage, they must have been hunting a seasoned killer or complete psychopath, not an outgoing and popular teenager. “Police had never seen anything so grotesque. “The victims were so severely butchered that some of the first responders went on to have nightmares and needed psychiatric help to recover from their ordeal. The very first one on the scene quit the force – he could never get rid of the stench of the blood.” Craig being bundled into a sheriff’s van after a hearing in 1993 Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Cops did not believe a child was capable of the stabbings Credit: N Leigh Hunt It was the second tragedy to hit the house. Joan’s husband, an army veteran, had killed himself in the basement in 1983, aged 33. Det Ray Pendergast, leading the investigation, was torn. He knew the Price family better than anyone else at the Warwick Police Department. Craig was his star athlete and called him ‘coach’. Hunt added: “It was inconceivable that the kid he saw grow up was the quadruple murderer they were searching for. “Craig’s name was added to the list of potential suspects but senior detectives did not believe he could be capable of such heinous crimes, it just didn’t compute.” Dr Henry Lee, who worked on the infamous OJ Simpson case, was brought into analyse the crime scene. He deduced the killer wore size 13 trainers but had taken them off and was walking around in socks. By this stage Price was on probation for a string of burglary offences. Police interviewed him and asked for his shoe size. He lied and said 11 but one detective, who was also a 13, noticed his feet were the same size. Price, who is now aged 52, passed three lie detector tests and blood samples were inconclusive. But during a search of his house, cops found a bin bag containing the missing knife holder from the Heaton house and bloodied clothes from the crime scene stashed in the attic. Craig with lawyers Robert Marro and Paula Posin in his 2004 bid to have his sentence slashed Credit: AP Price was accused of stabbing a fellow inmate in a Florida jail in 2018 Credit: YouTube/Fox Providence Hunt explained: “Price was arrested and confessed to the triple murder during questioning. He tried to pretend he intended to break in to steal their video recorder but was disturbed and in a panic killed all three. “He vomited afterwards and said: “I covered ‘em up. I couldn’t look at that. I know I was going to get caught.” “He said one of the children bit him so he bit her back, and he ‘kept stabbing them until they stopped gurgling.’ “The FBI called Price an unorganised and developing serial killer. If not arrested, he would have gone on to kill again and again. Craig confessed to the murders under questioning Credit: Price converted to Islam while he was in prison Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect “They said he possessed an uncontrollable rage that is within the top one per cent of murder cases.” Price’s version of events has changed over the years – he has since claimed he helped fix the chains on the girls’ bikes a week before the murders, and later said they were laughing at him because he was black. On the evening of the murders he had taken LSD and had been enraged at a beach party hearing racist jokes. Price also confessed to killing Becky Spencer, claiming he planned to steal money but she woke up and hit him so he stabbed her with a knife which was lying on a chest nearby. Caig Price was a popular member of his school football team Credit: N Leigh Hunt In 1989 neighbours gathered at the house in Warwick where Price was arrested Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect He was arrested a month before his sixteenth birthday and convicted as a minor. In the aftermath, Price’s family received over 600 death threats and fled town. In interviews with the author, Price said he had a few girlfriends at school and preferred white girls. He admitted to hitting a girl once. Hunt added: “Apart from being described as lethargic he was said to be a pleasure at school, only his PE teacher said he was explosive and aggressive. “However Price said he had been sexually abused by a babysitter aged four, when she was 17. He claimed his first sexual encounter was aged 12 with a 16-year-old-girl, and at 15 he dated his sister’s friend who was 24. “As part of the juvenile rehabilitation programme, all inmates had to undergo psychiatric examination but Price was advised by two lawyers to refuse because if he was found to be criminally insane there would be no limit to his sentence. “No one had ever refused the test before and the victims’ families campaigned for a change in the law, convinced he would kill again if released at 21.” He could buy a gun and live anywhere without declaring his past convictions. Former President Bill Clinton agreed it would be wrong for Price to be released. The victims families pulled out of a TV interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show because they refused to share a platform with Price’s relatives. In 1997 Price hired controversial Bob Mann who had represented Mafia bosses Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Nicholas Hunt’s new book reveals the full horrifying story Credit: N Leigh Hunt In 1993, just five months from freedom, Price converted to Islam but then threatened to “snuff out” a guard over a row about contraband cigarettes. A month before turning 21, during a psychiatric exam, he changed his story again, implicating other boys in the robbery of the Heaton house and claiming someone else had stabbed the first victim. He claimed all he did was clean up the mess and refused to snitch on his mates but police tricked him into confessing to the earlier murder. On the day he was due to walk free in 1996, he was found guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced to 25 years, with 15 suspended, plus 15 years of probation. It was the biggest sentence for contempt in US legal history. His fame brought attention from women who bombarded him with letters. One pen pal, a nurse, visited him and Price claimed they had sex after he bribed the guard $50. In 1998, he assaulted a prison officer, and one guard claimed Price said: “I’m going to kill every officer I can get my hands on, just like those little kids.” In 2017, aged 43, he stabbed another inmate and was charged with attempted murder. The Boy Next Door by N Leigh Hunt (Mirror Books, £10.99) is available to pre-order on Amazon.