Death Summary: Mel Ignatow was found dead in his Louisville, Kentucky home at the age of 70. The official cause of death has been determined as a fall which cause a laceration.

Ignatow’s upstairs neighbor said that he often heard him asking for Jesus to come get him, because he was in a lot of pain.

Who was Mel Ignatow: Ignatow was a resident of Louisville, Kentucky who is famous for murdering his fiancée, Brenda Sue Schaefer in 1988. What makes him famous is that he was initially acquitted of the murder charges… but later evidence proved his guilt, but under the legal principle of double jeopardy, he couldn’t be tried a second time for the same crime.

Ignatow and Schaefer had been in a relationship for nearly two years, but Schaefer had said that her fiancée was abusive and was planning on leaving him. Ignatow became aware of her intentions and began to plan her murder with his former girlfriend, Mary Ann Shore.

The two spent several weeks meticulously planning out the murder, they went as far as to “scream test” the house and pre-dig the grave in the woods.

On September 23, 1988, Schaefer met up with Ignatow to return some jewelry at Shore’s house. This was where he pulled a gun on her and locked her in the house. She was bound and blindfolded.

Ignatow forced Schaefer to strip, raped, sodomized, and took suggestive photos before killing her with chloroform.

Police immediately suspected Ignatow, but were unable to find any eyewitnesses or physical evidence.

During the trial the jury argued Shore, not Ignatow, had killed Schaefer.

Ignatow was acquitted of the charges, it’s been said that loud talk and laughter were heard coming from the deliberation room.

Just six months after his acquittal, new evidence was surfaced. The house where Ignatow had previously lived had been sold, and the new owners were having new carpet installed. When the carpet layer pulled up the flooring in the hallway he discovered a covered vent. Inside was a bag with Schaefer’s jewelry and the photos of the crime.

None of the photos showed Ignatows face, but it was determined to be him by hair and mole patterns.

Categories: Criminals, Media.