On May 2, 1996, Clepper was charged with strangling eight women. His last victim was found stuffed in the closet of his bedroom. Police said Gregory was waiting for his mother to help him dispose of the body. Clepper, 28, a resident of Chicago's South Side, preyed on drug-addicted prostitutes who he killed after they objected to his refusal to pay for sex.

Clepper, a classic sexual predator, told detectives when he was arrested at a relative's house, "I knew it was just a matter of time. I'm glad it's over." An acquaintance turned him in after he had boasted about one of the slayings. The killings began in 1991. Some of the victims were dumped in garbage bins around Chicago's South Side. The most recent corpse, Patricia Scott, 30, was found April 24 in a trash container behind Calumet High School. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Clepper apparently killed Scott a day earlier at the home he shared with his mother, Gladys Clepper, who along with a friend was charged with helping dispose of the body.

Mrs. Clepper, 46, was charged with one count of concealing a homicide. Eric Henderson, 30, was charged with two counts of concealing a homicide. Apparently Eric witnessed the murder of an earlier victim and helped dispose of her body too. With his arrest, Clepper is the third serial slayer arrested in Chicago's South Side in less than a year. The other two killers, Hubert Geralds and Ralph Harris were arrested in 1995.

On March 21, 2001, in a plea agreement Clepper, who once bragged about being Chicago's most prolific serial killers, was sentenced to 80 years in prison for one murder. Prosecutors dropped 12 murder charges against him in exchange for admitting to killing Patricia Scott. Scott, 30, had been sexually assaulted, strangled and stuffed into a garbage can in April 1996.

In the other cases dropped, new evidence either excluded Clepper as a suspect or pointed to other suspects. Assistant State's Attorney William O'Brien said Clepper remains a suspect in 15 other murders for which he hasn't been charged. DNA samples from those murders are being examined. The plea agreement allows prosecutors to file new charges against Clepper in the 12 cases that were dropped Tuesday if DNA tests implicates him. Also Clepper will not be eligible for the death penalty for any future cases against him.

Gregory Clepper

January 25, 2001

A suspected serial killer in Chicago is expected to have most charges against him dropped. Authorities say Gregory Clepper who admitted to killing 40 women, will have charges dropped in at least a dozen cases. Sources familiar with the case say Clepper may now face prosecution on only one murder. Lab tests have excluded Clepper as a suspect in at least 12 murders while other scientific evidence points to different suspects in other cases. Clepper is one of four serial killers arrested over the last five years in Chicago's South Side.

Gregory Clepper

March 21, 2001

In a plea agreement Gregory Clepper, who once bragged about being Chicago's most prolific serial killer, was sentenced to 80 years in prison for one murder. Prosecutors dropped 12 murder charges against him in exchange for admitting to killing Patricia Scott. Scott, 30, had been sexually assaulted, strangled and stuffed into a garbage can in April 1996.

In the 12 cases that were dropped, new evidence either excluded Clepper as a suspect or pointed to other suspects. Assistant State's Attorney William O'Brien said Clepper remains a suspect in 15 other murders for which he hasn't been charged. DNA samples from those murders are being examined. According to prosecutors, the plea agreement would allow them to file new charges against Clepper in the 12 cases that were dropped if DNA tests implicates him.

Serial killer suspect gets 80-year deal

Yet the count against Clepper may again rise. Prosecutor William O'Brien disclosed that the state's attorney's office is looking at Clepper as a suspect in 15 other unsolved murders of women committed between 1990 and 1996.