The Time a Serial Killer Called into the Howard Stern Show. The Storyville Slayer.

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On August 13, 1997, a man wanting to go by the name of "Clay" calls into the Howard Stern show, claiming to have killed multiple prostitutes in the New Orleans area.

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The Storyville Slayer is the nickname given to an American serial killer who murdered at least 24 sex workers and drug addicts, most of whom were women, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] Through the course of the investigation, two separate suspects were considered, one of whom was convicted of one murder, leading investigators to believe that multiple killers are responsible.[2]

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In May 1995, a task force was established by the New Orleans Police Department, in conjunction with surrounding parishes and the FBI, in order to solve the killings.[2] During a press conference in August, Chief Richard Pennington announced to the media that the current prime suspect was 33-year-old Victor Gant, a police officer working in New Orleans.[2] During the investigations, it was established that Gant had an intimate relationship with one of the victims, Sharon Robinson.[3] As a young man, he was a boxer and regularly went to the gym and did weightlifting, and closely matched the 1991 suspect sketch based on "Brenda"'s testimony.[2] FBI agent Neil Gallagher later clarified that Gant was a suspect only in Robinson and Ivester's murders, and at present, they had no evidence tying him to any of the other killings.[1] In response, Gant's attorney John Reed said that his client was innocent and the evidence was purely circumstantial.[3]

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On August 13, 1997, The Howard Stern Show received a call from a man who identified himself as "Clay". During the conversation with host Howard Stern, which was broadcast live, "Clay" described details for more than 12 murders and gave some details about his background, indicating that he was a white resident of New Orleans.[7] The interview with the potential serial killer caused a massive media publicity, thanks to which FBI agents allegedly went to the studio and seized audio recordings of the call to establish the caller's location and possible identity.[7] In the following years, the credibility of this incident was questioned, as the program regularly received numerous call from people who claimed to have done terrible things, with some alleging that Stern himself faked the call to boost his ratings.

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Ellwood himself denied knowing any of the victims or committing any murders, although he could not provide an alibi. Cheryl Lewis' mother, in turn, admitted that her daughter was a drug addict and a prostitute, but said that she had never seen Ellwood with her daughter before. His attorneys argued that Ellwood was not in New Orleans at the time of the murders, claiming that he had been in Ohio with some relatives. Ellwood was known for keeping extensive amounts of documents that indicate his whereabouts, but the receipts regarding his supposed presence in Ohio for February 1993 had mysteriously disappeared.[8] Ellwood's attorneys then filed a motion for a polygraph test to be performed on Sue Rushing, then-head of the task force, which was granted. During the test, Rushing was unable to answer a series of questions regarding the missing receipts, but the result was inconclusive, casting doubt on Ellwood's guilt.[8] Ultimately, the murder charge for Delores Mack was dropped,[11] but on the basis of very circumstantial evidence and unreliable testimony, Ellwood was found guilty of killing Cheryl Lewis and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on August 17, 1999.[12]

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