Survived by One: The Life and Mind of a Family Mass Murderer

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mass murder here, front-page headline, Register-News (Mt. Vernon, Illinois), November 9, 1985, one day after the Odle family murders. Odle family photo, summer of 1985. Top row, left to right: Scott, 10; Sean, 13; Robyn, 14; bottom row, left to right: Tom, 18; Carolyn, 39; Robert, 39. Courtesy of the Southern Illinoisan, November 12, 1985; published with permission. Police sketch of the crime scene. People v. Odle, 1986. Sketch and arrest photo of Tom Odle, November 10, 1985. Courtesy of the Southern Illinoisan, November 10, 1985; published with permission. Tom Odle’s depiction of his murdered family. Dr. Michael Althoff conducted the Draw-a-Family Test with Tom during a forensic psychological evaluation on April 9, 1986. People v. Odle, 1986. Tom Odle, 19, being escorted to jail from the Richland County Courthouse on May 13, 1986, during his trial for the murders of his parents, two brothers, and sister. Courtesy of the Southern Illinoisan; published with permission. Tom Odle, 19, after he was sentenced to death in July 1986 for the November 8, 1985, slayings. Courtesy of the Southern Illinoisan; published with permission. Mt. Vernon Township High School, 1985. Tom Odle attended the high school but did not graduate. After murdering his parents on the morning of November 8, 1985, Tom drove to the high school to pick up his girlfriend. Courtesy of Vernois, 1985 yearbook, Mt. Vernon Township High School; published with permission. Horace Mann Elementary School, Mt. Vernon, Illinois. All four Odle children attended Horace Mann, where Carolyn Odle was president of the PTO at the time of the Odle family murders. Courtesy of Mt. Vernon School District 80; published with permission. Menard Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections, Chester, Illinois. Tom Odle was confined to the condemned unit at Menard from 1986 to 1997. A maximum-security prison opened in 1878 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary , Menard Correctional Center was one of three Illinois prisons that housed death-row inmates. Infamous inmates included serial murderer John Wayne Gacy and mass murderer James Degorski. Wikipedia, 2011i; “Menard Correctional Center.” Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Corrections; published with permission. Cell house, Menard Correctional Center. Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Corrections ; published with permission. Pontiac Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections, Pontiac, Illinois. Tom Odle was confined to Pontiac’s condemned unit from 1997 to 2002. A maximum-security prison opened in 1871, formerly known as the State Reformatory, Pontiac was one of three Illinois prisons that housed death-row inmates. Wikipedia, 2011k. Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Corrections; published with permission. Falling Apart, Tom Odle, death-row art. Published with permission. Cell block, Pontiac Correctional Center. Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Corrections ; published with permission. Tom Odle, 2003. Illinois Department of Corrections inmate photo taken after commutation of his death sentence to natural life. Published with permission. F-House, Stateville Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections, Joliet, Illinois. Tom Odle was confined to Stateville from 2003 to 2005. The maximum-security prison opened in 1925 and included some cell houses, such as F-House, commonly referred to as the Roundhouse, whose design was based on the panopticon architectural concept popularized in England during the eighteenth century. All executions by lethal injection in Illinois prior to 1998 were conducted at Stateville. Infamous inmates included Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb, and Richard Speck. Wikipedia, 2011m. Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Corrections; published with permission. Tom Odle, 2008. Illinois Department of Corrections inmate photo. Published with permission. Girl in Café, Tom Odle, oil painting, 2007. Published with permission. Winter Landscape, Tom Odle, oil painting, 2008. Published with permission. Woman Dressing, Tom Odle, oil painting, 2009. Published with permission. Tom Odle, 2011. Illinois Department of Corrections inmate photos; published with permission. Odle family graves, Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Photo by author. ...