Ep. 34 - The Serial Killer and the Devil's Tree
Gerard John Schaefer had been a Florida Law Enforcement Officer. Police are some of our most trusted public servants. Our default position when it comes to police officers is to trust them. And most of the time, that position is correct. But sometimes it can be wrong. Very wrong. That was the case with Gerard John Schaefer. He was a prolific serial killer during the heyday of serial killers in the 1960s and 1970s. There are those who say he made Ted Bundy look like a Boy Scout. Many serial killers have a particular place they gravitate to for dumping bodies. Schaefer had a place he liked to torture and kill young women. That place is known as the Devil's Tree. Oak Hammock Park is a popular waterfront park in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Trails encircle a lush hammock with an area of pine trees. Large live oaks that have stood as sentinels for centuries make up the rest of the landscape. This park is hard to find as it sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Everything about