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Freed to Kill Again: The Crimes of Sadistic Thrill Killer Kenneth McDuff
As Cold as Ice
There aren’t too many killers who look the part more than Kenneth McDuff. Even the fake smile he sometimes wore couldn’t hide the seething anger that lay just beneath the surface. With eyes that revealed not a shred of humanity, he was the boogeyman your parents warned you about. He was, as his victims would learn firsthand, the epitome of evil.
Born in Rosebud, Texas in 1946 to John and Addie McDuff, he was by all accounts a spoiled child who didn’t know the meaning of the word no. His mother in particular wouldn’t hear a bad word about him, despite his lifelong penchant for trouble.
Pampered and told time and again that he could do no wrong, McDuff was a bully who preyed on girls and children smaller than himself. Though he pretended to be a tough guy, he was careful to choose victims who wouldn’t — or couldn’t — fight back.
As a teenager, McDuff — who dropped out of high school in his freshman year — spent his free time burglarizing homes in and around Rosebud. After getting caught one too many times, he was tried and sentenced to a twelve-year prison term. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting people of South Texas, he was released after serving only ten months. Rather than being reformed, he came out angrier and more anti-social…
