Craig Price (murderer)

Facts

• Craig Price, when he was a child and adolescent, had a series of crime records against him consisting of crimes such as breaking and entering, drug abuse, physical assault, robbery and stalking, and on most occasions with his own family members
• The major giveaway of Price’s murder was a stab wound he suffered on his hand when he was murdering the Heatons. This small observation was discovered just one day after the incident on September 5, 1989, by Ray Pendergast and Mark Brandreth, two detectives who were driving through a field near Buttonwoods, Price’s neighbourhood. This helped the FBI figure out that the killer was a local person and that he had other murder records too. Upon interrogation, he tried to pass it off as an unrelated injury he suffered while drunk and vandalising a car.
• When Price was asked to confess to his crimes after much interrogation, he finally confessed and even mimicked the dying sounds of the girls he had killed. 
• Because of his age being below 18, Price could not face trial or be behind bars according to the laws of Rhode Island. As a result of this flaw in the system, he was sent to a juvenile correctional organization named the Rhode Island Training School. He was put in the maximum-security wing of the school, which was the Youth Correctional Center.
• When Price was released on his 21st birthday, it ignited a rage amongst the citizens of Rhode Island, including the victims' families. This act showed the way to persistent protests, sparking a campaign and committee to hold back his release. The committee was named Citizens Opposed to the Release of Craig Price or CORP. It was led by Jeffrey Pine who was the assistant attorney general, Capt. Kevin Collins the police captain who supervised the investigation into the Heaton murders, and Joan Heaton's mother Marie and her sister Mary Lou.
• As a part of their demonstrative activities against the release of Price, CORP hired aeroplanes to fly posters and banners across a few major cities around the country broadcasting this message: Killer Craig Price. Moving to your city? Beware.
• Craig Price’s arrest and release became a National problem for all of America. Since he was deemed ‘unsafe’ to be released, the American government passed the Craig Price Bill in 1994 preventing his release and getting him life imprisonment. This allowed the judges to take into consideration criminal records when settling on whether the accused should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. 
• All of Price’s teachers and neighbours say that he had a comedic personality. As a child, he would go to church on Sundays and even go the extra mile to help out others around him. Craig had good grades in school and was very passionate about sports, especially football and basketball. 
• Ray Pendergast, who was one of the detectives working on the Price case, once coached in a local basketball program.
• A common trait found in all of Price’s crimes was that his victims were mostly his neighbours who were White. In a lot of interviews, Price has suggested that the motive behind his killings were the deeply rooted problem of racial injustice, which still exists in American society.
• Price’s first victim when he was just 13, Rebecca Spencer, was stalked by him before she was murdered.
• Price had assaulted, injured and killed a total of five prison guards and three inmates during the period of his sentence.
• While Price was never directly mentioned or referenced on the show Criminal Minds, but he appears to have been an inspiration for the character of Jeremy Sayer (Season: Six; Episode: Safe Haven), Howard Clarke (Season: Nine; Episode: The Road Home) and Matt Franks (Season: Eleven; Episode: Pariahville).
• Two detectives were involved in Price’s confession- Detective Tim Colgan and Detective Kevin Collins, who assisted him. Both of them had an emotional outburst right after he confessed to his crimes without any remorse.  
• Craig Price was nicknamed "The Warwick Slasher" and “Iron Man" because of his choice of weapon, the iron kitchen knife.
• Prince’s first word to the public during his trial was: "When I get out I'm going to smoke a bomber"
• The projected release date of price is scheduled for February 2022. 
• The Craig Price case was so complicated and sensitive, that the FBI enlisted its top profilers, Gregg O. McCrary, to help out in the investigation. 
• Before Price was arrested, the FBI set up overnight surveillance of his house, before breaking in to search the next day, to prevent him from escaping. Detectives Kevin Collins, Arthur Anderson and Tim Colgan were on the search team. 
• The price murders have inspired many writers to pen down stories on him and his crime. One of the bestselling novels, which follows his entire story, is by Denise Lang named A Call for Justice: A New England Town's Fight To Keep A Stone Cold Killer In Jail.