William Johansen: The Seafaring Butcher
Overview
William L. Johansen was a Danish-American sailor whose seven-year span of violence left three women dead in New York and California between 1933 and 1940. Operating for years under the alias Harry W. Gordon, Johansen managed to evade justice for his first two murders, which were separated by two years and thousands of miles. His final, brutal act in San Francisco led to his swift capture and a full confession that unspooled his secret life of rage. Johansen’s chilling lack of remorse and his own declarations of his menace to society marked him as a profoundly dangerous individual. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, sentenced to death, and executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in 1941.
Early Life and Background
Born in Denmark on February 24, 1905, William Johansen was brought to the United States at a young age, settling with his family in Beverly, Massachusetts. His childhood was reportedly troubled by the stigma of being an illegitimate child. He completed his education up to the eighth grade before enlisting in the U.S. Army, though he deserted after a short period of service.
As a young adult, Johansen moved to New York City, where he drifted between various jobs, including positions in theaters and restaurants. His employment at one restaurant ended with a conviction for embezzlement, for which he received three years' probation. A more disturbing chapter of his early life involved working in a hospital morgue. He later confessed that this experience awakened in him dark urges to cut people, and that he would often drink heavily and sleep among the corpses.
Johansen married a woman named Florence, and the couple had two children. However, the marriage was fraught with conflict and eventually deteriorated, leading to their separation. This domestic turmoil would culminate in his first known act of murder.
The Murder of Florence Gordon
The fragile peace of Johansen's life shattered on the night of October 20, 1933. Following an argument with his estranged wife, Florence, at her New York residence, Johansen attacked her, choking her to death. In a grotesque act that he would later claim was to verify her assertion of being pregnant, he used a boning knife to cut open her abdomen. In a stunning failure of early forensic investigation, authorities initially ruled Florence's death a suicide, believing she had performed a ritualistic self-disembowelment. The ruling allowed Johansen to walk free. He promptly abandoned his life in New York, adopting the alias Harry W. Gordon and finding work as a merchant sailor.
The Murder of Lena Betty Coffin
For eighteen months, Johansen sailed the seas, eventually arriving in San Francisco in 1935. On the night of April 6, he encountered 35-year-old Lena Betty Coffin on Market Street. Described in some reports as a prostitute, Coffin accompanied Johansen to a nearby hotel. After about an hour in the room, Johansen attacked her, strangling her into semi-consciousness before stabbing her to death. He then mutilated her body by cutting off one of her breasts. Before leaving, he meticulously wiped the room clean of fingerprints and other evidence. Johansen then shipped out on a boat to Portland, Oregon, and spent the next several years working on the Gulf of Mexico and in Texas, successfully evading any connection to the crime.
The Murder of Irene McCarthy
Johansen eventually returned to California. He married a woman named Lydia Gordon, who owned a flower shop in Long Beach, and for a time, lived a seemingly conventional life. However, his violent compulsions resurfaced in 1940. On June 24, he was in a beer hall on Fifth Street in San Francisco where he met a woman named Irene McCarthy, who also used the name Irene Chandler. After drinking together, they went to a nearby hotel.
According to Johansen's confession, McCarthy became heavily intoxicated and passed out on the bed. When his attempts to wake her failed, he strangled her to death with her own girdle. In a final act of brutality, he mutilated her body, cutting away a portion of her torso with a knife. He then flipped the mattress to hide the bloodstains, washed himself, and left the hotel, taking a bus to Los Angeles the same day.
The Victims
- Florence Gordon, age unknown — October 20, 1933, New York, NY. The mother of William Johansen's two children, her life was ended by her own husband during a domestic dispute. Her death was tragically misidentified as a suicide, delaying justice for years.
- Lena Betty Coffin, 35 — April 6, 1935, San Francisco, CA. Little is known about her life beyond the circumstances of her death. She was a victim of a chance encounter with a predator who had already killed and would kill again.
- Irene McCarthy, age unknown — June 24, 1940, San Francisco, CA. Also known as Irene Chandler, she was Johansen's final victim. Her murder in a San Francisco hotel led directly to the investigation that would finally end his killing spree.
Investigation and Capture
The murder of Irene McCarthy triggered an intense investigation by San Francisco detectives. They canvassed the local bars and found a crucial witness who had seen McCarthy with a man they knew by an alias. Hotel employees were able to identify this man as the person last seen with the victim. This information led police to Los Angeles, where they arrested William Johansen on July 9, 1940, as he was leaving a meeting.
Faced with the evidence, Johansen’s composure crumbled. He confessed not only to the murder of Irene McCarthy but also to the 1935 killing of Lena Betty Coffin. He then stunned investigators by revealing his true identity and confessing to the 1933 murder of his wife, Florence, in New York—a case that had been closed as a suicide.
Trial and Sentence
Johansen was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the California killings. Initially, he expressed a desire to plead guilty, but his public defender prevented this, opting instead for a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The court appointed two alienists to evaluate his mental state.
During his trial in October 1940, Johansen’s behavior was erratic and chilling. He seemed apathetic to the proceedings, at one point telling the judge, "it doesn't make any difference." In another shocking statement, he declared, "I'll kill some other woman if you free me. I'll do it again, sure!" The court-appointed psychiatrists, after examining him and hearing his detailed confessions, concluded that he was legally sane at the time of the murders.
The court found Johansen sane, which, following his withdrawal of the "not guilty" plea, resulted in an automatic conviction for both murders. The next day, he was sentenced to death. He showed no emotion at the verdict.
Execution and Aftermath
William Johansen was sent to San Quentin State Prison to await his execution. He remained defiant and unrepentant. In an interview with reporters, he expressed his indifference to his fate: "I don't give a damn if I go to the gas house. Not much doubt I'm a menace. I've killed three women and I'd probably do it again unless they get me out of the way. I expect the worst, and the sooner it comes the better."
On September 5, 1941, William Johansen was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin.
Due to the mutilation of his victims, police investigated Johansen for a possible connection to the unsolved Cleveland Torso Murders, which occurred between 1934 and 1938. Authorities also suspected him of other unsolved killings in San Diego. However, no evidence was ever found to charge him with any additional crimes, leaving the full extent of his violent life a matter of speculation. His two children and second wife, Lydia, faded from the public record, their lives forever altered by his horrific acts.
