by JJ Rogers
Like most people, I am blocked from comprehending true evil, which is probably fortunate. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I’m one of those who grew up watching Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf. It was a wonderful escape, an exercise in retreating from reality into a parallel universe where things were dark, and terrifying, yet not real. I never feared crossing over and wishing those nightmares would manifest in everyday life. But, I never personally dreamed of actually becoming the beast.
The Werewolf was frightening due to the connection between the human and the animal that resides within all of us. It was intriguing that a normal man by day could morph from one state of being into another completely opposed state, and then come back again. The Werewolf always seemed to have a conscience while in human form and complete animalistic desires while in his wolf state. His animalistic behaviors bring out our darkest fears of being butchered, slaughtered by a merciless beast.
One man from Spokane, Washington, actually crossed over into that dark, evil space where only horror resides. You wouldn’t have known by looking at him. He could have been the innocuous fellow sitting next you on the bus, or even that friendly guy who is always funny and exudes a pleasing innocence. He could have been the guy you invited to stay with you when he was down on his luck. The gentle fellow you’d never suspect when your child goes missing. He could have been a lot of things but he wasn’t. Instead, he was Jack Owen Spillman, III, human werewolf.
Jack dropped out of high school in the 9th grade and lived in a trailer house in the Spokane Valley. By all reports, his functional level remained that of a 4th grader. His one way trip into torment was driven by his desire to become the Werewolf. He dreamed of stalking his prey, imprinting on a victim in order to act out his dark desires.
Jack’s first serious conviction was in 1993. He and his roommate were arrested for raping a 26-year-old woman they had picked up at a downtown bar. Black-hearted Jack held her down while his roommate viciously raped her. But she showed a lot of pluck, and before Jack got his turn, she was able to escape. She reported the attack immediately. Both men were arrested, judged guilty and sentenced.
Of course, this wasn’t Jack’s first encounter with the law. He had been in-and-out of jail for burglary, physical assault (on women), and attempted rape. He was the classic case of a major crime against humanity just waiting to happen.
Jack Spillman spent the last few months of 1993 and the first two months of 1994 in a Washington State Penitentiary. In total, he only served 124 days. His cellmate at the time, Mark Miller, reported that Jack had done a lot of talking and had shared his fantasies of murdering many young women and degrading their bodies. Mark said Jack said his goal in life was to become the most infamous serial killer in the U.S. Nevertheless, the authorities released Jack back into society after a ridiculously short period of time.
The public was not warned. Jack moved to Tonasket, Washington.
On September 19, 1994, a 9-year-old girl, Penny Davis, turned up missing in Tonasket. Jack was picked up and questioned by the police while driving near the Davis residence, supposedly part of the search team. Jack knew Penny’s mom, and had stayed with the Davis family on occasion. The police started asking too many questions and Jack felt they were on to him. He moved to Wenatchee before they could question him further.
Jack later admitted he had stalked both Penny Davis and her older sister, who was the one he really wanted. He had watched them and fantasized about kidnapping the older girl. But on the day of reckoning, only Penny was playing in their front yard. Jack grabbed her and took her to a local cave, where he planned to keep her alive while torturing her and acting out his evil desires.
Six months later, the nasty little 9-year-old in Jack emerged. On March 31, 1995, he broke into an apartment where he mutilated a pet hamster. He cut the little beast’s head off, and spun the hamster around in circles, splattering the walls and stuffed animals with blood. He left the knife protruding from the head of a stuffed panda bear on a child’s bed. Jack escaped.
It was only a matter of time now.
In April, in East Wenatchee, Washington, Jack broke into the house of 48-year-old Rita Huffman. Rita had a 14-year-old daughter Amanda “Mandy” Huffman. Jack wanted Mandy. He had been stalking her for a few days. But when he broke in, he was confronted by Rita who was also there. This was the full disaster for mother and daughter. Jack sexually assaulted them both repeatedly before brutally murdering them.
Jack had been previously employed as a butcher. This information was to prove crucial in his conviction based on the precision of what occurred next.
Jack posed the victims in a clearly sexual manner and butchered them with great precision in a way that nevertheless appeared more animal than human. He cut away portions of their genitalia. The mutilation can only be explained as purely evil.
When Jack was first questioned on suspicion of burglary, the authorities released him, but they kept an eye on him. They were suspicious but didn’t have hard evidence, yet. The police maintained surveillance on Jack and it paid off. They saw him throw away a ski mask, soaked in what was later verified to be Amanda’s blood. Jack later admitted to cutting her in order to drink her blood, something he had fantasized about doing, in order to fulfill his lycanthropic desires.
Jack identifies with this savage beast. He likes to brag of being like a Werewolf, even though he had shaved his entire body to avoid detection.
Jack was eventually convicted of killing both Rita and Mandy.
In order to avoid the death penalty, Jack admitted to previously killing 9-year-old Penny Davis, the girl he had taken to the cave near Tonasket. He had wanted to keep her alive but had botched the job. She had died too quickly after he cut her throat too deeply while torturing her. He had returned to her body for sexual purposes repeatedly. He also buried her in a sexually suggestive position. Although the authorities recovered Penny’s body, they could not identify the location of the original burial site, or the site of the actual crimes.
Jack Spillman had a long criminal history. He had escalated from burglary, to stalking, then to rape. The police were aware of his presence. He was obviously dangerous, and yet nothing was done until it was too late.
Jack Owen Spillman, III, will spend the rest of his life in prison at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center in Washington State. His guards aren’t allowed to comment on his “state of being”. But we can be guaranteed the evil that resides within him is locked away in a very cold, damp prison cell.
Click here to read JJ Rogers’ previous posts on Pacific Northwest murderers:
Murder Stories I Can Never Forget: Snake River Serial Killer Still at Large?
Will Karmic Retribution Trip Up Kevin Coe, the Notorious South Hill Rapist?
JJ Rogers is the owner of Northern Tier Fine Arts Studio. A bit of a Renaissance man, he is a professional portrait artist and a retired math teacher. He has served as a Washington State Math Advisory Panelist, and is the creator of many state math questions on high stakes testing. Most importantly for us, however, he has substantial knowledge of crimes of violence commiited in the Pacific Northwest over the past 40 years.