Kenneth McDuff: The Broomstick Killer

**CORRECTED/UPDATED 9/3: Audio Issues with this episode**

Kenneth McDuff was supposed to die in prison. Instead, a broken justice system set him free—and unleashed one of the most sadistic serial killers Texas has ever known. Nicknamed The Broomstick Killer for the brutality of his first murders in 1966, McDuff’s first death sentence was commuted, and he walked out of prison decades later into a society unprepared for the monster it had released. What followed was a trail of women abducted, strangled, and discarded across county lines, while law enforcement scrambled to connect the dots.

Beneath the surface, McDuff lived a double life: a construction worker by day and predator by night, the embodiment of functional psychopathy. His victims revealed society’s blind spots, and his release exposed the failures of a parole system that valued procedure over protection. In the end, McDuff didn’t just claim lives—he forced Texas to rewrite its laws, leaving behind a legacy carved in fear and reform.

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References:

Alcatraz East. (n.d.). The Broomstick Killer: Kenneth McDuff. Alcatraz East Crime Museum. Retrieved August 30, 2025, from https://www.alcatrazeast.com/crime-library/serial-killers/the-broomstick-killer/

Lavergne, G. M. (1999). Bad boy from Rosebud: The murderous life of Kenneth Allen McDuff. University of North Texas Press.

Oxygen. (2019, June 26). Death Row inmate’s release tied to two murders in the ’90s. Oxygen True Crime. https://www.oxygen.com/prosecuting-evil-with-kelly-siegler/crime-news/serial-killer-kenneth-mcduff-victims-what-to-know

Riggs, R. (Host). (2020–present). Freed to Kill [TV series]. Apple TV. https://tv.apple.com/at/show/freed-to-kill/umc.cmc.6xhr0wm5aq3uso8fx1swo0vba

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. (1997). McDuff v. Johnson, 118 F.3d 446 (5th Cir. 1997). Justia. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/118/446/495656/

Hall, R. (2014). Review of Bad Boy from Rosebud: The Murderous Life of Kenneth Allen McDuff, by G. M. Lavergne. Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Retrieved August 30, 2025, from Project MUSE via University of North Texas Digital Library: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/134/article/549192/pdf

Lavergne, G. M. (1999). Bad Boy from Rosebud: The murderous life of Kenneth Allen McDuff. University of North Texas Press. (Available via UNT Digital Library: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc271399/)

Witherspoon, T. (2024, October 8). McDuff murder victim Melissa Northrup was mother of Eddy man shot, killed along with his son over the weekend. KWTX. Retrieved August 30, 2025, from https://www.kwtx.com/2024/10/08/mcduff-murder-victim-melissa-northrup-was-mother-eddy-man-shot-killed-along-with-his-son-over-weekend/