Carroll Cole: The 'Barfly Strangler'
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 25
Carroll Edward Cole, the 'Barfly Strangler', was an American serial killer whose violence sprang from a deep, abuse-rooted hatred of women. Over roughly a decade, he strangled at least fourteen to sixteen people — mostly women he met in bars — across several states, while alcoholism fuelled and concealed his crimes. He recognised the danger in himself, even seeking help, yet was repeatedly let slip through the system. Out of respect for the victims, this account avoids graphic detail.
Cole's case is a grim study in how childhood trauma, untreated psychological torment and alcoholism can combine with devastating results.
Key Facts at a Glance
Full name: Carroll Edward Cole
Born: 9 May 1938, Sioux City, Iowa
Known as: The Barfly Strangler
Victims: Confessed to 16 killings, mostly women met in bars
Outcome: Executed in Nevada, 6 December 1985
A childhood of humiliation
Born in 1938 in Iowa and raised in California, Cole endured a deeply damaging childhood. His mother, by his account, was cruel and abusive, at times humiliating him and forcing him into degrading situations. He later traced his violent hatred of women directly to this abuse, saying his victims reminded him of his mother — a chilling, if unexplaining, link between his past and his crimes.
A killer who knew
Unusually, Cole was aware that something was profoundly wrong with him and reportedly sought psychiatric help, even confessing urges to harm women. Yet warnings were not acted upon decisively, and he was at times released despite his admissions. This recurring failure to intervene allowed him to continue killing across multiple states over many years.
The killings
From the 1970s into 1980, Cole drifted between California, Nevada, Texas and beyond, meeting women in bars, drinking with them, and then strangling them. His transient lifestyle and the failure of different jurisdictions to connect the cases allowed the murders to go unlinked for years, even as the toll mounted.
Capture
Cole's spree ended around 1980 in Las Vegas, after the deaths of women in his company finally drew sustained attention. He was arrested, and he confessed in detail to a long series of killings, providing accounts that allowed police to connect crimes across several states and to grasp the true scope of what he had done.
Execution
Cole was convicted of murders in Texas and Nevada. Sentenced to death in Nevada, he declined to fight his execution, reportedly telling the judge 'Thanks' when sentenced. He was executed by lethal injection in Nevada in December 1985, becoming one of the relatively few serial killers of his era to be put to death.
The Barfly Strangler case is a bleak reminder that warning signs — even a killer's own confessions of his urges — must be taken seriously. The women Cole murdered, met in passing and killed in the grip of his hatred, are the human cost of those missed chances, and the part of the story that matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people did Carroll Cole kill?
He confessed to killing at least 14 to 16 people, mostly women, across several US states, and claimed the number could be higher.
Why is he called the 'Barfly Strangler'?
He met most of his victims in bars, where he drank with them before strangling them.
What happened to Carroll Cole?
He was executed in Nevada in 1985, having declined to appeal his death sentence.
A Killer Who Asked to Be Stopped
One of the most disturbing threads of Cole's story is how openly he warned others about himself. Over the years he repeatedly sought psychiatric help, at times committing himself to institutions and telling staff that he felt compelled to kill women — yet he was released again and again, free to move between states and continue killing. When he was finally caught in Dallas in 1985, the scale of his crimes became clear. Cole refused to fight his death sentence, telling the court he deserved to die, and was executed by lethal injection in Nevada in December 1985, having insisted to the end that he could not control the violence within him.
Watch: Full Documentary
Sources & Further Reading
Read Also
Marc Dutroux: Belgium's Most Hated Man and the Case That Broke a Nation's Trust
Colin Ireland: The London 'Gay Slayer'
Manuel Delgado Villegas: Spain's 'El Arropiero'
Comments