Woman Shoots Her Date and Stops a Photographer's Three-Year Killing Spree

Woman Shoots Her Date and Stops a Photographer's Three-Year Killing Spree: The Murder of Judy Doll, Shirley Britford, and Ruth Mercado

August 1957, Los Angeles. A nineteen-year-old named Judy Doll climbs into a stranger's car for what she believes is a professional photo shoot. She never returns. What remained hidden for months was that her killer kept a toolbox filled with photographs documenting every moment of his crimes-image after image, victim after victim.

In this episode, we explore the systematic predation of Harvey Glatman, a man of completely ordinary appearance who weaponized the desperation of aspiring models. We examine the contradictory witness descriptions, the rehearsal sessions with women he did not kill, and the devastating gap in information between jurisdictions that allowed a documented sex offender to operate freely in a new city.

Victim: Judy Doll, Shirley Britford, Ruth Mercado
Date: August 1957 - October 1958
Location: Los Angeles, California
Status: Solved; Perpetrator Executed

- Glatman used at least three false identities (Johnny Glenn, George Williams, Frank Johnson) within the same modeling circuit without detection
- A woman named Lorraine Vigil wrestled a gun from him during a fourth attempted abduction and shot him, leading to his arrest
- His home contained a toolbox with sequential photographs of each victim before, during, and after their murders
- He had served five years for kidnapping and sexual assault but arrived in California with no criminal history transmitted between states

Judy Doll, Shirley Britford, Ruth Mercado, Los Angeles 1957, serial killer, homicide investigation, true crime, forensic evidence, criminal predator, missing women, unsolved disappearance solved, true crime English

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com

OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.

Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.

We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.

From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.

© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie