Jay Lippman was an engineer and chess prodigy who murdered three people over 20 years, all while regularly being abetted by childhood friend Rick Morrissey.
History[]
Lippman attended Hudson University in 1983, and distinguished himself by building a computer that could play chess. His intellectual abilities hid a darker side, however; he was a sexual sadist who was aroused by dominating, controlling, and abusing women. In February 1983, Lippman drugged Sally Morrissey, his friend Ricky's younger sister, and raped her with a Coca-Cola bottle. A few months later, Ricky helped Lippman pick up a young girl named Alyssa Cooney, who Lippman raped, tortured, and murdered. He then manipulated Ricky into burying the body in the basement of his mother's house.
Lippman kept tabs on Ricky, who had begun abusing drugs to numb his guilt, and knew that someday Ricky would be either useful or a liability. Later, Lippman married a woman named Anne, with whom he had two children, and became a successful engineer. In 1992, however, his sadistic sexual urges began to resurface, and he raped, tortured, and murdered a prostitute named Lisa Messall. He told Anne that he had been having an affair but had ended it, and kept her in the dark about his sexual inclinations.
When Ricky's mother died, Lippman persuaded him to move Cooney's body, which had been buried in the basement for nineteen years. When state police found her body, they alerted Captain James Deakins, who had investigated her murder. He sent Detectives Goren and Eames to investigate, and they began to suspect Ricky. Fearing that Ricky would lead the police to him, Lippman killed Ricky and made it look like a suicide. Ricky's death aroused Goren's suspicions, however, and he began to look closer at Lippman.
Goren eventually had Lippman arrested and, during the interrogation, made him feel powerless by addressing only his lawyer. Lippman gave in to his need for control and began interacting with Goren, who told him that it took "grand mastery" to suppress his violent urges for so long. Lippman replied "You have no idea" and then burst into tears. He was then arrested and imprisoned for the murders. (CI: "Yesterday")
Known Victims[]
- 1983, New York City, New York:
- February: Sally Morrissey (drugged and raped with a bottle)
- Post-February: Alyssa Coon (raped, tortured, and murdered)
- Unknown date in 1992, Montpelier, Vermont: Lisa Messall (raped, tortured, and murdered)
- Unknown date in 2002, New York City, New York: Rick Morrissey (murdered and staged his death to look like a suicide)