Charles Ray Hatcher was born on July 16, 1929, in Mound City, Missouri. This small town is located about 34 miles north of St. Joseph. Hatcher was the youngest child in his family. His parents were Jesse James and Lula Novada (Bomar) Hatcher. He had three older siblings. His father had a troubled history; he was a bootlegger, an ex-convict, and an alcoholic who was often abusive.

Hatcher faced bullying at school. This bullying affected him deeply. In response, he began to bully other classmates. This pattern of behavior continued into his adulthood. One tragic event marked his childhood. In the spring of 1936, Hatcher and his older brothers were flying a kite. They used copper wire they had found in an old Model T Ford. Unfortunately, the kite hit a high-voltage power line, which electrocuted Hatcher's oldest brother, Arthur Allen. He died at the scene. This loss had a significant impact on the family. Soon after Arthur's death, Hatcher's father left home and divorced his mother. Hatcher's mother remarried multiple times. In 1945, she moved with Hatcher and her third husband to St. Joseph.

Charles Ray Hatcher was known for a series of violent crimes that spanned several years and locations. In August 1969, he confessed to abducting and strangling a 12-year-old boy named William Freeman in Antioch, California. Later that month, a six-year-old boy, Gilbert Martinez, was targeted and assaulted, leading to Hatcher's arrest under a false name. He faced charges for this crime, but issues regarding his mental health arose during the judicial process.

In the early 1970s, Hatcher went through multiple psychiatric evaluations, where different professionals offered varying opinions on his mental state. He was moved between hospitals and correctional facilities after several attempts to escape custody, further complicating his legal situation. In December 1972, he was convicted of the molestation and abduction of Martinez, categorized as a "mentally disordered sexual offender."

Hatcher continued to exhibit alarming behavior in subsequent years. In 1978, he was arrested again for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. Following this incident, he became involved in further assaults against younger boys, leading to his confinement in mental health facilities.

On July 29, 1982, 11-year-old Michelle Steele went missing, and her body was found the next day. Hatcher was arrested while trying to check into a hospital. While in custody, he confessed to multiple murders dating back to 1969. He provided details for at least 15 murders, including a confession for the killing of Eric Christgen, a four-year-old boy whose disappearance had been under investigation for years.

Hatcher was convicted of the murder of Eric Christgen in October 1983, receiving a life sentence without the chance of parole for 50 years. Facing another murder trial for Michelle Steele in late 1984, Hatcher requested a death sentence, but the jury recommended a life term instead. Shortly after, he died by suicide in his prison cell on December 7, 1984.