Harold David Haulman III was born on November 28, 1978, in Michigan. In the mid-1990s, his family moved to Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany, where his father worked as a civilian technician for the U.S. military. During this time, Harold struggled to maintain relationships and eventually had a falling out with his father, who left Germany and moved to Turkey. After being kicked out of his girlfriend’s home in early 1999, Haulman became homeless and lived in a dugout in the woods near Ramstein, surviving through odd jobs and petty theft.

His first known murder occurred in May 1999, when he killed 21-year-old Air Force colonel’s son Joseph Lawrence “Jay” Whitehurst in a park after a night of drinking. Though Haulman claimed it was a drunken altercation, he later admitted he killed Whitehurst simply to see what it felt like to take a life. Diagnosed with early symptoms of schizophrenia but declared legally sane, he was sentenced to six years in a German reform school for juveniles and released after serving three.

Upon returning to the United States, Haulman settled in Battle Creek, Michigan. He worked as a truck driver and lived a transient lifestyle, moving between states including Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, and Maryland. He married a woman named Anne, but the marriage fell apart due to his sexual fantasies involving bondage. He later used online dating sites under the alias “Dave” to meet women. His dark urges resurfaced, leading to a string of brutal murders between 2005 and 2020.

Harold Haulman’s known killing spree spans from 1999 to 2020, involving four confirmed victims in Germany, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

His first victim was 21-year-old Joseph Lawrence Whitehurst, whom he bludgeoned to death near the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on May 30, 1999. After a casual night of drinking and sitting around a campfire, Haulman suddenly attacked him with a club, later covering the body with leaves. Though charged with manslaughter under German law, he received a lenient six-year sentence and was paroled after three.

After returning to the U.S., Haulman’s next known murder occurred on June 12, 2005. His victim was 21-year-old Ashley Marie Parlier, who had recently found out she was pregnant. Haulman, believing he was the father, drove her to a remote area near Newton Township, Michigan, where he struck her on the head with a log during an argument and left her body in the woods. He returned two months later and confirmed only bones remained. Ashley was never seen again, and her remains have never been found.

In June 2018, he murdered 25-year-old Tianna Phillips after meeting her through online dating. He drove her to the same wooded area near I-80 and I-81 in Pennsylvania where he would later kill again. After assaulting her, he bludgeoned and stabbed her repeatedly, took photos of the body, and showed them to his wife, who helped him dispose of the remains. The body was placed in a trash bag and dumped behind a movie theater. Phillips was officially missing, and her remains were never recovered.

His final known victim was 26-year-old Erica G. Shultz, an autistic woman from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, who disappeared on December 4, 2020. Cellphone data showed that Haulman was at her apartment that evening. Two days later, he drove her into the woods and bludgeoned her with a mallet, then stabbed her 12 times to ensure death. On December 23, the FBI began surveillance and questioned him, but released him due to a lack of physical evidence. The next day, Haulman destroyed his phone and fled. On December 26, he attempted suicide by slashing his wrists on a railroad track but was found in time by a worker. While recovering in the hospital, he confessed to killing Shultz and revealed the location of her body.

Following his arrest, Haulman also confessed to the murders of Phillips and Parlier. He claimed to feel no remorse and described killing as a high unlike any drug. In August 2021, he pleaded guilty in Pennsylvania and was sentenced to life without parole. In 2022, he was extradited to Michigan, where he led investigators in an unsuccessful attempt to recover Parlier’s remains. On February 1, 2023, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 years, with a chance of parole after 37.5 years. Haulman is currently imprisoned, serving his sentences in both states.