Hugh Bion Morse was born on January 9, 1930, in Kansas City, Missouri. There is not a lot of information about his early childhood. Morse joined the United States Army in the 1940s. After serving, he had some issues with military discipline. In 1946, he went AWOL, which means he was absent without leave from the United States Air Force.

In 1950, Morse left the Marines without permission as well. Following this, he moved to North Carolina. In May 1951, he was arrested for indecent exposure and assault while in Wilmington, North Carolina. This led to his dishonorable discharge from the military in December of the same year. After his discharge, Morse traveled to California.

In May 1951, Hugh Bion Morse came to the attention of law enforcement in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was arrested for indecent exposure and assault. Following this arrest, he was dishonorably discharged from the military.

After his time in North Carolina, Morse moved to California. There, he committed several burglaries in Los Angeles. He was caught and sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation. In 1955, Morse lured two 8-year-old girls to an alleyway in Fairfield with the promise of ice cream. He sexually assaulted both girls. After his arrest, he was sent to California State Hospital, where he was declared a sexual psychopath. He remained there until January 4, 1957, when he was released under a one-year probation.

Shortly after his release, Morse arrived in Spokane, Washington. He later stated that he began to spy on women in their homes without them knowing. On November 7, 1959, he broke into the home of 28-year-old Glorie Brie. He went on to rape and then murder her. Ten months later, on September 26, 1960, he raped and murdered 69-year-old Blanche Boggs. On October 25 of the same year, he severely beat 23-year-old Beverly Myers in her home, but she survived.

On October 28, 1960, Morse traveled to Reseda, California. There, he invaded the home of his ex-wife, Virginia. He attacked her with a knife, but fled the scene when he was confronted by her mother, who was present during the attack.

Morse continued to move around the country. By April 1961, he was in Atlanta, Georgia. He broke into an apartment and threatened a woman and her three daughters with a knife. He molested one of the daughters before leaving without causing serious harm. A week later, he broke into a different room in the same building and raped an 18-year-old woman at knifepoint before escaping.

In April 1961, Morse moved to Dayton, Ohio. There, he forced his way into another woman's apartment. At knifepoint, he raped, beat, and stabbed her multiple times before leaving her for dead. The woman survived the attack.

Morse then traveled to Birmingham, Alabama. On July 11, 1961, he entered the home of 27-year-old Bobbi Ann Landini. He raped her and beat her to death with a pipe. After this murder, the FBI was called in to locate him, and he was added to their Ten Most Wanted list.

Morse ended up in St. Paul, Minnesota. On September 18, 1961, he raped and murdered 34-year-old Carol Ronan. It was not long before a woman recognized his photo and reported him to the authorities. He was arrested on October 13, 1961. After his arrest, Morse confessed to four murders.

Morse was charged with second-degree murder for the killing of Ronan and received a life sentence. In December 1963, he attempted suicide in his prison cell but survived. In 1979, he was extradited to Washington, where he pled guilty to the murders of Glorie Brie and Blanche Boggs, along with the assault on Beverly Myers. He agreed to never return to Washington and received a lifetime of probation for these crimes.

Morse died in prison in April 2003 at the age of 73, having served 42 years. He was also suspected in other unsolved cases. One case involved the murder of 9-year-old Cindy Rogers in Spokane in 1959. Although evidence linked Morse to her, DNA results later excluded him as her killer. He was also questioned regarding the disappearance of Ann Marie Burr in Tacoma in 1961.