Linwood Earl Forte was born on July 25, 1964, in North Carolina. 

On May 26, 1990, Linwood Earl Forte committed his first recorded attack. He targeted 70-year-old Eliza Jones in her home, where he tried to strangle her while she was in bed. He had to flee when her daughter arrived home. Eliza could not remember details about her attacker and could not assist the police in their investigation. Two months later, on July 14, 1990, 79-year-old Hattie Davis Bonner was found dead in her bed. She had been suffocated in a manner similar to Eliza's attack.

Later, on October 6, 1990, Forte broke into the house of 78-year-old Alvin Bowen and his 75-year-old wife Thelma, who was blind. When Alvin discovered Forte, he was stabbed multiple times. Afterward, Forte strangled Thelma to death. To hide his crimes, Forte set their home and car on fire. Neighbors noticed the fire and called for help, allowing the fire department to extinguish the flames before reaching the couple’s bedroom. Despite these actions, the police struggled to find any leads or suspects. They offered a reward of $2,000 for information that could result in an arrest.

As the number of murders in Goldsboro increased, residents grew worried and rumors of a serial killer spread. Early on, local police did not believe in a serial killer theory. They thought the recent murders did not connect aside from a few coincidences. However, investigators soon saw patterns linking the attacks. All victims were elderly, the attacks occurred late at night, and the houses were near vacant lots. Additionally, female victims were either strangled or suffocated. Eventually, all four murder cases went cold and became some of the most notorious unsolved murders in North Carolina.

In 1996, Forte was convicted of firing a gun inside his home. Because he was a convicted felon, he provided a DNA sample that went into the national database, CODIS. On April 30, 2001, his DNA linked him to the murders, and he was arrested at work. While in jail awaiting trial, investigators found evidence connecting him to a 1994 murder of 46-year-old Dora Ann Thomas, who had been raped and strangled. Although he was not charged for this crime, he remains the prime suspect.

When his trial for the Nightstalker murders began, Forte faced overwhelming evidence against him. He was convicted of three murders and several rapes, receiving a death sentence for the murders and life sentences for the rapes. The DNA evidence was so strong that his lawyers did not call any witnesses. In 2004, the North Carolina Court of Appeals rejected his appeal related to an attempted prison escape and an assault on a guard. As of July 2022, Forte is on death row, awaiting execution.