Samuel Christopher Hawkins was born on January 9, 1943, in Jefferson County, Georgia. His early life is not well documented. At the age of 15, he claimed to have begun preaching as a minister in a black Evangelical church called "The Church of God in Christ." He traveled across several states, including Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, during his ministry.

Before 1975, Hawkins was incarcerated for committing a crime. He spent time in a prison in Colorado for rape and another prison in Oklahoma for burglary. After being released from prison, he started to travel around the Texas Panhandle. During this time, he worked as a butcher.

On February 2, 1976, Samuel Christopher Hawkins abducted 12-year-old Rhonda Ann Keys from her home in Amarillo, Texas. He took her to a remote area where he bound her and committed acts of violence against her. He killed her and left her body in a culvert near Panhandle, covering her face with a blood-soaked pillow. Her body was discovered a week later, and investigators believed the murder occurred in a different location due to the lack of blood at the scene.

The following year, on May 20, 1977, Hawkins murdered 19-year-old Abbe Rodgers Hamilton, who was pregnant. He attacked her at her home in Borger, Texas. After restraining her, he raped and stabbed her multiple times. He attempted to decapitate her before escaping from the scene. This murder greatly disturbed the local community, leading residents to set up a reward fund for information about the killer.

Hawkins was arrested on June 30, 1977, after witnesses reported seeing him trying to break into houses in Amarillo. He faced charges for the rape of a woman in nearby Hereford and was also investigated for the two murders and many rapes that took place in Texas and other states. The media named him "The Traveling Rapist" due to the widespread nature of his crimes. To gather more evidence, police used hypnosis on some victims and witnesses.

After his arrest, Hawkins was charged with two counts of capital murder and multiple counts of rape. His bail was set at $600,000. He was set to stand trial in Stinnett for the murder of Abbe Rodgers on February 7, 1978. Before the trial, Hawkins made claims to the media about being misdiagnosed as sane and expressed his twisted motivations for his crimes.

On March 16, 1978, Hawkins was found guilty of the murder of Rodgers and sentenced to death. His second trial for the murder of Rhonda Keys took place later that year. He chose to represent himself, and the trial ended with a guilty verdict and another death sentence.

In the years following his conviction, Hawkins experienced multiple delays in his execution. Various appeals extended the time before he was finally executed. After several stays, he was executed by lethal injection on February 21, 1995. He did not make a final statement before his death. His last meal included a double-meat cheeseburger, french fries, and tea. After his execution, his estate was transferred to a woman who was a pen pal of his.