Tracy Lee Housel was born on May 7, 1958, in Paget Parish, Bermuda. He held dual nationality due to his Bermudian birth and American citizenship. Much of his early life remains unclear in the public record, but supporters of clemency later claimed that Housel had a severely troubled childhood marked by abuse and neglect. He reportedly suffered from hypoglycemia, a condition affecting his blood sugar levels, which his legal team later argued could have impacted his mental stability.

Before becoming known for his crimes, Housel worked as a long-haul truck driver. His job gave him mobility across various U.S. states, which ultimately enabled his crime spree. He often traveled through the West and Midwest, frequenting roadside bars and truck stops. By all accounts, Housel presented himself as a rugged "cowboy" or biker figure—someone who easily gained trust but quickly turned violent. Prior to the murders, he was already involved in petty crimes and robberies, and some of his earliest known offenses began in 1984.

Tracy Housel’s violent spree began in earnest in early 1985, although he had already committed robbery in 1984. On March 16, 1984, in Salinas, California, he lured Sophia Love Lewis to a motel room, threatened her with a knife, and robbed her of $100. Though she survived and identified him, there is no public record of him serving time for that offense.

His first confirmed murder occurred on February 20, 1985, when he picked up Troy Smith, a truck driver from South Dakota, while in Texas. After drinking together, Housel sodomized and then bludgeoned Smith to death with a hammer. Smith’s body was later dumped near a truck stop in Rose City, Texas.

Housel then traveled to Iowa, where on March 30, 1985, he picked up Gary Lee Kennedy, a 45-year-old hitchhiker. During the ride, Housel stabbed him four times and slit his throat before leaving him to die in a ditch near Interstate 80. Kennedy miraculously survived, later testifying against Housel in court.

Just days later, on April 3, 1985, Housel picked up an unnamed 18-year-old woman in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He raped and robbed her after taking her to a secluded location. On April 6, 1985, Housel’s final known victim was Carolyn Jean Dellinger Drew, a 44-year-old woman he met at a Union 76 gas station in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Housel raped, beat, and strangled her in Norcross, Georgia. He stole her car and credit card, driving to Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was arrested on April 15, 1985 while trying to use Drew’s credit card.

During interrogation and court proceedings, Housel confessed to multiple crimes and claimed to have killed 17 people, but only three murders were confirmed. A taped confession played during trial showed Housel breaking down and describing the killings in detail. He cried during both the recording and its playback in court. He claimed one attack, on Gary Kennedy, was self-defense after an alleged unwanted advance—a claim Kennedy denied under oath.

In 1986, Housel pleaded guilty to the murder of Drew and theft of her vehicle. Prosecutors dropped rape charges but still pursued the death penalty. After a swift jury deliberation of just over an hour, Housel was sentenced to death by lethal injection and given 20 years for vehicle theft.

In the years following his conviction, various advocacy groups and British government officials—including MP Vera Baird and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw—appealed for clemency. They cited his mental health, childhood trauma, and dual nationality. However, these efforts were unsuccessful.

On March 12, 2002, Housel was executed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, Georgia. He expressed remorse to his victim's family and recited the Lord’s Prayer before receiving a lethal injection. His long claim of 17 victims remains unproven.