Ira Samuel Einhorn, known as "The Unicorn
Killer", is an American environmental activist
convicted of murdæring his ex-girlfriend,
Holly Maddux.
Einhorn had a five-year relationship with
Holly Maddux, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College
who was originally from Tyler, Texas and known
to have a "rebellious fascination with the
exotic Jewish male".
In 1977, Maddux broke up with Einhorn.
She went to New York City and became involved
with Saul Lapidus.
On Sept. 9, 1977, Maddux returned to the apartment
she had once shared with Einhorn to collect
her things (Einhorn had reportedly threatened
to throw her things out into the street as
trash) and was never seen again.
Several weeks later, the Philadelphia police
questioned Einhorn about her disappearance.
He claimed that Maddux had gone out to the
neighborhood co-op to buy some tofu and sprouts,
and never returned.
Eventually, Einhorn's initial alibi came into
question when his neighbors began complaining
about a foul smell coming from his apartment,
which in turn aroused the suspicion of authorities.
Eighteen months later, on March 28, 1979,
Maddux's decomposing corpse was found by police
in a trunk stored in a closet, in Einhorn's
apartment.
After finding Maddux the police reportedly
said to Einhorn, "It looks like we found Holly,"
to which Einhorn reportedly replied, "You
found what you found".
Einhorn's bail was reduced to $40,000 at the
request of his attorney Arlen Specter; Einhorn
was released from custody in advance of his
trial by paying 10% of the bond's value, or
$4,000.
In 1981, just days before his murder trial
was to begin, Einhorn skipped bail and fled
to Europe.
He traveled in Europe for the next 17 years
and married a Swedish woman named Annika Flodin.
Back in Pennsylvania, as Einhorn had already
been arraigned, the state convicted him in
absentia in 1993, for Maddux's murder.
Einhorn was sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole.
In 1997, Einhorn was tracked down and arrested
in Champagne-Mouton, France, where he had
been living under the name "Eugène Mallon".
The extradition process, however, proved more
complex than initially envisioned.
Under the extradition treaty between France
and the United States, either country may
refuse extradition under certain circumstances,
and Einhorn used multiple avenues to avoid
extradition.
Although his sentence was not the death penalty,
Einhorn's defense attorneys argued that Einhorn
would face the death penalty if he was returned
to the United States.
France, like many countries that have abolished
the death penalty, does not extradite defendants
to jurisdictions that retain the death penalty
without assurance that the death penalty will
be neither sought nor applied.
Pennsylvania authorities pointed out that
when the murder occurred, Pennsylvania did
not have the death penalty and so Einhorn
could not be executed.
Therefore, to secure the extradition of Einhorn
and to ensure that he was imprisoned for the
murder, the Pennsylvania legislature passed
in 1998 a bill, nicknamed the "Einhorn Law",
allowing defendants convicted in absentia
to request another trial.
On July 20, 2001, Einhorn was extradited to
the United States.
Taking the stand in his own defense, Einhorn
claimed that Maddux was murdered by CIA agents
who attempted to frame Einhorn for the crime
due to Einhorn's "investigations" on the Cold
War and "psychotronics".
After two hours of deliberation, the jury
convicted him on 17 October 2002, concluding
the month-long trial.
The following day, he was sentenced to a mandatory
life term without the possibility of parole.
In April 2016, Einhorn was transferred to
SCI Laurel Highlands, a minimum security prison
that provides care for inmates with health
needs.
