Convicted Murderer on Deathbed Confesses to 11 Further Killings

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(PatriotWise.com) — A convicted murderer who died last week in prison admitted to killing 11 women during the 1990s in a series of deathbed interviews with investigators, the New York Daily News reported.

Long-haul trucker Garry Artman, who died on December 28, was convicted last year of the 1996 murder of Sharon Hammock in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While he was suspected in several other murders, Artman was never tried or convicted in those cases.

Days before his death from lung cancer, the 66-year-old Artman contacted local law enforcement and admitted to 11 other murders, according to sources who spoke with WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Lt. Eric Brunner from the Kent County Sheriff’s Department told WOOD-TV that investigators met with Artman three times in the prison hospital before his death to see if they could get any information that would help them close some unsolved murders and missing persons cases.

According to Lt. Brunner, the interviews were “fruitful.”

Seventeen women, mostly prostitutes, disappeared in Grand Rapids between 1993 and 1996. While some were found dead, others have never been found.

Investigators told WOOD-TV that Artman confessed to 11 murders because that was the number the prosecution mentioned during his trial.

Artman had already been linked to two of the cases.

He was convicted in September 2023 of the rape and murder of Sharon Hammock, over 25 years after her body was discovered. At his trial, Artman denied any involvement in her murder or that of any of the other women.

Artman’s DNA was also linked to the 2006 murder of 24-year-old Dusty Shuck, whose body was discovered near a truck stop in Maryland. However, Artman’s death from lung cancer prevents the case from going to trial.

According to WOOD-TV, investigators are reviewing the details of Artman’s deathbed confessions to try to connect them to some of the unsolved cases in Grand Rapids.

Lt. Brunner told WOOD-TV that Artman’s death would not stop law enforcement from investigating so they could “bring closure to these families.”