North Dakota’s Most Notorious Criminal ‘Harvey The Hammer’

Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Kosinski-- unfortunately, each state is known for having a notorious criminal.

Have you ever wondered who the most notorious criminal in North Dakota is? If not, you’re probably more normal than me.

**WARNING: This content may not be suitable for all ages/audiences. You may find some of these images disturbing and unsettling. Read with caution.**

The Most Notorious Criminal In North Dakota

He's been labeled the "Want-Ad Killer" and "Harvey the Hammer." Harvey Carignan has also been labeled "North Dakota's Most Notorious Criminal" by Reader's Digest.

He was born in 1927 in Fargo, North Dakota. He didn't spend much of his life in our state (thankfully) but he did have North Dakota roots.

His murders started in Alaska in 1949 while he was serving in the U.S. Army. He murdered a 57-year-old woman and was sent to Alcatraz shortly after that.

According to Monster Watch True Crime, he was paroled in 1960. Not long after that, he starts committing gruesome crimes again.

Throughout his life, Carignan served time in Leavenworth, Alcatraz, and Minnesota State Prison, Walla Walla State Prison for rapes, murders, assaults, robbery, and burglaries.

Carignan eventually got life in prison for the murders of two women in the early 1970s.

His Victims

Some of this man's victims include:

19-year old, Leslie Laura Brock. She was found in October of 1972 in Washington. She suffered several blows to the head. According to the source, witnesses claim to have seen the woman get into Carrigan‘s truck.

In 1973, 15-year-old, Kathy Sue Miller went to a gas station to apply for a job where Carrigan worked.

He raped her and beat her to death with a hammer.

According to Monster Watch, she was found two months later on an Indian reservation in Everett, Washington.

Several other women were abducted, assaulted and murdered with a hammer at the hands of Carignan. 

In total, Carignan killed at least five women, but many believe he killed/assaulted as many as 18.

According to The Independent, Carignan said in court that god ordered him to kill "Whores and harlots." That defense didn't work out for him.

He went on to spend the rest of his life in prison at Minnesota State Correctional Facility. He died at 95 just last year (2023).