The Man Who Started ‘Murderabilia’ Lives In Baton Rouge

Did you know the man who is thought to have started the 'murderabilia' craze lives in Baton Rouge?

In lieu of Charles Manson getting a marriage license to marry a 26-year-old woman he named Star, it got Tard and I talking about 'murderabilia.'

'Murderabilia' is a term identifying collectibles related to murders, murderers or other violent crimes, coined by Andy Kahan, director of the Houston Police Department's Crime Victims Office.

The man who is thought to have started it is Rick Staton, a former mortician. He has a collection of over 1,500 pieces including paintings from John Wayne Gacy, who Staton "befriended" in prison before his execution.

The law is still fuzzy on the trades of these collectible items. The serial killers themselves are not allowed to make a profit. The collectors, however, might be able to. As of last year, the law still isn't clear. It's said that even if it is illegal, it wouldn't stop it from happening.

Staton says he doesn't sell or trade his collectibles anymore. Back when he did, though, he was a 'mule' for John Wayne Gacy. He became his exclusive art dealer. There was a law in Illinois that stopped Gacy from selling his paintings. Staton and Gacy found a way around the law.

When the state if Illinois stopped Gacy from mailing Staton his paintings and drawings, Staton would just drive up to the institution, accept the paintings as "gifts", and then sold them. He would then "gift" some money into Gacy's inmate account weeks later.

Here's what Staton told the Washington Post:

"I got a third of the profit and Gacy got the rest," he says. "I guess I made about $3,500, all put together." He says there's no doubt that some killers are 20th century American pop-culture icons, just like Andy Warhol and James Dean, and thus as worthwhile as anything else to collect.

"Manson's image, his name, is right up there with Coca-Cola and Hershey bars."

There was even a painting that Gacy "gifted" to Staton that is of Staton's son at 2-years-old.

There are two documentaries that Staton is featured in. One from 2000  simply called Collectors (which is available on YouTube), and one from 2014 called Serial Killer Culture, which is on Netflix.