By Josef Levi

Everyone has heard of the Orphan Maker. His killing spree has left 38 dead, 23 children without parents, two children missing and millions terrified. Parents have locked doors—not just to protect their children—but to ensure their own safety as the most prolific serial killer in recent history operated with shocking precision and efficiency.

Not a single coherent clue about the mysterious and meticulous Orphan Maker turned up, even as bodies piled by the dozens. He left no DNA, footprints, tire treads, photographs, security camera footage, witnesses or any other sort of workable data. Only legends told from family members with holes in their hearts that grew over time.

Fear griped our society and changed our everyday life, until Nathan P. Wright happened. Nathan was caught in the home of Roger and Becky Frump after breaking in and attempting to raise his body count to an even 40; at least, that is what we were told.

8 months ago, Nathan was arrested under suspicion of being the Orphan Maker. But is he? The circumstances of his capture were strange, especially compared to what people expected from this legendary killer.

An anonomous tip from an “eye witness” informed the police of a suspicious person entering the Frump’s house at 9:00 pm on an unassuming Wednesday night last Februrary. Returning home at 9:15—like usual— the Frumps noticed their house was ransacked and confronted an unkept stranger in their living room. Police would show up to arrest this trespasser minutes later.

The evidence they collected at the scene proved Nathan was guilty that night. Over a half dozen DNA samples were collected and, after testing, confirmed to match Mr. Wright. He also aided police in finding the bodies of several more suspected victims of the Orphan Maker, while knowing the location of other bodies previously found despite details not yet being made public.

With all of this, it seems obvious to most people to conclude that Nathan P. Wright is the orphan maker. This would mean that our streets are safe again. However, more evidence was collected in that one night than all of the Orphan Makers previous crimes combined. It begs a question: why was this time so different?

If Nathan is the Orphan Maker, he changed several things about his M.O. on the night he was caught. Targeting parents with young children was what gave the Orphan Maker his name, but the Frumps don’t have children. Trace evidence was always meticulously removed or accounted for, except for this time. Also, the Frumps were attacked on their own home—another oddity compared to all previous cases.

One might also consider who Nathan P. Wright is to be strange. Profilers had predicted that the Orphan Maker was a professional in a high pressure job: an individual who could blend in with society while liking order and control over their surroundings. Nathan had no job or presence in society; in fact, he was a missing child himself.

Sydney and Kyle Wright reported their son missing 37 years ago, before mysteriously disappearing themselves. This was long before the Orphan Maker’s reign of terror, and the boy was under two years old. After seven years without any trace of the Wrights, they were all presumed dead.

This does not align with Nathan’s own recollection of being abandoned by his mother and father at the age of 5. According to the defendant, he was dropped off at a mysterious cabin on his 5th birthday by his “parents”. After that, he was forced to kill live animals to earn his own survival from an unnamed parental figure.

This parental figure has been described as a large man with glowing red eyes—possibly wearing a mask—and a trench coat. This “parent” was mostly absent, other than bringing Nathan live anmials to hunt and helping him harvest people as “bug food.” According to the defendant, this bug food was critical to keep the bugs around this cabin from biting himself.

While my colleagues—many of which have stories pubically announcing their opinions—write this strange story off as a prefabricated insanity plea designed to avoid the death penalty. This journalist is not so certain. The defendant’s manic episodes and loss of control, occasionally leading to Nathan injuring himself or lashing out at others, do not fit the profile of someone calculated enough to plan the careful assassination of so many civilians without any trace of their misdeeds. Even as a charade, this seems out of character for the Orphan Maker.

It is possible that Nathan’s story is true, or perhaps, partially true. This masked surrogate parent is a lead that could corroborate the defendants story or provide a more coherent story in its place: if he exists. Nathan’s parents could also be alive to clarify details of his story or where he was found. However, no details that could be used to find these people have been mentioned in any form.

Science could help fill in the gaps in this strange story as well. The Orphan Maker left no physical evidence to be tested, but Nathan did. Crime scene analysts are working on determining where Nathan was living as well as other details that could confirm or debunk parts of his story. Every detail they uncover provides a way to measure the defendants story against actual facts.

For example, they know that he lived a rural life style with very few modern amenities in a location that appears to have been controlled to create a more temperate climate where bugs—in particular Carrion Beetles and other biting insects—thrive. This, at the very least, aligns with the defendants claim that bugs were everywhere in his home and bit him.

There are more questions than answers at this point of the hearing the defendant was granted to tell his story. Nathan is certainly not obsolved of blame. He knows too much to be a bystander; however, is he the Orphan Maker? We simply do not know.

This journalist is dedicated to finding out.