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‘Serial Killer Whisperer’ reveals how he cracked America’s most prolific murderer and unlocked 93 confessions
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James Holland, the Texas Ranger who helped crack “the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history,” is breaking his silence on how he finally got the murderer to confess.
Samuel Little was interviewed repeatedly by Holland, dubbed the “serial killer whisperer,” from June 2018 until shortly before Little’s death in December 2020, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. During those sessions, Little confessed to killing 93 people between 1970 and 2005.
More than 60 of those confessions have since been matched to victims through DNA evidence and corroborating interviews, authorities said.
JOURNALIST’S DANGEROUS OBSESSION WITH A FORGOTTEN SERIAL KILLER UNRAVELED HER REALITY
Samuel Little, right, appears unfazed after being convicted on three counts of first-degree murder Sept. 2, 2014, in Los Angeles Superior Court. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Now retired, Holland is hosting a new true-crime series on Investigation Discovery (ID), “Killer Confessions,” which examines the interrogation tactics and pivotal moments that defined his career.
Holland was initially asked to question Little about a killing he didn’t commit. During more than 700 hours of interviews, Little revealed details of dozens of other slayings only the real perpetrator could have known.
Georgia’s “Macon Jane Doe” has been identified as Yvonne Pless, a victim of Samuel Little (pictured) who was about 20 when he killed her in 1977. Little confessed to 93 murders before his death in 2020. (California Department of Corrections via AP)
“Samuel Little was the epitome of evil,” Holland told Fox News Digital. “He was a mean, horrible person. He was the ultimate predator — a killing machine. He was really smart and had a very distinct photographic memory.”
WATCH: FBI SAYS SAMUEL LITTLE IS WORST SERIAL KILLER IN US HISTORY AFTER HE CONFESSED TO 93 MURDERS
“Some people would have falsely looked at him and said he was just primarily picking up prostitutes,” Holland shared. “But that’s not necessarily true. A vast number of these victims were not prostitutes. They were people he met every day.
“His ability to win people over with his persona, one that manipulated and controlled them? I don’t know how to describe him other than as an ultimate apex predator because he wasn’t bothered by anything.”
This combination of undated sketches provided by the FBI shows drawings made by admitted serial killer Samuel Little, based on his memories of some of his victims. (FBI via AP)
Little was in failing health while serving a life sentence in a California prison when Holland was asked to interview him. The former boxer, who used a wheelchair to get around, had refused to speak with other authorities and initially reacted the same way to Holland.
Retired Texas Ranger James Holland, who interviewed serial killer Samuel Little for hundreds of hours, is the host of the new true-crime series “Killer Confessions: Case Files of a Texas Ranger.” (ID)
“The first time I stepped into that room, he was not happy to see me,” Holland recalled. “He’d get information from you, then send you packing, overwhelming you with anger and threatening tones. He was automatically that way with law enforcement.”
Despite Little’s attempts to assert dominance, Holland never flinched. Little tested the veteran investigator by describing in graphic detail how he killed a woman while locking eyes with him. Holland remained stone-faced, listening.
James Holland told Fox News Digital he refused to flinch as Samuel Little tested him. (ID)
“The first part of dealing with him was getting through the shock in that room with him,” Holland explained. “You couldn’t react to his negativity. When you deal with a serial killer, there’s no remorse. If you start talking to them about remorse, they think you’re speaking Martian. They don’t understand that, can’t comprehend it. They’ll immediately shut down.
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In this handout photo provided by the FBI, serial killer Samuel Little is seen in multiple mugshots/booking photos from 1966-1995. The FBI described Little as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. (FBI via Getty Images)
“Little treated it all like a game,” Holland continued. “Was he going to try to scare the hell out of me or recant the murder he’d just confessed to? He wanted to shock me. He’d throw things and study my face to see how I’d react, deciding whether I was ‘worthy’ of hearing more and whether I thought horribly of him. It was the ultimate acting job for me because I had to keep a completely blank face. He would just stare at me.
“He used the word ‘monster’ all the time. He didn’t want me to think he was a monster, which obviously he was. But I just couldn’t let him know what I was thinking.”
Serial killer Sam Little admitted to killing a Jackson woman in Pascagoula decades ago and dumping her body in a washout in an overgrown area off Greenwich Road in Moss Point. Little produced a photo of the victim, center, and said a police composite sketch (right) was the woman he killed. (Imagn)
Food played a role in Holland’s strategy, according to The Associated Press. During hundreds of hours of interviews, he brought pizza, Dr Pepper and grits — Little’s favorite snacks — and talked sports as Little ate. He also assured Little he wouldn’t be executed and addressed him by his childhood nickname, “Sammy.”
Samuel Little, who was indicted on charges he murdered three women in Los Angeles in the 1980s, listens to opening statements as his trial begins on Aug. 18, 2014. (Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Little, who called Holland “Jimmy,” began to open up.
“When I found something that entertained him, he was intrigued,” Holland said. “That would open the door. The strange thing is, if you blocked out who he was, you could almost enjoy talking to him. He was insightful and funny, and he told great stories. It was easy to forget, at times, how evil he really was. But he was a monster who had no remorse for his killings. You always had to keep that in the back of your mind.
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In this photo dated Oct. 10, 2019, Tonya Maslar holds an old photograph of her mother, Roberta Tandarich, taken before her death in 1991 in Ravenna, Ohio. Tandarich’s body was found dumped at Firestone Metro Park in 1991 and has been confirmed as one of the victims of serial killer Samuel Little. (Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal/USA Today Network)
“He was always trying to get into your head,” Holland recalled. “For me, it was the ultimate game of Sudoku because I was always thinking ahead and putting myself one step ahead of him.
“These serial killers like Little are convincing and manipulative. That’s why they get away with it. And they’re smart. With Little, he was already thinking about DNA before the technology existed. He was careful in what he did and where he left his victims.”
During their conversations, Holland said he was careful never to bring up remorse or discuss the victims as actual victims, and the tactic worked.
Some of Samuel Little’s drawings, according to the FBI. (Imagn)
“If you break that rule, step over that boundary, you can never go back into the room with them,” he said.
“I think, so often, detectives step into the room and lean in on remorse, their moral psyche. That’s generally how confessions occur. You talk about the victim, you talk about the lack of sleep from remorse. But if you take that into a room with a serial killer, you’re done. You can’t come back from that.”
Little was a career criminal who had spent decades in and out of jail. When he wasn’t behind bars for larceny, assault, drug offenses or other crimes, he traveled the country, according to the AP.
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Pascagoula Police Lt. Darren Versiga looks over crime photos to determine where an unidentified woman’s remains were dumped years ago off Greenwich Road in Moss Point, Miss. Versiga believes the woman was murdered by serial killer Samuel Little. (Imagn)
Little said he committed his first killing on New Year’s Eve 1970 in Miami and his last in 2005 in Mississippi. According to the AP, he also killed victims in Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada and Arkansas, among other states.
In 2012, Little was arrested on drug charges, and his DNA linked him to three killings in California.
In “Killer Confessions,” James Holland details the cases that defined his career. (ID)
As Little opened up to Holland, he provided dozens of paintings and drawings of his victims, sometimes scribbling their names and details such as the year they were killed and where he left their bodies.
Pascagoula police Lt. Darren Versiga believes the body of a woman found off Greenwich Road in Moss Point decades ago could be a victim of serial killer Samuel Little. (IMAGN)
“He always remembered where he met the person, the moment he killed them and what their last words were,” said Holland. “He always remembered where he dumped the bodies. And this is 40-plus years later, someone who’s using drugs and alcohol at different points in time. The majority of these crimes were matched up by his descriptions of the crime scene.
“The way he described where he left the bodies and then looked at these crime scene photos,” Holland paused. “It’s mind-numbing. He relived these crimes through his memories. We were able to match so many of those cases because he described the crime scene. And when you looked at the case files and read the reports, there were descriptions of Samuel Little in a witness account.”
Almost all of Samuel Little’s victims were women, many of them prostitutes, drug addicts or poor people living on the edges of society, The Associated Press reported. (Imagn)
As Little kept talking, authorities across the country rushed to reopen cold cases, relying on DNA evidence to prove his guilt. With his health failing, the clock was ticking. Investigators tracked down relatives and brought long-awaited closure to many families. Little later told the Los Angeles Times he had “found a friend in a Texas Ranger.”
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James Holland described Samuel Little as a “monster” and “master manipulator.” (ID)
Little died in 2020 at a California hospital. He was 80. He was serving a life sentence for multiple counts of murder.
“He had no remorse,” said Holland. “I had to convince him I was OK with that, which is still a very difficult thing to talk about. But I had to convince him he wasn’t destroying my mind. I just needed him to talk. And that’s what he did.”
“Killer Confessions: Case Files of a Texas Ranger” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. and streams the next day on HBO Max.
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As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay.
“We’ve raised over the past 14 years $2 million for kids programs here in Long Beach,” event organizer John Morris told Fox News Digital, adding the July 3 event is fully funded by the local community.
“This community pays for everything — everything. City fees, and the city doesn’t give us a break. We pay $20,000 to the city for police and fire, which I’m fine with, because there’s 100,000 people enjoying the fireworks,” said Morris, a Long Beach resident and business owner.
Morris, who owns the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant, had planned a scaled-up fireworks display this year to mark America’s 250th Independence Day.
CALIFORNIA BEACH TOWN BANS THE USE OF BALLOONS
Long Beach residents have enjoyed the fireworks organized by John Morris for over a decade. (Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
In January, Coastal Commission staff rejected the proposal, and last week commissioners unanimously upheld that decision despite an appeal backed by local, state and federal officials.
Regulators warned Morris last year that 2025 would likely be the final year for fireworks at the event, as they continue pushing organizers to switch to drone shows they say are more environmentally friendly.
The decision stands in contrast to other approvals by the commission, including a permit granted to SeaWorld allowing up to 40 nights of fireworks.
“They get 40 nights in Mission Bay. All I’m asking for is 20 minutes — it doesn’t make any sense,” Morris said.
Morris, 78, also pushed back on the environmental concerns cited by the commission, pointing to years of testing around the event.
CLIMATE EXECUTIVE WARNS CALIFORNIA ‘FUNCTIONALLY BANKRUPT,’ $1T SHORTFALL COULD SHAKE NATION
Due to the lack of fireworks, Morris has decided to cancel the July 3rd celebration.
“We’ve had 10 years of environmental studies,” Morris said. “We test the water before and after the fireworks and send a robotic camera into the bay to check for debris — there’s never been any. It’s been spotless.
“We’ve also had eight years of bird reports to make sure we’re not harming wildlife. We’ve never had an issue. We’ve never been written up one time. So what is it really about?”
Joshua Smith, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission, told Fox News Digital that permits are determined on a case-by-case basis, citing environmental concerns to “protect the bay.”
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Organizer John Morris said environmental studies are regularly conducted to measure the impact of the fireworks show on the bay. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Smith said Morris was approved for a permit to hold a drone show in lieu of fireworks. Morris told Fox News Digital such a show would cost about $200,000 — roughly four times more than traditional fireworks.
Smith confirmed that SeaWorld received a permit allowing 40 nights of fireworks. When pressed on the discrepancy, he reiterated that decisions are made individually and declined to provide further details.
Morris said the loss of the fireworks show will be felt across the community, from local businesses to families who have made the event an annual tradition.
Former Colorado Buffaloes stars Sebastian Rancik and Bangot Dak announced their transfer portal decisions on Sunday with Rancik committing to Florida State and Dak committing to Vanderbilt, per On3’s Joe Tipton. They join former Buffs guard Isaiah Johnson (now at Texas) as the third former Colorado player to leave the Big 12 conference as Rancik opts for the ACC and Dak heads to the SEC.
The trio of Johnson, Rancik, and Dak make up three of Colorado’s four most productive players with rising senior guard Barrington Hargress, and the Buffs are now tasked with replacing such production with Hargress as the only returner.
Rancik’s season ended prematurely with an injury, but he averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Buffs. Dak was Colorado’s leading rebounder with 6.5 boards per game, scoring 11.5 points per contest as well.
While each player has his respective reasons for transferring, the most expected ones are for seeking better NIL deals or more development on a better team in a better league. The Buffs finished 12th in the Big 12, and the allure of the SEC was too strong for the program to hold onto key talent like Johnson and Dak.
Still, Colorado coach Tad Boyle proved his ability to recruit and build up a solid core, one that saw its headliners of Johnson, Dak, and Rancik all depart in the portal. Can he do it again?
Colorado Buffaloes Roster Outlook
Boyle and the Buffaloes did retain Hargress as well as three freshmen guards: Jalin Holland, Ian Inman, and Josiah Sanders.
As a freshman, Holland averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game as one of Colorado’s key pieces coming off of the bench. Meanwhile, Sanders appeared in 33 games as a constant presence in the Buffs backcourt, averaging 4.4 points and 1.7 assists per game.
Inman played the fewest minutes of the returning trio, but he flashed with a couple of double-digit scoring performances as a true freshman.
“When I think of those three together, I think of toughness. I think of the improvement they made over the course of the season and the togetherness they have. They’re great friends and have formed a bond during their freshman year. Their toughness, energy and work ethic, when you have those attributes to go along with talent, which they all have, you get a chance to have three really good sophomores next year that will take the next step,” Boyle said in a release announcing the return of the three freshmen.
With eight outgoing transfers to replace, the Buffaloes will certainly have a new look to them for the 2026-27 season.
Colorado has landed one transfer portal prospect so far in former North Dakota State foward Noah Feddersen. On the recruiting trail, Boyle and company are bringing in four-star forward Rider Portela as well as two prospects from the NBL in Australia: forward Goc Malual and guard Alex Dickeson.
The transfer portal for men’s college basketball closes on Tuesday, April 21, meaning players have to enter their names by then. Transfer athletes do not have to commit before the portal closes, though, so Colorado is expected to continue hosting prospects on visits while building out the roster.
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Hawaii
Kanakaʻole, Zane ʻohana transform Hawaiian cultural practices into captivating visual arts | Maui Now
This powerful new exhibition will feature the work of Nālani Kanakaʻole, Sig Zane, and Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane—a Hilo-based family of artists whose creative practices are deeply rooted in hula ʻaihaʻa.
Hula ʻaihaʻa is the low-postured, vigorous, bombastic style of hula that Kanakaʻole was known for as kumu hula of Hālau o Kekuhi. The hula springs from the eruptive volcano personas of Pele and her sister Hiʻiaka, characteristic of Hawaiʻi Island’s creative forces.
The Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History, on Oʻahu is presenting “Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice” in the J. M. Long Gallery beginning on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
The exhibition title references “Kūhaʻimoana,” a chant describing the migration of shark gods from Kahiki (ancestral homeland) to Hawaiʻi. “Ea Mai ʻEiwa” reflects the strength, resilience, and environmental knowledge embodied in these ancestral stories.
Bringing together new and existing works alongside botanical specimens and cultural treasures from Bishop Museum’s collections, the exhibition weaves themes of migration, community resilience, and environmental stewardship—offering insight and inspiration for today.
“This exhibition demonstrates that the gap between historic collections and contemporary art is actually a lot smaller than people think,” said Sarah Kuaiwa, Ph.D., Bishop Museum curator for Hawaiʻi and Pacific Cultural Resources. “Audiences will see how the artists use the same materials as pieces in Bishop Museum collections but in different forms. The resonance between the artist’s work with mea kupuna (ancestors) is what makes ‘Ea Mai ʻEiwa’ a uniquely Bishop Museum exhibition.”
Kuaiwa curated the group exhibitions along with co-curator, kumu hula Kauʻi Kanakaʻole, and Bishop Museum exhibit designer, DeAnne Kennedy.
The artists’ work across visual and performing arts is continually charged and sustained by hula. From Nālani Kanakaʻole’s art direction and choreography to Sig Zane’s photography and textile design, and Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane’s graphic design and immersive installations, each artist channels ʻike (knowledge, wisdom) carried through generations.
“Through repetition, deep study, and consistent practice, mastery is achieved. As practitioners of hula, the artists have continued to deepen their understanding of the natural and spiritual world, which has in turn inspired their art practices,” Kuaiwa said. “They aim to produce art in various visual media not only to educate, but to also be aesthetically celebrated and enjoyed.”
“Patterns of Practice” was suggested by Sig Zane as a way of representing how the artists hone their skills.
“‘Kūhaʻimoana,’ for me, has many layers to it,” Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane said. “On a first take, it’s a migratory chant that compares migrations to waves of ocean-navigating sharks. That metaphor sets out the tone of connectivity between our natural environment and the beings that inhabit it.”
“‘Kūhaʻimoana’ is an example illustrating metaphorical depth within Hawaiian poetry,” said Sig Zane. “The importance of navigation surfaces in day-to-day cultural practices. This archaic chant reveals nuanced content, giving us a peek into hierarchy, dualities, and familial belief systems.”
Kanakaʻole passed away in January this year, so Kauʻi Kanakaʻole hopes that “Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice” reflects Kanakaʻole’s philosophy of practice and piques curiosity within people about others’ stories, history, and culture.
“She intentionally taught hula with depth of language, craft, and art form to encompass a full-on lifestyle commitment,” Kanakaʻole said. “This was her everyday; the way she learned, grew, and inspired.” “I would love for guests to leave (the exhibition) with a mixture of awe, appreciation, and curiosity.”
Highlights of the “Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice” exhibition include:
- Nālani Kanakaʻole’s kite installation, “Kūhaʻimoana,” her last large-scale installation before her passing
- Botanical specimens from various locations across Hawaiʻi Island, chosen to represent their hula ʻahu (altar) and sources of inspiration the artists frequently draw from
- Uniquely colored kūpeʻe (sea snails) shells made into adornments, as well as adornments made to look like kūpeʻe shells
- Kapa (barkcloth) made from the 19th century with dynamic designs
- ʻAwa (kava, Piper methysticum) cups and kānoa (kava bowl) associated with the aliʻi
- New and archival sketches and rubylith artworks by Sig Zane from 1990 to present
- A collection of family photos from the Kanakaʻole ʻOhana
- Memorabilia and ephemera from the theatrical performance, “Holo Mai Pele” (1995-2000)
“Ea Mai ʻEiwa: Patterns of Practice” will be presented in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English, and will be on view until Sept. 20, 2026.
For more information, visit bishopmuseum.org.
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