Genesee

Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", has been used as the name of:

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Arthur Shawcross

Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 – November 10, 2008) was an American serial killer, also known as the Genesee River Killer in Rochester, New York. He claimed most of his victims after being paroled early following a conviction in the manslaughter of two children, which led to criticism of the justice system. Michael H. Stone, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and an authority on violent behavior, identified Shawcross as "one of the most egregious examples of the unwarranted release of a prisoner."

Early life

Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine, the first of four children of Arthur Roy Shawcross and Elizabeth (née Yerakes) Shawcross. His family moved to Watertown in New York State when he was young. While several later tests showed Shawcross' intelligence to be sub-normal or even "borderline retarded", he received As and Bs in his first two years of grade school, but was later tested to have an I.Q. of 86, signifying low average intelligence. However, when tested in the army, Shawcross scored just above average in intelligence tests, scoring 105 upon entry and 108 at discharge. This was also the case with the intelligence tests he underwent while on trial in 1990, scoring 107. Shawcross said throughout his childhood, he was a frequent bed-wetter. He later claimed his mother would stick foreign objects in his anus, that his aunt performed oral sex on him when he was 9, and that during junior high school he had sexual relations with his sister. Shawcross had a reputation at school as a bully and would frequently act out violently. He dropped out of high school in 1960.