Naman Shrestha
When the mutilated body of a woman named Beverly “Bev” McGowan was found in a canal in Florida in 1990, the entire community was left shell-shocked. What turned out to be more shocking was that the clues led the authorities to a woman named Elaine Antoinette Parent, who was known to assume different identities. Sundance Now’s ‘The Hunt for the Chameleon Killer’ is a true crime documentary series that details the hunt for Elaine, who became the most wanted woman in the world at one point in time. As she constantly changed her identity, the police had a hard time catching up as they tried to question her about her involvement in the brutal killing of Beverly in 1990.
After the Murder of Beverly McGowan, Elaine Antoinette Parent Fled to England
Given the fact that Elaine Antoinette Parent assumed dozens of identities in the 1990s and early 2000s, she earned herself the nickname “The Chameleon Killer” and became the world’s most wanted woman during that period. Born on August 4, 1942, to a French-Canadian mother and an American father, she was raised in the Bronx in New York. By the time she turned 30, she was based in Florida, where she had her first run-in with the law as she was convicted of shoplifting.
In 1990, Elaine assumed the identity of a woman named Alice and responded to an ad posted by Beverly “Bev” McGowan, who was looking for a roommate. When Bev was found dead on July 19, 1990, all the suspicion landed on the new roommate. Elaine, under the guise of Sylvia Ann Hodgkinson, used Bev’s credit cards and purchased a ticket to London. Although the police learned about her new identity, they hit a dead end. However, they managed to track her down to Los Angeles, where she rented a car under the name, Charlotte Cowan. But again, they failed to get a hold of her.
Elaine Antoinette Parent Reportedly Assumed More Than 20 Identities Over the Next 12 Years
While she was back in Miami, Florida, the authorities found her sleeping inside a leased car, which was long overdue, in a parking lot and took her into custody for failing to return it. However, the police were surprised when she was in possession of documents for three separate identities — Elaine Antoinette Parent, Charlotte Rae Cowan, and Sylvia Ann Hodgkinson. However, they failed to run her name through the system, and she was released on bail, after which she was quick to skip town. Soon, the investigators dug deeper into her different identities and learned that the real Sylvia Ann Hodgkinson had been missing since 1986.
As for her other identity, Charlotte Cowan, she was alive and well, residing on the west coast of Florida. According to the real Charlotte Cowan, she met Elaine Parent in 1986 at a bar called Faces in Orlando. She claimed that she was instantly drawn to her and talked to her. During their conversation, Elaine allegedly inquired about Charlotte’s personal details, like her driver’s license, time of birth, and birthday. As per Charlotte’s accounts, the con woman also claimed that she was into numerology and predicted a bright future for Charlotte. About a month after the meet-up, Elaine showed up at Charlotte’s place in the middle of the night under the guise of a mustache man and begged for her birth certificate, claiming that she needed to use it to get identification and get away from her brother.
A few weeks after giving her the document, Charlotte received it back but never heard from Elaine ever again, according to her. While Sylvia Ann Hodgkinson and Charlotte Rae Crown were a couple of the more significant identities, Elaine Parent also assumed other identities, including Sandra Little and Darlene Higgins. All this time, she was wanted for being the potential killer of Beverly McGowan. The authorities theorized that the 20 identities that she had assumed were stolen from either the women she met or entirely invented. Another one of his identities included Antonia Rhyes-Ormond, who was wanted for murdering a government official in a hotel room in Washington, DC.
Elaine Antoinette Parent Was Cornered by the Police in Her Panama City Apartment in 2002
After more than a decade of cat-and-mouse chase with Elaine Antoinette Parent, on April 6, 2002, the police finally received a reliable tip that led them to an apartment in Panama City, Florida. The officers surrounded the property while the suspect requested them to allow her to get dressed before she came out. As the investigators waited outside her bedroom door, she shot herself in the heart with a .357 magnum and took her life.
Immediately, they broke into the room and found her body lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Upon combing through her house, they came across a notebook with information on a man, including his credit card numbers and social security numbers. They theorized that she was going to assume his identity next. Since she was a primary suspect in the murder case of Beverly McGowan, the authorities didn’t rule out her involvement in other crimes and murders.
Read More: Beverly “Bev” Ann McGowan: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
