Nathaniel The Cannibal

Twisted, violent sex offender Nathaniel Bar-Jonah liked young boys…

- Alex Noone

He was a known sex offender. He went to the same church as the child who’d disappeared. He matched the description of a man seen in the area that day in February 1996, when 10-year-old Zachary Ramsay vanished...

But that wasn’t enough to make an arrest. If they were to catch Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, police in Great Falls, Montana, would need something more concrete on their prime suspect.

Originally named David Brown, by 1996 Bar-Jonah had been out of prison for five years. He’d served 14 of an 18-to-20- year sentence for the kidnap and attempted murder of two young boys in 1977.

Dressed as a policeman, Bar-Jonah had lured the boys into his car. He’d driven them to a tent in a quiet wood, ordered them to undress – and tried to strangle them.

One of the boys escaped and the alarm was raised. Authorities acted quickly, Bar-Jonah was found and arrested, and the second boy saved.

Trouble

Nathaniel Bar- Jonah had always been trouble. In 1964, aged 7, his mum caught him trying to strangle a 5-year-old neighbour.

At 15, he’d assaulted two small boys in a cemetery. The mum of the two victims hadn’t pressed charges, insisting instead Bar-Jonah got psychiatric help. 

Now, though, it was 1996. Bar-Jonah had been released after psychiatric evaluation and settled in the small town of Great Falls, Montana.