John Francis "Jack" Roche (September 6, 1927 – January 26, 1956) was an American serial killer, burglar, and rapist who murdered at least four people in the Yorkville neighborhood of Eastern Manhattan between 1953 and 1954.

[5] Roche might have committed his first murder on July 26, 1952, when 23-year-old Josephine Brown was strangled to death on a deserted street in Queens.

Not long after, police began investigating Paul A. Pfeffer, a man with a lengthy criminal history, and he was arrested on August 27.

Investigators allege that while he was ransacking the place, Rosa interrupted him, and in a panic Roche stabbed her to death and fled.

He proceeded to stab Westwater in the neck, back, and chest a total of eight times, before raping her and shattering her skull with a lead pipe.

By the time Westwater was found, she was still alive but in dreadful condition, having to be rushed to the hospital, where she died as a result of her injuries.

[8] The series of brutal slayings caused a moral panic among the Yorkville population, with authorities overwhelmed with the string of murders, finally having to admit that there was a link between each of the killings.

In the trunk of the vehicle police uncovered a knife and a blood stain on a lead pipe, which investigators involved in Westwater's murder were made aware about.

Roche was interrogated and confessed to a total of six murders, including those of Edward Bates and Josephine Brown.

[11] Due to the close proximity and the timing, the press and news outlets compared Roche and Roye together on a daily basis.

[12][13][14] Since two of Roche's murder confessions involved the convictions of two people, an outcry of public support for both Oliver Freeman and Paul Pfeffer to stand a re-trial.

[15] Despite this, a re-trial of Paul Pfeffer was granted, but Roche was due to stand trial for the murder of Dorothy Westwater first.

Pfeffer had already been convicted of a separate homicide, that of Mellon Byrd, and an assault on Harry Meyer, for which he was sentenced to life in prison.

[19] The electric chair was on for three minutes, and Roche was pronounced dead at 11:04 p.m.[18] Pfeffer, who was serving time for the murder of Mellon Byrd, was paroled on November 27, 1972.