While the label was applied after he had murdered another murderer, it was something Gaskins had been working on for many, many years. Born out of wedlock in 1933, he was the unwanted son of a woman who bounced from lover to lover, finally settling in with a man who had four children of his own. Psychiatrists would later say that his problems stemmed from the abuse heaped upon him by his family. His misery was deepened by his stature, reflected in his nickname, Pee Wee.