He also recalled these early years as a time when he developed multiple personalities as a "defense" from the nightmarish reality around him, with attempts at suicide failing to bring an escape. Jury selection starts in Los Angeles Monday for the re-trial of TV star Danny Masterson who's accused of raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.. Outside the prison, death penalty opponents stood in a circle singing Amazing Grace after Rolling was pronounced dead. In the aftermath of the murders, investigators discovered some highly unusual details at the scene. Belongings that Rolling left at a campsite in the woods and DNA taken after a later arrest for robbery linked him to the slayings. His killing spree inspired Kevin Williamson to pen the script for the blockbuster movie Scream. Meanwhile, the killer they were looking for was already in jail. Following the visit, he was served his last meal, which consisted of a baked potato, butterfly shrimp, a lobster tail, strawberry cheesecake, and sweet tea. Journalist John Donnelly, who covered the story for the Miami Herald, said the officers noticed the unusual way in which Sonja Larsons body was posed. His mother made repeated attempts to leave her husband but always to take him away like a criminal because his father was embarrassed by Danny. Danny was the older of two sons. You could see [she was] in a bad position, and I just turned around and walked out, Curnutt said. 0000000954 00000 n The jury unanimously found Rolling guilty of first-degree murder on all five counts in late March, and a month later he was sentenced to death. Garren, the mother of slain student Christa Hoyt, stopped by to thank Mekeel for his work. The questioning elicited new details about the murders. So, lets take it easy on him., Dianna Hoyt said she didnt believe any of it. The first was named Ynnad -- Danny spelled backward. It wasnt until January 1991, more than four months after the murders, that police caught a break. They did not know that Rolling was already behind bars for robbing a grocery store. Sonja Larson and Christina "Christi" Powell were new students at the University of Florida in 1990. He wasn't identified as the killer at that time. Sgt. This was Danny looking for something that would make what happened more dramatic and minimize his own culpability by saying, The devil made me do it.. Theyre doing a good thing, said Randy Hicks, 35, a truck driver and former prison guard who occasionally watched over Rolling. Danny Rolling killed five in Gainesville 27 years ago this week Witnesses testified to the abuse theyd seen. By the time she reported Rolling, police had already arrested another man who they believed to be a suspect in the Gainesville murders. ''He seemed blank,'' said a friend and neighbor, Scott Peterson. (AP Photo/File). Although he was given an opportunity to make an oral statement, Rolling spent the last three minutes prior to his execution singing a gospel song. Lewis wrote a five-page letter outlining the details, many of which Hewitt said only the killer knew.. They also learned that as Rolling fought with Manny Taboada, Tracy Paules heard the commotion and came into Toboadas room. Rolling pleaded guilty in court, nearly four years after the murders occurred. Rolling, 52, is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25. Three months before the Gainesville murders, in May 1990, Rolling and his father had an argument in which Rollings father chased him out of the house at gunpoint, Hewitt said. He turned to a series of armed robberies to get cash, and subsequently was in and out of the criminal justice systems in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. Those two lives don't compare to Carla's life, or Sonja's life.''. Danny Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 October 25, 2006), also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American convicted serial killer. Danny turned to music as a way to cope and later reported that he "developed multiple personalities as a 'defense' from the nightmarish reality around him, with attempts at suicide failing to bring an escape." Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers. Seven years ago, his sister, Sonja, was one of five college students murdered in Gainesville by serial killer Danny Rolling. The two 23-year-olds had been close friends since high school and had just begun living together. She had just graduated from the University of Florida as a construction engineer and they moved to Atlanta, then back to Florida, chasing work, building a life. On August 20, 1990, Rolling followed two University of Florida Gainesville students,Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, to their home. At Danny Rolling's campsite in Gainesville, Florida, authorities found a duffel bag with stolen money that had been dyed red. On August 27, the killer surfaced again at the home of two 23-year-old UF students, Manuel Toboada and Tracy Paules. Christa Hoyt, 18, was found decapitated the next morning in her isolated duplex. Larson's sister, Sonja, was an 18-year-old freshman when she was murdered by Rolling in her Gainesville apartment bedroom in August 1990. ''You could stare right through him.''. Dobbin told her that Rolling had told him he had a problem, Juracich said. John Huggins, a landscaper who had been in and out of jail all his life, was on vacation with his wife and their five children. His last meal consisted of lobster tail, butterfly shrimp, baked potato, strawberry cheesecake, and sweet tea. By the end of August, thousands of students left campus and around 700 never came back because they feared for their lives. Danny Rollings DNA was similar enough to DNA left at the Gainesville murder scenes to charge him with murder. My wife never did. Your honor, Ive been running from first one thing and then another all my life, Rolling said. Rolling was not identified as the Gainesville Ripper until several years after he killed the five college students. One of the psychologists who interviewed Rolling said the killer admitted watching "Exorcist III" in the weeks before killing his first victims. In addition to abusing his wife, James reportedly verbally and physically abused both of his sons. "Sean's father, Scott Grissom, also released a statement. James was a decorated Korean War veteran who worked as a police officer, while Claudia stayed home to care for the children and manage their household. Ilan Campbell/The Gainesville Sun-USA TODAY/Imagn. Courtesy of Gainesville Police Dept./ZumaPress.com. endstream endobj 39 0 obj <> endobj 40 0 obj <> endobj 41 0 obj <>/ColorSpace<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 42 0 obj <> endobj 43 0 obj <> endobj 44 0 obj [/ICCBased 51 0 R] endobj 45 0 obj <> endobj 46 0 obj <> endobj 47 0 obj <> endobj 48 0 obj <>stream Father of Kiley Rolling But while the death of his wife left Mr. Larson with a grief he may never get over, it also left him with a responsibility, for Jessica. We just got in the car and headed for Gainesville. Although police had collected the evidence, at the time, they did not connect the bank robbery to the student murders because a gun was found at the campsite and the murders didnt involve a gun. ''I ran back to my hotel in tears and rocked myself back and forth in a corner,'' he said. _ Information from the Orlando Sentinel was used in this report. They were staying in a motel across the street from the supermarket. However, Rolling was able to break through it. The following day he raped and murdered a student named Christa Hoyt in a similar manner, going so far as to decapitate her and leave her head on a bookshelf for authorities to find. The Navy wouldnt take him so he joined the Air Force, but the military provided him no comfort. The university consequently canceled classes for a week. Her last moments would have been spent in a terrible understanding. Subsequently, Rolling confessed via letter from his spiritual advisor to the Shreveport, Louisiana police, to the killings of 55-year-old William T. Grissom, his 24-year-old daughter Julie and eight-year-old grandson Sean as they got ready for dinner on November 4, 1989, in Grissom's home. On August 24, he slipped into the home of UF freshmen Christina Powell and Sonja Larson and brutally stabbed and raped both students. This is the grisly true story of Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper. Danny Rolling a.k.a. They dont go out and commit crimes like this.. Danny Rolling aka: The Gainsville Ripper was a serial killer responsible for the deaths of 5 students in Florida in the early 1990s. Scott Grissom said he didn't know Rolling but he learned that Rolling had lived with his parents about a half-mile away from his fathers house. On Aug. 24, 1990, Danny broke into the home of Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, both incoming freshman at the University of Florida in Gainesville. It wasn't until early next year, when authorities used a tooth extracted from Rolling to link him to the DNA evidence at the Gainesville crime scenes, that he became a primary suspect. Read More: Who Were Daniel Danny Rollings Victims? James was also controlling and verbally abusive to Dannys mother, Claudia, and his younger brother, Kevin. Mr. Larson said he was certain that his wife, Carla, saved him. Authorities believe Taboada was the first to be attacked after Knowing what happened, Scott admitted to 20/20, I cant erase that out of my mind, and nobody should have to go through that. He further added that when Danny was named the prime suspect in the matter, he wanted him to face justice in the city. In the 1990s, the Gainesville Ripper murders caught the attention of writer Kevin Williamson, and eventually inspired him to pen a screenplay about a killer who preyed on college students. His lawyers can now appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. His paintings and various musings are now collected as "Murderabilia". After his sister's death, he burned with rage. They didnt connect the robbery to the murders of five students until later on, when they listened to it. Why is that? State Attorney Rod Smith said that before the court could proceed with the case, Rolling and his defense lawyer stood up. Larsons mother, Ada Larson, said she hated the fact that her daughter would be living off-campus, but all the dormitories were full. Rolling pleaded guilty to all counts but, because he was facing the death penalty, a jury was still required to hear the evidence and make a recommendation on punishment to the judge: life in prison or death. Some of the female bodies were left in sexually suggestive positions, which offered authorities a clue into the killers method. We had no way of reaching her, Ada Larson said. ''It's not a happy ending,'' he added. A tortured soul since birth, Rolling, a.k.a the Gainesville Ripper, passed on the horrifying abuse he had endured onto his victims. Some had already begun to move their children out of the city, which is busiest during the school year. By now, news of the murders had spread across the University. Danny Harold Rolling appears at his trial in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 13, 1994. One woman had also been found with soap on her body and the perpetrator had used duct tape on both of the victims, but the tape had been removed. Danny Rolling, popularly referred to as the Gainesville Ripper, was a career criminal who was convicted for a string of burglaries, robberies and automobile thefts mere days after he tore through the fabric of the University of Florida campus community, killing five students in bizarre and macabre ways in August of 1990. Rolling, 52, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. EDT, more than 16 years after his killing rampage at the start of the University of Floridas fall semester. Finally, after counseling, Mr. Larson said he found some peace of mind. His father, perBiography, was "temperamental, controlling, and violent," fighting with his family and inflicting verbal and physical abuse on Danny and his younger brother, Kevin. Danny Rollings Murderous Rampage On November 4, 1989, after Daniel Danny Rolling was let Although he was eventually named a suspect in the Gainesville Ripper killings, authorities had little evidence, and nothing directly tying him to the crimes. After she failed to show up to work on the night of Aug. 26, 1990, Det. But Danny tried to stay in control and he attended church and struggled to hold down steady work. On Aug. 27, Rolling attacked Tracey Paules and Manuel Taboada, both 23. Danny Rolling broke in May of 1990. While the man had gotten away, the officer found a screwdriver at the campsite, along with the bag of money defaced by the dye and a cassette player with a tape inside. The case was still fresh in the minds of many when Rollings killings began the following year in roughly the same area as some of Bundys crimes. Then check out this story on the media coverage of the original Jack the Ripper case in London. I guess I just don't know what the plan is anymore.''. It wasnt long after Maines trip to Shreveport that Juracich called Crime Stoppers to report Danny Rolling. The bodies of his victims were found over three days in late August, just as the University of Floridas fall semester was beginning. A judge ordered him removed from the court. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Danny Harold Rolling, Floridas most notorious serial killer since Ted Bundy, was executed by injection Wednesday for butchering five college students in a ghastly ABCs 20/20: Gainesville Serial Killer is a two-hour special that examines the tale of a notorious serial killer who reigned terror in the college town of Gainesville, Florida, in just four days in August 1990. But thats not quite the end of the story. 0000002654 00000 n Rollings last meal consisted of a lobster tail served with drawn butter, butterfly shrimp with cocktail sauce, a baked potato with sour cream and butter, strawberry cheesecake, and sweet tea. He believed he had done everything he could to make them all safe. He broke into the house, overpowered them, then raped, stabbed, and murdered them. He also confessed to raping several of his victims, committing an additional 1989 triple homicide in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. They could, perhaps, discuss their crimes, discuss Carla Larson, discuss Mr. Larson's little sister, Sonja. Shortly before his execution, Rolling confessed to three other murders, those of the Grissom family in Shreveport, Source:: [http://disturbinghorror.com/Serial-Killers/Serial-Killers-Bio/Danie]. ''I'm labeled as this poor, sorry person. This guy deserves it. Mr. Larson remembers how he fell to the floor once, in his despair, and how his wife, Carla, hugged him, how she promised him that the evil that touched them was over and done. It began in the summer of 1990, a summer of terror in the college city of Gainesville. The Gainesville Ripper on trial for murder. 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