After confessing to the murder and mutilation of five students in Gainesville, Florida in August 1990, he was ultimately executed. [12][13] Rolling had a last meal of lobster tail. From the late 1970s to 1990s, Rolling committed a series of petty crimes and thefts. According to court documents, Lewis even bragged that Rolling, who he called a woman and kid killer wanted him around for security since even the guards would leave him alone if Lewis asked. 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. Danny's Parents, Claudia and James Rolling, would constintly argue and fight which caused frequent seperations between them. The son of a police officer and an aspiring country music singer, Rolling had spent a couple years in the U.S. Air Force before beginning a career of crime. [6] They included: posing of the victims; tape residue on victim's body; and vinegar used to clean the body. He said Rolling's main problem is his voyeuristic need to peek into windows at women to satisfy his sexual urges and fantasies - which Rolling admitted doing before the killings. Gainesville Ripper murders are the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. As a result of his murder convictions, Rolling was executed by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, and pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. EDT at Florida State Prison in Starke, approximately 30 miles northeast of Gainesville, Florida, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Rolling's last-ditch appeal. The family had been attacked in their home as they were preparing for dinner. Detectives noted that there were similarities between the Gainesville murders and those of 55-year-old Tom Grissom, his 24-year-old daughter Julie, and his 8-year-old grandson Sean. They were separated at the time of her statement. The report made her think about Rolling, whom she had met at her Louisiana hometown church, and his possible link to these three other Shreveport murders. Finding Powell asleep on the downstairs couch, he stood over her briefly but did not wake her up, choosing instead to explore the upstairs bedroom where Larson was also asleep. On January 14, 2022, Discovery+ premiered the paranormal documentary Scream: The True Story, starring Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza. By the end of August, thousands of students left campus and around 700 never came back because they feared for their lives. As he saw several different doctors, Rolling was diagnosed with a number of conditions, including borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. This time he pulled out a gun and shot James in the stomach and head. Because of the similarities of the murders in Shreveport and Gainesville, Florida investigators sought DNA of prisoners from Shreveport who were incarcerated. It was after he returned to Shreveport from prison, his mother said, that Rolling talked about the other "person" inside. Danny Rolling was born in Louisiana in 1954. Danny Rolling gebore in Louisiana in 1954. During his incarceration, Rolling wrote and illustrated a horror fiction novel, Sicarius, as well as several songs and poems. Authorities soon zeroed in on a prime suspect, a UF student who briefly lived in the same complex as two of the victims and exhibited erratic behavior, at one point getting arrested for hitting his grandmother. A Friday night in May 1990, Rolling, then 35, shot his father, a retired Shreveport police lieutenant, in the head during a dispute at the Sunset Acres home. Following his discharge from the military, Danny managed to marry and begin what appeared to be a normal life. As an adult, he had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. Thus began the streak of the Gainesville Ripper. [9][10][11], Shortly before he was executed in Florida for the series of killings in Gainesville, Rolling claimed responsibility for the Shreveport murders, handing his spiritual adviser Reverend Mike Hudspeth and Florida police a handwritten confession and apology. It was only when he was arrested for an unrelated burglary charge that he confessed to some of the most horrific murders in Floridas history and was unmasked as the Gainesville Ripper. Breaking News "He was only 37" - Vaccination fears floor in wake of ABC News Executive Dax Tejera's premature dying; She died trying to fend him off. Danny Rolling, also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American serial murderer who killed five students over four days in late August 1990 in. He shot him in the face. At 11 a.m., Hoyt entered the apartment and Rolling surprised her from behind, placing her in a chokehold. Brother of Kevin Rolling. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Danny turned his devastation into anger and raped a woman who closely resembled his ex-wife. Rolling who blamed childhood abuse for his violent behavior, Rolling himself blamed that time period in prison. Lummus testified that she never saw any violence or arguments between her husband and the elder Rolling. At one point, Rolling worked as a waiter at Pancho's restaurant in Shreveport. However, as reported by Biography, Rolling's childhood was far from ideal. He was abused by his father, James Rolling, who was a Louisiana State Police officer. Based on the real case of an accused murderer and a disgraced journalist, 'True Story' reveals that "telling the truth" can be a slippery concept. Danny Harold Rolling was born on May 26, 1954 to Claudia and James Rolling in Shreveport, Louisiana. Once Florida investigators realized that Rolling had multiple convictions for armed robbery, they realized he could have also been responsible for the bank robbery that occurred on the day Christa Hoyt's body was found. 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. She also said that Dobbin told her that Rolling had told him he had a problem. Later, unable to hold a job, he turned to crime and spent eight years in prison for armed robberies in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi from 1979 to July 1988. Williamson used the case to create a screenplay for a horror movie which revolved around the murders of college students and the media frenzy that ensued. The other suspect was also later cleared. He reportedly claimed to have used the power of his mind to unlock the door and enter the apartment. Known as the Gainesville Ripper, Rolling terrorized the Florida college town during a three-day murderous rampage in late summer 1990. YouTubeDanny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper, appears in court. She was also stabbed to death. The Making of a Serial Killer: The Real Story of the Gainesville Murders. Danny Rolling lived an unhappy life. [citation needed], Shortly after Maines' trip to Shreveport, a Shreveport resident, Cindy Juracich, called Crime Stoppers and reported that Danny Rolling was possibly connected to the murders in both cities. After the birth of Kevin Rolling, the fury of his father began to spread to his younger brother Danny. In 2021, an episode of the ABC primetime true crime television series 20/20 aired the murder case. Rolling turned to art and music for solacehis Christmas gift of a guitar at age 15 proved to be one of his happiest memories from adolescence. Monday, December 26 2022. They were engaged for a period, and seemingly, very much in love. April 20, 1994 - Just after Danny Rolling was sentenced to death Wednesday, April 20, 1994, victim brother Mario Taboada jumped to his feet and yelled across the courtroom at Rolling that he would . After that, he turned to crime raping a woman who looked like his wife and spending eight years in prison for robberies. He was born in 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to a 19-year-old mother named Claudia and a police officer named James, a decorated Korean War veteran who may have suffered some combination of post-traumatic stress disorder and inherent mental illness. Danny was only one-year-old when his father abused him for the first time. He played guitar and sang hymn-like songs. There are still bullet holes in the walls," she said. "Mr. Rolling has an incredible amount of underlying anger," Krop said. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Geni requires JavaScript! ". The book Drifter is based on the 1990 Gainesville murders. He then flipped her body over and sliced her abdomen open from her pubic bone to her breastbone. He bound and gagged her with duct tape while he sexually assaulted her, but did not kill her. Ex-wife O'Mather Lummus, whom. The series overviewed their romance, his artwork, and his supposed feelings of remorse over the crimes he committed. His father survived but lost the use of an eye and ear before fleeing to Kansas and Florida, eventually arriving in Gainesville. One suspect was Edward Lewis Humphrey, a University of Florida student who had a history of mental illness and bore numerous scars on his face from a car accident. Authorities publicly cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest. However, they did not find any evidence to support his assertion that he had multiple personalities. The university consequently canceled classes for a week. Krop said Rolling has a borderline personality characterized by violent mood swings, impulsive and self-destructive behavior, narcissism and anti-social feelings. At the Pub, Johnny comes down the stairs from checking on his Grandpa Roman. That was on Sept. 8, two weeks after the murders. Biography reports they did, however, collect DNA from the scene of one of the Gainesville Ripper murders. They were sitting by themselves at the dinner table in Louisiana when Danny Rolling told her about his darker side, which would blossom in August 1990 with the slayings of five Gainesville college students. Rolling refused to answer any questions on his own; he would simply confirm or deny what was said. If I didn't know him so well, I probably wouldn't have known it was him.". Ex-husband of O'Mather Rolling Rolling confessed to being the Gainesville Ripper. Danny Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 October 25, 2006), also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American convicted serial killer. just kind of a deadpan expression. "His voice was deeper, harsh . According to the Miami Herald, Rolling broke into the home of freshmen Sonja Larson and Christina Powell on August 24, 1990, where he raped and stabbed them to death. Danny Rolling, the serial killer imprisoned for killing five Florida college students, forged a strong bond with a person who informed on him and asked him to be his mouthpiece. Later it was discovered that on August 5, 1990, Rolling broke into the home of Janet Frake in Sarasota, Florida. Julie Ann Grissom, her father William Thomas Tom Grissom and her nephew and his grandson, Sean Grissom, were murdered in their Southern Hills home in Shreveport, La., by serial killer Danny Rolling. While Rolling was never formally charged with the 1989 murder of the Grissom family, the police considered him the only suspect in light of this testimony, blood sample evidence, and similarities with the murders of the young university students, reported the Gainesville Sun. In 1955, Kevin Rolling, Danny's younger brother was born, this caused the level of abuse to increase. He was a cop and he consistently abused his wife and children. Louisiana's Shreveport is where Danny Rolling was born. While Rolling initially met with the task force alone, he asked for Lewis to join them; he wanted his friend to make statements and answer questions in his lieu. Danny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. ". In one incident, Danny's mother . By all accounts, Danny Rolling "remained calm" throughout the day of his execution. Rolling, who pleaded guilty last month to five counts of murder in the Gainesville deaths, told investigators he has two personalities, the murderous Gemini, and Ynnad, a Jesse James-type robber. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Danny Rolling was the son of James and Claudia Rolling. Bachman's brother, . He called the match to the evidence in Gainesville a "revelation" in the case. Rolling said that he agreed to talk to the task force because someone had trashed his cell, destroying a Valentines Day card he had worked on for more than five hours. His father was a Shreveport police officer named James Rolling, who told Danny that he was unwanted from birth. Louisiana police alerted Florida authorities to an unsolved triple murder in Shreveport on November 4, 1989. He didn't stop there. Kevin Williamson was an aspiring writer in the 1990s when the Gainesville Ripper murders caught his attention. In 1994, before his trial could get underway, Rolling unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges. Gedurende die dag sy pa sit op 'n polisie-uniform en bedien die wet, en in die aand het teruggegaan huis toe en wreed klop sy vrou en seun. [4], By this point, the murders had attracted widespread media attention. Not only were the Rolling children not allowed to have birthdays or holidays, but they never even got an affectionate word or action from their father. Rich's publicist Danny Deraney remembered Rich in a statement as . On August 24, he slipped into the home of UF freshmen Christina Powell and Sonja Larson and brutally stabbed and raped both students. Rolling was executed in 2006 after singing a hymn and eating a lavish dinner, and never quite achieved his dream of being a superstar like Ted Bundy though he undoubtedly still harbored these dreams in prison. After a week of gory photographs and lurid details presented by prosecutors, jurors who will recommend whether Rolling should die for his crimes heard more evidence Tuesday of his abused and damaged life. Also as an adult, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. Authorities put out as much information as they could to try to catch the suspect, and students slept in groups and took every precaution they could think of. As reported by The Florida Times-Union, Rolling was allowed a personal visit with his brother Kevin for two hours on the morning of his execution. [6] Three months earlier, in August 1990, Juracich heard a news report about a string of murders, as she traveled through the Florida Panhandle. Rolling had requested, according to court documents of his 1996 appeal, not to be separated from Lewis because he needed Bobbys support. He said he wanted to see Bobby a free man.. it would break his heart if they could not do anything for Bobby., Rolling reportedly told the task force that Bobby was a worthy soul, and he deserves his chance to make his life good, and out of all of this Im trying to do something for someone. The task force rejected Rollings request, as they had done to Lewis, to which Rolling referred to his father: I was raised by a policeman. In the film, Rolling is portrayed by Zachary Memos. He was convicted of armed robbery in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi for several grocery store robberies, and spent most of the 1980s in prison. After confessing to the murder and mutilation of five students in Gainesville, Florida in August 1990, he was ultimately executed. Rolling was the subject of a 2010 episode of Cold Blood, and briefly was mentioned in a 2012 episode of Motives and Murders titled "Not Again". Sy kinderjare was baie moeilik. Danny Rolling greets his public defender Trish Jenkins as his mental competency hearing continues at the Marion County Courthouse in Ocala, Florida, on May 31, 1991. Biography reports he was facing multiple life sentences if convicted, as he had numerous prior convictions for armed robbery. [8] Rolling was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and paraphilia. "I said, 'What kind of problem,'" Juracich said, "[and Steven said], 'He likes to stick knives into people.'" The movie's plot may have also inspired the grisly nature of one of the Gainesville Ripper's first murders. Unfortunately for Danny, his father never wanted children. That same night, he broke into a home to murder 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her eight-year-old nephew, Sean, and her 55-year-old father, Tom. Photo: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara Print Cite While Rolling was in prison and the prosecution built their case for his 1994 trial, he became close with another inmate: Robert Bobby Lewis. In fact, when the family got a dog whom Danny became quite attached to, James allegedly beat the creature so often that he died in his sons arms, driving Danny to hurt animals as well. The next day, Rolling killed Christa Hoyt in much the same fashion. Shippy and Kaza conduct a paranormal investigation in Rolling's childhood home in Shreveport, Louisiana. On Monday, August 27, Rolling broke into their apartment by prying open their sliding glass door with the same tools he had used previously. Back in Shreveport in November 1989, Rolling was fired from his job at a restaurant. Spaced over three days, the murders also coincided with a robbery in nearby Ocala. Rolling followed them home, broke into their house, and simply overpowered them. These are the real-life mobsters and events that inspired the books and movies. Mike Hudspeth. He broke into her residence and after he raped her, he removed her nipples and placed them beside her. Two other psychiatrists also testified that a severe personality disorder was in play, but stated their belief that Rolling understood the magnitude of his crimes. 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. Then he killed Tracey. His first victims were 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her 55-year-old father Tom, and her 8-year-old nephew Sean. After she had been subdued, he used duct tape to gag her mouth and bind her wrists together behind her back and led her into the bedroom, where he cut the clothes from her body and raped her. Danny Rolling, who was dubbed the Gainesville Ripper, ultimately pleaded guilty to five counts of first degree murder for the deaths of the college students, and was subsequently sentenced to death. Lewis also told authorities that Rolling wanted to cooperate with the FBI to study serial killers, reported the Orlando Sentinel. In September, Rolling had robbed a Winn-Dixie grocery at gunpoint in Ocala, Florida, and was nabbed after crashing the getaway car. [15] Rolling's relationship with London, which developed while he was behind bars, was the focus of an episode of Errol Morris' First Person. Rolling was known for hiding in Ocala, Florida in a wooded area that has now had a Home Depot built on it. Two years later, he killed five college students. He was beaten because he wasn't crawling properly. It made him worse. That man, Danny Rolling, had told her that one day he was going to leave Shreveport, where they lived. 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