Kicked out of the Air Force in 1972 after getting busted for drug possession, Rolling went to live with his grandfather and, for a time, found some stability through his church. Danny Harold Rolling appears at his trial in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 13, 1994. Outside the prison, death penalty opponents stood in a circle singing Amazing Grace after Rolling was pronounced dead. But despite huge media coverage, Danny Rolling was never actually caught for the murders. I wanted to be there in the front row if I could. Former state attorney Rod Smith said that when investigators then searched his home, they found magazines about knives, guns and girls. Rolling was later charged with murder in connection to five college student killings. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson followed the story of the Gainesville Ripper murders and was fascinated by the idea of a college campus driven to a state of panic and the subsequent media frenzy due to a serial killer who targets students. Also as an adult, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. Orlando Sentinel reports the abuse Rolling suffered at the hands of his father may be the source of his personality disorders. WebDanny and his brother, Kevin, were handcuffed together on the floor after not cutting the grass to their fathers liking. WebDanny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana following a difficult delivery, which consisted of the use of forceps. Kevin Williamson was an aspiring writer in the 1990s when the Gainesville Ripper murders caught his attention. Of course, his father beat him for doing that. Sonja Larson, who wanted to be a teacher, had enrolled as a freshman at the University of Florida. 38 16 But then I decided to do Scream.. Later that year, he killed a woman in a car accident which troubled him further. He had dreams of being an architect, his brother, Mario Taboada, said. Danny Rolling, also known as "The Gainesville Ripper," became one of the most infamous serial killers in American true crime history. Bundy died in the same death chamber. Danny Rollings DNA was similar enough to DNA left at the Gainesville murder scenes to charge him with murder. Rolling went so far as to cut off the girls nipples and to keep one as a grisly trophy of his actions. This guy deserves it. Eighteen-year-old Sonja Larson was among the victims of the so-called Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling, in Gainesville, Florida, in 1990. ''He confessed to killing five people,'' Mr. Larson said. Biography reports they did, however, collect DNA from the scene of one of the Gainesville Ripper murders. They could, conceivably, meet. Published Jun. 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. ''It's not a happy ending,'' he added. Danny Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 October 25, 2006), also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American convicted serial killer. Danny also used cleaning solvents on the dead bodies to remove any traces of semen. Finally, after counseling, Mr. Larson said he found some peace of mind. 0000001802 00000 n Ex-husband of O'Mather Rolling Rolling has been the subject of several writers and their works. Hewitt said the man also talked to his family, about life and how he felt he went down the wrong road. Smith said Rolling also talked about the best way to kill a deer. He played guitar and sang hymn-like songs. They subsequently discovered that Rolling had type B blood just like the suspect in both the Gainesville and Shreveport murders. Biography reports the Gainesville Ripper murders also inspired a number of books, including Danny Rolling's own account of his crimes, titled "The Making of a Serial Killer: The Real Story of the Gainesville Student Murders in the Killer's Own Words", which he co-wrote withjournalist Sondra London. 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. Danny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisianna in May 1954 to 19-year-old Claudia Rolling, and decorated war vet James Rolling, who's believed to have suffered from PTSD and other mental illnesses. Danny was only one-year-old when his father abused him for the first time. The Gainesville Ripper put her head on a bookshelf. Although the Scream franchise follows high school students, Williamson got his chance to explore the fear rampant on universitys following a case like the Gainesville Ripper. After high school, Danny joined the Air Force, but was dishonorably discharged after he was arrested for drug possession. ET on ABC. By killing five young students, Daniel Danny Rolling earned the moniker of The Gainesville Ripper. However, he later confessed to committing a triple homicide in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, as well, detailing how and why he slew the Grissom family on a cold evening in 1989. PerAll That's Interesting, Williamson noted, "Back when I was researching Danny Rolling, I wanted to write about a serial killer on a college campus, and an FBI agent hunting down a college professor. While the police were responsive they had no idea how to handle this type of investigation. 0000005473 00000 n In his final moments, he regaled the 47 people crammed into the witness room with one of his songs, a religious hymn with the refrain "none greater than thee, O Lord, none greater than thee." We made a mistake.. She wants a bedtime story. Mr. Rolling, a drifter who claimed that he was possessed and that he followed the instructions of the demon ''Ynnad'' (his name, Danny, spelled backwards), saw the two Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada were found dead the next morning, on Aug. 28, 1990. ''I guess I would go to it,'' he said, to make sure it is over, to make certain some appeal or a smart lawyer does not set one or both of them free. She was found raped, stabbed to death, mutilated and beheaded. During the robbery, a teller had slipped a red dye pack into the bag of money, and later on that night, an officer noticed a man walking into a wooded area, Hewitt said. When the police found her, half-covered in the sand, ''he didn't feel one way or another,'' Mr. Peterson said. Danny Rolling was born on the 26th of May, 1954. The back door of Sonja Larson and Christina Powell's home, where Danny Rolling broke in. Following Dannys birth, James was verbally abusive to Danny, because James did not want children. On August 27, the killer surfaced again at the home of two 23-year-old UF students, Manuel Toboada and Tracy Paules. We just got in the car and headed for Gainesville. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Rolling confessed to being the Gainesville Ripper. Danny Harold Rolling was born on May 26, 1954 to Claudia and James Rolling in Shreveport, Louisiana. Crime Danny Rolling: The True Story Behind the Killer Who Inspired 'Scream' Known as the Gainesville Ripper, Rolling terrorized the Florida college town during a Clark ProsecutorDanny Rollings Florida victims: (from left to right) Tracy Inez Paules, Sonja Larson, Manuel Taboada, Christa Hoyt, and Christina Powell. Fla. Killer of 5 students is put to death. The bodies of his victims were found over three days in late August, just as the University of Floridas fall semester was beginning. 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. This was in 1977. He would see that as kind of a sign somebody (is) communicating directly to me through the movie.". She also had tape residue on her body and vinegar -- rather than soap -- which was used to clean her body. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ''Sonja was safe in her bed when she died, and my wife was at a Publix supermarket at 12 noon, not in a nightclub, not in a 7-Eleven at 2 A.M.,'' said Mr. Larson, a trim, 38-year-old man whose narrow face has a sadness in it that shows through even when he smiles. 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. He just stole that and used that [as] part of his story, Smith said. The car Mrs. Larson drove was a big Ford Explorer, with air bags. In all, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. Prosecutor Rod Smith believes Rolling came up with the multiple personality story after watching the film "Exorcist III. Lummus, 38, of Alexandria, La., was summoned by prosecutors as a rebuttal witness for the death penalty hearing of Rolling, 39, who has pleaded guilty to killing five Ed Humphrey, of Gainesville, Florida, was suspected at one point for the murders of five college students in the city. These details were important because, on the day of Christa Hoyts murder, police also responded to a robbery at a bank a half-mile away from her home. Mr. Larson said he was certain that his wife, Carla, saved him. Then authorities in Shreveport, investigating a triple slaying that they believe Rolling committed, suggested police check out the drifter and ex-con. I felt we were good people. The three generations were at the same place in part for Seans recent birthday. ''He seemed blank,'' said a friend and neighbor, Scott Peterson. Danny Rolling was found guilty by a unanimous jury and executed by the state of Florida on October 25, 2006. His first victims were 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her 55-year-old father Tom, and her 8-year-old nephew Sean. At 62, Danny Rolling was a massive, powerful man. Some had already begun to move their children out of the city, which is busiest during the school year. But there was one major problem for investigators: Even though DNA testing technology was still in its infancy, investigators were able to determine the suspects blood type through semen left behind at all three crime scenes. William, Julie and Sean Grissom were the first three lives taken by serial killer Danny Rolling who spread his terror between two states in the late 1980s into the early He continued perpetrating armed robberies and getting arrested throughout Alabama and Mississippi as well as reportedly sexually assaulting multiple women. Around this time, Rolling began corresponding with journalist Sondra London, who would become his fiance and help him put together The Making of a Serial Killer. Authorities feel Rolling did not manage to mutilate these bodies because he may have been in danger of getting caught, or was otherwise interrupted. By all accounts, Danny Rolling "remained calm" throughout the day of his execution. Theyre doing a good thing, said Randy Hicks, 35, a truck driver and former prison guard who occasionally watched over Rolling. In one incident, Danny's mother went to the hospital after she claimed that her husband, James Rolling, tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. Rolling pleaded guilty to the serial killings of five young poeple at the Unversity of Florida in Gainesville. Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. WebGranted he had his own issues but even after Rolling confessed there was no apologizes at all. Bruce Paddock, brother of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, was arrested today in North Hollywood, CA, after police In November 1991, Daniel Danny Rolling was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, three counts of sexual battery, and three counts of armed burglary of a 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. 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. The attention surrounding Rollings execution reopened old wounds in Gainesville and for the families of the victims. Sonja Larson and Powells families became unable to reach them just days after they moved in. Authorities subsequently cleared Humphrey of any involvement in the murders. Though he survived, James Rolling had lost an eye and an ear. As a teenager and young adult, he was arrested several times for robberies in Georgia. However, as reported by Biography, Rolling's childhood was far from ideal. A memorial on 34th Street in Gainesville, Florida, for Rollings victims. Rod Smith was a state attorney during the trial of Danny Rolling, who was convicted of murder in connection to the five student killings in Gainesville, Florida, and sentenced to death. Students triple-locked doors and some slept in shifts so someone was awake at all times. Mr. Larson, his hate used up, went dead inside. 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. "Sean's father, Scott Grissom, also released a statement. Investigators wanted to confirm the details of Rollings confession, so they arranged a meeting, but Rolling insisted that Lewis be present as well to act as his mouthpiece. Danny turned his devastation into anger and raped a woman who closely resembled his ex-wife. There are some things you just cant run from, this being one of those, Rolling told the judge. He was known for being a Criminal. 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. ''We rely a lot on each other,'' she said. 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. He said the officer tracked the man to a campsite. Some of the female bodies were left in sexually suggestive positions, which offered authorities a clue into the killers method. STARKE. Danny Rolling killed five in Gainesville 27 years ago this week The questioning elicited new details about the murders. Wikimedia Commons A memorial on 34th Street in Gainesville, Florida, for Rollings victims. Sometimes he would put him up against the wall the marks of his fingers would be there and he shook him a lot of and sort of scared me, Claudia Rolling said. In addition to "Scream," Danny Rolling's murder spree inspired the 2010 film "The Gainesville Ripper." Nineteen-year-old CHRISTA HOYT was among the victims of the so-called Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling, in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. The Gainesville Ripper on trial for murder. He fled Shreveport and took a bus to Sarasota, Florida, to start a new life as Michael Kennedy Jr. in late July of 1990. Hes now engaged in the Fox series The Following which taps into hysteria on a college campus. 0000002577 00000 n We had no way of reaching her, Ada Larson said. And while he had pleaded not guilty, he used fellow inmate Bobby Lewis as his "mouthpiece" to confess to the murders. 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