Investigators discover tape recordings crucial to breaking Gainesville murder case. ''He confessed to killing five people,'' Mr. Larson said. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Danny Rolling was the son of James and Claudia Rolling. Daniel Harold "Danny" Rolling, a.k.a. She wants a bedtime story. Sonja Larsons body was found on her waterbed on the second floor, with stab wounds in her arms and torso. About 5 p.m., Larson called the Orange County Sheriff's Office to report his wife missing. WebNationality: American. He was later cleared when Danny Rolling was charged with their murders. Larson's sister, Sonja, was an 18-year-old freshman when she was murdered by Rolling in her Gainesville apartment bedroom in August 1990. 0000001802 00000 n In February 1994, just before the start of his trial, Rolling abruptly changed his plea to guilty. 0000006140 00000 n His premonition came true the next day. READ MORE: Scream Cast: Where Are They Now? One day, Mr. Larson said, he ''just snapped.''. Danny turned his devastation into anger and raped a woman who closely resembled his ex-wife. Those aggressive tendencies and poor impulse control would foreshadow Dannys murderous rage later in his life. 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. During the day, Rolling met with his younger brother, Kevin Rolling, and two spiritual advisers. His time in between stints in jail were spent traveling the country, stealing and occasionally forcing himself on women. Garren, the mother of slain student Christa Hoyt, stopped by to thank Mekeel for his work. It read, in part, Hereby, I make a formal, written statement concerning the murders of Julie, Tom, and Sean Grissom in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana I, and I alone, am guilty. Big Brother is a popular reality show featuring contestants locked in a purpose-built house for weeks on end with their every move tracked on camera 24 hours a day. A high school portrait shows Christina Powell, who, along with roommate Sonja Larson were the first victims of the serial killer at the University of Florida campus. Authorities believe Taboada was the first to be attacked after Rolling confessed to the murder of Hoyt and four others and was executed in 2006. Thus Mekeel repainted only the hearts. This is the grisly true story of Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper. 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. The men will be housed, prison officials said, ''within spitting distance'' of each other at the Florida State Prison in Starke. Following his discharge from the military, Danny managed to marry and begin what appeared to be a normal life. By the end of August, thousands of students left campus and around 700 never came back because they feared for their lives. The killer would enter the homes through the back doors, and each home was near a wooded area, which allowed the killer to operate, to get in without being noticed, Donnelly said. Two weeks later, the Gainesville Ripper was arrested after a high-speed chase related to a Winn-Dixie robbery. One of the only surviving members of that family is Scott Grissom. WebDanny and his brother, Kevin, were handcuffed together on the floor after not cutting the grass to their fathers liking. 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. He shot his 58-year-old father twice and nearly killed him. Biography reports he was facing multiple life sentences if convicted, as he had numerous prior convictions for armed robbery. Death penalty protesters said the execution only served to provide Rolling additional attention. 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. ET on ABC. Son of James Harold Rolling and Claudia Beatrice Rolling On Rollings deathbed, the 52-year-old sang a hymn-type song that rambled on for five verses. 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 In the film, Rolling is portrayed by Zachary Memos. PAGE Cl FLORIDA EXECUTES SERIAL KILLER, Cl CONFESSION Just before being put to death, serial killer, "State Prison at Starke. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Then, Rolling came back with his own gun and shot his father in the face, state attorney Smith said. 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. They could, conceivably, meet. Claudia tried to escape the toxic marriage, but time and again she returned. But news of the Gainesville murders haunted Juracich and, in November 1990, she decided to contact police on a hunch that Rolling was connected to the murders in both cities. Mastersons wife, the actor and model Bijou Phillips, regularly appeared in court to support her husband, along with Mastersons brother-in-law, actor Billy Baldwin, and his So I wanted to have the last word.. Courtesy of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office. According to All That's Interesting, Danny Rolling broke into the house of 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her father Tom Grissom, and her 8-year-old nephew, Sean, and killed them. A feature film entitled The Gainesville Ripper is currently in production in the Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida areas, based on the accounts of the killings. The Larsons bought a small house on a dead-end street in Orlando. It was a small-caliber gun, and the father survives it, but not without permanent damage, Smith said. Calm, cooperative to the endRolling was calm and cooperative ahead of the execution, Corrections Department spokesman Robby Cunningham said. After she failed to show up to work on the night of Aug. 26, 1990, Det. He called the match to the evidence in Gainesville a revelation in the case. Every time theyd mention [Tracys] name, it was like a punch in the head, Lahey said. On August 20, 1990, Rolling followed two University of Florida Gainesville students,Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, to their home. For example, in 1990, he decapitated the body of 18-year-old Christa Hoyt and posed her head on a shelf facing the corpse, adding to the shock of whoever discovered her. It wasnt long after Maines trip to Shreveport that Juracich called Crime Stoppers to report Danny Rolling. By the time he was caught, five people were dead. Christa Hoyt, 18, was found decapitated the next morning in her isolated duplex. Then, at one point, the man on the tape says his name: Danny Harold Rolling. My husband would just sit and say Just tell me she died right away. ''It's like being a celebrity, but for nothing good,'' Mr. Larson said. 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. That man, Danny Rolling, had told her that one day he was going to leave Shreveport, where they lived. [Investigators] were 100% sure he was the one that did it, Scott Grissom said. The bodies of his victims were found over three days in late August, just as the University of Floridas fall semester was beginning. And, because it happens every night, Mr. Larson finds his reason to keep on living in the face of his daughter, Jessica, and between the pages of Dr. Seuss. John Donvan, a former reporter for ABC News who covered the Gainesville cases, said Lewis claimed Rolling told him many of the details of the murders and that Rolling wanted to confess. (AP Photo/File). IE 11 is not supported. We think that was in an effort to keep investigators from discovering DNA, blood types, fingerprints, Maines said. I did not want that to be what I carried in my mind of her for the rest of my life, Barber said. Sonja Larson and Powells families became unable to reach them just days after they moved in. Living With a Grief That Will Never Die, After the Murders of 2 Loved Ones, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/22/us/living-with-a-grief-that-will-never-die-after-the-murders-of-2-loved-ones.html. He returned to Sonjas dead body and raped her again. Shreveport police alerted Gainesville police to the similarity of the murder scenes, which is what prompted Gainesville Police's interest in Rolling. After a bank robbery, police found the tape along with stolen money, a gun and a screwdriver. In the aftermath of the murders, investigators discovered some highly unusual details at the scene. Larsons mother, Ada Larson, said she hated the fact that her daughter would be living off-campus, but all the dormitories were full. Determined to leave Shreveport for Florida, he stole papers from the house of a man named Michael Kennedy Jr. and began using his identity. At age 14, Dannys neighbors caught him peeping into their daughters room. Manuel Taboada, left, and Tracy Paules, right, are seen in undated photos. The officer, now-retired Det. They bought a guard dog, a Rottweiler. During his incarceration, Rolling wrote and illustrated a horror fiction novel, Sicarius, as well as several songs and poems. Your honor, Ive been running from first one thing and then another all my life, Rolling said. 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 that Christa Hoyts body was found. 0 Don Maines was an investigator with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement when Danny Rolling killed five college students in Gainesville, Florida. Students triple-locked doors and some slept in shifts so someone was awake at all times. Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Also missing was her white and gray Ford Explorer with license tag TGX99V. In one incident, Danny's mother went to the hospital after claiming her husband tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. The magnitude of the murders sparked national media attention, and Gainesville police and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office called in agents from around the state to help with the investigation, Maines said. Humphrey was arrested just days after the murders and held in jail on a $1 million bond. However, once investigators told Scott that they were confident of Danny being behind the triple homicide and the college murders in Gainesville, advising him that the criminal would be executed quicker in Florida, he said, Well, leave him there. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. For the family members of the Gainesville victims, it was another moment in this long and heartbreaking story. The triple murder in Shreveport of Julie Grissom, her father, and nephew clued the Gainesville police into their suspect. 13, 1997 | Updated Oct. 1, 2005 Seven years ago, Jim Larson's sister was one of the five college students murdered in one bloody weekend in Gainesville He was abused by his father, James Rolling, who was a Louisiana State Police officer. The two 23-year-olds had been close friends since high school and had just begun living together. He reportedly claimed to have used the power of his mind to unlock the door and enter the apartment. Tracy asked him, Youre the one, arent you? Donvan said. ''We rely a lot on each other,'' she said. This is the shocking moment former Premier League striker Danny Graham ploughed his Land Rover into a Co-Op Village Store, while three times over the drink-drive limit. Their lives at the scene Rolling, and nephew clued the Gainesville Ripper was arrested days... 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