Investigators determined that Rolling had type B blood, like the suspect in both the Gainesville and Shreveport murders. Following his divorce from his wife in the late 1980s, Danny Rolling began committing murder. 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 Gainesville college students in August 1990. Chief Assistant Public Defender Johnny Kearns has argued that Rolling was mentally ill during the Gainesville killings, much of it attributable to childhood abuse. [citation needed], On April 20, 1994, Rolling was sentenced to death. Back in Shreveport in November 1989, Rolling was fired from his job at a restaurant. Those aggressive tendencies and poor impulse control would foreshadow Dannys murderous rage later in his life. Rolling, 39, fled Louisiana in May 1990 after an argument with his father. After his last meal, Rolling spent several hours with his spiritual advisor Rev. He broke into her residence and after he raped her, he removed her nipples and placed them beside her. By all accounts, Danny Rolling "remained calm" throughout the day of his execution. That man, Danny Rolling, had told her that one day he was going to leave Shreveport, where they lived. He killed Tobada while he slept. The next day he broke into another apartment and. He was beaten because he wasnt crawling properly. Danny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. However, there was no evidence linking that student to the crimes. In all, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. "One day, I picked up the phone, I called Crime Stoppers, and I said, 'I think there's one guy y'all need to investigate -- Danny Rolling.'"[6]. ABCs 20/20: Gainesville Serial Killer is an episode that chronicles the tale of Daniel Danny Rolling, a serial killer responsible for eight murders, including a triple homicide in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the slaying of five students over four days in the college town of Gainesville, Florida. Son of James Harold Rolling and Claudia Beatrice Rolling The Gainesville Ripper on trial for murder. . 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. He then flipped her body over and sliced her abdomen open from her pubic bone to her breastbone. [7], In November 1991, Rolling was charged with five counts of murder. As an adult, he had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. The soft-spoken Lummus told Smith she met Rolling at a Pentecostal church in Shreveport and married him in September 1974 when both were 19. Wikimedia Commons A memorial on 34th Street in Gainesville, Florida, for Rollings victims. He broke out of prison several times and was fired and quit jobs just as frequently. Although law enforcement initially had very few leads, police did identify two suspects. The psychologist said Rolling likened the killings to the "ethnic cleansing in Bosnia" and also told him Paules' last words: "You're gonna get caught. Back in Shreveport in November 1989, Rolling was fired from his job at a restaurant. [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. Rolling covered both of the young womens mouths with duct tape before he bound their hands. Orlando Sentinel reports the film is about "the spirit of an executed serial killer," called Gemini, who possessed other people and forced them to commit murder. The True Story Of Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper Who Inspired Scream. The Gainesville Ripper on trial for murder. Rolling pleaded guilty in court, nearly four years after the murders occurred. Family members and acquaintances have said Rolling's life slid into crime and a series of failed relationships after his divorce from Lummus, a petite brunette. It was soon revealed that this student was battling acute manic depression, however, and with zero evidence connecting him to the murders, the task force was back to the drawing board. After high school, Danny joined the Air Force, but was dishonorably discharged after he was arrested for drug possession. Instead of leaving the duct tape on his dead bodies, Danny disposed of it in dumpsters to get rid of any fingerprints. Police couldnt find enough evidence at crime scenes to implicate Danny Rolling. his face got real hard, almost no emotion there at all . GAINESVILLE The woman of Danny Rolling's dreams appeared for 75 minutes on Friday, cast doubt on his honesty and then vanished like so many women in his life. That screenplay turned into the 1996 cult-classic Scream. On Monday, August 27, Rolling broke into their apartment by prying open their sliding glass door with the same tools he had used previously. Danny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Rolling taped her mouth and wrists, cut off her clothing and raped her, before turning her over and stabbing her three times in the back. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Prosecutor Rod Smith believes Rolling came up with the multiple personality story after watching the film "Exorcist III." According to Rolling, one of those personalities, whom he referred to as "Gemini," was responsible for committing the Gainesville Ripper murders. 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. But State Attorney Rod Smith says the image of Rolling's disciplinarian father has been exaggerated by Rolling and family members. Danny's mother rushed to the hospital after alleging that her husband attempted to . Danny then changed his identity with papers he stole after breaking into someones house. Rolling told his friend how he killed the five students Sonja Larson, 18, Christy Powell, 17, Christa Hoyt, 18, Tracey Paules, 23, and Manny Tobaoda, 23 both orally and in writing. Spaced over three days, the murders also coincided with a robbery in nearby Ocala. She was also stabbed to death. Prosecutors found enough evidence to convict him and he was subsequently executed on October 25, 2006, in Florida. As a teenager and young adult, he was arrested several times for robberies in Georgia. "I can't get well at my house. He claimed his motive was to become a "superstar" similar to Ted Bundy. Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers. Rolling suggested to investigators last year that he killed a Shreveport woman, her nephew and her father on Nov. 4, 1989, but he has not been charged. He reportedly exchanged many letters with freelance journalist Sondra London about Rolling. "He'd come over every night for a while, and then one night, Steven came in and he goes, 'He's got to go,'" Juracich said. 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. 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. Rolling had said deeply disturbing things to both her and her then-husband, Steven Dobbin. Sy kinderjare was baie moeilik. Juracich said she dismissed these comments when she heard about them because she didn't want to believe Rolling could be responsible for the murders in Shreveport. 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. When Danny failed the third grade for too many absences due to illness, his mother had a nervous breakdown. [2] In another story, Danny had a dog, but James beat the dog so often that it died in Danny's arms.[3]. After confessing to the murder and mutilation of five students in Gainesville, Florida in August 1990, he was ultimately executed. He married a woman named O'Mather Halko, with whom he had a daughter, but eventually, he drove her away after exacting the same sort of abuse on her that had been prevalent in his own childhood home. 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. His first victims were 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her 55-year-old father Tom, and her 8-year-old nephew Sean. At one point, he worked as a waiter. He, as well as his mother Claudia, and brother Kevin, were beaten for the most absurd reasons, such as breathing in a way that James did . He holds a steady job,. 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. "It was almost as if you could crawl inside and feel his pain," Mills said. London described meeting Rolling as something she wasnt prepared for, according to the Washington Post: Standing before my hungry eyes was one gorgeous hunk of man. Rolling, to the Post, described his relationship with London as deep as the Amazon river and just as wild!. He goes over every step of the way how he's gonna kill the neighbor across the street. In one incident, Danny's mother went to the hospital after claiming her husband tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. PAGE Cl FLORIDA EXECUTES SERIAL KILLER, Cl CONFESSION Just before being put to death, serial killer, "State Prison at Starke. The idea that Danny was an unwanted child was reinforced. Dorothea Puente, the Death House Landlady. 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. James also abused and beat Danny, Danny's mother Claudia, and his brother Kevin for frivolous things, such as breathing in a way that displeased him. The mental health professionals who interviewed Rolling concluded he was mentally ill, and clearly "shifted from role to role." The success of Scream skyrocketed Williamsons career. October 25, 2006 / 6:46 PM / AP. [17], The premiere episode of Mark of a Killer, titled "Posed to Kill", documented the case. Photo: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara Print Cite As reported by Orlando Sentinel, one of the victims in the movie was decapitated and her torso was sliced open. Danny then picked up drugs and alcohol which only worsened his already-fragile mental state. Rolling later confessed to raping several of his victims, also committing a triple homicide in his home city of Shreveport, Louisiana, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. He then enlisted. Danny Rolling's father, Shreveport police officer James Rolling, informed him from birth that he was unwanted. 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. 0:00. He later fled to Florida, where he began his burglary and robbery spree, which culminated in the murders of five people in Gainesville. During his incarceration, Rolling wrote and illustrated a horror fiction novel, Sicarius, as well as several songs and poems. As reported by Biography, authorities initially suspected another student, who lived near two of the victims and was displaying erratic and violent behavior in the weeks surrounding the murders. Rolling claimed to have suffered severe mental and physical abuse at the hands of his father throughout the majority of his childhood. A 2007 independent feature film titled The Gainesville Ripper, based on accounts of the killings, was shot in the Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida areas. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. He forced one young woman to perform oral sex on him before he raped, stabbed and killed her. Danny Rolling, popularly known as the Gainesville Ripper, killed five university students in August 1990. Shreveport police alerted Gainesville police to the similarity of the murder scenes, which is what prompted Gainesville Police's interest in Rolling. She attempted to barricade herself in her bedroom, but Rolling broke through the door. 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. He played guitar and sang hymn-like songs. He was a cop and he consistently abused his wife and children. [6] They also found tools matching marks left at the Gainesville murder scenes. These are the real-life mobsters and events that inspired the books and movies. That was on Sept. 8, two weeks after the murders. After that, he turned to crime raping a woman who looked like his wife and spending eight years in prison for robberies. 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. Instead of throwing a big party to celebrate Muhammad Ali's 1964 win over Sonny Lison, Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown quietly met to celebrate the victory. His childhood was very difficult. "He said it was another person," she recalled in a 1992 videotaped interview played for jurors in Alachua Circuit Court. James also treated poorly and hit Danny, Danny's mother Claudia, and Danny's brother Kevin over trivial matters like breathing in a way that annoyed James. In addition to that, he was a peeping tom, he was caught one time spying on a cheerleader dressing. GAINESVILLE Claudia Rolling first noticed her son's mind slipping about six years ago. Brother of Kevin Rolling. He eventually quit the Air Force after too much drug use which included taking acid more than 100 times. Rolling murdered Larson, first taping her mouth shut to stifle her screams, and then stabbing her to death with a Ka-Bar knife. His walk and even his voice changed. However, as reported by Biography, Rolling's childhood was far from ideal. On Rollings deathbed, the 52-year-old sang a hymn-type song that rambled on for five verses. In the videotaped statement, recorded in May 1992, she even said that she first saw Danny lose control after his wife of two years filed for divorce in 1977. Don Maines, an investigator on the case with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, traveled to Shreveport in November 1990, because of similarities between the murders committed in Gainesville and murders committed in Shreveport. Pressed by prosecutor Jim Nilon for details of the personality she saw, Claudia Rolling added little. Thus began the streak of the Gainesville Ripper. . In one incident, Danny 's mother went to the hospital after claiming her husband tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. GAINESVILLE The woman of Danny Rolling's dreams appeared for 75 minutes on Friday, cast doubt on his honesty and then vanished like so many women in his life. Students triple-locked doors and some slept in shifts so someone was awake at all times. 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. 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