He often cried about "how his heart hurt" from the poor relationship with his dad, she said. But despite huge media coverage, Danny Rolling was never actually caught for the murders. His time in between stints in jail were spent traveling the country, stealing and occasionally forcing himself on women. In one incident, Danny's mother . Testimony will continue next week. Ex-wife O'Mather Lummus, whom. [18], In 2020, WUFT News released a television special and podcast special chronicling thoughts on the case 30 years later, titled Four Days, Five Murders.[19][20]. And thats when she mentioned the family argument in May 1990 that resulted in Danny shooting his father in the stomach and the face. As per The Gainesville Ripper by Mary S. Ryzuk, Claudia knew that their relationship was unhealthy and left her husband several times over the years, but she always returned. In addition to "Scream," Danny Rolling's murder spree inspired the 2010 film "The Gainesville Ripper." Grissoms corpse was left in a sexual position. He was a cop and he consistently abused his wife and children. However, as reported by Biography, Rolling's childhood was far from ideal. His killing spree inspired Kevin Williamson to pen the script for the blockbuster movie Scream. Danny Harold Rolling, Florida's most notorious serial killer since Ted Bundy, was executed by injection Wednesday for butchering five college students in a ghastly . His father survived but lost the use of an eye and ear before fleeing to Kansas and Florida, eventually arriving in Gainesville. 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. 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. In 1994, Rolling pleaded guilty to five counts of murder, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of armed burglary in connection with those five slayings. Two years later, he killed five college students. By all accounts, Danny Rolling "remained calm" throughout the day of his execution. In total, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. 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. 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. The Gainesville Ripper continued to steal from homes and gas stations until he was finally caught in Ocala after a high-speed chase. Krop said Rolling knew right from wrong, explaining he killed Hoyt because she looked like his ex-wife. 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. Having earned the moniker of The Gainesville Ripper after the latter occurred in August 1990, there are speculations that Danny reached his breaking point due to the years of abuse he suffered as a child in his parents home. His walk and even his voice changed. 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. In 1990, he set up a campsite in a wooded area behind the University of Florida, Rolling embarked on his murder spree as students began the fall semester. 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. In the early morning hours of Friday, August 24, Rolling broke into the apartment shared by 17-year-old university freshmen Sonja Larson and Christina Powell. But running away to Florida didnt cure Danny. Danny's mother rushed to the hospital after alleging that her husband attempted to . [6] They included: posing of the victims; tape residue on victim's body; and vinegar used to clean the body. He reportedly claimed to have used the power of his mind to unlock the door and enter the apartment. 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. Rolling cut off her head and sat her upright on the edge of her bed. The Making of a Serial Killer: The Real Story of the Gainesville Murders. just kind of a deadpan expression. Police couldnt find enough evidence at crime scenes to implicate Danny Rolling. But Danny tried to stay in control and he attended church and struggled to hold down steady work. He eventually quit the Air Force after too much drug use which included taking acid more than 100 times. She said Rolling related stories of childhood beatings, being handcuffed and his father holding a knife to his throat. A tortured soul since birth, Rolling, a.k.a the Gainesville Ripper, passed on the horrifying abuse he had endured onto his victims. Rolling appealed the death sentences and tried to get the confessions suppressed, alleging that Lewis had acted as a de facto state agent and tried to profit from their friendship. A second man, Edward Humphrey of Indialantic, Florida, was considered an initial suspect in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest. He told her the name of the personality, but she couldn't recall it. Following his arrest, Rolling was interviewed by a number of mental health professionals, who all agreed he had some form of mental illness. Lewis said in a separate interview that Rolling was like a werewolf who would watch his victims at home for hours or days on end. There are still bullet holes in the walls," she said. Lewis testified that he had had hundreds of hours of conversations with Rolling about the murders, and along with another inmate, helped him fake a suicide attempt so that they could stay in the same wing of the prison. Louisiana police alerted Florida authorities to an unsolved triple murder in Shreveport on November 4, 1989. Danny Rolling was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. READ MORE: Scream Cast: Where Are They Now? 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. Danny Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 October 25, 2006), also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American convicted serial killer. 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. His microphone was then cut off, ending a life story as twisted as any that could appear on the big screen. In all, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. Students triple-locked doors and some slept in shifts so someone was awake at all times. Echoing his later killings, Julie was found with bite marks and her body arranged with her legs spread on the bed. 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. The following day, he made Santa Fe Community College student Christa Hoyt his next victim, leaving behind her severed head on a shelf to face her body propped up on the bed. 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. By age 11, Danny Rolling picked up music to cope with his abusive father. In addition to that, he was a peeping tom, he was caught one time spying on a cheerleader dressing. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! In May 1990, he tried to kill his father during a family argument in which his father lost an eye and an ear. Prosecutor Rod Smith believes Rolling came up with the multiple personality story after watching the film "Exorcist III." That man, Danny Rolling, had told her that one day he was going to leave Shreveport, where they lived. 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. He went on to marry and had a daughter, but following his discharge from the military, Danny Rolling committed a number of increasingly serious crimes, including rape and armed robbery. 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." Mills, a country-Western music producer, said Rolling, who sang Gospel songs and played guitar with her, resisted counseling because he feared retaliation by his father. He was abused by his father, James Rolling, who was a Louisiana State Police officer. The other suspect was also later cleared. Rolling was also the subject of an episode of Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman, a Court TV show (transmitted as Crime Scene USA: Body of Evidence on Discovery Channel in the UK) and an episode of Forensic Factor titled Killing Spree, which originally aired on Discovery Channel Canada and was rebroadcast in America on the Science Channel. His works are an example of murderabilia. It made him worse. He reportedly exchanged many letters with freelance journalist Sondra London about Rolling. Instead of leaving the duct tape on his dead bodies, Danny disposed of it in dumpsters to get rid of any fingerprints. Rolling then decided he wanted to help Lewis out so that Lewis could strike some sort of deal. Gainesville clinical psychologist Harry Krop, who first examined Rolling in January 1991 after his arrest on armed robbery charges in Ocala, said Rolling talked extensively about the killings of Christina Powell, 17, Sonja Larson, 18, Christa Hoyt, 18, Tracy Paules, 23, and Manuel Taboada, 23. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. In the film, Rolling is portrayed by Zachary Memos.[16]. Lewis information spread beyond the five murders for which Rolling received death sentences: Rolling told him that he had killed a family of three in Shreveport after stalking the young woman of the family. 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. `` how his heart hurt '' from the poor relationship with his dad, she.... 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