So just where did the pictures come from? The Chief wouldn’t say. He did go back and forth on whether police seized the photos from someone or if they were turned over voluntarily. At one point answering, “Yes” when asked which one of the ways was right.
I have looked at the photos and they are disturbing. Some of the women look dead.
It is not unusual for serial killers to take photos of the victims.
A message, written in black marker on the wall of one of the buildings, reads: “2/2010 Mom, you are missed, Love, Nikki.”
It could have been written for either Laquetta Gunther or Julie Green.
Laquetta Gunther, a 45-year-old construction day laborer and occasional prostitute was killed first. Her body was found on 12/26/2005 and she was last seen 12/24/2005 at Chubby’s bar at 650 N. Beach St.
Her body was discovered stuffed between the two buildings in a space not even 3 feet wide. She had been shot in the head, execution-style, with a .40-caliber bullet. A passerby found her half-nude corpse between the two buildings across the street from the former Chubby’s.
Over the next two months, two more women met a similar fate.
Then there was the shooting of 34-year-old Julie Green in January 2006 and 35-year-old Iwana Patton in February of that year. Green and Patton were also shot in the head with a .40-caliber weapon and both were naked as well when they were found.
The suspect also left behind an unmistakable calling card. His semen was on both Gunther and Green, police said.
Stacey Gage, 30 years old, was found two years later in January 2008. She had been shot in the head in a wooded area near a former church off Hancock Boulevard. Investigators have never said whether the caliber of weapon used on Gage was a .32-, a .40-, or a .45-caliber gun. But Police Chief Mike Chitwood has repeatedly said that Gage’s death was “eerily similar” to the other three.
There was no DNA found on Gage’s nude body because she had been exposed to the elements for about a month before she was discovered by a Daytona Beach policeman on patrol.
Although the killer’s DNA is stored in a database kept by the FBI, it has not yet matched others kept in the national listing.
Florida did begin testing many men arrested but no leads have come from that yet.
On Christmas Eve night this year and every year since Gunther was murdered, her friend, Stacey Dittmer has held a candlelight vigil at the murder site with people who knew Gunther. This year, Gunther’s 70-year-old mother, Barbara Rurak, planned to join the group.
In a telephone interview this week from her home in Sarasota, Rurak asked the same question everyone here is asking: “Is anything being done?”
While the time has passed, none of the women is forgotten. Dittmer planned to make a poster with the names of all the murder victims so she could leave it at the site where Gunther was shot.
Children playing in a ravine south of Seattle this week found the skull of a young mother who vanished nearly three decades ago and has long been thought to be a victim of Green River serial killer Gary Ridgway.
The King County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that dental records identified the remains as those of 20-year-old Rebecca “Becky” Marrero, who was last seen Dec. 3, 1982, as she left a motel room on Pacific Highway South.
Ridgway, a commercial truck painter, is one of the nation’s most prolific serial killers, having confessed to 48 murders and been suspected in dozens of others. He preyed upon women and girls at the margins of society – runaways, prostitutes and drug addicts strangled in a spree that terrorized Seattle and its south suburbs in the 1980s. Several victims were dumped in or posed along the Green River.
He was arrested in 2001 after advances in DNA technology enabled authorities to link a saliva sample he gave authorities in 1987 to some of the bodies. He pleaded guilty two years later, agreeing to help authorities locate as many remains as possible in exchange for avoiding the death penalty, and is now serving life without release.
Marrero, who had a 3-year-old daughter, was believed to be one of Ridgway’s early victims, but he was not charged in her case because her body wasn’t found and because Ridgway couldn’t provide investigators with enough information about her to prove he killed her.
Marrero’s skull was found Tuesday by children playing in a ravine in Auburn, about 25 miles south of Seattle. It was the same area where the remains of another Ridgway victim, Marie Malvar, were found in September 2003.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the King County prosecutor’s office planned to charge Ridgway with Marrero’s death.
“With the discovery of Ms. Marrero’s remains, detectives and prosecutors will now review the investigation into her disappearance and death,” the office said in a written statement. “Investigators will examine all aspects of the case including any potential involvement of Ridgway.”
One of Ridgway’s attorneys, Mark Prothero, was out of the office and could not immediately be reached for comment.
He couldn’t remember the details of where he left her? Even though he had left another girl there at a later time?
I call B.S.!
He did not want her found. He liked her being there, unknown, his little secret.
Or, if he really could not remember he cared that little and that is even more disturbing.
Maybe now they will seek death penalty. Another victim means another possible trial and I hope that means the prosecutor does not have to stick to the original deal.
I mean really. Is anyone really delusional enough to think that Gary Ridgway is ‘fixable’? That he can become a part of society again? That one day he might not be a threat? That he can contribute and not just be a leech?
I hope not!
Rebecca’s daughter should be in her early 30’s now. She lived almost her whole life without her mom because of him.
Rights of accused under review in wake of Tobin case
ROBBIE DINWOODIE, CHIEF SCOTTISH POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
21 Dec 2010
The ancient right of Scots to be judged purely on the evidence before them in court rather than their past could be about to go the way of other defences such as double jeopardy.
Parliament is considering an end to double jeopardy, the rule that someone acquitted of an offence cannot then be charged again of the same offence.
Now there is to be a fresh look at two other rights of the accused in the wake of the case of serial killer Peter Tobin.
Currently a Scottish jury must not know whether someone on trial has previous convictions but at the trial in England of serial killer Tobin the jury was told about his previous conviction in Scotland for the murder of Vicky Hamilton.
There are also strict rules in Scots Law requiring two witnesses to corroborate prosecution evidence, but this can be relaxed under the so-called Moorov doctrine allowing cross-corroboration of evidence in different cases to show a pattern of behaviour, and that too could now be formalised in law or extended.
The Scottish Law Commission is publishing a discussion paper asking whether the blanket ban on revealing past convictions should stay, and whether the rules on corroboration should be formally reformed.
Patrick Layden QC, the lead commissioner on the project, said: “The rules of criminal evidence should help ensure that innocent people are not convicted but they should not stand in the way of convicting the guilty. All relevant evidence should be admissible, unless there is some good reason for excluding it. Sometimes evidence of previous convictions would be highly relevant, but the prosecution is not allowed to refer to it.
“We ask whether this blanket rule remains appropriate, or whether it should be possible, in some cases, to refer to the accused’s record in proving the present charge.”
SNP MSP and Justice Committee member Stewart Maxwell asked the Lord Advocate to review the situation following last year’s Tobin case. Tobin’s conviction for the murder of Vicky Hamilton was introduced as evidence, helping to explain the crime scene and establishing a pattern of behaviour which led to Tobin’s conviction for the murder of Dinah McNicol. In Scotland a jury would not have known that Mr Tobin had prior convictions for murder.
The SNP has already introduced legislation which would reform the law of double jeopardy allowing someone to be retried for a serious crime they had been cleared of if new evidence emerged.
Mr Maxwell said: “The trial and conviction of Peter Tobin in England last year for the murder of Dinah McNicol exposes the problems of the law in Scotland.
“In recent cases like Peter Tobin or Angus Sinclair, these killers have a clear modus operandi that could be valuable to a jury. In Scotland, Peter Tobin’s previous convictions would not have been known to the jury – despite them directly relating to the case.”
I am all for them changing the laws. Criminals change and grow. Criminals learn the laws and use them to their advantage. Laws should protect society and should not be kept if they are being used and abused by predators.
In 1986 Josefina Rivera was kidnapped by Gary Heidnik in Philadelphia. He held her captive, raped and tortured her in his cellar for over 5 months. There were 5 other women in that basement with her.
Josefina Rivera
Before being kidnapped Josefina was raising 3 children Latoya was 5 years old, Zornae was just 11 months old and the baby, Ricardo who was 6 weeks old. Once she was got away from Heidnik Josefina lost custody of her children.
The courts looked at her life before the kidnapping and at the stress from the kidnapping and they (probably wisely) removed her children from her care.
Latoya Rivera was raised by her father; Ricardo and Zornae were adopted by another family and moved to Florida.
“A lot of the information that allowed us to find her came from our adoptive parents,” Ricardo Sepulveda said.
He said he and his sister grew up in a loving home with parents who understood that they would eventually want to know their mother’s story. They kept a file with newspaper clippings and records.
On Christmas eve 2010 Josefina will be reunited with her children for the first time since her kidnapping.
Their mother will arrive Christmas Eve.
“We’re so nervous, because we’re just counting down the hours and every minute and every second,” Zornae Sepulveda said.
Her brother said he imagines that it will be be “so overwhelming” to hug her and say “I love you” for the first time.
I wish them a Merry Christmas, although I have a feeling they do not need my wishes for that!
Gary Michael Heidnik (November 22, 1943 – July 6, 1999) was an American murderer who kidnapped, tortured and raped six women and kept them prisoner in his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania basement.
I really do not want to dwell on Heidnik so here is a quick reference for you if you are interested.
Kensington Strangler aka Philadelphia Strangler might want to seek police protection. The people in that area have already beat the hell out of 1 suspected rapist.
Philadelphia / Kensington Strangler
Philadelphia police are urging residents not to take matters into their own hands in the search for a serial killer who authorities say sexually assaulted and strangled three women, and possibly attacked three others.
Authorities said Tuesday that DNA linked the death of 27-year-old Casey Mahoney to the slayings of 35-year-old Nicole Piacentini whose body was found Nov. 13 in the rear of an abandoned building and Elaine Goldberg, 21, who was found beaten and raped in a trash-strewn lot Nov. 3.
Three other women reported surviving sexual assaults in the area, two of whom said they were choked into unconsciousness.
Residents of Kensington, who once severely beat a suspected rapist based on a police sketch, are outraged and have posted hundreds of comments and theories about the ongoing case on a Facebook page titled “Catch the Kensington Strangler, before he catches someone you love.”
One post falsely identified a suspect, which led to an infuriated crowd outside the man’s home. Police arrived at the man’s home moments later and stressed that residents should call authorities instead of becoming vigilantes.
This guy needs to turn himself in or he is going to end up hurt. Not that I am against that really, but that would get someone else in trouble.
A good ass beating before arrest might not be so bad. Richard Ramirez had to be saved from a group that caught him. I still giggle when I see his bandaged head.
So, if the crowd ‘detains’ the guy until officers get there and he gets a few boo-boo’s I will not cry, giggle yes, cry no.
Police have made 120 arrests with people involved in prostitution in Kensington since Nov. 19 and obtained DNA swabs from many of them, Deputy Commissioner William Blackburn said. More than 40 have been cleared, and tests are pending on the rest.
Lots of bases covered so hopefully this perverted killer will soon be in bandages on his way to jail.
The FBI has joined the investigation.
I am still waiting for more information. They are still saying that because of the state of decomposition it could be weeks or months before they know the identities of these women.
This of course will make it harder to catch whoever dumped the bodies.
The guy whose home was searched is saying the investigation has ruined his life. I do not know of he has been ruled out as a suspect.
I found an online article today that states that Joel Rifkin is not impressed by the fiendish handiwork of a murderer who dumped the bodies of four women near Oak Beach.
Joel Rifkin Headlines
Joel must be loving the attention. I am sure that he is thrilled that someone is showing an interest in him again.
Joel Rifkin on Nightline
With the air of a veteran schooling an amateur, Rifkin said the sicko being hunted by cops and the FBI should never have left all the corpses in one place.
“I dumped them hundreds of miles apart,” Rifkin proudly told the Daily News Wednesday in a 70-minute interview at the upstate prison where he will spend the rest of his life.
He proudly talked about disposing of his victims?
Rifkin killed 17 prostitutes in a four-year spree – and took pains to dispose of the bodies.
His victims were scattered in rivers and wooded areas from the east end of Long Island to upstate. Three were never found.
In Oak Beach, four decomposing bodies were found within a quarter-mile area just off a remote highway – and cops believe one killer is responsible.
Rifkin suggested the killer was sloppy for picking a single dumping ground because it alerted cops to the likelihood of a serial killer and brought more heat to the case.
Rifkin, who once lived in East Meadow, L.I., said he was always more frightened about dumping his bodies than strangling or dismembering his victims.
“I was surprised I didn’t get caught sooner,” said Rifkin, who was busted in 1993 with his final victim’s body in the back of his mother’s pickup truck.
He said his arrest was the result of “a 25-cent mistake” – a missing license plate.
He was worried only about being caught. The actual act of killing did not worry him, it was the disposal, the most ‘public’ part that worried him. He still considers the mistake to be getting caught, not the killing.
He gives a ‘profile’ of the suspect to the Daily News.
Rifkin, 51, said cops looking for the Oak Beach killer should probably focus on white men, aged 18 to 45, but acknowledged the magnitude of that challenge.
Then he admits to how ‘helpful’ he is.
“That’s like half the country,” he said.
He does go on to give insight not only about the recent serial killer but about himself.
He speculated that the suspect would have shared some of his experiences: growing up lonely in the suburbs, being mocked and bullied, grappling with anger.
Joel claims that he regrets what he did, but I don’t believe that at all. He regrets getting caught and that is all.
He said prostitutes are obvious targets for serial slayers.
“No family,” he explained, occasionally breaking into laughter as he discussed his bloody history. “They can be gone six or eight months, and no one is looking.”
The two missing women in the Suffolk County probe advertised their services on craigslist, which didn’t exist when Rifkin was hunting for victims.
Hookers made for easy targets because they were often on their backs, making it easy to overpower them, Rifkin recounted as cartoons played on the visiting room TV.
He said he paid the prostitutes as much for their temporary friendship as for sex – and never just to kill them.
“I became addicted to sex and companionship,” said Rifkin, a long, gray ponytail hanging down his back.
There was no sentimentality as he described what he did to the women after they were beaten and strangled. “You carve ’em like a turkey,” he said.
He said the slayings were a “primal urge” that he justified by reminding himself the women were drug-addicted hookers with no self-respect.
Rifkin says he regrets his rampage, but he sounded bizarrely nostalgic as he spoke about how much easier it was to kill his in his day.
He said technology like GPS in cell phones has given police a tremendous advantage in tracking victims.
Law enforcement is a lot more sophisticated now than it was when he was picking up prostitutes in Manhattan and spreading their remains across nine counties.
“They pull up the Jane Does and compare notes,” he said.
The police are doing all that they can, but as in many cases where prostitutes and the homeless are being targeted by a serial criminal, the public is reluctant to help the police.
A bill that will cut off federal income support for incarcerated seniors was passed today (December 14) in the Canadian Senate.
The Harper government introduced the legislation in June after news that serial killer Clifford Olson was receiving more that $1,100 a month in federal benefits while imprisoned for the murder of 11 children in B.C. in the early 1980s.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, who denounced the federal payments to imprisoned seniors as “offensive and outrageous”, said in a news release today that, “It is wrong that convicted killers like Clifford Olson were receiving taxpayers’ entitlements such as Old Age Security.”
Olson has threatened to sue the government if the bill passes.
The new law will prevent 400 senior citizens serving sentences of two years or more in federal penitentiaries from receiving monthly Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement cheques.
The government is also negotiating with the provinces to cut off benefits for inmates serving less than two years in provincial jails.
Finley has estimated an annual savings of $2 million by ending benefits for federal prisoners and up to $10 million once provincial prisoners are included.
The government doesn’t expect much resistance from the provinces, as most already deny provincial benefits to jailed seniors.
Upon their release, prisoners would be allowed to apply for benefits.
Olson is going to sue? How dare he.
He is going to use tax payer money to sue the tax payers!
There has to be a way to stop sickos from abusing society further.
I am happy that the Canadian Government has done this though.
Real Life Monsters 