serial killers in brevard county, florida serial killers in brevard county, florida

who manufactures restoration hardware furniture Don Lykkebak, Ed's attorney, says, "He was a medical patient at the time who was not being treated. TAMPA, Fla. - A pair of serial killers were indicted Thursday for the 1983 cold case rapes and murders of two women in Tampa, Florida after an innocent man was exonerated, authorities. Sheriff's officials can find no motives. [5][7], Krista Jean Melton, 14, was reported missing on November 14, 1973. In 2020, according to an analysis of census data by Florida Today, 74% of Brevard County identified as white, an 11% drop from a decade earlier. Kelly McClory, 24, had joined the kennel staff last October. Townson is already serving a life sentence for killing another woman in Brevard County. After all, you definitely don't want to run into any serial killers from Florida. ", He pauses. The nude body of David Spears, a 43-year-old construction worker, was found June 1, 1990, in Citrus County. Less than a month later, Bundy abducted 12-year-old Kimberly Leach from her junior high school in Lake City, Florida, and he sexually assaulted the young girl, beat her to death, and dumped her body in a remote area. Ed ends up on the floor. Deputy Pill was transported to the Holmes Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to the gunshot wound. On the next day, Giles was arrested and his car was examined, during which investigators seized a 22-caliber pistol. Aileen Wuornos was eventually picked up on a . "Here was a kid who was held up as a ass murderer," Mackenzie says. They hoped that these hairscould help lead to the killer. Samuel Little, possibly America's most prolific serial killer, murdered close to 100 people. View properties, photos, nearby real estate with school and housing market information. Dont forget to follow him on Twitter @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FTjohntorres. Was he hunting? Bradbury had been struck in the face with something and was tossed in the ditch a full day before she was found. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. "He was very good with kids," says Farley. "It showed a picture of him, and he seemed trustworthy but kind of crestfallen. Based on the evidence on the body, authorities were looking for a local suspect with military background and access to a boat. Brevard is a 30-year-old . In late August of 1990, five Gainesville college students were murdered and their bodies sexually assaulted. Harrell told One Deadly Mistake that he was struck by Hucks lack of empathy as he spoke of the young woman whose life had ended so brutally. The reports painted an eerie picture. Her hands and feet had been bound by red and white nautical rope tied in a distinctive cow hitch knot taught and usedby the Coast Guard. He looks around nervously. No way. She briefs him before interviews; she and his attorney decide which questions he'll answer. His grandfather, a retired Air Force officer, took the boys to ham radio shows and flea markets and the officers' club to play bingo and lunch with the big-wigs. A serial killer, cunning and profoundly evil, was on the loose. I thought they'd already filled her in on who I was and it just kind of slipped. She was quite shocked.". There were 'only' 120 cities in Florida where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 87 places had no murder. He sent $25. -- Nancy K. Brown, 25, of Rantoul, Ill. While Florida is known as a popular destination for spring breakers, retirees, and tourists from all around the world, its warm weather and beautiful beaches also seem to attract or produce some of the worst serial killers in America. "Ed's a good friend. You know I'll never, ever get over it completely. Between November 2022 and December 2022, 32934, FL real estate market has seen decrease in the number of listings . For other inquiries, Contact Us. Her body was found beaten with a rock and dumped in a wooded area of Rockledge in March. . It lets him have his old smile back. He was on heavy medication. His body was nearly nude, and he had been shot four times in the back of the head. On October 23, 2002, Huck, who Mistys father, Bob Morsecalled a gutless coward, was charged with felony kidnap and murder. The spokesman, Will Irby, thinks it over, consults his boss and tries again. Then, interestingly enough, she applied those traits to well-known fictional serial killers Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates and everyone's favorite blood-splatteranalyst, Dexter Morgan. As for his own behavior, Ed says: "I can't help it if my body (needs) lithium. A jogger running along James Road in west Cocoa in September 1987 saw Bradbury's nude body in a water-filled ditch. WF, born 6/5/38, was sentenced in Dade County on 9/16/87 for the 1983 murder of an 84 year old woman. When I got a job, .when I got good grades in school, they weren't calling me. . Law officers found Antonio's car five days later in Brevard County. The murders of three women in Florida two decades ago were committed by a Brazilian serial killer who later died in a plane crash, police said Tuesday. THERE IS A FORTRESS of friends surrounding Ed Humphrey now. -- John Hamilton, 59, of Cocoa. Read: Florida serial killers who terrorized our towns The women he was known to have killed ranged in age from 12 to 34. Walls received a sentence of life in prison for the murder of Alger and for the killings of three others he would later confess to. Detectives believed that shed been dumped in the water, possibly from a boat. Police are withholding possible motives. They went to police, where they provided a description of their attacker's appearance, his car, and even his name, which they had glimpsed in a book while riding in his car. According to his testimony, he began to make his first attempts to attack girls in 1969, after dropping out of school, but was unsuccessful. "Ed--everywhere he went he caused a scene," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Unable to withstand the moral pressure, shortly before the opening of the trial, Giles made a plea bargain with the investigators. The test confirmed that the hair on the duct tape belonged to Chiba, whose hairs had been collected during the investigation and kept for comparison. A closer look revealed that it wasn't a marine mammal near the mangroves, but something even more disturbing: a human body. He was charged with assault and attempted rape. [14][15], After his conviction, Giles was transported to serve his sentence at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County. Some women actually spared their lives by engaging me in conversations. There was some scuttlebutt online about our case, said Cmdr. George figured that if someone came after Ed, trying to kill him, Ed could just dial 911. Without warning, Ed jumped out of the car. For Ed's 21st birthday, he sent $221.21. Kennedy even sent money. Her nude body was found strangled, hands bound, eight days later. "I think Ed could have done something like this," he told them. His mother was well-intentioned and caring, but nervous. "Should I smile? He insisted on his innocence, and in early 1974, his lawyers filed a motion for a forensic medical examination, which was granted. "He was rambling things that could be totally misinterpreted. And if you recognize that, then no matter what this jail-house) interview says when it comes out, it's not going to mean sh--.". JULY 14,1990,1609 HOURS: INDIALANtic police receive a reported trespass at the Crawford Surf Shop, on AlA and 5th Street. Meanwhile, Lykkebak hopes eventually to get Ed's record wiped clean of a felony --a move that would require a governor's pardon. "I hit her and I'm sorry." By the time the Melbourne case involving Robineau was reported by police, speculation began to run rampant that something odd was happening with the multiple deaths, authorities said. I'm standing by the door and I'm pressing the button, and the guards come up and they slam the door open." The bloating of the body of the victim indicated that shed been in the water forabout three and a half days. A task force of police agencies in Gainesville, searching for the killer who had mutilated five college. It got easier with each one we did.". He achieved some success in this field, but soon lost interest in studying as a whole. His body, shot in the chest, was found along Burnett Road in west Cocoa in January 1986. HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. - A family finally has some answers more than 40 years after a Tampa woman went missing. A top official in the case points out the murders were methodical and elaborately planned. Clickheretouploadyours. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. In the wee hours of January 15, 1978, the fugitive serial murderer broke into a Florida State University sorority house and attacked four young women, killing Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman by bludgeoning them to death. The Florida Gay Bar Murders: Gary Ray Bowles was a bisexual who cruised the Florida gay bars in the mid-1990's looking for men to murder and rob. She had disappeared June 6, 1983, while vacationing in Cocoa Beach. She was known for murdering truckers. A Brevard County convicted killer has become the third woman on Florida's death row. But that's pretty much how I feel.". Here's a look at . And the day after Ed was arrested, an investigator interviewed Sydney McGrath, a college student who had long conversations with Ed about dissecting corpses. Everyone needs true crime merch - so stay sexy and don't get murdered! Police are withholding possible motives. He spent a lot of that time in Chattahoochee, the state hospital for mentally ill prisoners. Others have. Rocket Homes Florida Brevard County Melbourne 32934. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. WHEN THE PATROL CAR PULLED up that day, Elna Hlavaty was waiting in fear on the columned front porch of her home. John Wayne Gacy killed 33 men and boys between 1972 and 1978. That would be Opa Locka with 66.7 murders per 100,000 people. [2], As victims, Giles would choose young girls, most of whom hitchhiked. It worked--but it also made him dull, sluggish, overweight. Five of those women were known prostitutes whose bodies were unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road, including one found just the month before Hendricks went missing. ", Mackenzie, looking pained, interrupts: "But that was before the plastic surgery. The children were identified as Joel Johnson, 12, Jazzlyn . -- Kim Howe, 31, of Cocoa. And an odd thing happened: Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed up and began questioning him about the murders. "Oh, that's Ed," the kennel workers will say. When the discussion turned to a human anatomy class that McGrath was taking, McGrath said, Ed asked her what it was like to cut up bodies and if she ever took skin or body parts home to "mess around with it.". View our online Press Pack. The incident involving Brevard County sheriff's deputies happened Aug. 30 in West Melbourne, Fla. Investigators say more than 61 bullets were fired in less than a minute. Unfortunately, after the body was brought to the coroners office, an autopsy revealed itwas too decomposed to determine the cause of death. Hammack had been with the Brevard County Sheriff's Offfice for less than a year, but he'd been to the plantation-style Indialantic house at least five times before. Still, Rolling has pleaded innocent--and Don Lykkebak expects Ed will be a target in the trial. "Their strategy was to keep Ed in jail, to hold him without charging him in the Gainesville case," he says. Again, why are we obsessed with serial killers? A Florida mom went on a murderous rampage, killing her four children early today before turning the gun on herself. Bundy had at least 30 women and girls' deaths . Her body was spotted in a ditch near the Interstate 95 overpass by a couple driving on the Beeline Expressway in February 1987. "My mouth dropped open when he told me," she says. Ed's co-worker at the Humane Society, Nancy Breslin, says people sometimes look warily at Ed and say things like: Who's that guy you've got working back there? "Ed, you see, not only has been locked up in a cell for 76 days, he's been sent to a psychiatric hospital, kept in prison for a year, had charges for everything under the sun, had all this stuff hanging over his head. He got out once a week--in leg chains and handcuffs--when his lawyer came, and twice a week to take a shower. Giles is currently Brevard County high security prison in Florida where he is serving life in prison for the murder of five. I can't handle this.' He caught a glimpse of a tall young man climbing the stairs. "He has been persecuted. Details of the deaths, locations, were shared repeatedly. -- Pauline Scandale, 82, of Indialantic. The various deaths were isolated incidents that were either by natural causes, drug overdose, or suicide, however, they had nothing to do with each other and were not deemed to be suspicious in nature, he said. He is released to the custody of his mother. ", Marti Mackenzie nods. He was the one to call investigators. You know, it affects my self-esteem. He was found shot to death in his home in December 1987. I saw these women as objects.". The fraternity brothers do not report the incident until Sept. 4, after publicity that Humphrey is a suspect. I mean, it's just a really bad feeling--knowing that wherever you go people are judging you, and they don't even know you. Name: Date: Victims: Location : A: Aubrey Dennis ADAMS Jr.. January 23, 1978: 1: Florida, USA: James ADAMS November 12, 1973: 1: Florida, USA: Richard Lee ADAMS . One said it was a "violent" environment. Sheriff's officials think she a victim of Christopher Wilder, a serial killer who police suspect killed at least 11 women across the country. He attended Titusville High School, where he took an interest in visual arts. The set was found in woods between Dairy Road and Hollywood Boulevard in south Brevard in December 1985. His first vile act was during a game of witch-hunt with a young girl neighbour of similar age, when he caught up with her in a back bedroom of her house and pinned her down. TED BUNDY: He is considered one of Florida's most notorious serial killers. We study them with abnormal psychology, they have antisocial personality disorder, they use poison, and all too often rape, and mutilation, are associated with serial killers. -- Kimberly Walker, 21, of Vero Beach, and another woman yet to be identified. These cases are believed to have been committed by the same individual. It was going 60 mph at the time. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Genetic tests conducted on pubic hairs were similar to Ed's - and about 8,000 other people in Alachua County. The suspected serial shooterand in at least two cases, killerof unhoused people, Gerald Brevard III, is in custody hours after his father said they had a normal conversation. A serial killer, cunning and profoundly evil, was on the loose. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. ', News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. However, Leach was his final victim, and Bundy was apprehended and convicted of her murder and the killings of Levy and Bowman, the two young women at FSU. His grandmother would later try to drop the charges, insisting Ed never hit her, that she accidentally fell into the fireplace. Humphrey was asked to leave the premises by Officer Smith, and he complied, but not before threatening Officer Smith that he (Humphrey) was going to cut his eyes out and send him to hell. "He's one of our best employees. She had white duct tape around her mouth and eyes, all signs of a homicide. And it just dropped me into a depression. Copyright 2023 ClickOrlando.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. -- Julie Backstrom, 29, of Cocoa. He was found guilty of escape and given an additional 15 years imprisonment. When he was arrested for hitting his grandmother and questioned by state agents, sources say, Ed spoke of someone named "John" and claimed to have knowledge of the Gainesville killings. It was repeated so authoritatively and so often that the term began to lose its inherent uncertainty. And it got worse as more people came forward. (Pacific Photos) An overwhelming percentage of serial murders are men. Aug. 25,1990, approximately 0100 hours: At a party, Humphrey threatens two Pi Lambda Phi fraternity brothers with what they say is a straight razor. And now, he doesn't volunteer his history unless people bring it up. "He was just the wrong boy at the wrong place at the wrong time--with the wrong malady.". BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - For weeks a slew of seemingly mysterious deaths - from a suspected suicide found on the banks of a scenic riverside neighborhood to a body found lying in the middle of a. Display: 36 per page Sort by: Featured View Fiends Serial Killers Shirt From $ 24.95 53 reviews With the help of his cousin Fred Waterfield, David Alan Gore abducted and murdered at least six young women and teenage girls in Indian River County, Florida, in the early 1980s. Remains of Tampa teen missing since 1980 identified as serial killer victim. In 13 cases, police have little more than a body. He is questioned and officers search his car, finding two knives under the seat. Mostly he made threats, but he also would gear up in combat fatigues, strap a knife to his leg and tell people he'd fought in Vietnam--though, of course, he was only 4 when the war ended. And it goes to this officer that's in-the control booth and I'm like 'Yeah, how much longer do I have to sit in this cell, man? "It seemed like when I lost my cool, he would keep his. And, then, as far as newspapers go, half the things that lthey) deal with are just negative things about people. Of course not, but what if he was? Deputy Pill had served with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office for 15 years and served in law enforcement for 30 years. Police say money and drugs are among possible motives. For several years, the whole family lived with Ed's maternal grandparents. As dawn broke on Oct. 28, 2020, investigators in Hernando County, Florida, began searching a cluttered six-acre property belonging to the Mansfield family. Miami Herald file The killings follow the ghastly murders of three young Gainesville-area women. "It's just a negative," he says. Instead, more than a year later, the grand jury indicted Danny Rolling, a Louisiana drifter also charged in the attempted murder of his father. A real estate agent in Florida hunted down homeless men, according to authorities out of Miami. -- Mamilee Zanders, 72, of Melbourne. [4][3], Carolyn Jan Bennett, 17, disappeared on November 15, 1973. Browse 74 homes for sale in 32934, FL. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! "Recon lock and load!" One day in April 1988--after Ed had dropped out of school for a while and gone to live with his brother, George, in Gainesville--the two were taking a drive to the beach to talk about Ed moving home. Maybe it's because their behavior is so far from ours that it somehow makes them less real and more like monsters. -- Frank Sims, no age available, of Mims. Video by John A. Torres. "There's this girl at work--Kelly--and she didn't know at all until today. After all, who wouldn't love to own Dracula's cape? I fell asleep there.". "That's all I need.". A once-peaceful university town panicked. But months passed and Humphrey was never charged with the crimes, the Alachua County grand jury deciding that there was no case against him. Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. He was declared sane, and a trial date was scheduled for April 29, 1974. More red flags arose during a search of Hucks home, where authorities found white duct tape and Publix bags under the kitchen sink. Again, please know that there is absolutely no truth to these rumors and if there were to ever be a critical incident of this type or need for concern, our agency would immediately share the information with our community so we could do everything possible to keep our citizens safe, Ivey said. At time he began his murderous rampage the 20-year-old Giles was working as an electrician and did not have a criminal record. He was executed for the 1976 murder of Lavonne Sailer, 49, in Brevard County. The two had gone bowling, played pool, hung out together. Peter Krocka/Shutterstock. If we accept that these killers are not human but actually monsters then I guess I can understand the fascination. By Sharon Lynn Pruitt "It definitely all started when I was 16," he says now. Giles's background was an ordinary one - hewas one of four children from a stable family who enjoyed a perfectly happy, loving childhood with no abuse. Asource I was interviewing for the next season of my podcast series "Murder on the Space Coast," handed me a folder. "It was like, Oh, wow. -- Ramona Lee Moore, 22, of Melbourne. I am still his friend, and I think what happened to him is wrong. Ed was still serving 14 months probation at the time, and drinking was a violation of his terms. Then he would drop into a crouch pretending to open fire. Many of his victims, mostly drifters and runaways, were buried in a crawlspace beneath his suburban Chicago home. During his tenure as a highway patrolman, there were 16 unsolved murders of women in Brevard County. Her throat was cut while she was at a Cocoa hotel in February 1988. He went from a motivated, friendly student into a deep depression.". I thought, 'Here's a guy who's sort of down and I think I'll cheer him up.". But more investigative files are expected to be released later this month--evidence that may seem incriminating to Ed. Ed, following his attorney's advice, won't talk about it--or anything else he may have said to police at the time. I told him: 'Your real friends will stand by you."'. Some women actually spared their lives by engaging me in conversations," he said. JEFF DAUGHERTY , 33, died Nov. 7, 1988, by electric chair. Police have withheld possible motives. At the same time, Cocoa Police were also working a missing person case involving a 31-year-old mother of four whose body was discovered in a remote wooded area in Osceola County. She had been shot in the head. Confessions Of A Serial Killer With Piers Morgan, Thursday, ITV, 9pm. Murder on the Space Coast: John Torres discusses Season 2. This is the first extensive interview Ed Humphrey has ever granted. Humphrey reportedly had been in the surf shop "raising hell" with the female patrons, making general threats, saying they didn't know how many people he had killd, and that he would cut their hearts out. "It's been a while, you know?" -- Elizabeth Ann Hucco, 29, of Lake Worth. Her mother, Linda Morse, told authorities she had last seen Misty three days earlieras shewas getting ready to go out. His victims were all hitchhikers whom he picked up and drove at gunpoint to remote orange groves where he sexually abused and shot them. "I feel really bad about this," she confided, "but they knew who you were, and when you left they were all laughing and saying, 'Man, we're not going to give that guy a job."'. At this moment he would be home in Indialantic studying for a science test--and hoping, unrealistically, that people would just forget Ed Humphrey. If you need help with the Public File, call 407-291-6000. The rest of the time he sat in his cell, building card houses, reading books his mother sent, or sleeping. They eventually fled to a wooded area where they hid for the night before Brevard County Sheriff's investigators found them near their Port St. John home on the chilly morning of Jan. 7, 1999. According to records, he battered his wife and enjoyed humiliating her sexually. Her remains were found dumped in Canaveral Groves in March 1984. That was the start of it all. He'd seen interviews with his new neighbors on the evening news, and they had said they were afraid of Ed Humphrey. J.D. Neither will police talk. Huck maintains his innocence and insists it was Misty's other ex-boyfriend who actually murdered her, local station WFTV-9 reported in 2011. Her death sentence was vacated on 12/6/90. A jury found him guilty of one count of battery upon a person over the age of 65, a third-degree felony, and he was sentenced to 22 months in prison, plus probation. His parents led a law-abiding lifestyle and were described as good, caring parents, thanks to which Giles had a happy childhood and grew up in a stable home. Bonin, a Vietnam veteran, was convicted of four murders in Orange . While not all of the. Karl Kennedy, a soft-spoken 70-year-old retired real-estate agent in California, was one of several hundred people who wrote Ed in jail, certain that he was a victim of injustice. The next day Humphrey is reported to be running in circles and talking to himself on Patrick Air Force Base. And Harris, when he confessed to then-investigatorPhil Williams,had no explanation why he staged the dead body in a demeaning manner. He's had a tough row to hoe.". Officials were able to usefingerprints to identify thevictim as 22-year-old Misty Morse, who lived about 20 miles from where her body was discovered, though. "Get his good side," offers Marti Mackenzie, the publicist. Does that make him a serial killer? He glances again at the photographer. "I've got feelings, too, and that stuff really hurt me. He had been shot six times in the torso. [13], The Brevard County State Attorney's Office said that if convicted, they would seek the death penalty against Giles. It's dangerousnot to fear them or be repulsed. Frank Johnson was the first inmate executed in Florida's electric chair on October 7, 1924. He tried repeatedly to find work, but kept being turned away, often with no explanation. According to Lt. Tod Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office identified the mother as Tonya Thomas, 33.