The Burger Chef Murders

In 1954 Burger Chef was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, featuring flame broiled burgers, a direct competitor for Burger King.  The company quickly expanded throughout the United States, focusing on franchises in small towns.  They offered not only a double burger and quarter-pound hamburger but also a toppings bar where patrons could customize their burgers.  Burger Chef was second only to McDonald’s in locations, something no other franchise has managed to do. 

Jayne

By November of 1978, the mad expansion had slowed considerably but Burger Chef was still a major player in the fast food empire.  In Speedway, Indiana, a small town of 12,500 residents, Friday, November 17 was a gloomy, cool day with rain drizzling throughout much of the day.  The closing shift for the Burger Chef on Crawfordsville Road consisted of four employees:  Jayne Freidt, Ruth Ellen Shelton, Mark Flemmonds, and Daniel Davis.  


Jayne, at 20 years old was not only the oldest member of the crew that night but the assistant manager.  She had worked for Burger Chef for three years and had been at the Crawfordsville road location since the spring of 1978.  While professional, she was known to have a zesty and zany sense of humor and a ready smile.  

Ruth was 17 and a junior at Northwest High School.  An honor student, Ruth had a heavy workload in the hopes that it would guarantee her acceptance into a good college, where she hoped to study computer science.  She realized how vital computers would become to us in the future.  In the limited spare time she had, Ruth enjoyed macramé and was active in her church.  

Ruth

Mark, 16 years old, was the youngest of seven children and a sophomore at Speedway High.  He had struggled in his first year at the high school but had managed to find his footing by that fall of 1978.  Encouraged by his success, Mark’s father agreed to let him work at Burger Chef.  The Flemmonds family lived close enough to the restaurant that Mark could work to and from work.



Danny, also 16 years old, was a junior at Decatur Central High School.  A jokester who enjoyed a good laugh, he also loved photography and had a darkroom in his home in which he could develop his own photos.  He planned on enlisting in the Air Force after graduation due to his fascination with aviation.  Friday, November 17, 1978 was his first Friday night shift.



All four employees were considered responsible, having never been late for a shift, and well-trusted by management. 

Mark

The doors were locked on schedule at 11 p.m. while the crew went about their closing duties, in order to prepare the restaurant to reopen the next morning.  Danny apparently changed out of his uniform shirt; Jayne took the cash from the register drawers and placed it in the safe located in the manager’s office.  Normally their duties would be complete by about midnight.



Another employee, who hadn’t been scheduled to work that Friday evening but was dropping by to apparently meet up with one of the four, arrived at midnight and found the back door unlocked and ajar, the safe open, and the restaurant empty.  He immediately contacted the Speedway Police Department.



The first officers on the scene found two empty currency bags, an empty roll of adhesive tape next to the safe, handbags belonging to Jayne and Ruth Ellen and coats belonging to the four employees.  Nearly $600 was gone (the equivalent of which would be nearly $2300 in 2020), a relatively petty sum, and coins were left behind.  There appeared to be no sign of struggle.  The police at first believed the employees had taken the money and gone out to party.  Apparently, the girls’ handbags remaining behind and the coats did not raise any flags for the police.  So instead of protecting the scene, dusting for fingerprints and taking photos, the authorities allowed the restaurant to be opened up as per normal on Saturday morning and cleaned by that shift’s employees.  By these actions (or inactions), any potential evidence was effectively destroyed.

Danny

By Saturday morning, the families of Jayne, Ruth Ellen, Daniel, and Mark had reported them missing.  As the day wore on with no contact from any of the teens, the police began to doubt their initial suspicions and returned to the Burger Chef to consider other theories.  Given that the back door had been found ajar, and knowing the closing routines at the restaurant, they wondered if one of the boys had unlocked the back door to take out the trash and was then either ambushed or followed back in by an intruder or intruders.  They also put out a BOLO for Jayne’s car, which was not in the lot.  



Jayne’s Vega was found within hours, only blocks away from the Speedway Police Department.  The driver side door was locked but the passenger door was not.  Inexplicably, even though it had become painfully clear something terrible had befallen the employees sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight the night before, the Speedway police did not take photographs, dust for prints or collect any forensic evidence from Jayne’s car.

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 19, a couple found the bodies of the four employees on their large, wooded property some 20 miles from Speedway.  The bodies of Ruth and Danny were found together; both had been shot execution style numerous times in the head and neck with a .38 caliber gun.  Seventy-five yards from them lay Jayne’s body; she had been stabbed twice in the heart, with the blade of the knife breaking off in her chest.  Lastly, Mark’s body was found a short distance away.  He had been beaten about the head, possibly with a chain, and it was speculated that he may have attempted to flee, striking a tree in the darkness.  He had choked to death on his own blood after landing on his back.  Sadly, had he not landed on his back, he would have survived.  All four were still dressed in the same uniforms they had worn on Friday evening and were wearing their watches and with money in their pockets.     

Suspect sketch 

Reportedly, mistakes and oversights continued to be made by authorities.  Some folks on the body scene stated that the Indiana State Police moved some of the bodies before the coroner or forensic technicians arrived.  The field was not roped off and department vehicles were driven all over, possibly destroying evidence.  Given the presence of the Indiana State Police, Speedway Police, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, there were simply too many officials on the scene.

On Monday, November 20, Burger Chef offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture and arrest of their killer(s).  Steak ‘n Shake added an additional $1,000 to the kitty.  By that time, the murder investigation was in a serious tailspin.  The agencies - - Speedway P.D., Indiana State Police, and the Johnson County Sheriff -- were not working together and did not share information.  Speedway’s Chief of Police refused to acknowledge the mistakes his department had made; he claimed allowing the Burger Chef to reopen only hours after the employees had gone missing was the right thing to do. 



Although the police were not making public comments or statements about the case, other than the chief defending his department, a teenaged witness came forward to say that on the evening of November 17 he had seen two suspicious looking men in the Burger Chef parking lot around 10 p.m.  Sketches were done up and distributed in the hopes that the men could be found and identified. 

The knife blade that killed Jayne

A month after the murders, in December, a man at a bar bragged to friends that he had been involved in the Burger Chef murders.  He was questioned by police and given a polygraph, which he passed.  He did, however, provide the authorities with names of individuals involved in fast food restaurant burglaries.  One of the men named in the burglaries resembled one of the sketches done the month before, down to his beard.  When this man was threatened with a line-up, he shaved off his beard -- something he had reportedly never done before. 



Beard’s next-door neighbor, also named, had the nickname of Shotgun, due to his having served time for robberies in which he used a shotgun.  The third suspect named in the burglary group reportedly fit the description of the second suspect in the sketch; he had also served time on an unrelated charge. 



All three were offered a deal if they would admit their part in the murders or give up information but all three denied their involvement and police had nothing further to go on. 



In March of 1979, a man by the name of Roger Dale Stafford was investigated.  Stafford had murdered fast food employees in Oklahoma but he was cleared after he could not be placed in Indiana on November 17, 1978. 



In April, two men from Milwaukee were investigated after committing a double murder but were quickly ruled out.

Jayne's final resting place

In 1981, Jayne’s brother was arrested on a drug charge and authorities began to investigate him, under the theory that the murders might be drug related.  He was cleared in under a week.



The case went cold until 1983, when a Marion County inmate claimed that a man he served with had admitting to committing the murders.  According to the inmate, the man had said he was a drug “enforcer” and had gone to collect a debt from one of the Burger Chef employees and one of the others had recognized him, which necessitated in eliminating everyone.  Although possible, it appears that there was no evidence connecting the man to the crimes and once again, the case went cold.



In 1984, an inmate by the name of Donald Forrester contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to confess.  Forrester was serving a 95-year sentence for rape and wanted a deal to avoid being transferred from the Pendleton Correctional Facility to the Indiana State Prison, which had a notorious reputation for being violent.  Forrester, who was living in Speedway at the time of the murders, claimed that Jayne’s brother James had owed money on a drug deal and he and three “associates” had gone to the Burger Chef to threaten Jayne.  Mark had intervened and a scuffle had broken out, during which Mark had fallen and struck his head on the bumper of a car.  Believing that Mark was dead or dying, the decision was made to abduct and kill the other three.  Forrester said he had shot Ruth and Danny.  He led authorities to the location where the bodies were found, accurately describing their positioning and mentioning the knife that was broken in Jayne’s chest -- a detail the authorities had held back.  He directed the police to the river that he said he had thrown the gun into and gave up the names of the three “associates” that he said had killed Mark and Jayne.  A search of the river failed to recover any firearm. 

Ruth's final resting place

Forrester’s wife was interviewed.  She recalled a day after November 17, 1978 when she accompanied her husband on a drive in the country, where he pulled off in a field and collected several shell casings, which he then flushed down the toilet at their home.  The septic tank of the house was searched and three spent .38 caliber shell casings were discovered.  Unfortunately, someone at the sheriff’s office leaked the news of Forrester’s cooperation and he quickly recanted, saying that his confession was coerced.  Without further cooperation from him and no direct evidence linking him to the crime, the case again went cold.



It was thought at one point that the Burger Chef murders might be tied to a series of eight bombings that took place in Speedway between September 1 and September 6, 1978 but there was no correlation between them.  Similarly, the July 29, 1978 shooting murder of Julia Scyphers in Speedway proved unrelated. 



In January of 2015, after a campaign for funds was started on Twitter, a headstone was placed on Mark Flemmonds’ grave.  His family had not been able to afford one at the time of his death and for nearly 40 years, his grave had remained unmarked.



In the summer of 2018, as the 40^th anniversary of the murders approached, four oaks trees were planted at Leonard Park in Speedway in the victims’ honor, each with a plaque commemorating each victim.  As the original monetary goal was surpassed within 24 hours, the additional funds collected were used to install a marble bench which was dedicated to the family and friends of the victims. 

Mark's final resting place

To date, no one has been charged with the murders of Jayne, Ruth, Danny, and Mark and the case remains open.  Certainly, the tunnel vision of the police the night of November 17, 1978, compounded by their mistakes and oversights, seriously hindered the investigation and likely impeded any kind of arrest. 



It’s likely the murders were a result of either a burglary gone wrong, with one of the employees recognizing a burglar or burglars or a drug shakedown gone wrong.  Jayne had worked at another Burger Chef location until the spring of 1978; perhaps one of the burglars had been a regular at that location.  Furthermore, Mark Flemmonds was not initially scheduled to work that Friday night; he was covering for another employee.  It’s possible that he recognized one of the intruders, who had chosen that night on the assumption that Mark would not be working. 



The son of one of the early suspects identified after the man at the bar gave him up, stated that his father confessed to him before dying.    



And what of Donald Forrester’s confessions?  Given the information he knew and the positionings of the bodies, if he wasn’t personally involved, he knew someone that was.  Once he recanted his confession, he never again spoke to authorities about the murders and died of cancer in 2006, still behind bars.

Danny's final resting place

What does seem certain is that there were at least two assailants, if not three.  They would have to gain control of the four employees and at least three weapons were used against the victims:  a firearm, a knife, and a chain.  Perhaps Ruth and Danny were shot by one perpetrator, Jayne attempted to fight back and/or escape and was stabbed by a second perpetrator, and Mark ran, being struck by a possible third perpetrator.  His friends stated that he was a very fast runner; his father recalled him saying that he would never go down without a fight and that he would zigzag while running, to avoid being capture or hit.  Had he not been struck, either by the chain or potentially by hitting a tree, he might have managed to outrun his assailants.   



Burger Chef never paid out its $25,000 reward fund.  The company was sold to Hardees in 1982, with most of its franchise locations converted to a Hardees.  The last known Burger Chef location closed in 1996. 



If you have any information on the Burger Chef murders, contact the Indiana State Police at (317) 899-8508.

The former Burger Chef today

Sources: 

Bongiovanni, Domenica, "Book About Burger Chef Murders Puts Them in the Context of Speedway Crime Spree," Indy Star, June 26, 2019.

Cain, Aine, "On an Autumn Night in 1978 Four Fast-Food Workers Vanished From Their Shift. 41 Years Later, Police Still Don't Know Who Killed Them,"  Insider.

Little, Becky, "The Burger Chef Cold Case: Four Murders Still Unsolved Over 40 Years Later," AETV Real Crime. 

A Study of Indiana Cold Cases:  "Burger Chef Murders of 1978,"  October 17, 2017.   https://studyofindianacoldcases.blogspot.com/2017/10/burger-chef-murders-of-1978.html

CrimeCapsule:  "The Burger Chef Murders of Indianapolis: What Really Happened?" November 14, 2019.  https://crimecapsule.com/the-burger-chef-murders-of-indianapolis-what-really-happened/   

Wikipedia

Atlanta Reopens The Missing and Murdered Children Cases

This happened back in March but as real life got busy and in the way, as well as travels taking me out of the country for nearly all of May and into June, I am only now posting about this.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields reportedly made the decision to reopen the 40 year old (and nearly 40 year old) cases in an effort to take advantage of scientific and technological advancements as well as provide "some peace" and a sense of closure to the families of the victims that were denied that closure and peace when the State elected not to bring charges for their loved one's murder against Wayne Williams, thought by many to be the individual responsible for Atlanta's Missing and Murdered. Williams was convicted in 1982 for the deaths of Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathaniel Cater, both adults, but the prosecution used some of the cases of the missing and murdered children as proof of a "pattern" in the killings.  (For a more in depth look at the crimes, please see my earlier post.)  

For his part, Williams has publicly stated to the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he is "ready and willing to cooperate with any renewed investigation to find the truth on what happened with the purpose of straightening up any lies and misconceptions of my unjust convictions."   Is he sincere?  Will evidence clear him of one murder, two murders, all the murders, or no murders?  He has maintained his innocence since 1981, when he was stopped on the bridge overlooking the Chattahoochee -- but nearly everyone in prison maintains their innocence.

I said this back in my previous post about the crimes, I don't believe Wayne Williams acted alone or was the only killer stalking Atlanta streets.  Nope.  Sure, he could have committed some of the murders but I don't believe he committed them all.

So back to the reopening of the investigation.  First, it's about damn time.  There are so many factors in these crimes that were either investigated poorly or not investigated at all.   Too many of the victims were seen as runaways first and then just some kind of "by-product" of the street rather than children that were being snatched away.   The fact that many of the victims knew each other was either ignored entirely or swept under the proverbial rug -- which is astounding to me.  I remember being the in the age range of most of the victims and I remember how things were back in the early 1980s, before cable, before the internet and before cell phones.  You pretty much had your own "bubble" of friends -- those you went to school with and/or who lived in your immediate neighborhood.  Kids that lived a street or two over that went to private school, for example, I really didn't know.  I knew those kids that I saw daily.  So the Atlanta children knowing each other is a salient point because they didn't all live in the same neighborhood or attend the same school or were the same age.  Some of them reportedly did, however, associate at the same house where it was rumored child prostitution and pornography went on.  That lead should have been followed up and thoroughly exhausted.

Secondly, I hope that this reinvestigation is legitimate and that the so-called box or boxes of evidence that the State still has that's never been tested will be tested and provide conclusively whether the correct victims are on the official list and whether Wayne Williams was involved.

The victims deserve that and their families, who have been seeking justice, recognition and closure, deserve that.


To watch the press conference from March, go here.


What do you think?  Will the cases truly be reopened and will the evidence support Wayne Williams as a killer of some or all or his own innocence?

Terror in Gainesville, Part 2

*Last Sunday's night's program on "How It Really Happened," featuring the Gainesville murders of 1990, reminded me that I never did finish my posts on this case.   Apologies!  Rectifying that now.*

For part 1 of Terror in Gainesville, go here.

The 1990-1991 school year should have been the optimistic start to a new decade for the University of Florida.  John Lombardi was readying for his first semester as the school's newest president; Steve Spurrier was prepping for his first season as the Gators' head football coach.  More than 36,000 students had flooded Gainesville during August; by the end of the month, many fled in fear, leaving those who remained behind to sleep in shifts, huddling up into groups of as many as 20, some with baseball bats and other weapons at their side.  Many strung beer cans across their entries and rooms at shoulder level or placed plates on the floor; anything to give them some type of warning if an intruder should enter.   Some tried to make the shared sleeping spaces more of a slumber party, with food and even slasher films but many were terrorized and traumatized.

In just 72 hours, a serial killer had gone on a deadly rampage through the peaceful university town, leaving five students slashed, stabbed, and mutilated.  The streets that were normally teeming with young collegiate were now host to news trucks and various media outlets who, with the typical slowness of summer, quickly infested the area to broadcast images of grief-stricken and fearful students across the country.   As well as sensationalize every gory detail that was known then, reporting even more mundane ones like Mace, which had sole for $4.95 just a week earlier, was now selling for $25; and that UPS was rushing shipments of locks, hardware, and guns to the now-barren shelves.

Gainesville residents, some of whom had previously left their doors unlocked with a trusting nature that was no longer the norm by 1990 in most of the country, now shirked behind double-locked doors, turning on lights in every room of their homes.  The sound of a branch cracking or owl screeching sent them to their phones to call for help.  Once the police arrived, however, some of the same callers wouldn't open their door to the responding officers out of fear that the unknown killer was masquerading as law enforcement -- or worse, that the killer was a member of law enforcement.  Those who did open their doors to the police did so with drawn guns.

Summer nights, once a time to relax and enjoy cooler temperatures as the sun went down, were now dreaded.

Gainesville is a college town through and through.  There is pride for the school, pride for the football team.  If something affects the school, the town comes a calling and vice versa.  The city and the university banded together, enjoined in fear and worry.  For its part, the school offered to refund tuition to the students that chose to leave and for the students that chose to stay in Gainesville, did not penalize them for missing classes.  Lounge areas of residence halls were opened up for those students who were too afraid to go home to their off-campus residences.

The pressure on local law enforcement was immense.  Everyone, from students to their parents to the university, demanded answers as quickly as possible.  Local law enforcement, following the discovery of Christa Hoyt's body, had sprung into immediate action.  Gainesville's usual crime (that did not include murder) dropped drastically, thanks to the increased presence of the police, who literally looked to be on every corner.  The fact that many businesses closed once the sun went down, and the streets were basically deserted, helped.   For the authorities, on whose increased watch Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada had been massacred, there was a single-minded desire and determination to catch the monster responsible for the destruction of these students -- and anger.

Although some fiction books, television shows, and movies make the capture of criminals seems a relative breeze, the reality is that serial killers are typically not that easy to catch.  This was in 1990, when DNA testing was in its infancy, making their jobs that much harder.  Furthermore, serial killers not only escalate in violence as they accumulate victims but also in their methods and "education;" meaning that by the time they are serial killing, they become better at avoiding detection.  Serial killers also rarely stop of their own accord, leaving the investigators and P.D. in Gainesville to wonder not only if this unknown killer had struck before August 24, 1990 but when he might strike again.

As quickly as the vicious murders began in Gainesville, so they appeared to end.  Sonja Larson and Christina Powell fell victim on late Friday evening/early Saturday morning; Christa Hoyt on late Sunday morning; and Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada on late Monday evening/early Tuesday morning.  The city held its collective breath as Wednesday passed, then Thursday and then another weekend was upon them.  While news of the killings themselves were unsettling, the sudden abatement was nearly as unnerving.  Why had the killer stopped?  Were they still in the Gainesville area?  Was he only a weekend killer?  Would he strike again?  And if so, when?

On Wednesday, the day after Tracy and Manny had been discovered, Marcia West, the founder of Gainesville's first center for female assault victims, organized a march through downtown; the same day that the university and local police held a joint press conference.   It was announced at the press conference that some 100 investigators, forming a task force, would be working on the investigation -- the largest manhunt in Florida's history.  Those investigators who had worked on the Ted Bundy case back in 1978, after Bundy attacked four Chi-Omega sorority sisters and one Florida State student off-campus in Tallahassee, killing two, and abducting and murdering 12-year-old Kimberly Leach in Lake City, were asked to come back and assist with the Gainesville case.

While the investigators gave little details to the media and worried public, for fear of compromising the integrity of their investigation, by the press conference on Wednesday they already had what seemed to be a solid suspect in Edward Lewis Humphrey.

Humphrey, 19 years old, was a student at the University of Florida.  Six foot two and over 200 pounds, he walked with a limp from a car accident and had many scars on his face.  Described as a loner with very few friends, those that knew him said he bragged about being in the Recon and 82nd Airborne (not true) and that he stated he hated women.  He had done six stints in mental institutions over the previous few years, was known to carry a large hunting knife on his leg, and until the week prior, he had lived at the Gatorwood Apartments, where Tracy and Manny had been murdered.  His roommates had kicked him out due to his "acting crazy."  

John Douglas and Jim Wright, the two FBI psychological profilers who had been sent to Gainesville, to provide a profile for the unknown killer, believed that Humphrey fit the profile but cautioned detectives about releasing any information to the public, believing that such information might push Humphrey -- or the killer if Humphrey was not him -- to commit suicide.  

On Thursday morning, Humphrey was arrested in Indiatlantic for beating up his 79-year-old grandmother, who told cops that Humphrey told her she was going to die and struck her, leaving her bloody.  He was taken to the Brevard County Detention Center in Sharpes.  His grandmother, after receiving medical treatment at the hospital, then recanted her story and said she struck the refrigerator.

While law enforcement had maybe a dozen suspects they were checking out -- and SWAT, complete with K9s, was regularly swarming the southwest section of the city -- Humphrey was at the top of their list.  They found that more than 20 disturbance phone calls had been made from Humphrey's grandmother's house over the summer; many of the complaints had to do with Humphrey and knives.  On August 6, Humphrey had been arrested at Patrick Air Force Base for having concealed weapons -- a marine knife with a seven-inch blade and a Buck stainless-steel six-inch knife.  At the time, Humphrey claimed he wanted to swim to Iran to kill people.

The same morning Humphrey was arrested for beating his grandmother, the Orlando Sentinel ran a story that not only identified Humphrey as a major suspect but reported that one of the victims had been decapitated.

Already discouraged by a clear leak in the department, the initial questioning of Humphrey left more questions than answers for many.  During the interrogation, Humphrey insinuated that he had a split personality named John; that John had committed the killings; and he put himself at the Williamsburg Village Apartments at the time that Sonja Larson and Christina Powell were being killed.  He also rambled on unintelligibly and got many facts of the case wrong.

By Monday, Labor Day, the level of fear began to drop significantly in and around Gainesville, with students returning to campus.  On Tuesday, nearly 1,000 people attended the memorial service held at UF for the five victims.  On the 34th Street Wall, students painted a more lasting memorial, putting all five victims' names in big, white block letters with a heart underneath.   On Saturday, more than 75,000 fans - - a record attendance -- filled Florida Field to cheer on the Gators in their season opening game, where a moment of silence in honor of the victims was observed.

Gatorwood Apartments 

While Ed Humphrey remained in jail on a $1 million bond, search warrants were executed for his Cadillac, his grandmother's residence, and the Gainesville apartment he had moved to after being evicted from Gatorwood Apartments.  Knives and tennis shoes were confiscated to be compared to the evidence found at the crimes scenes.  In a pillowcase, three detective magazines were found; all contained articles about decapitation.

Investigators had relatively sparse evidence for the number of victims and the extremely bloody crime scenes.  Footprints had been left at the third scene.  They knew the killer had used a screwdriver to gain entry into both the Hoyt and Paules/Taboada apartments.  Unidentified hairs had been found in the bedding of both Christa Hoyt and Sonja Larson.  Semen and blood had been recovered at all three crime scenes.

The Williamsburg Village Apartments 

Pubic hair taken from Humphrey was microscopically similar to the hairs found at both the Hoyt and Larson scenes but it wasn't enough to warrant a conviction.  Florida, an early leader in DNA technology, hoped that tests on the blood and semen would lead them to their perpetrator.  From testing they knew the killer was a blood type B secretor.  Florida would run DNA tests against Humphrey once his blood work came back - - a wait of about a week.

In the meantime, investigators began checking other unsolved homicides throughout the country.  One that got their interest was a slaying in November of 1989 in Shreveport, Louisiana in which a woman, her father, and her nephew were stabbed to death.  Much like Sonja Larson, the woman, Julie Grissom, had been dragged to the end of her bed after being killed and posed, with her legs hanging off the end of the bed and her hair fanned out around her.  The killer had poured vinegar in her vaginal area and put a towel at her feet.  And as with Manny Taboada, the male victims seemed to be collateral damage; they were killed quickly and efficiently while the killer's rage was directed at the female.

Christa Hoyt's apartment 

Investigators also attempted to find any links between the victims.  Believing that Manny was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, they zeroed in on the female victims.  The found that on Thursday, August 23, Sonja, Christina, and Christa had all shopped at the same Walmart within an hour of each other; Christa had checked out at 4:51 p.m. and Sonja and Christina had checked out at 6:07 p.m.    On Friday, August 24 at 3:05 p.m., Tracy and Manny were shopping at the Oaks Mall; Christa met friends at the mall that same day at 6 p.m.    Sonja, Christina, and Christa all went to the All Women's Health Center.   And if race was any motive at all, Sonja, Christina, and Tracy had all dated black men.   The connections were tenuous but detectives worked them doggedly.

Friday, September 7, 1990 would ultimately be the day that would lead to major developments in the case, although investigators couldn't have known it at the time.

Forty miles south of Gainesville,  at around noon on Friday, September 7, the manager of the Winn Dixie grocery store in Ocala was held up, with a .38 revolver to his head.  After collecting money from the registers at the front of the store, the robber walked out the front door of the store and ran to the nearby Palm Chevrolet.

The first responding officers immediately noticed a man fitting the description of the robber in the parking lot of Palm Chevrolet, sitting in a silver Mustang that would turn out to be stolen.  When officers asked the man to put his hands up, he complied but then accelerated into traffic.  He would top speeds of 60 to 80 miles per hour, bouncing off curbs before striking another car.  He took off on foot but was quickly apprehended behind a flower shop.

Unlike most people who were handcuffed and placed under arrest, this one liked to talk.  He emphasized that he knew his rights but he wanted to talk.  He told the officers  his gun was still in the Mustang, he had stolen the car from Tampa and he apologized for the trouble he had caused them.  He also said he had shot his father.  

His name was Danny Harold Rolling.

Book Review: "Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America's Most Infamous Serial Killer" by Kevin Sullivan

New from the author of the WildBlue Press classics The Trail of Ted Bundy and The Bundy Secrets!

Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries is a deep-dive into the archival record of America's most notorious serial killer.  It's a veritable goldmine of information on Bundy, his victims, and this very voluminous case.

Written by the foremost authority on Ted Bundy, this latest examination of this brutal serial killer contains new, revealing, and never-before published interviews with those close to Bundy, close to his victims, and a potential victim who barely escaped his clutches.

Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries brings to light for the first time many heretofore passed-over facts about Bundy and reveals previously hidden aspect of the lives of some of his victims.

     (Summary from Goodreads)



Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer is Kevin Sullivan’s fourth work on the devious and deadly Ted Bundy, behind The Bundy Murders, The Trail of Ted Bundy, and The Bundy Secrets.  I have read his three previous books (and really should write reviews because they are that good) and taking all four into account, it’s amazing (at least to me) that it was only a chance conversation that caused him to begin his research on Bundy to begin with.  Fortunately, he did have that conversation because Mr. Sullivan has quickly become a foremost expert on the serial killer.



One thing that stands out in Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries, and the entire Bundy series, is that Mr. Sullivan will ferret out even the most seemingly minor details about the young women and girls Bundy abducted and killed, bringing life to them.  They weren’t just victims; they were daughters, sisters, and friends who had lives with dreams and futures before Bundy snatched them away.  While some true crime books glorify the killer or killers, relegating the victims to supporting status, Mr. Sullivan makes you feel (and hurt) for these precious women and girls that were lost.  He utilizes police reports, talks to persons who knew the lost, as well as to two survivors of Bundy’s attempted abduction and attack, and even shares personal writings.  As such, the victims of Bundy aren’t just Bundy victims.  They are real people and it makes the tragedy of what Bundy did even more heartbreaking.



This book isn’t for the Bundy neophyte; if you’re new to the subject, it’s best to start with Mr. Sullivan’s The Bundy Murders, where he recounts Bundy’s known crimes.  For those of us who have read Mr. Sullivan’s previous books and are up on all things Bundy, this latest offering is another well-researched and well-written book that delves into the fractured psyche of a monster whose depravity still continues to this day to have repercussions. 



How good was this book?  I purchased it on release day and planned on holding on to it for maybe two weeks, to take with me on vacation.  That plan lasted a whopping 48 hours tops before I couldn’t take it anymore and dove in.  I read through the book in under two days, unable to put it down.  I consider myself somewhat of a “Bundy scholar” (something that makes perfect sense to true crime readers) and I continue to learn new, relevant and fascinating information from Kevin Sullivan.



I cannot recommend this book, and the previous three, enough.  Reading them, you will gain insight about the infamous Ted Bundy, as well as the lives that his many victims were leading until they crossed paths with a killer, expertly relayed by the talented hand of Kevin Sullivan.



Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer is currently available for purchase in both e-format and paperback.  (Kevin Sullivan’s earlier Bundy books are also available for purchase as e-books, paperbacks, and audio versions.)  Don’t wait - - pick yours up today!

Follow Kevin Sullivan on his Facebook page, Twitter page, and via Wild Blue Press.



FTC Disclosure:  I purchased this book with my own funds.  I was neither paid nor compensated for this review.      

The Murders of Renae and Shannah Wicklund and Barbara Hendrickson

April 16, 1982 edition of the Walla Walla Union Bulletin

with news of the murders on the bottom of the first page

Renae Wicklund was 23 years old in December of 1974, married not quite three years and a devoted mother to her nearly 2-year-old daughter, Shannah.  The Wicklund family, which included Renae's husband and Shannah's father Jack, lived in Clearview, Washington, a community about half an hour northeast of Seattle, nestled between Woodinville and Snohomish.  Although the Seattle area had been devastated through more than half of 1974 by missing and murdered women (crimes eventually attributed to Ted Bundy), crime had not touched the small hamlet of Clearview or the Wicklund family.

Not until the afternoon of December 11.    It was unseasonably warm and sunny that day, a time of year when it was normally rainy.  Renae decided to take advantage of the good weather and give herself and Shannah some fresh air and time out of the house, while Jack was working, and wash the family home's windows.  While the Wicklund's one-story rambler style home sat on a good acre or so of property surrounded by fir trees, it was a Wednesday afternoon and Renae had little cause to be concerned or worry about her safety or that of her daughter.  Clearview was safe; nothing ever happened there.  Besides, the Wicklunds' closest neighbors, Don and Barbara Hendrickson, were within shouting distance across the street.

Renae first saw the man coming up the driveway.  He was young, very tall and had reddish hair.  She looked him the eye and he turned and headed back toward the road, leaving her to assume he had been lost or chosen the wrong house.  She had gone back into her home, to grab more rags to use to wipe down the windows, when she saw him approaching again, this time much faster.  Thinking that he was after Shannah, who was on the lawn, Renae ran back outside to grab the baby and flee back to the house and its safety.  She was no match for the big man, who forced the door before she could fully close and lock it.   Armed with a knife, the intruder demanded Renae disrobe and perform oral sex on him or he would kill her and her baby.  To prove his point, he held the knife against Shannah's throat.  Renae complied and once finished, her attacker left with a "Thanks."   She quickly got redressed, grabbed her crying baby, and ran across the street, where Barbara Hendrickson let the pair in and locked the house up tight.  Armed with a shotgun, she called the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

Renae

Renae Wicklund proved to be an excellent witness.  She gave a thorough and detailed description of her attacker, including that she had detected a faint odor of alcohol on his breath.    Based on her description, the detectives quickly narrowed in on Charles Rodman Campbell, who had been in trouble most of his life.

Born in Hawaii, Campbell was uprooted to Snohomish along with his sister, who was crippled.  Both Campbell children were taunted and teased at school; their parents, never much for the responsibility of children, soon left them in the care of their grandparents.  The grandparents, however, appeared to have little idea how to handle the children and Charles grew up to be a very angry individual.

School had little priority for him; he was more interested in drugs and alcohol.  His first arrest came when he was sixteen, after he stole a car.  The authorities, however, had known of him since before he began junior high.  His juvenile record was dotted with auto thefts, burglaries, and resisting arrest and he had spent time in a juvenile detention facility.

At 19, he married a 22 year old woman; they would divorce only 10 months later, one month after she gave birth to a child.   She would claim that Campbell both physically abused her and the child and neglected them.  She was awarded $75 a month in child support with no visitation rights for Campbell,.  By that point, Campbell had been charged with defrauding an innkeeper.  The following year, in 1974, he would be arrested for allegedly possessing amphetamines and in the fall, before he attacked Renae Wicklund, he would be charged with violation of the federal firearms act, criminal trespass, burglary, grand larceny, carrying a concealed weapon, assault and resisting arrest.

The charges from the fall of 1974 were still pending when Renae Wicklund was attacked and raped that December.

Shannah

Although she had provided a detailed description of Campbell, it would be March of 1976 before he was arrested and charged with one count of first degree assault with intent to kill and one count of sodomy.  Renae, along with Barbara Hendrickson, testified against Campbell during his trial.  He was found guilty of both the assault and sodomy charges and was sentenced to 30 years, with a 7 year minimum for his attack on Renae.  He plead guilty to his outstanding burglary charge and was given up to 15 years, with a 7 year minimum.  It seemed that Charles Campbell would not be free for a very long time.

Renae's marriage to Jack Wicklund suffered in the aftermath of her attack; the couple separated and eventually divorced but remained friendly, with Renae and Shannah remaining in the Clearview house.  Renae worked as both a beautician and accountant for beauty salons.  Whatever help she needed, whether it be with Shannah or with household chores, was gladly assisted by Don and Barbara Hendrickson.

In December of 1977, Jack Wicklund became the victim of a bizarre attack in his home.  He recalled that a man walked into his home carrying a package, wished him a Merry Christmas and then tied him to a chair, poured gasoline over him and struck a match.  It was a miracle that he survived.  The incident left him burned and scarred over most of his body, suffering with excruciating pain and requiring that he wear a rubber body suit in order to protect his skin and minimize the formation of scar tissue.  He told authorities that the man who had attacked him was a stranger.

Only four months later, in April of 1978, the car in which Jack Wicklund was driving crashed into a tree, killing him instantly.  There were no witnesses and it appeared there was no other vehicle involved.  There was a dangerous curve on the road he crashed on, and it was where his vehicle had left the road, but Jack had traveled the road many times before and knew the curve was there.  Authorities never determined who had set Jack on fire in December 1977 or if the April 1978 car accident was indeed an accident, suicide, or the completion of the prior assault.

Barbara 

The terrible fate that befell her ex-husband left Renae with a constant sense of anxiety.  Her friends reported that she told them she lived in constant fear that something would, again, happen to her.

Renae had figured that when Charles Campbell was sentenced to a total of 45 years, he would actually serve every one of those 45 years.  She certainly didn't realize that his sentences were running concurrently and not consecutively, meaning the most time he would spend behind bars would be the 30 years for her assault and that he could actually be free after serving the minimum of 7 years.

Campbell was only 25 miles away, incarcerated at the Monroe Reformatory, a mid-level penal institution.  He had acquired a  nickname while there - - "One Punch," on account of his strength.  He bullied fellow prisoners and trafficked drugs while behind bars, something that the guards were allegedly well aware of.  Despite this, he would be granted work release, beginning in 1981, for good behavior.

He had apparently spent his years in prison not only continuing with his criminal activities but simmering with anger against the person he felt was responsible for his incarceration -- Renae Wicklund.

Tragically, Renae was never informed that her rapist had furloughs from prison and was, effectively, free.  She also had no idea that he had acquired copies of his trial transcripts that had her name and address, as well as Barbara Hendrickson's.

In early January of 1982, it had snowed in Clearview and both Don Hendrickson and Renae had noticed large footprints outside their homes.  Since her home sat off the road, the footprints frightened Renae.   Her dog, a large Afghan hound she had acquired after her divorce, had gone crazy, barking wildly around that same time.  As the dog rarely barked, it was upsetting.

As the authorities had not informed Renae, or the Hendricksons, of Campbell's work release, they also chose not to share the fact that he had been transferred to a work-release facility less than ten miles from Clearview.

On Easter Sunday of 1982, Renae was sick with what was diagnosed as strep throat.  Given medication and told to stay in bed, she was doing just that on Wednesday, April 14.  Barbara dropped by that morning, to check in on her, and found Renae watching t.v. and attempting to read a book.  She promised to return that afternoon.

Don Hendrickson remembered that his wife went to collect the afternoon mail and saw Shannah returning home from school.  She told the little girl to tell her mother Barbara would be over shortly to make Jell-O, as it would be easy for Renae to swallow.  It was 4:20 p.m. when Barbara asked Don if she could borrow his wristwatch so that she might take Renae's pulse and then left to head across the street to the Wicklund residence.

Don thought nothing of his wife being gone a little while; she and Renae were friends and probably got to chatting.  But by 6 p.m., when she had been gone for an hour and a half, he put on a jacket and went to the Wicklunds' to fetch her.  Seeing the sliding glass doors that led into the kitchen, where he would normally enter, partially open was the first sign that not all was right.  Entering the kitchen, he noticed a dining chair knocked over and heard the sound of running water, which was coming from the kitchen faucet.  Other than the water, the house was overwhelmingly silent.

He found his wife first.  Barbara lay in the hallway that led to the bedrooms, blood spreading out around and on her head in an eerie halo effect.  Her throat had been slashed so viciously she likely would have died from blood less within a moment or two.

Don found Shannah's bedroom empty but any relief he may have felt was quickly dashed when he entered Renae's bedroom.  Shannah, only 8 years old, had been killed as Barbara had.  The wound to her throat was so severe, she was nearly decapitated.  Her mother lay across the room, on the floor, nude and beaten.  She too had suffered a fatal knife wound to the neck.

The Snohomish County deputies that responded to Don Hendrickson's 911 call, as well as the city of Clearview as a whole, were horrified.  Brutal, gruesome killings were not the norm, and especially not to people like Renae and Shannah Wicklund and Barbara Hendrickson and not in the middle of a sunny Wednesday in April.

The investigators very quickly honed in on Charles Campbell.  Neither of the Wicklunds nor Barbara Hendrickson had any enemies and certainly no one that would wish such violence upon them.  Don Hendrickson informed authorities that the man who had attacked Renae back in 1974 was the only person he could think of that would do such a thing; Renae's other friends and neighbors recalled that she had been attacked eight years earlier and that she had lived in fear ever since.

The sheriff's office in Snohomish County was shocked when they discovered that not only had Charles Campbell been living in a work-release facility with little supervision located only two blocks from the county courthouse, and no more than a dozen miles from the Wicklund and Hendrickson residences, but the sheriff's office had not been notified that a convicted felon had been released to their jurisdiction.

On the evening of April 14, 1982 - - only hours after Renae, Shannah, and Barbara met violent
ends -- Charles Campbell returned to the halfway house clearly under the influence of alcohol.  When tested, his blood alcohol was nearly three times the legal limit and he tested positive for morphine, codeine, quinine, methadone, and cocaine.  As one of the ground rules for living in the residence was no alcohol or drug consumption, Campbell was carted back off to the Monroe Reformatory.

Having him returned to the facility made it easier for cops to arrest him for the murders, which they did on April 19.  Although Renae's assault back in 1974 had created little news, her murder in 1982 did.  Never a state known for its propensity for the death penalty, many residents in Clearview signed a petition at Rick's Clearview Foods, where both Renae and Barbara shopped, demanding that Campbell be given the death penalty if he were found guilty.  People reportedly traveled from all over the state to Clearview to sign the petition.

In May of 1982, Charles Campbell entered a plea of innocent in the three charges of first degree murder leveled against him.  His trial began in November.  The case against him was rock-solid.  A bloody hand print found in the Wicklund residence was identified as his.  He had allegedly stolen some of Renae's jewelry from the home, which he then attempted to sell.  His ex-wife told authorities that during the Christmas holiday of 1981, as well as the few months following, she had been repeatedly raped by Campbell.  When she had gone to swear out a complaint against him, the authorities told her the case would be too weak to bring before a court.  That had been in March of 1982, the month before the murders.

Perhaps most galling was the knowledge gleaned just before the trial about Campbell's prison record.  Rather than the "good behavior" he had been cited with, and the three minor infractions the parole board had been informed of, this "model prisoner" had been anything but.  In addition to the drug trafficking, he had also used drugs while incarcerated, had regularly gotten into beefs with other inmates, was known to carry a club under his clothing, had attempted to assault a female nurse when she refused him medication, had broken a lunch tray in two with his bare hands after cutting in the food line and had been cited multiple times for contraband.  Smaller, weaker inmates were forced to sell drugs for Campbell and often raped by him.  The guards at Monroe were known to be afraid of Campbell and had requested that he be transferred to the more secure state pen at Walla Walla.  Apparently nothing came of this request.

He had begun seeing a drug and alcohol counselor in 1980, while still at Monroe.  This female counselor had developed a close, personal relationship with Campbell that resulted in not only her quitting her job but becoming pregnant with Campbell's child.

The Washington State parole board discovered that, much to their horror, it was not only Charles Campbell's records they had not been provided with by Monroe.  Literally hundreds of prisoners had been paroled without their prison behavior being properly evaluated.

Campbell requested a change of venue before his trial started, wanting to move the case out of state, as he believed he could not get a fair trial in Washington due to all the publicity.  His request was denied.

Other than his desire for a change of venue, Campbell participated very little in his trial.  He refused to entertain the idea of testifying in his own defense and would not talk about the murders.   He did, however, according to Peggi Hendrickson, Don and Barbara's daughter, draw pictures of gravestones and hangman's nooses and hold them up so the galley could see them.

Neighbors of the Wicklunds and the Hendricksons testified that they remembered seeing the very tall man with a shock of red hair close to the Wicklund house on the day of the crimes.  Campbell's girlfriend testified that the day after the killings, she had noticed one of her kitchen knives missing.  She also said that he had "considerable resentment" toward Renae and had driven by her home several times while on work release.

The horrors inflicted on the victims was publicly heard for the first time.  Jurors and spectators heard of Renae's broken jaw, broken nose, broken ribs and a body terribly bruised, on top of being raped with a blunt instrument, being strangled and having her throat cut.  Shannah had lost so much blood from her wound, samples had to be collected from the floor.  Barbara's throat wound was so deep, her carotid artery had been severed.

The defense called no witnesses and presented no evidence.  They only characterized the case as a miscarriage of justice and stated their belief that the investigators had tunnel vision with the case and had not investigated anyone else after hearing Campbell's name.

His case went to the jury on November 26, 1982, the day after Thanksgiving.  The jury needed only four hours to find him guilty.  His detached and aloof demeanor, coupled with his absolute lack of remorse, helped to secure not only the conviction but the recommendation to fix the penalty at death. Campbell, during the penalty phase, had reportedly grinned at the jury while asking his attorney if they had to "go through all that crap again."

The killer 

Campbell was officially sentenced to death in December 1984.  For the next decade, the man who had no regard for the lives of the people he had killed, who believed he had the right to do what he wanted, to whomever he wanted, fought to save his.  In Washington, inmates on death row have the right to choose their method of execution from either legal injection or hanging; if no choice is made, hanging is used.  Campbell refused to choose, stating that it was akin to suicide and went against his religion.  That set off debate over whether hanging, given Campbell's huge size, would be cruel and unusual punishment as decapitation could very well be the end result.

The following year, allegations were made against Monroe Reformatory counselor Roger Button that he covered up certain inmates' infractions in exchange for sex and drugs.  Charles Campbell was reportedly one of those inmates who curried favor with Button.  These favored inmates also reportedly collected debts for Button, protected those prisoners Button liked, and beat up those prisoners that Button did not like.  Roger Button denied the allegations.

On April 14, 1994, 12 years to the day that he had killed Renae, Shannah, and Barbara, the state of Washington lifted its stay of execution on Campbell and set his execution for May

27.   Mike Lowry, then governor of Washington, was opposed to the death penalty but after hearing the details of Campbell's crimes, and meeting with the killer face to face, he refused to consider commuting his sentence to that of life imprisonment.  By that point, the remorseless Campbell had gone through some 15 attorneys and cost the state of Washington more than $775,000 in legal fees and care.

When time for his execution arrived, Campbell refused his last meal and would not get off the floor of his cell, necessitating the use of pepper spray.  He would not walk to or stand on the execution platform and so had to be carried and then strapped to a board.  He would not remain still so the noose and hood could be placed easily on his head.   He died roughly within two minutes after the trap was opened and offered no final words.  It has been reported in some outlets that the drop and/or Campbell's weight was misjudged, resulting in the prisoner nearly being decapitated.  Campbell was only the second person in the United States to be executed by hanging since 1965, when the infamous Clutter family killers of "In Cold Blood" infamy were executed.

New York Times, May 28, 1994

Family members of the victims had requested to view Campbell's execution but were denied.  However, Don Hendrickson, along with the son he had with Barbara', were there even though they couldn't see Campbell and Campbell couldn't see them.

After his execution and while cleaning out Campbell's holding cell, authorities found a four-inch piece of metal that Campbell had been sharpening into a knife.

Following his trial and before his execution, Campbell's ex-wife sued the State of Washington for negligence in allowing Campbell to roam freely and thus for him to rape her.  Renae's mother and Don Hendrickson filed a lawsuit seeking damages for the same negligence that led to the deaths of Renae, Shannah, and Barbara.  They were awarded $2.3 million in damages.




No one can say with absolute certainty what happened that April day in 1982 since none of his victims survived and Campbell chose never to speak of it.  Investigators believe that Campbell entered the home and attacked Renae, beating and raping her, before killing her.  When Shannah returned home from school, he dragged the child into the bedroom, forcing her to look at the remains of her mother, before he killed her as well.  He then apparently sat the in kitchen and ate a sandwich.  Either Renae may have told him about Shannah and Barbara expected at the home in an attempt to get him to leave, or he could have heard Barbara speaking to Shannah, or he just happened to be in the home when Barbara dropped by.  It appeared that Barbara may have attempted to escape, based on the knocked over dinette chair, but Campbell caught her and dragged her to the hallway, where he killed her.

The fear Renae must have felt is unimaginable.  She had lived with this terror since 1974, worried that someone else may harm her or Shannah.  But she surely never expected to see Charles Campbell again; she thought he would be locked up for at least another 30 years.  Did she know immediately he was there to permanently silence her?   Did she think he would assault her once again and then leave?  We will never know.

Renae Wicklund was a fighter.  She fought to the death, as evidenced by her battered and bruised knuckles.  She identified Charles Campbell after her assault and testified against him in court at a time when victims didn't always do that.  She did the right thing and the State of Washington failed her miserably when they should have been protecting her.  

After the slayings of Renae, Shannah, and Barbara, Washington enacted a law which would grant violent crime victims the right to know when their attackers are released.  Renae's mother Hilda was a driving force behind the law and she became an advocate for victims' rights.

Renae and Shannah were laid to rest in Renae's home state of North Dakota.  When Renae's mother Hilda passed away in October of 2005, she was laid to rest beside her daughter and granddaughter.

Barbara Hendrickson was interred in Lynwood, Washington.  Following her murder, Don Hendrickson became active in a victims' support group.  While there, he met Doreen Hanson, whose daughter Janna had been murdered in December of 1974.  The two married but would divorce only a few years later, as there was too much grief between the two of them.  According to Peggi Hendrickson, her father had begun drinking as a way of coping with his wife's murder and finding the bodies of the three victims and it was that drinking that led to his death.  Don died in January of 1999 and was interred next to Barbara.

Peggi Hendrickson's marriage ended in divorce, another ripple-effect casualty of murder.    

The little white house that Renae and Shannah lived, and died, in was reportedly torn down.