A monster of all time, p.13
A Monster Of All Time, page 13
DR:That’s what we discussed the minute I came in here.
SK:It’s not workable.
ED:Danny, let me ask you this. If we get the information from Bobby and we want to clarify something, can you clarify it for us?
DR:I’m not going to add two cents to this.
SK:It’s not a workable situation, Ed, end the tape.
ED:Okay, we’ll terminate the interview at 9:35 p.m.
After some additional discussion and clarification, the interview resumed fifteen minutes later.
LH:On August 26th of 1990 there was two bodies found at Williamsburg Apartments in Gainesville, Florida . . . Was Danny Rolling responsible for those homicides?
BL:Yes, he was.
LH:Is that correct, Danny?
DR:Yes, sir.
The questioning followed in that format the rest of the way. The detectives would ask Lewis a question relating to the murders and Lewis would provide an answer, then they would ask Rolling if what Lewis had just answered was accurate, and Rolling would confirm it or occasionally clarify by adding some detail. When the questioning was done, he had confessed to all five of the Gainesville murders.
After killing his final victim, Tracy Paules, Rolling disposed of the knife and gloves used for the crimes because he had “decided to quit what he was doing . . . that was to be the last victim.” He buried them in an old wooden chicken coop not far from the Gator Inn. Before going back to his camp, he cleaned himself off in the pool of a nearby apartment complex, the clear water turning dirty red as he washed off the blood of his victims with a solitary nighttime swim.
Lewis told the investigators that Rolling felt compelled to commit the crimes by an uncontrollable force, an irresistible urging that took over his body and mind.
Danny breaks himself down into different personalities that are the driving force behind what Danny does. There’s “Danny,” there’s a “Jesse James” sort of side of Danny, there is a force that comes out of Danny known as “Ynnad,” there’s a force that comes out of Danny known as “Gemini”. Gemini was who you would have found at the five murder scenes.
He also believed that supernatural forces guided his actions, telling the detectives that “there really is demons” and “forces in this world that can overpower even the strongest of us. I’ve seen ‘em and I know it’s real just as sure as there’s angels in Heaven and there’s devils in Hell.”
Rolling repeatedly insisted that he had not sodomized any of his victims, although the evidence at the Tracy Paules murder scene said otherwise. While adamant that he did not hate his father, Rolling emphasized that, while growing up, the environment at home “was constantly in turmoil”
[I]t was a roller coaster ride, you know. Mom and Dad would fight so bad. You know, Dad drove my Mom to the point she had a . . . massive nervous breakdown, complete nervous breakdown. But Dad couldn’t help the way he was. I don’t know why he was the way he was. And so I would use that other as sort of like an escape. I would look and see how other people were living and how they were happy, and I would like to sort of become a member of their family in a way.
On February 4, Rolling met with the task force detectives again, amazed that they had been unable to locate the Ka-Bar knife he used to kill the Gainesville students, even though he had told them specifically where he buried it. He also talked about his different personalities.
I have dealt with different personalities all my life but they really became prevalent in my life when I was in solitary confinement in Parchman Penitentiary in a cell that got flooded out once and twice, sometimes three times a week, with about three inches of raw sewage. And I just kind of like, well, they became a reality to me more so than ever before. But the person that I really have struggled against to prevent becoming . . . is a person called Gemini who is, um, he is evil, period.
. . . . .
I wouldn’t want anybody to be me.
The next day, Sondra London drove to Florida State Prison to meet Rolling in person for the first time. They met in a small carrel of the prison’s visiting room. A cloudy Plexiglas divider separated them as they talked for nearly two hours. Throughout the visit, a prison guard sat behind Rolling, observing and taking notes.
“It’s been really hard trying to get in here to see you,” London told Rolling.
“Well, that’s all over now because we’re cooperating with the State,” Rolling replied.
London did not know who Rolling meant by “we” or what he called “cooperating.”
“What does Rick Parker think about all of this?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Rick Parker, your lawyer.”
“Oh, him? I don’t care what he thinks. I’ve made up my mind about what I’m going to do, and if he doesn’t like it, I’ll just fire him.”
Rolling paused to observe her reaction.
“We are cooperating with the State, and I want you to know that I’m doing this so that we can be together,” he declared. “I’m doing this for us.”
Nothing was mentioned about the murders; however, Rolling gave her his blessing to release a statement to the media, as well as any songs, art, or other items he had given her.
“Run with it, babe,” he told her.
When their time was up, they pressed their hands against the Plexiglas, unable to touch, but sharing a connection nonetheless.
“I’ll be back,” London assured him.
The following Monday, February 8, London sent an announcement to various media outlets in the form of a press release:
On Friday, February 5, I had an exclusive personal interview with accused serial killer DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, the mysterious singing drifter who is awaiting trial on five murder and three rape charges in the 1990 mutilation slayings of five college students in Gainesville, Florida.
ROLLING, 38, requested this interview in order to announce his intention to talk with the State’s investigators about his case, under the sole condition that he be allowed the privilege of having me visit him as his personal friend and confidante for the duration of his ordeal.
By EXCLUSIVE agreement and upon his request, all of ROLLING’s forthcoming statements will be released by me PERSONALLY.
Extensive background material on DANNY ROLLING has been copyrighted and is now available for publication, including EXCLUSIVE original stories, photos, artwork and songs.
She did not realize that Rolling had already been providing details about the murders to investigators. Nonetheless, Department of Corrections officials were not amused by London’s announcement. They immediately fired off a letter informing her that, based on the “misrepresentation” as to the nature of her approved “social visit” on February 5, she would no longer be allowed to visit Rolling at Florida State Prison.
Spurred on by what he perceived to be deliberate mistreatment of his love interest, and perhaps prompted by some misguided notion of chivalry, on February 15, Rolling arranged an interview with Kathy Belich, a reporter from Orlando-based Channel 9 news station WFTV. Wearing a blue prison jumpsuit with deputies and lawyers seated beside and behind him, Rolling read a three-minute prepared statement in a soft-spoken, Southern drawl. He began by asserting Sondra London to be “of the highest caliber, sincere and honest, a woman of extraordinary talents,” and then scolded the media, proclaiming “it’s a shame the way the media has bashed her of late.” He also announced that all future communications from members of the media should go through London, who would henceforth be acting as his personal representative and spokesperson.
~~~~~
London subsequently posted a video of the “interview” on YouTube. Years later, “Saphire Blue” commented:
He did seem to have a certain amount of guilt. Some killers seem to have no conscious, [sic] and never regret what they do. Others, like Rolling, seem to have guilt, but have an urge they cannot control. That is not the same as a sociopath . . . . The mind of Danny Rolling is the most interesting of all the serial killers.
And another poster wrote:
My heart aches for the little boy who was so severely abused emotionally and mentally by his father. His entire life was heartbreaking. I hate it that he couldn’t find a way to be healed of those wounds before he wounded others. A life full of tragedy all the way around. May he rest in peace and his abusive father be held accountable. I have no sympathy for the serial killer but I do for the unloved abused boy.
~~~~~
On February 19, Bobby Lewis told the Gainesville Sun newspaper that Rolling stalked his Gainesville victims “to some degree” before killing them.
“There’s a lot of people who just don’t realize how lucky they were over there,” Lewis said cryptically. “One little minor thing or another made him on one particular night or another turn away from your window or door.”
Lewis claimed that Rolling asked him to talk to investigators about the murders on his behalf because he could not bear to discuss the details of the crimes himself.
“He said, “‘Look, you know I’m guilty. I can’t live like this. I’ve got to get right with God. I need to get this out. The things I’ve done are so horrible and so terrible,’” Lewis recounted.
Around the same time, Sondra London wrote a lengthy letter to Rolling discussing prison officials’ continuing denials of her requests to visit him. Before concluding the letter, she proposed a solution to the problem:
I’ve been in love before, but it was never like this . . . The first kind of love I felt was maternal – I loved little Danny – I wanted to make him my own CHILD – where he could grow & be all that was in him to become. I wanted to shield him & protect him & play with him. Then came the thrill of the creative interplay. Knowing you has lit a fire in the artist in me that is burning higher & higher -- & I LOVE that feeling! Don’t you? I know you feel exactly the same way – inspired. Slowly, I began to see you as “200 lbs of HARD MAN” & that was another kind of love. That’s the one that became so dizzying when I finally laid eyes on my gorgeous hunk of masculinity . . . And to be told I will never see you again – this is tearing me up. Darling, I wonder . . . would you like to get MARRIED?
On February 25, just a few days after mailing the letter, London received a letter from Rolling mirroring her marriage proposal. The two marriage proposals had crossed in the mail. They now considered themselves to be engaged. The jailhouse romance instantly attracted more media attention to the case.
Two weeks later, Rolling and London appeared on the tabloid TV show, A Current Affair. In addition to professing their love for each other, Rolling sang a gospel song and described his execution day as a time when the “glory and the peace and the love of it all will be waiting for me.” A few weeks later, Geraldo aired an episode featuring London and her relationship with Rolling. The show’s host, Geraldo Rivera, called London “strange and fascinating” and showed a Valentine’s Day card Rolling made for her with the handwritten message: “You can run, but you can’t hide. Hold on tight, you’re in for a hell of a ride.”
Bobby Lewis wrote to London on March 26, clearly frustrated by the fact that she was letting her feelings for Rolling cloud her judgment.
You’re in love with a fantasy, an image, not a person. You’ve never been alone with him 5 minutes -- and you would not stay with him a week. I know you, I know him, and that’s the truth. You have turned yourself into some type of criminal groupie, and it’s very self-destructive.
. . . . .
As to Danny, he will be found guilty. They have tons of evidence. He will get 5 death sentences. He will go to death row. All this is fact . . . I will not at all be surprised if he don’t take his own life some day . . . you do not know the man at all that you love – I do.
. . . . .
You totally destroyed your big story – a chance at credibility, a real future . . . you destroyed your credibility with the “I love him”.
Upset about his inability to have visitations with London, Rolling filed an Inmate Grievance bemoaning the denial of his “right to marry the woman I love” and asserting that “we only want to marry & visit each other quietly once a week. Is that too much to ask?” A terse response denied his request on the ground that London “indicated that she is interested in profiting from the circumstances that you are presently in.”
~~~~~
On April 10, Edward Humphrey celebrated his 21st birthday in an upscale Orlando restaurant with his publicist along with a photographer and reporter from the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. Wearing a polo shirt, tan pants, and sunglasses, Humphrey hesitated when the waiter brought him a large knife to cut his birthday cake.
“Don’t take a picture of me with the knife,” he said only half-joking. “That’s all I need.”
The experience of being hounded by the media and persecuted as a murderer in the eyes of the public had permanently jaded his perspective on the press, police, and the courts. He became much more conscious of his appearance, much more careful with his words, much less trusting. As a result of what he experienced, he lived with a paralyzing level of self-consciousness most never have the burden of carrying.
“I don’t want people to read about me,” he told the reporter under the watchful gaze of his publicist. “I don’t want people to know who I am. 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. They’ve never even talked to you. But people do it to me all the time.”
He eyed the reporter warily. Though no longer named the prime suspect in perhaps the biggest manhunt in state history, he also had not been eliminated as a person of interest either. And the notoriety had not diminished following his release from prison. After being released on parole, he had tried and tried to find a job, only to be rejected again and again. No one wanted to hire an accused killer, let alone someone suspected of brutally murdering five people. Humphrey told the reporter how one grocery store clerk had called him at home after yet another rejection.
“I feel really bad about this,” the clerk told him, “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.’”
His only job prospect came from his court-ordered 62 hours of community service at the local Humane Society, which liked his work enough to hire him afterward.
“I’m just like anybody else,” he said. “I’ve got feelings, too, and that stuff really hurt me. I’ll never, ever get over it completely. And I’ll never be able to forget it.”
Chapter 20
September 1993 – February 1994
Pretrial Discovery
“Thus the struggle begins, Good and Evil within” (Danny Rolling)
On September 15, 1993, Sondra London wrote Rolling about his upcoming resentencing hearing:
I wouldn’t miss your court appearance for the world. And you may be sure every major news outlet will be there as well. I don’t know if I will get to touch you or kiss you or even whisper in your ear, but your lawyer will ask the judge for that privilege. If we are very very lucky, we will get some contact. If only it could be PRIVATE! But I’m afraid that’s beyond my wildest dreams at this point . . . .
If it was up to the Maniac in me, I would throw you down, rip your clothes right off and rape you QUICK! But I will have to keep the Maniac in the Box, and let the Perfect Lady have the honors of standing by MY DANNY. I’ll just have to rape you silently with my eyes.
She promised that the “inside” story about him remained confidential:
Nobody here knows anything about MISTER MYSTERY. And that’s the way I intend to keep it. Everything I know about you is going to be released in MY BOOK. I’m not jabbering my head off about you to reporters.
But London also chastised him for not telling her about a pen-pal relationship he had developed with another female writer:
Were you deliberately hiding this from me? Did you think I would not find out? Did you think that when I did find out it would not bother me? If you are STILL concealing any more so-called “relationships” or correspondence of that kind at all with ANYONE but your FAMILY and ME, I want you to reveal that to me NOW . . . Because if you DON’T I can PROMISE you it will come out later . . . I have my limits on how far I will let ANY MAN take advantage of me. Danny Rolling or not, I have to maintain my own self-respect.
. . . . .
You swear you’re all mine, but you were swearing the same thing the whole time you were writing to her. And you were swearing the same thing when you gave Kathy Belich an EXCLUSIVE interview.
Later in the same letter, she mocked the efforts of the task force investigators:
I’m looking at this story, and I’m thinking, it’s almost like that drowning I witnessed, where they had this big organized search effort going on that looked great, but meanwhile the sea gave up the victim when it got good & ready. Sure, the body was found, but rescuers weren’t responsible. It’s like that with the Gainesville Murders. All these cops falling all over each other, all those millions of dollars spent . . . but when they found the guy they finally charged, it turns out they had him all along and were too DUMB to know it.
So where’s your Hero Cops? Every crime story’s gotta have one, so who’s the Hero in the Cop Shop?
~~~~~
On September 23, London appeared at the Alachua County State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville for her deposition. London told prosecution and defense attorneys that she first met Rolling through Bobby Lewis who had shown Rolling the manuscript she wrote about Lewis called “Red Bone.” She said that Rolling had been so impressed with her writing ability that he contacted her by letter asking if she wanted to write his story.
London testified that she no longer had any type of relationship with Lewis because he “set Danny up and wants him dead.” According to London, Lewis became upset when she became a “glory hog” and started getting more media attention than him because he had wanted the story to be “about Bobby, the hero, who saves the day and solves the mystery and catches the terrible killer, Danny.”
