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Speaker 1: Hm, I walk straight line shackle change, Oh weesome, gird

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it's calling my name.

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Speaker 2: There is no mercy and it's been a tentery juice

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as the huge stream game Wrangle three.

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Speaker 3: Come in by me to die.

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Speaker 2: Inside these walls, inside the wild.

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Speaker 3: Hadn't went no girl as I'm.

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Speaker 4: Hey, everyone, Welcome back to Bloody Anga, a podcast one

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hundred and forty two years in the making, the complete

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story of America's bloodiest prison. I'm Jim Chapman, and I'm

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back with this second part of the story of the

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Storyville Slayer who absolutely terrorized the city of New Orleans

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in the mid nineteen nineties. Now, when I left you last,

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it was May nineteen ninety five, and the task force

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had finally been formed to capture the person or persons

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responsible for the killing of at least twenty three people.

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All was strangulation being used as the cause of death

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in the police they're investigating, But at some point NOPD

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realizes they need more resources and outside help to solve

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this case, and in August of nineteen ninety five, a

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regional task force has formed that included the FBI. Now,

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on August eleventh of nineteen ninety five, an FBI agent

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by the name of Neil Gallagher made the official announcement

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of a regional task force and noted they were searching

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for a serial killer. The task force included Saint John

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the Baptist parish officials who believed the man had killed

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at least twenty four people and had been dumping them

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in places like the River parishes since nineteen nine two.

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Gallagher pointed to a map dotted with orange stickers and

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it marked dozens of bodies were covered in Saint john

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the Parish and Saint Charles parishes, as well as Orleans Parish.

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Officials went public with the serial killer theory at a

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press conference at FBI headquarters in New Orleans. Now it

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had been about three months since the killer struck and

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they hoped to capture him before he killed again. In

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regards to the police connecting those murders together, Gallagher said

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the quality of the earlier investigations were not up to standard.

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The nineteen ninety two investigations were crippled by not acknowledging

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the killer could be one person praying on sex workers.

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There were claims made that the investigation was put on

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the back burner in that the coroner's office neglected to

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perform certain tests on a parent victims, so much so

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that detectives began to attend autopsies to make sure pathologists

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checked for clues. For example, when you are strangled, there's

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a tiny bone in the back of your neck and

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it often snaps, and it's a sign that if you're

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not looking for it, it can easily be missed. Now

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that's called the highly bone, and basically pathologists they were

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content to deem certain deaths as overdoses instead of strangulation

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by not looking for the highly bone. The director of

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the New Orleans Metro Crime Commission was even quoted as

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saying that it's not surprising a string of dead prostitutes

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failed to animate the department or the public. I'm sure

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the background of the victims means law enforcement didn't give

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them the scrutiny another class of victims might have had.

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And I totally agree with that quote. I said back

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in episode one that when it's people who live high

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risk lifestyles, they're just not the urgency there. Bob Keppel,

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an investigator with the Washington State Attorney General's Office who

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tracked Ted Bundy. He tracked the Green River killer in

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the Pacific Northwest. He said, somebody has to be missed,

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and somebody has to care that they're missed. But usually

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no one cares, and there isn't any clamoring at all.

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If it was your daughter or the mayor's daughter in

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the mix, it would be a whole different story. In

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the budget to catch the killer would be practically unlimited.

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So the FBI, they come out with a profile of

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the killer, and they identified him as a black man

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in his thirties with a muscular build. Now remember in

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part one of this story, I told you that one

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of the suspects in the killings is New Orleans Police

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officer Victor Gant, who was dating the last victim, Sharon Robinson,

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at the time of heard death in nineteen ninety five.

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Well NOPD Chief Richard Pennington said in a press conference

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that Gant is considered a suspect in at least two

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of those killings and had cooperated with the investigation. And

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he was still on duty at the time in an

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office position with the seventh District station in New Orleans.

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And I want to reiterate that Gant was considered a

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suspect in the murders of only Sharon Robinson and Karen Ivester,

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and authorities had not named him a suspect in the

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other twenty two murders by this point, and some would

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say Gant fifth bill and the profile as a young man.

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He was a boxer, and he regularly went to the gym,

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he did weight lifting, and he closely matched the nineteen

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ninety one sketch that Brenda had given that very first victim.

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But again he was only a suspect in two of

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the murders. So the investigation continued and no bodies for

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a while. That is until December twentieth of nineteen ninety five,

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when the body of Sheryl Cackagen, who was forty six,

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is found on a New Orleans road. Her cause of

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death was undetermined, and police at this point decided not

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to link it to the Storyville slayer. Then, five months later,

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and eleven months after the final body was found that

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was directly linked to the slayer, police discovered additional skeletal remains.

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She was identified as thirty nine year old Lola Porter,

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who had gone missing from New Orleans in nineteen ninety two.

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Police later interviewed her friends and her acquaintances, who stated

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she had been cohabitating with a white male who vanished

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shortly after Porter went missing. Four months after that, in

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August of nineteen ninety six, Victor gant Is dismissed from

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the New Orleans Police Department. Remember that cab driver I

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told you about in episode one that got caught masturbating

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in his car. I told you keep his name in

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the back of your mind. Russell Elwood Well. On July

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twenty third of nineteen ninety seven, the pass Force traveled

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to Seabring, Florida, so they could question Elwood, who at

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this point was living with his elderly father. Once located,

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Elwood was informed of his rights and within three days

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gave several statements recorded on tape. It was tape back

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in these days. During the interrogations, he admitted to seeing

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black prostitutes throughout his life. He claimed that he knew

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more than one hundred girls, and in addition to that,

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he frequently took drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD

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for years now. Investigators became increasingly suspicious when Elwood started

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speaking about having a dream in which he was being

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questioned about a series of murders, and later admitting to

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frequenting the locations where the body was found, but continued

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to say he was innocent, but he would share that

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dream with the police, So they interrogate him over the

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course of about a week. Every day he'd come in

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and they'd talked to him for a little while, but

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they didn't have enough to hold him, so just days

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after the interrogation was completed, Elwood was arrested for buying

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cocaine from an undercover police officer at his home in Florida.

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This was on August fourth of nineteen ninety seven, and

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as a result, he was convicted and sentenced to eighty

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five days in county jail with three years of probation.

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But while incarcerated, according to his cellmates, Elwood implicated himself

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in the prostitute killings back in New Orleans and the

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various suburbs that surround New Orleans. One cell mate, Stan Hill,

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he contacted the CA Prosecutor's office and claimed that Elwood

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had described to him in detail how he had driven

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the women to outlying areas of the city, offering them

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large amounts of drugs that cost overdoses, then strangled and

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dumped their bodies. The exact identical mo to the Storyville Slayer.

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A number of other inmates witnessed a fight between Elwood

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and another inmate, during which he allegedly said, yeah, I

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killed that in word, bitch, and I'll kill you too.

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Another inmate, Stephen Michael Busser, he told the police that

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Elwood bragged of being wanted for more than sixty murders

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within the state of Louisiana, and it even described to

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him in detail one of those murders. Then a little

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over a week later, on August thirteenth of nineteen ninety seven,

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the very popular at this time Howard Stern Show, they

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received a call from a man who identified himself as Clay,

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and during an over the year conversation with Howard Stern himself,

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which was broadcast live, Clay described details for more than

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twelve murders and gave some details about his background, indicating

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that he was a white resident of New Orleans. And

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it's widely believed that this was the actual Storyville Slayer

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calling this show. I have the actual clip, and here's

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what that sounded like. But I want to warn you

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it's a very chilling call and it may be disturbing

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to some lesseners.

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Speaker 5: Here it is get a guy on the phone who

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claims he's been killing prostitutes and he's wondering why he's

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doing it. So maybe he thinks I have an answer?

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Speaker 6: Is his ed? Ed?

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Speaker 3: No, this isn't d H.

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Speaker 7: You haven't killed any presidents?

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Speaker 6: No, I never said my name was said? Sorry, that's okay.

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Speaker 5: What's your what name do you use?

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Speaker 3: You can call me Clay Clay, yes.

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Speaker 5: Clay, Okay Clay. So what happened? How many prostitutes have

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you be killed?

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Speaker 6: Twelve?

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Speaker 5: And you're wondering why you do it?

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Speaker 6: I have a pretty good idea.

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Speaker 5: Why did your mom beat you? Did your mom spank it?

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Speaker 7: Where's your mama prostitute?

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Speaker 6: No? Actually, nothing like that.

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Speaker 5: What is it?

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Speaker 6: Then? I think I just do it for the sense

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of the power? Right?

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Speaker 5: Do you have sex with them first?

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Speaker 6: Yes?

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Speaker 5: And then what you strangle them?

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Speaker 6: Once?

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Speaker 5: How else did you kill him?

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Speaker 6: Well? A few times, actually most times with a hammer?

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Speaker 5: H And where do you do this? Primarily?

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Speaker 6: Uh?

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Speaker 3: I've done it twice in the parking garage and the

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direct of the times on the side of the road.

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Speaker 5: And you're from the New Orleans area.

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Speaker 6: Yes, I mean what are you?

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Speaker 7: You beat him to death with a hammer.

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Speaker 6: That usually takes once.

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Speaker 5: Then, dude, you got to have a lot of anger

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in you. Yeah, and that meets your heartless Do you

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used to kill small animals?

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Speaker 6: No, I've killed a rat?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, dude, you're a serial killer? Yeah yeah, wow, and

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you get away with it, I guess because they're hookers

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and so far nobody what.

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Speaker 3: Is this how Yeah?

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Speaker 5: Hello? Hello?

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Speaker 6: I didn't know this was Howard?

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Speaker 5: Yeah? Powered? Yeah, yeah, not never killed a kitten. So

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how old were you when you killed your first woman?

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Speaker 6: Sixteen?

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Speaker 5: And you must be a powerful kind of guy, big guy.

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I wasn't then, right, And when you killed your first one,

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did you go in there know one you were going

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to kill her? Or it just sort of happened?

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Speaker 6: I knew I had. I really had.

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Speaker 3: Planned out m you know, I wanted to do the

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whole sending clues right, oh yeah.

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Speaker 6: Are you in baffle people? But it turned out no

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one noticed for.

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Speaker 5: A long time, right, Like, like, you killed her on

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the side of the road.

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Speaker 3: Her that was the parking garage, Okay, And.

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Speaker 5: Then what did you do with the body? You dumped

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that somewhere?

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Speaker 6: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Actually I think, gosh, she's probably one of the ones

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that they found. Yeah, but let me ask you.

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Speaker 7: Say you were sending clues that you were going to

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do this.

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Speaker 6: No, I was. I was going to like doing that.

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Speaker 3: He was gonna leave like a note for the newspapers

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and you know, but she decided not to.

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Speaker 5: He didn't want to be famous or grow attention to himself.

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Speaker 3: But my problem is that's what I wanted to do,

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but you.

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Speaker 5: Did, but no one noticed the clues.

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Speaker 3: I don't know. I never sent the clues.

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Speaker 6: I never left anything. You know.

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Speaker 3: I wanted to have my little signature, right. I wanted

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to thumb paint. Oh really, what do.

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Speaker 5: You want to do?

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Speaker 7: Some paint with their thumbs?

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Speaker 5: Some paint what though?

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Speaker 6: I don't know, oh anything.

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Speaker 3: It was an a comic book a couple of years

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ago with it just seemed like a good idea.

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Speaker 5: But like you take the girl you killed, you do

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different thumbs and paint and then you do like a

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thumb painting on a piece of paper.

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Speaker 6: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Now, when you after you kill somebody, do you play

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with the body?

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Speaker 3: Actually, the closest I've ever done of that is I

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always make sure I pay them and I make sure

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they keep their money, really when they're still alive. But uh,

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with one of them. I did put the money in

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a compromising place, but that was this one.

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Speaker 6: It had a p s.

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Speaker 5: Oh was a guy?

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Speaker 6: Yeah yeah, I didn't know at first.

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Speaker 5: So do you ever get Do you think the reason

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you're so angry is because you were abused or something?

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Speaker 6: No? I wasn't abused, Howard?

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Speaker 7: Where's your family? And you got a mom and dad

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or wife? Children? You got any of that.

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Speaker 3: I've got a couple of kids, but I no wife,

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not married to the mother. You're a white guy, yeah,

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or that's pretty funny because the only suspect they had

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when they started finding the bodies of a black police

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officers out, one of them was associated with them.

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Speaker 5: Oh really, are you on drugs?

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Speaker 3: I've done acid a few times, so so nothing happen.

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Speaker 5: So if you killed after you killed the first sixty

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year old, like, uh, you finished?

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Speaker 6: You finished sixteen?

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Speaker 5: Oh that's right, I'm sorry. He was right, So you

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finished with your sexual gratification and then you always no,

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not always, you don't even want to get laid sometimes no,

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I just you just want to kill.

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Speaker 8: I'm just bored, right, But does the killing sexually satisfy.

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Speaker 7: You in some way?

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Speaker 3: I can't believe that mcmaon'son laughing. I'm pretty lucky off

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thinking about it later.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, what are you saying? He's pleasured himself thinking about

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it later?

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Speaker 5: Oh yeah, Okay, Now how far a part of these murders?

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Like do you murder and then like you feel satisfied

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for a while.

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Speaker 3: I don't even understand why I do it, Howard. I

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don't know if I ever get any satisfaction.

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Speaker 5: But how often or anywhere was the same night you

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killed two people in the same night?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, but I went to Mississippi for the second one.

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Speaker 8: Mm, So there's no pattern to how many weeks or

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days between murders.

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Speaker 5: Are these mostly white chicks or black chicks?

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Speaker 3: It's a fair fair number.

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Speaker 6: Of them have been black. The transstate with black.

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Speaker 5: Does he do some racial motivation here?

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Speaker 3: No, Howard, they were just let's just say, had Jimmy Swaggertown?

293
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Speaker 5: Mm hmm. Jimmy Swaggertown. That's pretty much.

294
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Speaker 3: The area around here where the prostitute thaw hangout.

295
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Speaker 7: And it's just whoever comes up to you. You don't

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pick a certain type.

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Speaker 6: I don't even approach them. I wait for them to

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approach me.

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Speaker 3: Robin, do you ever like them asking for it.

300
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Speaker 5: Do you ever like look into their eyes and go,

301
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you know, gee, these these people were just children at one.

302
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Speaker 3: Point, and maybe they just had a tough life.

303
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Speaker 6: And where the couple go?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, like what happened in the middle of killing them?

305
00:18:08,839 --> 00:18:10,279
And then and then they what do they say? Why

306
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would you let one go and kill the other?

307
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Speaker 3: There was this one go ahead. I think she was

308
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probably really new to it. Yeah, there was just something

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about her and maybe she reminded me why fiance?

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Speaker 5: But right, you somehow relate.

311
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Speaker 6: More of an innocent quality.

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Speaker 5: I just you somehow felt bad for him. Yeah, hmm

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you so okay, So you killed your first woman.

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Speaker 7: When was the last time.

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Speaker 5: You killed.

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Speaker 3: It's been a few months, right, actually, and it's been

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going on a year.

318
00:18:42,039 --> 00:18:43,359
Speaker 5: So what do you think you're gonna do?

319
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Speaker 3: Do you think you're gonna kill yourself? Do you think

320
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,359
that you think you're gonna kill again? Can you stop this?

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Speaker 6: Show myself? I missed the next Batman movie?

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Speaker 5: Right, you don't want to do that?

323
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Speaker 7: No?

324
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Speaker 5: No, But in all seriousness, I mean, do you think

325
00:18:54,559 --> 00:18:57,960
that you can control this? Do you think you can?

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Speaker 6: I think I have been Oh you have been.

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Speaker 3: To the last couple of months a year you haven't

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killed for a year.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, almost.

330
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Speaker 5: So why do you think he stopped killing all of

331
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a sudden.

332
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Speaker 6: I really don't know Howard. I just part of it

333
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:13,240
had to do with my car broke down.

334
00:19:13,799 --> 00:19:16,960
Speaker 5: No transportation, seriously, that's the reason.

335
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Speaker 6: Well that was the reason for a month. But after that,

336
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I guess with all self control mile.

337
00:19:22,039 --> 00:19:23,559
Speaker 3: So you don't want to do this anymore?

338
00:19:23,599 --> 00:19:25,359
Speaker 5: No, he wants to do it, but he's controlling himself.

339
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:27,480
But you want to kill women, right?

340
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:29,759
Speaker 6: Sure?

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Speaker 5: Yeah? And what and do you like it? Do you

342
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:34,279
enjoy seeing them struggle as.

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Speaker 3: You kill them?

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Speaker 6: Uh? Actually none of them really struggle.

345
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Speaker 7: Do you hit them from behind? Or do they see

346
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it coming?

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Speaker 3: I can't get inside their minds, but let's if I

348
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hit them.

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Speaker 7: But I mean, are you facing them?

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Speaker 6: Yeah?

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Speaker 5: So you can see their face and everything when they

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do it.

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Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: The worst I've ever got was one tried to grab

355
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my knack.

356
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Speaker 6: I've never gotten any of the qualm marks or anything

357
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that are uh that giveaway.

358
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Speaker 5: No, you must be very powerful.

359
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:06,799
Speaker 3: I wouldn't always alf powerful.

360
00:20:06,839 --> 00:20:07,960
Speaker 6: Maybe uh intimidating.

361
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Speaker 5: Why did you use a hammer? Do you think it?

362
00:20:10,559 --> 00:20:13,720
Speaker 6: Uh? Because it wasn't a book I read?

363
00:20:14,079 --> 00:20:16,000
Speaker 3: Oh, everything's coming from cartoons.

364
00:20:16,519 --> 00:20:17,920
Speaker 5: Yeah, when's the last time you got laid?

365
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:19,960
Speaker 6: Last week? Howard?

366
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,160
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, so you didn't kill that girl? No, because

367
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she wasn't a hooker?

368
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,279
Speaker 7: No, right, it's only hookers, though, a.

369
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,119
Speaker 5: Lot of serial killers are only into hookers because they

370
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,519
know A probably won't get caught, and B they have

371
00:20:29,599 --> 00:20:32,200
some kind of anger toward hookers. So there's no way

372
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:33,960
I'm going to talk into giving yourself up or anything

373
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,680
right now. I shouldn't even waste my time. I don't

374
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,160
many get calls after Some people are gonna go, Howard,

375
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:39,000
how can we even catch him?

376
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Speaker 8: Has anybody ever been close to catching you?

377
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,599
Speaker 3: No? No, actually someone when it was in the newspaper,

378
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,400
someone joked to you. I know it was you, but uh.

379
00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:50,160
Speaker 6: Well they were joking.

380
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:51,759
Speaker 5: Right, do you have a lot of tattoos?

381
00:20:52,519 --> 00:20:53,480
Speaker 3: I don't have any tattoos.

382
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Speaker 6: I wouldn't do that to myself, right.

383
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:56,720
Speaker 3: And do you get high before you do that?

384
00:20:58,079 --> 00:20:59,680
Speaker 6: I've gotten pretty drunk before.

385
00:21:00,279 --> 00:21:02,079
Speaker 5: I'm the only guy you can I'm the only guy

386
00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:08,920
you ever told about this. Yeah, wow, I guess that's

387
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:09,599
sort of an honor.

388
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,359
Speaker 6: I've told a couple of women, Howard, but they're dead.

389
00:21:12,519 --> 00:21:14,400
Speaker 5: Yeah, can you tell him first and then you kill him?

390
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:15,559
Speaker 6: Yeah?

391
00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:16,960
Speaker 5: What do you say to him? Let me hit on?

392
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,359
Speaker 6: All right, let's seat now, and then you can play

393
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,079
the running game. If you're out in the middle of nowhere.

394
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:21,880
We got a lot in the middle of nowhere.

395
00:21:21,559 --> 00:21:27,480
Speaker 5: Down here, right. So in other words, let's say you're

396
00:21:27,519 --> 00:21:30,440
with a woman, right hooker, yeah, Howard, and you say

397
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,240
to her, okay, honey, you know you just had sex

398
00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:35,759
and everything. What do you say to ords a tormentor

399
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,599
how do you break the news or that she's gonna die?

400
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,039
Speaker 3: I it really depends on my mood.

401
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:45,200
Speaker 5: Just give us an example.

402
00:21:46,519 --> 00:21:47,640
Speaker 3: Well, if I wanted to, I.

403
00:21:47,599 --> 00:21:49,680
Speaker 5: Could just say baba boowie, but that would be pretty

404
00:21:49,759 --> 00:21:51,240
uh No, come on, be serious. What do you say

405
00:21:51,279 --> 00:21:53,960
to him?

406
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:55,759
Speaker 6: I can say you're gonna die?

407
00:21:56,759 --> 00:21:57,440
Speaker 5: And then what do they do?

408
00:21:57,759 --> 00:22:02,000
Speaker 3: I like to articulate a little more than that. Sometimes

409
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,720
I ask them if they think it's dangerous doing what

410
00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:08,119
they're doing, if they're worried about things, and they'll laugh

411
00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,440
it off, and that just pisses me off, right.

412
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,000
Speaker 5: And then you go ahead and you kill them.

413
00:22:14,759 --> 00:22:18,839
Speaker 3: Yeah hmm, all right, Well there you go.

414
00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:24,319
Speaker 4: Now, as you can imagine this interview with the potential

415
00:22:24,599 --> 00:22:30,559
serial killer caused a massive media frenzy, and FBI agents

416
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,440
allegedly went to the Stern studio and seized audio recordings

417
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,880
of the call to establish the caller's location and possible identity.

418
00:22:41,279 --> 00:22:45,279
In the following years, the credibility of this incident it

419
00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:50,000
was in question. Stern Show often received numerous calls from

420
00:22:50,039 --> 00:22:53,200
people who claim to have done terrible things, with some

421
00:22:53,279 --> 00:22:57,079
people even alleging that Stern himself faked the call to

422
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,480
boost his writings for the record. I don't leave that.

423
00:23:00,759 --> 00:23:04,599
It's worth noting that Russell Elwood was still incarcerated on

424
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,680
August thirteenth of nineteen ninety seven, so he may have

425
00:23:07,839 --> 00:23:10,960
been incarcerated at the time of the phone call. Now.

426
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,079
After his release, Elwood returned to Canton to live with

427
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,279
his brother, who offered him a pretty high pan job.

428
00:23:18,519 --> 00:23:23,240
For Elwood's standards. Based on Hill's testimony in the trial,

429
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,839
the task Force tracked him down and reinterviewed him in

430
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,720
the presence of a guy by the name of Ron Camden,

431
00:23:29,839 --> 00:23:33,680
a twenty seven year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department.

432
00:23:33,839 --> 00:23:39,319
During interrogation Elwood, he initially denied making any such statements

433
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,279
to inmates in Florida on these killings, but after an

434
00:23:43,319 --> 00:23:48,480
audio tape of Hill's testimony was played, he admitted that

435
00:23:48,599 --> 00:23:53,519
he indeed said those things to Hill. Camden actually later

436
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,119
testified that Elwood also confessed to him that he had

437
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,880
killed a black girl whose corpse he had dumped near Canal.

438
00:24:01,319 --> 00:24:05,279
No recordings of this confession, unfortunately, were taken, and Elwood

439
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:09,799
later denied ever confessing to such a murder. Now later on,

440
00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,240
Elwood would claim that a mental illness had caused him

441
00:24:13,279 --> 00:24:17,240
to brag, demanding that the interrogation stop and that he

442
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,319
is allowed to return to New Orleans to seize attorney

443
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,759
and be provided with treatment. That request was denied, and

444
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:29,920
Elwood confessed to killing Lewis and Mack, but refused to

445
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,519
be audiotaped, and then soon after began denying that he

446
00:24:33,559 --> 00:24:34,400
had confessed.

447
00:24:34,599 --> 00:24:34,680
Speaker 6: So.

448
00:24:34,799 --> 00:24:38,839
Speaker 4: In October of nineteen ninety seven, an inmate who had

449
00:24:38,839 --> 00:24:43,119
served time with Elwood in Florida, he tells the Jefferson

450
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,279
and Saint Charles Parish officers that Elwood had told him

451
00:24:47,559 --> 00:24:50,519
that he liked to have sex with both men and women,

452
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,240
and enjoyed the fun of having sex with people who

453
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,359
were not in control of their bodies. He said, if

454
00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,880
they were high on cocaine or heroin, the heroine would

455
00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:02,519
with them in a state of mind as if they

456
00:25:02,559 --> 00:25:06,440
were paralyzed and he could take advantage of their body,

457
00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:10,599
which was part of the Storyville slayers mo right most

458
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,519
of these people that they found they were not only strangled,

459
00:25:14,559 --> 00:25:18,359
but they had a insane amount of drugs in their system.

460
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,559
At the time. Elwood also told the inmate that if

461
00:25:21,559 --> 00:25:24,799
a person didn't wake up, he would dump them out

462
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,960
of his cab. His later defense attorney stated that Elwood

463
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,119
only made up these stories to appear tough to the

464
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:37,440
other inmates. So on November fourteenth of nineteen ninety seven,

465
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,240
Elwood actually files a police report complaining that he had

466
00:25:41,279 --> 00:25:44,720
been beaten up in front of a fast food restaurant.

467
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:49,759
He apparently had not met a scheduled probation appointment at

468
00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:53,599
the time when the police showed up, so they arrested him. Then,

469
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,519
in December of nineteen ninety seven, a bunch of movement

470
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:04,160
in the case. Russell Elwood's father, New Orleans detectives visited

471
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,960
him at his home in Sea Bring, Florida, and he

472
00:26:07,039 --> 00:26:09,559
told police that his son was a drifter, saying that

473
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,400
he was a slender man and was not sure if

474
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,440
he was capable of killing. He just didn't think he

475
00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:18,680
was big enough to control these people. He even said,

476
00:26:18,839 --> 00:26:21,200
I asked Russell if he had done it, and he

477
00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:25,079
said no. It was also in December of nineteen ninety

478
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,240
seven that police announced they now had three suspects and

479
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:33,839
claimed to be close to an arrest. Task Force members

480
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,519
announced that they interviewed a suspect who was out of

481
00:26:36,559 --> 00:26:39,519
state who may have been responsible for at least five

482
00:26:39,599 --> 00:26:42,480
of the murders. The task force said the suspect was

483
00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:46,039
interested in the occult and had turned up mysteriously at

484
00:26:46,079 --> 00:26:49,240
a murder scene and may have been connected to similar

485
00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:53,880
murders in Ohio and Florida. So on January sixteenth of

486
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,559
nineteen ninety eight, Elwood is finally released from jail on

487
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,160
that probation violation, and he returns to New Orleans, which

488
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,559
totally blew my mind. You have all this heat on

489
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,759
you in New Orleans and you return to the place

490
00:27:09,799 --> 00:27:13,319
where that heat is the hottest. Well, I'm sure he

491
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:20,079
regretted that because he was immediately arrested on unrelated misdemeanor charges.

492
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,440
He was actually taken into custody on traffic tickets, speeding,

493
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:29,880
and some other misdemeanor charges that authorities used to keep

494
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,319
him in jail for as long as six months. Now,

495
00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:37,200
remember this, the police believe this guy is a serial killer.

496
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,160
The last place they want him is on the street.

497
00:27:41,839 --> 00:27:46,559
And he does get eventually released from jail. You can

498
00:27:46,599 --> 00:27:51,039
only hold somebody so long on misdemeanors. And he gets released,

499
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:55,000
he's got a coordinate scheduled, and of course Elwood, he

500
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,839
fails to appear in court on time for that scheduled appearance.

501
00:28:00,279 --> 00:28:03,599
He was then arrested for contempt to court and he

502
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,720
was convicted and he was ordered to spend one hundred

503
00:28:06,799 --> 00:28:11,200
and twenty days behind bars. In the meantime, officers sought

504
00:28:11,319 --> 00:28:15,599
a confession for Elwood regarding the murders. Even though a

505
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:20,400
confession may not be necessary to gain a conviction, they

506
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,279
wanted it. They felt like they didn't need it, but

507
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,039
they you know, it makes things a lot easier if

508
00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:30,920
somebody confesses to it and you get it on recording.

509
00:28:31,039 --> 00:28:34,359
He had confessed to these murders before, but for whatever reason,

510
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:36,960
he wouldn't do it on recording, and then he denied

511
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,359
ever doing that. An investigator was quoted even as saying

512
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,200
that evidence keeps building up. His picture's been out somewhat,

513
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,359
and some witnesses have come forward with some information, and

514
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,359
I hope they continue to do so. But this case

515
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:55,519
could be made without a confession. However, on January twenty

516
00:28:55,559 --> 00:29:00,000
sixth of nineteen ninety eight, a big break in the case.

517
00:29:00,319 --> 00:29:05,359
A former girlfriend of Elwoods comes forward, and she reported

518
00:29:05,359 --> 00:29:09,160
that she had witnessed him kill someone in months, which

519
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,559
is about thirty minutes from New Orleans. She also said

520
00:29:12,599 --> 00:29:16,720
she witnessed him burn the body. Ellwood told Times pickying

521
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,680
reporters quote, she said, I beat a body to death

522
00:29:20,839 --> 00:29:24,279
and set it on fire. She's giving false witness I

523
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:28,599
am an innocent man unquote. Elwood told the newspaper that

524
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,839
he learned of the woman's statement when detective shot him

525
00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:35,480
a transcript. Elwood pointed out to the reporter that the

526
00:29:35,559 --> 00:29:38,799
details the woman gave do not match any of the

527
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:43,920
twenty plus deaths that the task force is now investigating,

528
00:29:44,039 --> 00:29:47,599
and he somewhat right on that there was no bodies

529
00:29:47,759 --> 00:29:51,000
burned in any of those other cases. Elwood did not

530
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,079
remember the woman's full name and said that he was

531
00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,759
involved with her for about a month, possibly in nineteen

532
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:02,119
ninety three. He said that she told police the relationship

533
00:30:02,279 --> 00:30:07,279
lasted four years. Ellwood commented, quote, that's a lie. Unquote.

534
00:30:07,279 --> 00:30:10,799
Elwood said the woman was a former prostitute who helped

535
00:30:10,839 --> 00:30:14,319
him get drugs. He said he did not pay women

536
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,319
for sex, although he did give her money for groceries.

537
00:30:19,119 --> 00:30:23,279
Throughout the investigation, detectives were able to place Elwood at

538
00:30:23,319 --> 00:30:27,000
several sites in Saint Charles and Saint John, the Baptist

539
00:30:27,079 --> 00:30:31,960
parishes near where bodies were found. So on March fourth

540
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:38,119
of nineteen ninety eight, finally Elwood is charged with the

541
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:42,559
murders of Lewis and Mack. Officially, sheriffs from three other

542
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:47,279
parishes claimed there are four more suspects in the murders.

543
00:30:47,559 --> 00:30:51,000
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said we never thought from

544
00:30:51,039 --> 00:30:54,440
the beginning that this was the work of one person.

545
00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,079
Lee would not identify the other suspects to reporters, but

546
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,119
did say in October of nineteen teen ninety seven that

547
00:31:01,279 --> 00:31:05,799
former NOPD policeman Victor Gant he was a suspect in

548
00:31:05,839 --> 00:31:08,240
two of the killings. As a told you, Gan has

549
00:31:08,279 --> 00:31:13,119
never been charged and he denied any involvement Lee in

550
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:17,279
the Saint Charles Paris Sheriff Grade Champagne said that Elwood's

551
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:22,160
many contradictory statements had yielded enough information to convince a

552
00:31:22,279 --> 00:31:25,400
judge to sign a warren accusing him of second degree

553
00:31:25,519 --> 00:31:29,000
murder in the deaths of Sheer Lewis and Dolores Mack.

554
00:31:29,559 --> 00:31:32,920
And I've said that many times, the truth never changes.

555
00:31:33,079 --> 00:31:36,119
You're not going to have contradictory stories if you're telling

556
00:31:36,119 --> 00:31:40,960
the truth. So when those come up, when you contradict yourself,

557
00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:44,680
usually means you're lying. Elwood was also a suspect in

558
00:31:44,839 --> 00:31:48,920
eight other murders. Champagne said, a few short years ago

559
00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:51,720
people were saying the police did not care about the

560
00:31:51,799 --> 00:31:56,400
victims because they were poor, black and had questionable reputations,

561
00:31:56,759 --> 00:32:00,160
as shown by hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands

562
00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,799
and thousands of investigator mayon hours. We do care. We

563
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,279
continue to care, he was quoted as saying. Now, after

564
00:32:07,319 --> 00:32:11,759
being charged with the murders, Elwood was moved from Jefferson

565
00:32:11,839 --> 00:32:15,880
Parish to Saint Charles Parish, and Elwood claimed he was

566
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,519
innocent and he wanted to go before a grand jury.

567
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,920
Saint John the Baptist Pairs. Sheriff Wayne Jones said, we'll

568
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,400
extend him the opportunity of a grand jury if he

569
00:32:26,519 --> 00:32:30,680
wants it. Sheriff Lee commented on the many appearance changes

570
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,880
in Elwood. He had changed his identity dramatically over the

571
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:39,400
years for whatever reason, Lee said. Sheriff Champagne stated that

572
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:44,640
since Elwood's arrest, the murder case had gotten stronger. Multiple

573
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,599
witness had come forward, including an ex prostitute girlfriend of

574
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,759
Elwood's and of Florida inmate who befriended Elwood when he

575
00:32:52,839 --> 00:32:56,759
was incarcerated there. And Elwood is held on a one

576
00:32:56,839 --> 00:33:00,480
million dollar bond which he for sure can't make now.

577
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:05,240
March ninth of nineteen ninety eight, Lieutenant Sue Rushing, lead

578
00:33:05,279 --> 00:33:10,240
investigator for JPSO the Jefferson Pearis Sheriff's office, She said

579
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,640
that one lead is promising and is from a witness

580
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,680
who actually saw one of the victims with Elwood before

581
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,799
her death. Then, on March thirteenth of nineteen ninety eight,

582
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,559
an AP news report claimed that a former girlfriend of

583
00:33:25,599 --> 00:33:28,640
Elwood said he took her to a swamp and showed

584
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,640
her two bodies protruding in the water. In the affidavit

585
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:38,000
for arrest. Investigators said the timing and details the woman

586
00:33:38,079 --> 00:33:42,039
provided match those of the nineteen ninety three deaths of

587
00:33:42,119 --> 00:33:46,599
Sheril Lewis and Delores back So. According to the affid

588
00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,480
David Elwood told his then girlfriend that he had a

589
00:33:50,599 --> 00:33:55,799
quote surprise for her. The incident allegedly took place after

590
00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:59,319
she and Elwood smoked crack cocaine in his cab in

591
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:03,720
a desolate of Saint Charles Parish. The two walked to

592
00:34:03,759 --> 00:34:06,759
where Elwood pointed out a body in a canal with

593
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,159
just an arm and a hand sticking out. Elwood then

594
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:15,320
pulled her over to a second body that was almost submerged.

595
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,159
When the woman asked who the bodies were, Elwood allegedly

596
00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,400
responded with a threat that the woman died just like

597
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:28,159
she would. Elwood's attorney said that affidavit does not provide

598
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:31,440
evidence that Elwood killed the women or even disposed of

599
00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:35,159
the victims. He also said the fact that she never

600
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:39,679
reported the bodies to authorities race questions about her credibility.

601
00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:45,159
The affidavit also details Elwood's alleged remarks about the two

602
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:49,760
drug overdose cases when investigators questioned him in Canton Ohio

603
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,840
earlier in the year. The affidavit does not specifically connect

604
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,920
the statements to the deaths of Lewis and Mack. The

605
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:02,000
affidavit quoted Elwood as saying, I'm willing to confess to

606
00:35:02,119 --> 00:35:05,280
two cases and give you all the details when our

607
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:11,320
return to Louisiana. Investigators said Elwood also told them he

608
00:35:11,559 --> 00:35:14,599
dumped the body of a black woman in water in

609
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:18,519
Saint Charles Parish. An investigators said they never mentioned that

610
00:35:18,679 --> 00:35:23,159
the bodies had been dumped in water, so at that point,

611
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:27,199
he knows something that they've never mentioned. People and these

612
00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:31,039
investigators they always hold something back. They want something in

613
00:35:31,079 --> 00:35:34,239
their back pocket so that when they get the guy

614
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,119
they think did all these things, if he provides a

615
00:35:38,159 --> 00:35:41,000
detail they've never released, they know he did it right.

616
00:35:41,199 --> 00:35:44,199
On March twenty third of nineteen ninety eight, in an

617
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,079
attempt to find the bodies of two women who were

618
00:35:47,079 --> 00:35:50,880
strangled and left in the same area of Tangibajo Parish.

619
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:55,639
In February of nineteen ninety four, investigators dug up about

620
00:35:55,639 --> 00:36:00,239
one hundred bodies from a Marshy paupers field, which a

621
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:04,480
paupers field, y'all is a graveyard for indigent people. Jefferson

622
00:36:04,519 --> 00:36:09,400
Parish Chief Deputy Noel Norman said, every place they said

623
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:12,800
they could possibly be the bodies weren't there.

624
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:13,199
Speaker 5: Now.

625
00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:16,159
Speaker 4: One of the particular bodies that they found may have

626
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:22,400
been patients pay Jupiter, a Waldorf, Maryland native, who disappeared

627
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,840
four years before in New Orleans, and authorities were attempting

628
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,559
to link the deaths to Russell Elwood. He maintained his

629
00:36:30,639 --> 00:36:33,760
innocence on that, and he maintained his innocence on the

630
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:36,480
two women he was charged with killing. But guess what

631
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:41,480
that grand jury he demanded, They indicted him on charges

632
00:36:41,639 --> 00:36:46,599
of killing two women. So on April ninth of nineteen

633
00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,480
ninety eight, Elwood goes to court and he enters a

634
00:36:49,599 --> 00:36:53,639
not guilty plea in the murders of Sheryl Lewis and

635
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:58,000
Dolores mack And. On July eighth of nineteen ninety eight,

636
00:36:58,159 --> 00:37:01,440
during a hearing, in what can only be described as

637
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:07,719
rambling statements, Elwood tells District Judge Kirk Grenier that he

638
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,639
did not understand his rights when he was questioned by

639
00:37:10,639 --> 00:37:14,440
the task force who was investigating those murders, and defense

640
00:37:14,519 --> 00:37:18,000
attorneys asked a judge to surprise all those statements that

641
00:37:18,119 --> 00:37:22,599
Elwood gave to authorities. Elwood claimed that his rights to

642
00:37:22,639 --> 00:37:26,480
an attorney were violated. During questioning in Florida in July

643
00:37:26,599 --> 00:37:30,199
of nineteen ninety seven and in Ohio in November of

644
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:33,400
nineteen ninety seven, Elwood told the judge he was not

645
00:37:33,559 --> 00:37:37,440
surprised that investigators visited him in Florida because he had

646
00:37:37,599 --> 00:37:41,519
dreamed they would, just like I told you. Elwood said, yeah,

647
00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:44,840
I was surprised. No, I wasn't surprised. I had a

648
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,400
dream that the Task Force was coming to see me.

649
00:37:47,679 --> 00:37:52,320
Assistant Attorney General Doug Frees, who was prosecuting the case,

650
00:37:52,599 --> 00:37:57,920
charged Elwood with perjury. During the hearing, Freeze provided documents

651
00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:02,480
showing Elwood agreed to talk with investigators he had actually

652
00:38:02,519 --> 00:38:05,880
signed a statement, and Freeze asked, Elwood, are you saying

653
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,920
you didn't understand what you had signed? Did you ever

654
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:11,920
tell any of the police officers that you did not

655
00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:16,559
understand your rights? And Elwood responded, no, but I did

656
00:38:16,559 --> 00:38:19,639
not fully understand my rights. I felt the task Force

657
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:25,639
was untrustworthy, deceitful, and manipulated. Now, during the July nineteen

658
00:38:25,719 --> 00:38:29,360
ninety seven questioning in Sea Bring, Florida, the task Force

659
00:38:29,559 --> 00:38:34,199
was late picking up Elwood, and Elwood admitted to walking

660
00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:38,239
to the Sheriff's office to go talk to him. Later,

661
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:42,079
Elwood told how Task Force officers saw him off on

662
00:38:42,159 --> 00:38:45,880
a bus to Ohio, where his brother had made living

663
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,280
arrangements for him. They just didn't have enough to hold him.

664
00:38:48,559 --> 00:38:51,800
In November of nineteen ninety eight, the Task Force had

665
00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:56,760
arrested Elwood for the murders, they come under investigation by

666
00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:02,360
the FBI. Federal agents were looking into allegations of witness tampering,

667
00:39:02,519 --> 00:39:06,920
destruction of evidence, and public corruption in the Elwood case.

668
00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:10,639
Two former members of the Task Force told the FBI

669
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:15,079
that their leader, Lieutenant Sue Rushing of the Jefferson Pears

670
00:39:15,079 --> 00:39:19,559
Sheriff's Office, purposely hit evidence that could help clear Elwood

671
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,480
and coach a key witness so her statements would corroborate

672
00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:28,079
what they had investigated. Detective Philip ramone of the Jefferson

673
00:39:28,079 --> 00:39:32,199
Pear Sheriff's Office, said that Rushing accepted claims by Sharon

674
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,119
Jones of Boutet, a former living lover of Elwood, that

675
00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:42,360
Elwood had her nickname Rat tattooed on his penis, and

676
00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:45,719
that she knew for a fact that a friend, Misty

677
00:39:46,079 --> 00:39:51,280
Nicki Williams, had been murdered by Elwood. Williams was located

678
00:39:51,519 --> 00:39:55,400
alive in jail, so obviously she was lying about that,

679
00:39:55,519 --> 00:39:58,119
and not only that. Elwood does not have a tattoo

680
00:39:58,199 --> 00:40:02,159
on his deck of a rat. Ramon added, the evidence

681
00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:06,199
that was recovered from these two crime scenes cannot be located.

682
00:40:06,679 --> 00:40:10,039
I believe the evidence was destroyed and that Rushing is

683
00:40:10,159 --> 00:40:15,719
intentionally not submitting exculpatory evidence that may indicate Elwood's innocence.

684
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,280
Maria Chason said it's so rare for law enforcement to

685
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,840
blow the whistle on colleagues, and Elwood feels somebody's finally

686
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:29,079
listening to him. A statement from Rushing included in the

687
00:40:29,119 --> 00:40:32,920
pack of documents centered around her efforts to get a

688
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:37,320
federal grant to maintain her Inner Agency task force that

689
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:41,280
was investigating the murders. In her statement, Rushing said the

690
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:45,639
task force has again disintegrated for the third time because

691
00:40:45,639 --> 00:40:49,840
of funding issues. I'm tired of fighting to hold something together,

692
00:40:50,039 --> 00:40:55,880
attempting to maintain an impossible morale, of these severe limitations

693
00:40:55,920 --> 00:41:00,440
associated with inadequate tools in order to simply do the job.

694
00:41:00,639 --> 00:41:04,920
I have often been told, and have told subordinates. They

695
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,320
would not have a problem with me if they would

696
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:11,880
just do their job. It's chilling to realize that there

697
00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:16,480
are occasions where we are in fact prevented from doing

698
00:41:16,519 --> 00:41:20,360
our job. Defense attorneys said if the allegations were true,

699
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:25,599
they could unravel the case against Elwood. Attorney Maria Chassan said,

700
00:41:25,679 --> 00:41:29,000
we need to find out what really happened so Russell

701
00:41:29,079 --> 00:41:33,360
Ellwood can go free like he should. The report basically

702
00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:36,800
says what Russell has been saying all along, that he

703
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:40,599
was set up. Assistant District Attorney Doug Frees said he

704
00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:44,880
still had faith in the investigation. Quote, A look through

705
00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:48,559
the report will show you a lot of rank speculation

706
00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,239
contained in the statements. You have to ask yourself, where's

707
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:56,840
the coroboration for those broad allegations. I will say I've

708
00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:01,800
never seen law enforcement officers conduct themselves in this manner before.

709
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,599
In December of nineteen ninety eight, Jefferson Pearish Sheriff Harry

710
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:09,840
Lee publicly defended Lieutenant Sue Rushing, who is accused of

711
00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:14,400
destroying evidence that might clear Elwood. Lee told The Times

712
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:18,519
peakyun I respect her personally and I respect her professionally,

713
00:42:18,639 --> 00:42:22,400
but as of now, I have no reason to discipline her.

714
00:42:22,679 --> 00:42:25,119
Lee said that the two former members of the task

715
00:42:25,159 --> 00:42:28,519
force made complaints about Rushing to the FBI because of

716
00:42:28,679 --> 00:42:32,760
grudges related to the investigation. Lee was quoted as saying,

717
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:35,079
I think we've got a very good case. If we

718
00:42:35,159 --> 00:42:38,000
get a conviction, I will let the world know. It's

719
00:42:38,199 --> 00:42:42,760
mainly because of Sue Rushing's efforts. State District Judge Kirk

720
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:46,800
Grenere ruled that the defense attorneys were not entitled to

721
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:51,880
review personnel files of the case's leading investigator, Sue Rushing.

722
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:56,039
Rushing denied under oath that she destroyed evidence that would

723
00:42:56,119 --> 00:43:00,800
exonerate Elwood. She admitted to throwing away an envelope with

724
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:05,239
an out of state postmark with Elwood's things because quote,

725
00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:10,039
my hand moved without my brain being engaged. She also

726
00:43:10,119 --> 00:43:13,880
claimed that she quickly fished the envelope out of the trash.

727
00:43:14,119 --> 00:43:17,119
Rushing also admitted to throwing away a piece of paper

728
00:43:17,199 --> 00:43:20,639
that had the word Texas scrawled on it, but insisted

729
00:43:20,719 --> 00:43:23,679
it would not have provided Elwood with an alibi because

730
00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:28,960
it was dated nineteen ninety. Maria Chaisian asked Rushing, did

731
00:43:29,039 --> 00:43:31,639
you think it was your place to be judge and

732
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,880
jury on what evidence would be destroyed and what would

733
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,840
be maintained, and Rushing responded by saying, in this case,

734
00:43:39,039 --> 00:43:41,800
I wish I would have saved it to show you.

735
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,519
Rushing denied throwing an out of state receipt that may

736
00:43:45,599 --> 00:43:48,920
have placed Elwood away from the murder scenes. She said,

737
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:53,599
I wouldn't do that. And more shocking news came out

738
00:43:53,679 --> 00:43:56,559
on March first of nineteen ninety nine, when the AP

739
00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:00,800
published an article alluding that Elwood may be set free

740
00:44:01,119 --> 00:44:04,599
and that he was making plans for the future. Elwood

741
00:44:04,679 --> 00:44:07,199
said that he would move back to Ohio and may

742
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:11,400
visit Louisiana occasionally to take part in a federal civil

743
00:44:11,639 --> 00:44:15,440
rights lawsuit filed against the serial Killer task Force that

744
00:44:15,599 --> 00:44:20,199
arrested him. Defense attorney Maria Chossingen said that Elwood's release

745
00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:24,480
is inevitable since authorities admitted that Elwood could not have

746
00:44:24,599 --> 00:44:27,960
killed Delores. Mack Chaussing said, do we have to wait

747
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,559
for the trial or will the AG's office face the

748
00:44:31,599 --> 00:44:34,840
fact they don't have the evidence and drop it. Chase

749
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:38,800
On added, common sense tells you the same person killed

750
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:41,800
both Lewis and matt if Russell. Elwood could not have

751
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,519
killed one of them. Then, obviously he could not have

752
00:44:44,639 --> 00:44:49,000
killed the other Lewis could have been out turning a trick,

753
00:44:49,159 --> 00:44:54,199
stumbling off into the canal and drown. Now, evidence collected

754
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,119
showed that Elwood was visiting relatives in Ohio during the

755
00:44:58,199 --> 00:45:02,280
time Delores Mack was key. The evidence included documents that

756
00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:05,800
showed Elwood closed an account at an Ohio bank with

757
00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:09,599
his brother, and witnesses who saw Elwood at a fifties

758
00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:14,760
music community dance in the Canton, Ohio area. So, you know,

759
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:19,400
that's some pretty crazy evidence. To the contrary of what

760
00:45:19,639 --> 00:45:23,719
they're saying. Elwood spent most of the previous week making

761
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:28,480
collect calls to reporters, predicting that he would soon walk

762
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:33,679
out of jail, But he remains in prison until his trial,

763
00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:37,920
which starts on June eighth of nineteen ninety nine. Now,

764
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:41,280
the trial took place in Lafeyette. It was a change

765
00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:45,000
of venue requests that was granted by the judge obviously

766
00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:48,719
because of the massive publicity at this time surrounding the

767
00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:52,800
case in New Orleans, and both martyrs were not tried

768
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:57,039
at the same time. Sheryl Lewis's martyr was tried first. Now,

769
00:45:57,119 --> 00:46:01,320
during the proceedings, a number of ellwood Its former salmates

770
00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:07,360
and prostitutes testified as prosecution witnesses, with the former claiming

771
00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:10,239
that he had confessed to the killings, while the latter

772
00:46:10,519 --> 00:46:15,039
claimed that he had assaulted them. Diane Gillam, a former prostitute,

773
00:46:15,119 --> 00:46:17,480
till the court she had known Elwood since the early

774
00:46:17,599 --> 00:46:22,000
nineteen nineties and even dated him periodically. She testified that

775
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:26,119
nineteen ninety two, during a date, Elwood, while under the

776
00:46:26,159 --> 00:46:30,239
influence of drugs, assaulted, beat and strangled her till she

777
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:33,960
was unconscious. Gillim stated she woke up to find herself

778
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:37,400
in a pull of blood in an unfamiliar wooded area,

779
00:46:37,559 --> 00:46:41,199
where a passing motorists found her by chance and sheltered

780
00:46:41,239 --> 00:46:44,239
her in a motel where he was staying. She said

781
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:47,000
that she did not report the incident, did it being

782
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:49,760
a prostitute with a criminal record, and y'all that's a

783
00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:54,039
problem too. A lot of those things go unreported. Now,

784
00:46:54,079 --> 00:46:57,760
that's a Richmond, a former stripper in prostitute. In turn,

785
00:46:57,880 --> 00:47:01,679
she testified she had also been beaten and assaulted twice

786
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:06,000
by a drug crazed Elwood, during which he also attempted

787
00:47:06,360 --> 00:47:10,280
to strangle her. Janie Stokes, a former prostitute, told the

788
00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:13,239
court that she first met him in either nineteen ninety

789
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:17,840
two or nineteen ninety three at a gas station in Morrero, Louisiana,

790
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:20,679
another outskirt of New Orleans, when he was working as

791
00:47:20,719 --> 00:47:24,880
a cab driver. Stokes stated that Elwood bought her lunch

792
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:28,320
and treated her nicely before driving her to his home,

793
00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:32,880
where he suggested they use cocaine. After doing drugs together,

794
00:47:33,039 --> 00:47:37,159
Elwood beat her, but she did manage to flee. Stokes

795
00:47:37,199 --> 00:47:40,079
also did not report the crime because she was a

796
00:47:40,199 --> 00:47:44,239
drug addict. Antoinette Rainey, who worked as a drug dealer

797
00:47:44,280 --> 00:47:46,880
in New Orleans, also appeared as a witness for the

798
00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:51,559
prosecution and testified that Elwood was a regular customer. She

799
00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:55,440
recounted an incident in which Elwood forced her into his

800
00:47:55,480 --> 00:47:59,239
car at gunpoint, then drove her to an underpass where

801
00:47:59,239 --> 00:48:02,559
he beat, raped, and robbed her, threatening to kill her

802
00:48:02,719 --> 00:48:06,719
during the ordeal. Rannie was able to escape, but did

803
00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:11,239
not report the attack due obviously to her criminal lifestyle.

804
00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:15,599
Three witnesses testified they had also seen the defendant was

805
00:48:15,719 --> 00:48:21,239
shri Lewis shortly before her disappearance. Now according to the testimony,

806
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:25,320
of Denise Sanders, who was Louis's best friend. She had

807
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:29,559
seen her with Elwood three days prior to Louis's death,

808
00:48:29,679 --> 00:48:33,239
who at the time was out driving his cab. Sanders

809
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:36,280
also admitted to withholding this information because she was a

810
00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:40,800
drug dealer. The second witness, Antoinette Holm, who lived near Lewis,

811
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:46,000
testified seeing her at the Timesaver restaurant in Bridge City, Louisiana,

812
00:48:46,039 --> 00:48:49,880
two weeks before she was reported missing, standing between two

813
00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:53,679
part cars and talking to a cab driver. She then

814
00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:59,840
identified Elwood as that driver. Win War Henry, Lewis's cousin,

815
00:49:00,119 --> 00:49:02,760
stated that she at last saw her at a hotel

816
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:06,800
in Avondale, another outskirted of New Orleans, with a man

817
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:10,800
who she identified as Elwood. According to her, Lewis had

818
00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:13,599
told Henry that she and Elwood were on their way

819
00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:16,599
to a suburb of New Orleans where her body was

820
00:49:16,679 --> 00:49:20,840
later found. Henry testified that she did not give police

821
00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:25,079
this information because she was wanted for some petty offenses

822
00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:28,679
at that time. Now Elwood himself denied knowing any of

823
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:32,920
these victims that testified against him. Chair Lewis's mother in turn,

824
00:49:33,039 --> 00:49:36,599
admitted her daughter was a drug addict and a prostitute,

825
00:49:36,599 --> 00:49:39,880
but said that she had never seen Elwood with her

826
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:42,679
daughter before. It doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's

827
00:49:42,719 --> 00:49:46,559
worth noting now. Elwood's attorney said that Elwood was not

828
00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:50,119
in New Orleans at the time of the murders, claiming

829
00:49:50,159 --> 00:49:53,400
that he had been in Ohio with some relatives. Elwood

830
00:49:53,679 --> 00:49:57,920
was known for keeping extensive amounts of documents and indicated

831
00:49:58,039 --> 00:50:03,039
his whereabouts, but the regarding where his supposed presence in

832
00:50:03,119 --> 00:50:08,719
Ohio was for February of nineteen ninety three had mysteriously disappeared.

833
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:15,519
So on June tenth of nineteen ninety nine, Russell Elwood's

834
00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:20,800
trial concludes, and he is convicted of second degree murder

835
00:50:21,119 --> 00:50:25,599
by a state district court jury. And they only took

836
00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:30,039
about three hours to reach that verdict. Now was the

837
00:50:30,079 --> 00:50:33,880
defense attorney's belief because there was no physical evidence. It

838
00:50:34,039 --> 00:50:39,599
was all circumstantial stuff. That the reasons that Elwood was

839
00:50:39,679 --> 00:50:44,800
convicted was because he came across so nasty to the jurors.

840
00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:48,920
That was their statement. Elwood denied knowing Lewis, even after

841
00:50:49,039 --> 00:50:52,920
witnesses testified they were together and had been seen together

842
00:50:53,039 --> 00:50:56,920
in the past. Elwood spoke in a very condescending voice

843
00:50:57,000 --> 00:51:00,239
from the witness stand. He actually took the stand his

844
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:05,159
own defense and attorney Ross Scissia was quoted as saying

845
00:51:05,239 --> 00:51:08,920
his arrogance really came through and the jury got turned off.

846
00:51:09,119 --> 00:51:16,559
So on August seventeenth of nineteen ninety nine, Elwood is

847
00:51:16,719 --> 00:51:26,119
sentenced to life in prison without parole in Bloody and Gola,

848
00:51:26,159 --> 00:51:31,679
and a few notable events did take place after the conviction.

849
00:51:32,079 --> 00:51:35,559
January of two thousand, the city of New Orleans wanted

850
00:51:35,639 --> 00:51:39,320
fired Victor gamt remember him to pay back the one

851
00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:42,239
hundred and nine thousand, five hundred dollars in back pay

852
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:47,559
he actually got awarded in nineteen ninety six. Gant received

853
00:51:47,599 --> 00:51:50,880
the money in November of nineteen ninety six after the

854
00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:54,880
Civil Service Commission, which reinstated him, threatened the city with

855
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:59,679
a contempt ruling. The commission ruled the gants firing was excessive,

856
00:52:00,119 --> 00:52:03,679
reduced his punishment to a thirty day suspension, and ordered

857
00:52:03,719 --> 00:52:07,440
the city to pay all of Gant's lost wages. Police

858
00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:10,960
Superintendent Richard Pennington said, I think he needs to repay

859
00:52:11,079 --> 00:52:14,199
every dime back to the city. He wasn't entitled to

860
00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:16,639
that money. We're trying to get the money back. We

861
00:52:16,679 --> 00:52:19,360
don't think he should have gotten it in the first place,

862
00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:23,119
because the case was still in the appeal process. Chief

863
00:52:23,159 --> 00:52:27,480
Administration Officer Marlon Gussman said, if he's going to stash

864
00:52:27,519 --> 00:52:31,000
it or send it away somewhere, he's probably already done that.

865
00:52:31,119 --> 00:52:33,960
But it doesn't mean we won't try our best to

866
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,440
come up with the money. Then, in March of two

867
00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:41,079
thousand and one, the Louisiana Supreme Court refuses to overturn

868
00:52:41,239 --> 00:52:46,800
Elwood's conviction after reviewing trial transcripts and written arguments. In

869
00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:55,039
two thoy fourteen, Elwood dies at Louisiana State Penitentiary and Angola.

870
00:52:56,440 --> 00:53:00,159
Two years later, in twenty sixteen, in an interview with

871
00:53:00,199 --> 00:53:04,719
The Huffington Post, Major CJ. Dorster of the Saint John

872
00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:08,960
the Baptist Pearis Sheriff's Office confirm mc gant is still

873
00:53:09,119 --> 00:53:12,119
on the suspect less for the murder of his ex

874
00:53:12,199 --> 00:53:16,800
girlfriend and her friend. Advances in DNA testing would be

875
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:20,440
utilized to test that what of chewing tobacco that I

876
00:53:20,519 --> 00:53:23,480
told you about in episode one found near one of

877
00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:26,920
the crime scenes, and the initial review of that twenty

878
00:53:26,960 --> 00:53:31,880
one year old tobacco was inconclusive. When it was tested

879
00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:34,400
in nineteen ninety five, and they still held on to it,

880
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:36,920
and they're hoping that DNA one day will get to

881
00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:39,599
the point they can pull something off of it. Sadly,

882
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:45,920
as of today, all of the murders I told you about,

883
00:53:46,360 --> 00:53:52,079
aside from remain unsolved. Elwood remains a suspect in several

884
00:53:52,239 --> 00:53:55,960
of those killings, but no charges had been filed against him,

885
00:53:56,000 --> 00:54:00,320
and now I mean he's dead. As for Gant, he

886
00:54:00,440 --> 00:54:04,360
left New Orleans after his discharge from law enforcement and

887
00:54:04,440 --> 00:54:08,840
moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where presumably he still lives today.

888
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:12,679
And it's important to mention again he has never been

889
00:54:12,800 --> 00:54:19,000
charged in anyone's murder and has assumed innocent until proven guilty.

890
00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:22,599
So thanks so much for listening. Check out the Patreon

891
00:54:22,679 --> 00:54:27,000
at patreon dot com, slash Bloody and Goola Podcasts for commercial,

892
00:54:27,079 --> 00:54:33,079
free early releases and more. And until next time, I'm

893
00:54:33,199 --> 00:54:37,079
Jim Chapman for Bloody in Gola, a podcast one and

894
00:54:37,119 --> 00:54:40,360
forty two years in the making, the complete story of

895
00:54:40,440 --> 00:54:42,159
America's bloodiest present.

896
00:54:43,000 --> 00:55:00,679
Speaker 1: Peace Lo straight.

897
00:55:00,519 --> 00:55:07,360
Speaker 2: Line, shackle, Change, Oh gluesome gird.

898
00:55:09,519 --> 00:55:10,960
Speaker 1: It's calling my name.

899
00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:19,880
Speaker 2: There is no mercy and it's been a tentery juice

900
00:55:20,039 --> 00:55:24,840
as the hill Stream game Rango, the three.

901
00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:31,440
Speaker 8: I'm here, be by me, to die.

902
00:55:33,119 --> 00:55:37,960
Speaker 2: Inside these walls, inside the wild.

903
00:55:39,880 --> 00:55:44,719
Speaker 5: And when more girls I know it's soul.

904
00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:58,119
Speaker 2: Bloody angle, ohbody Angle

905
00:56:03,519 --> 00:56:10,719
Speaker 6: And p