Danny Rolling
Encyclopedia
Daniel Harold Rolling also known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American
serial killer
who murder
ed five students in Gainesville, Florida
. Rolling later confessed to raping several of his victims, committing an additional 1989 triple homicide in Shreveport, Louisiana
, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. In total, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. He was executed by lethal injection
in 2006.
. He had a difficult upbringing. His father, James Rolling, was a Shreveport Police officer who abused
him, his mother, Claudia, and later his brother, Kevin. In one incident, Danny's mother went to the hospital after she claimed that her husband, James Rolling, tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. His mother made repeated attempts to leave her husband but always returned. In another example of James Rolling's cruel sense of discipline, he pinned Danny to the ground and cuffed him, then had police come to take him away like a criminal because his father was embarrassed by Danny. The idea that Danny was an unwanted child was reinforced ever since birth by his father.
As a teenager and young adult, he was arrested several times for robberies in Georgia
. In addition to that, he was a peeping tom, for he was caught one time for spying on a cheerleader dressing. Also as an adult, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job
. At one point, he worked as a waiter at Pancho's restaurant in Shreveport, Louisiana
. In May 1990, he tried to kill his father during a family argument in which his father lost an eye and an ear.
) during a burglary
and robbery
spree in Gainesville, Florida. Dubbed the "Gainesville Ripper" by the media, he would mutilate his victim's bodies, decapitating one. He then would pose them, sometimes even using mirrors, to intensify the carnage in the rooms.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads, Rolling was arrested and charged with several counts of murder in November 1991. He eventually was brought to trial by Alachua County
State Attorney Len Register nearly four years after the murders. His motive was to become a "superstar". Before testimony began in his trial in 1994, Rolling pled guilty to all charges. Subsequently State Attorney, Rod Smith, presented the penalty phase of the prosecution. Rolling was sentenced to the death penalty on each count. During his trial, Court TV
conducted an interview with his mother from her home. During the recording, his father could be heard shouting off-camera.
Two other men, one from Indialantic, Florida
, were considered initial suspects in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared both of all suspicion and charges after Rolling's arrest.
on November 4, 1989. Detectives noted that there were similarities between the Gainesville murders and those of 55-year-old William Grissom, his 24-year-old daughter Julie and eight-year-old grandson Sean. The family had been attacked in their home as they were preparing for dinner. Later Julie Grissom's body had been mutilated, cleaned and posed.
Although Rolling never officially confessed to investigators handling the Grissom case, he did write about the murders using information that only the killer would know. Shreveport police obtained an open arrest warrant
in 1994 but Rolling was never extradited
to Louisiana
to stand trial for the killings.
at Florida State Prison
on October 25, 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch appeal. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m EDT
. Rolling showed no remorse and refused to make any verbal statements or offer any apology to the relatives of his victims, several of whom were present at his execution as witnesses. In a written statement made shortly before his execution, Rolling confessed the murders of the Grissom family in Shreveport.
Rolling has been the subject of several writers and their works. His killing spree inspired Kevin Williamson
to pen the script for Scream. Sondra London
met him in prison while she was working with Gerard John Schaefer
and other serial killers. He is the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. A 2007 independent feature film entitled The Gainesville Ripper was shot in the Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida
areas, based on the accounts of the killings. In the film, Rolling is portrayed by Zachary Memos. Rolling was also the subject of an episode of Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman, a Court TV
show (transmitted as Crime Scene USA: Body of Evidence on Discovery Channel
in the UK) and an episode of Forensic Factor
titled "Killing Spree", which originally aired on Discovery Channel Canada
and was rebroadcast in America on the Science Channel. And in 2010 a show on Investigation Discovery channel, called Cold Blood episode "Gainesville Ripper" was broadcast.
While on death row
at Florida State Prison, Rolling created songs, poems, and drawings. His works have been referred to as "Murderabilia
".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed five students in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. Rolling later confessed to raping several of his victims, committing an additional 1989 triple homicide in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. In total, Rolling confessed to killing eight people. He was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
in 2006.
Early years
Rolling was born in Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. He had a difficult upbringing. His father, James Rolling, was a Shreveport Police officer who abused
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
him, his mother, Claudia, and later his brother, Kevin. In one incident, Danny's mother went to the hospital after she claimed that her husband, James Rolling, tried to make her cut herself with a razor blade. His mother made repeated attempts to leave her husband but always returned. In another example of James Rolling's cruel sense of discipline, he pinned Danny to the ground and cuffed him, then had police come to take him away like a criminal because his father was embarrassed by Danny. The idea that Danny was an unwanted child was reinforced ever since birth by his father.
As a teenager and young adult, he was arrested several times for robberies in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. In addition to that, he was a peeping tom, for he was caught one time for spying on a cheerleader dressing. Also as an adult, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
. At one point, he worked as a waiter at Pancho's restaurant in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
. In May 1990, he tried to kill his father during a family argument in which his father lost an eye and an ear.
Serial killings
In August 1990, Rolling murdered five students (one was a student of Santa Fe College and four attended the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
) during a burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
and robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
spree in Gainesville, Florida. Dubbed the "Gainesville Ripper" by the media, he would mutilate his victim's bodies, decapitating one. He then would pose them, sometimes even using mirrors, to intensify the carnage in the rooms.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads, Rolling was arrested and charged with several counts of murder in November 1991. He eventually was brought to trial by Alachua County
Alachua County, Florida
Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 227,120. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans...
State Attorney Len Register nearly four years after the murders. His motive was to become a "superstar". Before testimony began in his trial in 1994, Rolling pled guilty to all charges. Subsequently State Attorney, Rod Smith, presented the penalty phase of the prosecution. Rolling was sentenced to the death penalty on each count. During his trial, Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
conducted an interview with his mother from her home. During the recording, his father could be heard shouting off-camera.
Two other men, one from Indialantic, Florida
Indialantic, Florida
Indialantic is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The name is a portmanteau derived from the town's location between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean....
, were considered initial suspects in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared both of all suspicion and charges after Rolling's arrest.
Further murders
After Rolling was arrested, police in Louisiana alerted the authorities in Florida to an unsolved triple murder in Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
on November 4, 1989. Detectives noted that there were similarities between the Gainesville murders and those of 55-year-old William Grissom, his 24-year-old daughter Julie and eight-year-old grandson Sean. The family had been attacked in their home as they were preparing for dinner. Later Julie Grissom's body had been mutilated, cleaned and posed.
Although Rolling never officially confessed to investigators handling the Grissom case, he did write about the murders using information that only the killer would know. Shreveport police obtained an open arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
in 1994 but Rolling was never extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
to stand trial for the killings.
Death
Rolling was executed by lethal injectionLethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
at Florida State Prison
Florida State Prison
Florida State Prison , formerly known as the Union Correctional Institution—East Unit, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. It is located on Florida State Road 16 right across the border from Union County. The institution opened in 1961, even though...
on October 25, 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch appeal. He was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m EDT
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. Rolling showed no remorse and refused to make any verbal statements or offer any apology to the relatives of his victims, several of whom were present at his execution as witnesses. In a written statement made shortly before his execution, Rolling confessed the murders of the Grissom family in Shreveport.
Legacy
Kevin Williamson
Kevin Meade Williamson is an American screenwriter, best known for the horror films Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Faculty, as well as the popular television series Dawson's Creek and, more recently, The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle.-Early life:Williamson was born in New...
to pen the script for Scream. Sondra London
Sondra London
Sondra London is an American true crime author who has been dubbed "the Queen of Serial Killer Groupies".-Biography:Born in Florida, she dated future serial killer Gerard John Schaefer in high school. She earned a bachelor's degree in literature at New College of Florida...
met him in prison while she was working with Gerard John Schaefer
Gerard John Schaefer
Gerard John Schaefer was an American serial killer from Florida. He was imprisoned in 1973 for murders he committed as a Martin County, Florida Sheriff's deputy....
and other serial killers. He is the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. A 2007 independent feature film entitled The Gainesville Ripper was shot in the Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
areas, based on the accounts of the killings. In the film, Rolling is portrayed by Zachary Memos. Rolling was also the subject of an episode of Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman, a Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
show (transmitted as Crime Scene USA: Body of Evidence on Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
in the UK) and an episode of Forensic Factor
Forensic Factor
Forensic Factor is a Canadian television series, which airs on Discovery Channel Canada and Sun TV. The series is a documentary look at forensic techniques and their application in crime-solving....
titled "Killing Spree", which originally aired on Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. Discovery Channel is currently owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc...
and was rebroadcast in America on the Science Channel. And in 2010 a show on Investigation Discovery channel, called Cold Blood episode "Gainesville Ripper" was broadcast.
While on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at Florida State Prison, Rolling created songs, poems, and drawings. His works have been referred to as "Murderabilia
Murderabilia
Murderabilia, also known as murderbilia, is a term identifying collectibles related to murders, murderers or other violent crimes, coined by Andy Kahan, director of the Houston Police Department's Crime Victims Office.-Serial killer art:...
".
External links
- Danny Rolling, Gainesville Ripper. Crime Library. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- The Gainesville Ripper movie homepage
- Inmate Release Information Detail - Inmate 521178. Florida Department of CorrectionsFlorida Department of CorrectionsThe Florida Department of Corrections, established in 1821, operates state prisons in Florida. It has its headquarters in Tallahassee.The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the United States...
. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.