Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer gets the last word. "Recently, I got news that the man who did this to Karen is now eligible for parole," he said. “There is a hearing sometime later this year that I will attend. I am angry about him. I never had the opportunity to speak for my sister before. I will now."
“Karen was good and decent. She wrote poetry. We could laugh for hours together. I was supposed to protect her – I could not. It very nearly destroyed me. When we heard that this man might be paroled, the suffering began anew.”
Joseph Vacher
Beaumont, France 1894-1897: In the last years of the 19th century, Jack the Ripper had competition. We all know what Jack was up to but Joseph Vacher is not as well known as the Whitechapel killer. As Jack the Ripper was just about to go silent after his vicious crimes, Joseph Vacher was just starting up on the other side of the English Channel.
Vacher was in his early 20’s when he attempted to commit suicide. After being spurned by a woman, he made another attempt which left him severely injured while also landing him in a mental institution. He was 25 years old when he was released. Starting in 1894, Vacher murdered 11 people but some estimates run as high as 27. Among his known victims was the woman who had turned him down. He also killed five teenage boys and five teenage girls. His victims were all raped, sodomized and disemboweled. His last victim was rescued by her husband and son who held Vacher for the police.
Vacher confessed to 11 murders and portrayed himself as insane. The defence didn’t work. He was found guilty and on December 31, 1898 he was executed by guillotine. He had to be dragged to the guillotine by his executioners.
Jeanne Weber
Paris, France 1905-1908: We remain in France for the story of Jeanne Weber. Jeanne was looking after her sister-in-law’s two daughters when one of the girls, 18 month old Georgette up and died. There was odd bruising on the baby’s neck but this was ignored by the doctor. We fast forward just nine days and Jeanne is looking after her sister-in-law’s other child. No, not again! I’m afraid so. This time two year old Suzanne died during the night. A different doctor pinned the death on convulsions of unknown origin. So, two babies had died nine days apart while in Jeanne’s care. It begs a question. Why on Earth would another family member let Jeanne babysit? Two weeks later that is exactly what happened. Her brother entrusted Jeanne with the care of seven year old Germaine. Yes, you guessed it. Germaine didn’t last the night. The death was attributed to diphtheria. Four days later Jeanne’s own son Marcel passed away. According to the doctors, his death was also diphtheria related.
On April 5, Jeanne invited two of her sister-in-laws over for dinner. Unbelievably, after dinner the women went shopping and left 10 month old Maurice in Jeanne’s loving care. The women came back to find Maurice gasping for air. He had purple marks on his neck. Jeanne was standing over the crib with a crazed look on her face. Maurice survived and Jeanne was arrested. She was charged with eight murders in total. The deaths of her own children were Jeanne’s way of throwing the authorities off the scent – at least that’s what the prosecution wanted everyone to believe. Jeanne hired renowned attorney Henri Robert who was thought to be one of the very best lawyers in France. A jury found Jeanne not guilty. She walked on February 6, 1906.
Jeanne stayed clean for about a year but she was in deep trouble again in April 1907. A doctor was called to the home of a Monsieur Bavouzet. The babysitter met the good doctor at the door and introduced herself as Madame Moulinet. Nine year old August Bavouzet lay on a cot. He was quite dead. His throat was badly bruised. Convulsions were once again listed as the culprit. However, the doctor had a change of heart when it was learned that Madame Moulinet was actually Jeanne Weber. The controversy began anew and once again Jeanne hired Henri Robert. Robert requested a second autopsy which ended up blaming the death on typhoid fever. No one seemed to question the marks on the boy’s neck. In December, Jeanne Weber once again walked out of prison.
Jeanne’s friends rallied around her and got her a job as an orderly at a children’s home. That was akin to inviting Jack the Ripper to a prostitute’s convention. The friends were quoted as saying that they “wanted to make up for the wrongs that justice has inflicted upon an innocent woman.” It only took a few days before Jeanne was caught with her hands around a young boy’s neck. She lost her job but the incident was covered up. Jeanne quickly got out of town and moved to Commercy. She took a room at an inn and began working the streets to support herself This seemed to work out okay until the innkeeper found her attempting to strangle his son.
Once again Jeanne was charged and on October 25, 1908 she was declared insane. Jeanne Weber was sent to an asylum in Maresville and hanged herself in 1910.
Michael Hernandez
Miami, Florida 2004: On February 3, 2004, 14 year old Michael Hernandez was determined. He was determined to kill someone...no one in particular. Just someone. To that end, he had brought a knife to school. A few days earlier he had tried to lure a boy into a bathroom stall at school to "show him something" but the boy refused. On this day Michael would try again. Another boy refused. He then tried his friend Jaime Gough. The 14 year old Jaime was by nature a curious young teenager. He wanted to know what his friend had in the stall. He went in with Michael and only Michael came out alive. Minutes later another boy walked in and saw Michael washing his hands. He also saw a pair of legs dangling awkwardly in the stall and what looked like blood on the floor. He went to alert security while Michael Hernandez simply went to class.
Jaime Gough
Paramedics arrived and Jaime was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been stabbed 42 times and his throat has been cut. The school was locked down with all of the students being kept in their classrooms. The police arrived and found Michael in his classroom. He was pulled out for questioning. At first he denied any involvement but a search of his backpack quickly established that something was not quite right. Police found a jacket and a latex glove covered in blood. The next thing they pulled out of the backpack was a serrated folding knife.
The investigation revealed that Michael and Jaime had been close friends. At first they could not figure out why Michael would want to hurt his friend. Then the investigation revealed a very dark side to the killer who had just turned 14. He kept a journal in which he detailed how he wanted to become a serial killer. A note to himself read: "You will be a serial killer and mass murderer, stay along, never forget God ever, have a cult and plan mass kidnapping for new world, be an expert thief."
Michael Hernandez was held by juvenile authorities. Tests were run and it was determined that he was competent to stand trial...and that he would stand trial as an adult. Michael Hernandez was 18 years old when he went on trial in September 2008 for the first degree murder of his friend. He was also charged with attempted murder for trying to lure another boy into the stall before Jaime. The trial was moved to Orlando to escape the intense media coverage in Miami. Michael pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyer was Richard Rosenbaum who had recently won a lesser sentence for another high profile client, Lionel Tate. The defence produced mental health experts to back the defence claim that Michael was at the very best delusional. One diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic. The prosecution said that Michael met the legal definition of sanity.
Michael Hernandez
The jury did not buy the insanity defence and found Michael guilty of both charges against him. In November Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Schlesinger sentenced Michael Hernandez to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also received an additional 30 year sentence on the attempted murder charge. When issuing the sentence Judge John Schlesinger called Hernandez a "parent's worst nightmare". He added: "Jaime trusted you and for that innocent trust Jaime would die alone and frightened on that cold tile floor. You were not insane under Florida law on that day." Michael displayed no reaction when being sentenced and declined the opportunity to address the court. His mother, Kathy Hernandez did speak. She turned t
oward the Gough family and said that she was sorry. She also claimed that Michael suffered from severe mental illness. "As a mother what do you say on the day your son is sentenced to die in prison? What I saw was a mentally ill child (who) was treated like a competent adult. My son is now just another statistic."
The last word goes to Jaime's father, Jorge Gough: "You have hurt a lot of people Michael. You have hurt a lot of people. You hurt them bad. I hope and wish for you that you find peace."
The Tourniquet Killer
Anthony Allen Shore
Houston, Texas 1986-1995: There were four unsolved murders that had baffled Houston detectives for years. The investigators knew that the four cases were linked because of the killer’s modus operandi. He used a tourniquet consisting of a rope and a bamboo stick. The stick was used to either tighten or loosen the ligature.
Maria Carmen Del Estrada was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had come to the United States to seek a better life. Instead, she crossed paths with a serial killer. Maria’s half naked body was found behind a Dairy Queen. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Nine year old Diana Rebollar went to the corner store for a bag of sugar. She made it to the store and bought the sugar but never made it home. Her body was found the next day. She had been dumped behind a vacant house. Diana had been raped and strangled. It had been more than two years since Maria’s murder but the police were able to establish the link due to the ligatures.
Eleven months passed before the killer was heard from again. In July 1995, Dana Sanchez accepted a ride from the killer. Seven days later an anonymous tip led the police to the 16 year old girl’s decomposing remains. In 1998 Anthony Allen Shore was charged with molesting his two young daughters. In a sentence that has us scratching our heads, Shore was sentenced to probation. He was also forced to submit a sample of his DNA to the Texas DNA databank as all registered sex offenders must.
In the year 2000, cold case detectives in Houston were giving the 1992 murder of Maria Estrada another look. DNA from under Maria’s fingernails was tested and resulted in a complete genetic profile. The investigators were not allowed to take it any further as an audit forced the closure of the lab in 2002. The sample from Maria was sent to another lab and finally, in 2003, there was a match. Anthony Allen Shore was picked up and arrested for the murder of Maria Carmen Del Estrada. While being questioned, Shore confessed to Maria’s murder as well as those of Diana Rebollar and Dana Sanchez. Later on, he would also confess to the 1986 murder and rape of 14 year old Laura Lee Tremblay.
The victims of the Tourniquet Killer.
The prosecutors decided to charge Shore with only Maria’s murder figuring that they could always charge him with the others if they needed to. They didn’t. The jury found Shore guilty of capital murder. During the penalty phase, the jury learned that they had convicted a serial killer. It took them less than an hour to sentence Shore to death. Anthony Allen Shore is currently on Death Row as the appeals process winds down.
A Woman Scorned
Trail Creek, Indiana 1986: Patricia Johnson was married to Eugene Johnson for 22 years. She was understandably angry when she learned that her husband was enjoying himself in the arms of another woman. The other woman was Terry Ward and the affair had been going on for quite some time. By the summer of 1986 Patricia had simply had enough. Witnesses saw Patricia confront Eugene about the affair in a bar. That was nothing compared to what happened the next night.
Eugene and Terry were spending the evening with Roland and Betty Kirby in the Kirby home in Trail Creek. A fire erupted turning the house into an inferno. All four people in the house were killed. Arson investigators determined that the blaze was deliberately set. It didn’t take the investigators very long to put it all together. They learned that the Johnson marriage was in deep trouble and also learned all about Eugene’s affair with Terry. Witnesses at the bar chimed in with the events from the night before.
Patricia Johnson was charged with four counts of first degree murder. She confessed to setting the fire. A man had an affair. A woman had been scorned. Four people were dead. Patricia was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years for each murder with the sentences to run concurrently.
Killed Over Facebook Status
Emma Forrester
New Addington, England 2008: In February 2008, the marriage of Emma and Wayne Forrester was in bad shape. Wayne worked odd jobs here and there while Emma worked two jobs just to try to make ends meet. There had been numerous separations and reconciliations but this time it appeared that Emma was dead serious. Wayne moved out and began staying with his sister.
Emma put her own exclamation point on this latest separation by changing her facebook relationship status to single. When Wayne saw this he flew into a rage. Four days after the separation, at 6:30 in the morning, neighbors heard screams coming from Emma’s home. The police arrived too late. They found Emma dead in a pool of blood. Next to her body was a large kitchen knife and a blood soaked meat cleaver. Wayne Forrester was quickly arrested and charged with murder. He confessed to killing his wife and pleaded guilty. “She forced me out of the family home and posted messages on the internet telling everybody that she had left me and was interested in meeting other men. Forrester added: “The whole thing was a blur. It felt like I was watching someone else attack Emma.” Forrester’s lawyers said that his client felt “a very deeply held remorse.”
Wayne Forrester was given a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 14 years before being considered for parole. Judge Brian Barker: “Your wife ended the relationship. Your reaction was one of anger and resentment. There is no possible excuse or justification. This is the tragic killing of a young woman and what you have done has caused untold anguish.”
I Don’t Like Mondays
San Diego, California 1979: In 1978 Brenda Ann Spencer was not your typical 16 year old female. Her parents were separated and she lived with her father in relative poverty. She didn’t like school and frequently skipped classes. School officials told her parents that they thought Brenda might be suicidal. That summer she was arrested for shooting out the windows of her school with a BB gun. In December, her probation office reported that Brenda was suffering from depression and he recommended that Brenda be checked into a mental health facility. Her father refused. Instead, he gave her a .22 caliber rifle with a telescopic sight and a box of 500 bullets for her Christmas present. A great present for a suicidal teenager. Brenda later said that “I asked for a radio and he gave me a gun. I felt like he wanted me to kill myself.”
Brenda didn’t kill herself but on Monday January 29, 1979 she began firing at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School right across the street. The school’s principal Burton Wragg and custodian Mike Suchar were killed. Eight children were wounded. After it was all over, Brenda was asked the obvious question. Why? She replied “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” Brenda was charged with two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Brenda Ann Spencer in court
Brenda pleaded guilty and was tried as an adult. She was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life. Her latest parole hearing took place in 2009. She was denied and cannot apply again until 2019. She will be 57 years old at that time.
References
American Renaissance Magazine: Vol. 13 #8 August 2002 issue.
Chicago Tribune article: “Kansas Killings Revive Death Penalty Furor”
Bad Boy From Rosebud by Gary M. Lavergne. Published by University of North Texas Press.
Blood Brothers by Ron Soble.
Crime of the Century by Hal Higdon.
Deranged by Harold Schechter. Published by Pocket Star Books
Deviant by Harold Schechter. Published by Pocket Star Books
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry. Published by W.W. Norton & Company.
Justice by Dominick Dunne. Published by Three Rivers Press.
Welcome to Plainfield by Shawn Weaver.
Wichita Eagle a
rticle: “Dodging the Death Penalty” December 17, 2004.
Wichita Eagle: article: “Trial For Carrs Set To Start Monday.”
Online:
www.murderpedia.com
www.murdermap.co.uk
www.cnn.com
www.trutv.com
www.truecrimereport.com
www.crimelibrary.com
www.austinchronicle.com
www.mirror.co.uk
www.onlinenewspapers.com
www.findagrave.com
www.nytimes.com
www.gazette.com (Colorado Springs)
Other Kindle Books by Les MacDonald
They Walk Among Us: Serial Killers (with Tristan MacDonald)
Scene of the Crime Page 13
