She was sentenced to life in prison and is still there to this day. Most of the time, when you hear about Delaware history, you hear about war heroes, colonial surveys, railroad towns, and of course, the elaborate estates of the Du Ponts. You made us feel like human beings.. Typically, theres some horrifying event in the life of a serial killer that explains how they became sociopaths. He killed 10 people in Wichita between 1974 and 1991. Abraham Lincoln wrote a True Crime Story, and it was Good! He then waited for the rest of his children to come to house. Capano v. State, 781 A.2d 556, 582, 2001 WL 980939 (Del. She died at San Quentin in 1910. Some believe Williams has nothing to do with these crimes and think that police pinned them on him because they wanted an answer. During those years free from jail, he killed four people. He is still in prison. Her wrists and ankles were bound, and she was silenced with duct tape. She became notorious for her illegal activity, including murder, crime, and theft, and striking fear into the hearts of Americans. That's how he earned his name "The Cannibal." It was the fate Pennell asked for himself. Michelle Gordon, a 22-year-old New Castle resident, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1988. The 23-year-old had distanced herself from the life of a streetwalker, even purchasing books for nursing school. Dubbed the "Serial Killer Clown," Gacy killed 33 boys and young men in the '70s. The bureau concluded the unthinkable: A serial killer had come to Delaware. Many of both the recent and decades-old murders in Dover, Delaware, have not been solved, and law enforcement continues to use every resource available to them in order to continue investigating each homicide. The town of Texarkana which spanned Texas and Arkansas lived in fear, as he apparently attacked eight people and killed five. Prosecutors alleged that Capano murdered Fahey at the house he rented and, with the assistance of his brother Gerry, dumped her body in the Atlantic Ocean. He was the Route 40 Killer,. He died in prison in 2014 at 75. He would attack women during their daily lives. Thirteen women were killed in their own homes. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. Dig deeper They had dinner at a Philadelphia restaurant in June, 1996. Between 1948 and 1980, Cole strangled and killed 13 women across multiple states because he said it felt like he was killing his mother, according to the Sioux City Journal. Steven Brian Pennell, Delawares only documented serial killer, did all of these things. Faheys apartment and Capanos home were extensively searched, but it was more than a year before Capano was arrested and charged with killing Fahey. He was your typical, all-American person,the task forces Hedrick says of his interview with Pennell. But the state's history also includes notorious figures such as bank robber . A white male opened the side panel. Despite the fact that some of the women were stabbed to death, the killer earned the name the "Boston Strangler." One of the world's most prolific serial killers might still be out there. In 1971, he started to abduct sex workers and strippers and bring them to his remote cabin in the woods where he would torture them. Some of the many northern Delaware unsolved murders which can be found listed on the Delaware State Polices cold case website include the 2013 murder of Kaiheem White, the 1993 murder of Linda Ann Moody Armstrong, the 2000 murder of Carmen Rodriguez, the 2013 murder of Lamar Wilmer, and the 2013 murder of Samantha Neuwein, among many others. A hearing was held to determine if the convicted murderer should be spared. Price is currently in jail after confessing to the brutal murders. Boston nurse Jane Toppan admitted to first eleven murders, then later to 31. The most famous of Delaware serial killers include Steven Brian Pennell, also known as The Corridor Killer and Route 40 Killer, who killed 5 people from 1987 to 1988, and James Allen Red Dog, who killed 5 people between 1990 and 1991, among others. In the early '70s, Kemper started to pick up young hitchhikers who were Fresno State students. After picking up an undercover policewoman, fibres from the back of Pennell's van linked him to the crimes. Since he worked as a clown performer for children's parties, he would often kill his victims while wearing the clown costume that he called Pogo the Clown. A few days later, Whisenhant returned to her body and mutilated it. Simpson, but nothing ever came of it. Although there is little recent data on Kent County murders, the homicide rate is higher than in more urban locations due to the countys population. The most famous of Delaware serial killers include Steven Brian Pennell, also known as "The Corridor Killer" and "Route 40 Killer," who killed 5 people from 1987 to 1988, and James Allen Red Dog, who killed 5 people between 1990 and 1991, among others. Before she could stand trial for her crimes, she was shot to death reportedly by a friend of one of the victims. In 2017, he was beaten to death in prison. Founded in 2010, Thought Catalog is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. For over a decade, we've been at the bleeding edge of media, pioneering an infrastructure for creatives to flourish both artistically and financially. Gacy killed 33 boys and young men in the '70s, They later found 11 bodies just 50 feet from his home, 1948 and 1980, Cole strangled and killed 13 women across multiple states. The perpetrator must have sensed a pleasure in the killings,he told the court. Theyre so troubling in fact, that many of them sound more like Delaware ghost stories; you wont want to believe that theyre in fact true. He was executed at age 34 in 1992 by the State of Delaware by lethal injection. He was sentenced to death. It was making me ache. The Delaware State Police have arrested 53-year-old Robert Franks of Bridgeville, Delaware for the murder of his wife, Cynthia Moss-Franks. In 1987, when he was just 13 years old, he stabbed Rebecca Spencer to death. In fact, the United States has had more serial killers than any other country. When patients would look for him to care during their darkest times and he would respond by killing them, usually with prescription drugs. Years later, Capano was removed from death row based on questions about whether a jury or a judge should have the final say on a death sentence. Hasen died in prison in 2014 while serving 461+ years. Kimball was the last to see all of them alive. He was found guilty of murdering two of his victims. Other killers are so famous they are known all over the country, like Ted Bundy, the BTK Killer, and John Wayne Gacy. Unfortunately, it's also the unluckiest town in the state. Police found a strangled woman's body hiding under a pile of clothes. (AP Photo/Robert Craig, Pool), Murder suspect Thomas Capano is led into the courthouse by Corrections officers, for the third day of jury selection in Wilmington Del., Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998. "I know everyone wants to know why I committed these crimes. In October 1976, Thomas Warren Whisenhant abducted Cheryl Lynn Payton from the convenience store where she worked. Pennell asked if he could proceed without an attorney. In 1993, Rifkin was pulled over by police for not having a license plate. Superior Court Judge Richard Gebelein denied Maurers claims, concluding that the carpet was in plain view once Pennell opened the door to invite Taschner inside the van. If they were sequestered any longer, they wouldnt have been able to go home to their families., In the end, Pennell was convicted of murdering Ellis and DiMauro. But in the Pennell case, we couldnt get at it. Dover, Delaware, murders are more common than those in many other Delaware communities or cities, due to its size and population, being the second largest city in the state. With some poison, she killed every family member that she disagreed with. At the trial, the contaminated candy, the note and the handkerchief from the candy box were linked to Botkin, and the Lewes Delaware Pilot laconically observed, The testimony in the trial of Mrs. Botkin is very damaging to her.. It was hard to get into a conversation. Even so, she was well aware that the best way to catch a ride into the city was to hitchhike along Route 40, the area just south of Wilmington where shed plied her trade. Moore cant recall any other oral argument in the Supreme Court without at least one question. Capano instructed Louis to empty the dumpsters outside of their regular schedule. One night, a group of slave raiders came to the mansion. Ridgway said he would kidnap runaways and sex workers along the Route 99 and take them to his home. Bernard Williams. Corll was that stranger who would lure children and teenagers into his van with the false promise of candy. The Delaware delegation left Wilmington on a Tuesday evening on a train for Washington, D.C. From there, the party traveled to New Orleans, where they took the Sunset Limited to San Francisco. Did you know your favorite state park was once the site of a gruesome murder? Eventually, he escalated to killing them and cutting their heads off. The psychiatric evaluations never diagnosed him with any mental-health issues.. A few examples of the unsolved murders in northern Delaware include the 2013 murder of Kaiheem White, the 1993 murder of Linda Ann Moody Armstrong, the 2000 murder of Carmen Rodriguez, the 2013 murder of Lamar Wilmer, and the 2013 murder of Samantha Neuwein, among countless others. He did not, however, confess. They were all found in pools of blood with their pants pulled halfway down. Since then, the country has become captivated with true crime, particularly serial killers. Although not many cases where Dover murders DNA was used to bring new information to light currently exist, law enforcement continues to use advancements in DNA technology to reopen and reinvestigate cold cases. The man then beat 7-year-old Melissa Bennett to death, before attempting to kill 3-year-old Vanessa, who survived the attack but still has weakness on the left side of her body. In his confession, Cullen said he believed he was doing the community a service, helping these sick patients relieve their pain. Delaware Attorney General Charles Oberly approved a search warrant for Pennells van. When 10 women were murdered in the mid-'90s in Charlotte, North Carolina, they all had one thing in common: They all knew Henry Louis Wallace. After Matzke fell asleep on the couch, Cook lead Swaney to the body and proceeded to torture him the same way. Please give today. According to their crime report from 2019, the violent crime rate in Delaware was roughly 422.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. 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