And so Grandma was bleeding and everything, and I got, like, a cloth and stuff and tried to help her out. "I had to know what Sonja went through. The task force investigating the killings put Humphrey under surveillance, and when a police spokesman described him as "an extremely valuable suspect," the media zeroed in on him. Following the sentencing, Manny Taboada's brother, Mario Taboada, stood up and shouted, "You're going down in five. "Grandmother is another victim of those crimes.". "Before that, I was doing awesome. "Danny committed these crimes for one reason only -- he loved it.". The lack of indictment is the result that he and I both expected.". The killer mutilated the breasts of two of the young women. The murders were eerily similar to three others that had occurred in Shreveport in November 1989. She disagrees. Then, Rolling came back with his own gun and shot his father in the face, state attorney Smith said. He hates dredging this up. Her right eye was swollen shut. "It was the desperation of the time, and the need to get that guy," Smith said. They didn't connect the robbery to the Gainesville murders until later on, when they listened to it. (Edis Catholic.). She was found raped, stabbed to death, mutilated and beheaded. They wound up having a few drinks and getting in trouble with a security guard at a hotel bar. As they investigated the case, police grew convinced that Ed Humphrey might be their most likely suspect. His family took him to a private psychiatric hospital in Palm Bay, where he was admitted, locked up, medicated and ultimately diagnosed. It was going 60 mph at the time. But there was one major problem for investigators: Even though DNA testing technology was still in its infancy, investigators were able to determine the suspect's blood type through semen left behind at all three crime scenes. "So I wanted to have the last word.". Alison Emery, Powell's high school best friend, said she was so excited to be moving into the next phase of her life. Ed Humphrey had been arrested and charged with assaulting his grandmother, but investigators were taking a hard look at him for the student murders as well. He says she knocked his contact lens out and that made him angry. "My maintenance man, unfortunately, ran down the stairs screaming, 'Oh my God,' and came out and threw up. They had softened with time, but they told his story. For months Edward Lewis Humphrey was the key suspect in the horrific slayings of five Gainesville students. He had dreams of being an architect, his brother, Mario Taboada, said. He went from a motivated, friendly student into a deep depression.". He apologized, cried and told his pursuers: "Please don't hurt me.". He returned gasping for breath, and asked me to come back later in the day. While the man had gotten away, the officer found a screwdriver at the campsite, along with the bag of money defaced by the dye and a cassette player with a tape inside. "Tracy asked him, 'You're the one, aren't you?'" When the discussion turned to a human anatomy class that McGrath was taking, McGrath said, Ed asked her what it was like to cut up bodies and if she ever took skin or body parts home to "mess around with it.". The killer would enter the homes through the back doors, and each home was near a wooded area, which "allowed the killer to operate, to get in without being noticed," Donnelly said. Dave Farley, a senior patrol leader, remembers hiking the Appalachian Trail with Ed, his assistant. There is still a court order not to discuss evidence m the case. During the robbery, a teller had slipped a red dye pack into the bag of money, and later on that night, an officer noticed a man walking into a wooded area, Hewitt said. I'm not able to make. These days Ed Humphrey lives at home with his mom in Indialantic. It might take years of interior erosion before the outside ever begins to crumble. His grandmother had asked to drop all charges. Lahey said seeing this man "who destroyed my life" made her feel "frozen to the chair.". On Aug. 30, the day after the last of the bodies was found, Edward Humphrey--then 19, deeply troubled and wild-looking--was arrested and jailed for assaulting his 79-year-old grandmother. And an odd thing happened: Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed up and began questioning him about the murders. Her daughter overheard her, and the argument ensued. "The grand jury said it's not true that he probably did it, but he's still left in limbo," said Pat Doherty, a prominent Pinellas County defense lawyer. Humphrey was hospitalized a half-dozen times, diagnosed as a manic-depressive. He remembers arriving home after midnight and awakening his grandmother. Why did this happen?". ", Marti Mackenzie nods. WebEdward Humphrey 's birthday is 10/05/1971 and is 50 years old. Blood spattered an easy chair, the carpet, the coffee table. But his attorney, Donald Lykkebak of Orlando, said: "The prolonged investigation has been emotionally and financially exhausting. "I did that at the time because I read that serial killers like to be in control," Mario Taboada told ABC News. Yet the lead prosecutor in the case continued to insist that Ed was a suspect in three of the killings, that perhaps he and Rolling had acted together. WebEdward Lewis Humphrey, Age 51. aka Lewis E Humphrey, Edward J Humphrey, Humphrey Edward Lewis, Humphrey Humphrey. But Friday, a grand jury declared there was no His parents split up when Ed was about 11, but they didn't divorce for several years. "It seemed like when I lost my cool, he would keep his. Police found Paules on their living room floor. They wish it known that the Ed they know is a kind and decent young man. So I got in my car and drove to Palm Bay to meet Ed Humphrey in person. On the 10th anniversary of the murders, Humphrey walked across the stage of UCF arena as a college graduate. Wayland Clifton, the former chief of police of the Gainesville Police Department, who also visited the crime scene, said his greatest concern while driving home that night was that the suspect would commit more murders. She briefs him before interviews; she and his attorney decide which questions he'll answer. His mother was well-intentioned and caring, but nervous. said Laurie Lahey, Paules' older sister. "Of course you do.". The investigators didn't have to search far for Rolling; he had already been detained 40 miles south of Gainesville, in Marion County Jail, where he was being held for another robbery he'd committed at a supermarket 10 days after Paules' and Manny Taboada's bodies were found. They will not speak to reporters without Ed's approval. Betty Curnutt, the manager of the apartment complex, said she was standing behind the worker when he broke down the door and that a police officer was behind her. "He was always very grateful and surprised and pleased," Kennedy says. Now he works six days a week, attends community college and wants to become an X-ray technician. All of Gainesville shuddered. Humphrey, who was released from state prison in September after serving 10 months for beating his grandmother, had no comment Friday on the grand jury's action. And an odd thing happened: Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed up and began questioning him about the murders. "I'd come in and there would be books open and calculators out.". "I wanted to be there in the front row if I could. The new students had met each other during the summer and decided to be roommates, ultimately finding an apartment off-campus in a complex called Williamsburg Apartments. He was sent to Florida State Prison, where he met another inmate named Bobby Lewis, who was on death row for killing a drug dealer in the 1970s. Humphrey was eventually convicted of a lesser charge of battery of a person over 65 and sentenced to 22 months in prison. The deputy put Humphrey in the back of his patrol car. But news of the Gainesville murders haunted Juracich and, in November 1990, she decided to contact police on a hunch that Rolling was connected to the murders in both cities. The old woman's face, Deputy Doug Hammack saw, was wet with her own blood. John Donvan, a former reporter for ABC News who covered the Gainesville cases, said Lewis claimed Rolling told him many of the details of the murders and that Rolling wanted to confess. Humphrey could not have possibly understood at the time how high the stakes were or the consequences of the suspicion cast on him. There's many people that have abusive parents. He would, for many years, remain connected to the Gainesville murders, though he played no role. "He has been persecuted. In plaid shorts, Humphrey hunched down to make sure he could catch the cat before it ran out onto the street. "It was a small-caliber gun, and the father survives it, but not without permanent damage," Smith said. Juracich said she dismissed these comments when she heard about them because she didn't want to believe that Rolling could be responsible for the triple murders in Shreveport. When the police arrested Ed, they put him in a solitary cell in the infirmary for 76 days. But months passed and Humphrey was never charged with the crimes, the Alachua County grand jury deciding that there was no case against him. Ed answered immediately, and the two have been exchanging letters at least once a month ever since. John Donvan, a However, Rolling was "unwelcome" at his parents' house, Juracich said, especially if his father was there. "That was exciting," Hewitt said. WebEdward Lewis Humphrey, age 50s, lives in Palm Bay, FL. I just looked at God, and I said, 'God, why? One piece of this wall has remained unchanged for more than 30 years: The section where the names of all five victims are painted in remembrance: Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt, Manuel Taboada, Tracy Paules. Under state guidelines, he could get nearly two years in prison at sentencing Nov. 8. I wanted to know whether he still carried the weight of what he had endured almost three decades earlier. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, said Spencer Mann, the spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriffs Department at the time. Edward Lewis Humphrey, a former honors student and an Eagle Scout from Brevard County, began classes at the University of Florida in the summer of 1990. Your story has never been told.. "Your honor, I've been running from first one thing and then another all my life," Rolling said. The grand jury considered evidence against Humphrey but declined to indict him. There is muffled conversation by a table of three-piece suits, who glance over suspiciously at Ed. Edward has no feeling of elation. He reportedly threatened several people there with a large knife and once warned a security guard: "God told me to kill you. Suddenly, Humphreys tabby snuck out the door. "I just thought it sounded like he was being railroaded,"says Kennedy, who noticed an article about Ed one day in the San Francisco Chronicle. I knew, until he was gone, I couldn't really start my life again and be me," Lahey said. TITUSVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Gainesville murder suspect Edward Lewis Humphrey was sentenced today to the maximum 22 months for beating his grandmother after his "I've never been told nothing in reality, I've never read nothing in a Stephen King novel that comes close to what the reality is of what this man did," Lewis said. He was in a wheelchair for weeks. Rolling wanted to address the court. There was enormous pressure on Gainesville police, on state investigators, on prosecutors, to find the killer and put him behind bars. "There's this girl at work--Kelly--and she didn't know at all until today. Im sorry that we didnt clear him sooner, said Alachua County State Attorney Rod Smith, who wrote a letter to Gov. I understand why it went in the direction it did, didnt agree with it.. WebView Edward Humphrey results in Florida (FL) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. When he was arrested for hitting his grandmother and questioned by state agents, sources say, Ed spoke of someone named "John" and claimed to have knowledge of the Gainesville killings. "He's one of our best employees. "That was real bad, because I couldn't walk," Ed says. He tried repeatedly to find work, but kept being turned away, often with no explanation. "It's been a while, you know?" What fear did she have going through her mind?" A judge ordered him removed from the court. Few who knew him in his early high school days dreamed he would ever become a murder suspect. Acquaintances claimed he went on late-night "missions" through the Alachua County woods. . As for his own behavior, Ed says: "I can't help it if my body (needs) lithium. The questioning elicited new details about the murders. He sent $25. His face smashed into the windshield, leaving deep wounds, and he broke his leg so badly doctors had to implant a steel rod running from his hip to his knee. Current Address: YVXK San Paulo Cir, Melbourne, And it just dropped me into a depression. He didn't want to go to school because he didn't want to see anybody. This argument, Smith claims, was purely based on a character in the film "Exorcist III," which Danny Rolling had admitted to watching on the week he murdered in Gainesville. Without warning, Ed jumped out of the car. Legran Hewitt said they dispatched Barber and another officer to Christa Hoyt's home. I was not there for surf or sun, but in search of a man who had eluded journalists for nearly three decades. TITUSVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Gainesville murder suspect Edward Lewis Humphrey was sentenced today to the maximum 22 months for beating his grandmother after his lawyer said no private psychiatric hospital could be found for him. "It definitely all started when I was 16," he says now. And it got worse as more people came forward. I want to get married some day and have kids. And the sad, sad part about it is that we had the parents behind us on the stairs.". The magnitude of the murders sparked national media attention, and Gainesville police and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office called in agents from around the state to help with the investigation, Maines said. The media jumped on Humphrey as a prime suspect. Before moving to Edward's current city of Palm Bay, FL, Edward lived in Melbourne FL and Indialantic FL. Leave him there.'". Ed was still serving 14 months probation at the time, and drinking was a violation of his terms. "No offense." he would yell. A once-peaceful university town panicked. He was the one to call investigators. ", A police officer told state investigators that 10 days before the killings Ed claimed he was going to Gainesville to "cut up some women.". Students left--some for good--and there was a run on the sale of guns, Mace and door locks. theres a lot more ahead, Humphrey told the Orlando Sentinel before the ceremony. I mean, it's just a really bad feeling--knowing that wherever you go people are judging you, and they don't even know you. "I can't blame them for making Ed a suspect, but I can blame them for sticking with it. They returned to the evidence locker, where the gun, screwdriver, bag of money and cassette player had been stored. "We think that was in an effort to keep investigators from discovering DNA, blood types, fingerprints," Maines said. WebEdward Lewis Humphrey is a resident of Palm Bay. His premonition came true the next day. And, then, as far as newspapers go, half the things that lthey) deal with are just negative things about people. "It didn't matter what the lyrics were or what he was saying at that point. He was tall, good-looking, athletic, polite. The officer, now-retired Det. But that's pretty much how I feel.". Aug. 25,1990, approximately 0100 hours: At a party, Humphrey threatens two Pi Lambda Phi fraternity brothers with what they say is a straight razor. Especially around his mouth, she says, the skin is much smoother and more elastic and natural-looking. To Christina Powell's friend, Alison Emery, said the defense's strategy was a "slap in the face. Hospitals run by the Universities of Florida, Miami and South Florida refused to accept Humphrey for private commitment because of his notoriety, Russo said. Humphrey reportedly had been in the surf shop "raising hell" with the female patrons, making general threats, saying they didn't know how many people he had killd, and that he would cut their hearts out. After his arrest, Humphrey lived in a 10-foot-by-10-foot concrete cell at the Brevard County Jail. Ed said. Although they had a confession for the Gainesville murders, investigators were not able to get Rolling to admit to the Shreveport murders during their questioning. Four Days, Five Murders Episode 5 The Ones Who Caught Him. So I kept on pressing the button because I wanted her to open the door. Humphrey also faces an assault charge in Gainesville and a 1988 attempted rape and burglary case in Indian River County. To do so, he claims, would jeopardize the prosecution. He had a violent history, an unstable personality. Includes Address (11) Phone (6) Email (5) See Results. Then, at one point, the man on the tape says his name: Danny Harold Rolling. Andy Pauwels, 52, a retired military intelligence officer, has been a probation officer now for five years, during which time he's supervised several hundred ex-convicts. Christa Hoyt was an aspiring police officer who'd been working part-time at the Alachua County Sheriff's Office while going to school, according to Gail Barber, the first officer on the scene of her murder. He had been an exemplary student. "In a way, talking about [Manny], as I do sometimes with those who knew him they're kind of alive for that moment, and so, it's comforting. And, his face bore a scar, it turned out, from a car wreck the year before. You're a killer, a drifter, gone insane.". But, his life was forever tainted. His friends didn't understand: You really don't need that stuff they'd say. For the families of those students, being there to see him at trial was crucial. "The difference was like night and day. Then 28, he received a bachelors degree in business administration with a 3.76 grade-point average, graduating magna cum laude. Humphrey was chased and fell as he fled. Current address 1294 Port Malabar Blvd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905 $1,080: B. Authorities believe Taboada was the first to be attacked after the killer broke into their home, and that they fought for some time before Taboada was killed by multiple stab wounds. The investigation has cost more than $5 million, taken over 130,000 man-hours, amassed 1,500 pieces of evidence and involved more than 6,600 investigative leads. The two talked in June at the Krispy Kreme doughnut store where McGrath worked. Watch "20/20" FRIDAYS at 9 p.m. Kelly McClory, 24, had joined the kennel staff last October. "It's a real tragedy for him and his family.". And before I knew it, I went upstairs and I told Mom, 'Mom, I probably won't see you for a long time,' because I could see what was happening.". 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