He was arrested 10 days after the last Gainesville body was found, but for a September supermarket robbery. By January 1991, Rolling was identified as the top suspect in both sets of murders.Īt the time of this announcement, Rolling was already in a Florida jail. Not long after, Florida investigators made their first trip to Shreveport to see if the student murders were perhaps linked to the Beth Lane triple-homicide. Shreveport serial killer: Gainesville reaches 30th anniversary of student killings by former Shreveport resident Their ages ranged from 17 to 23 years old. The students killed were Christina Powell, Sonja Larson, Christa Hoyt, Tracy Paules and Manuel Taboada. Their bodies were found within a period of a few days and had striking similarities to the triple-homicide on Beth Lane. In late August 1990, five Gainesville students were murdered. Top suspect in Shreveport and Florida murders Police learned he did not check into the hotel.Īt some point, he made his way to Florida on a Greyhound bus and pitched a tent in the woods. His car was found abandoned around 6 the next morning in the Motel 6 parking lot on Monkhouse Drive. Sometime that same evening, Rolling went to a house in the 4200 block of Wildwood Street and robbed a couple of $21, saying he needed it to get to Dallas.
LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER CRIME SCENE PHOTOS WINDOWS
The argument reportedly began when Rolling's father told him to roll up his car windows because it was raining. "We pray the murderer will confess or be caught so we can feel secure again."Ī Friday night in May 1990, Rolling, then 35, shot his father, a retired Shreveport police lieutenant, in the head during a dispute at the Sunset Acres home. "Of course everyone is shocked and nervous," said Leslie Dunn, then 47. While some where keeping their firearms ready, others kept a strong eye on strange vehicles in the neighborhood. I'm no macho son-of-a-gun but I'll do what is necessary for protection," Ron Atwood, then 44, told The Times in a 1989 report. "You're talking about some sick, sick people. Evidence was also lining up to indicate that the crimes of violence was directed at Julie.Īlthough police did not expect the killer would be a threat to others living in the neighborhood, residents were not taking any chances. In the first week, police were following "strong leads" and checking alibis but doubted there would be a quick arrest in the case.
Gary Pittman said in a report of the killer just days after the crime scene was found. She had transferred to Shreveport earlier in 1989 after attending the Baton Rouge campus and was working part-time at Dillard's in South Park Mall. His daughter, 24-year-old Julie, was a petite brunette studying marketing at Louisiana State University of Shreveport (LSUS). He was described as being polite, friendly and respectable, and had been battling throat cancer for years but was doing better. William "Tom" Grissom, 55, divorced, was an AT&T supervisor who lived on Beth Lane in Shreveport's Southern Hills neighborhood. William, Julie and Sean Grissom were the first three lives taken by serial killer Danny Rolling who spread his terror between two states in the late 1980s into the early '90s. It contains content that may be disturbing to readers.
Information and images from sister papers and wire services were also used. Editor's Note: This story was composed primarily using archived reports of The Shreveport Times.