In March 1994, a struggling actor and screenwriter, Kevin Williamson, became highly interested in a news show that was discussing a drifter who terrorised a town called Gainesville in Florida, where five students were murdered within three days in August, 1990.
Ghostface from Scream (1996) / Picture Credit: Dimension Films
Williamson was horrified, but managed to write a script that later became Scream, the classic 1996 slasher movie we all know today.
Despite the thrilling and entertaining story, Scream’s narrative that followed Sydney (Neve Campbell) and the masked killer that haunts her bears only a small resemblance to The Gainesville Ripper; some true-life stories can be hard to translate to film, especially when they are of this nature.
Who was Danny Rolling?
Danny Rolling was born in 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to 19-year-old Claudia, and a police officer named James, who was a Korean War veteran; he seemed to suffer from a mixture of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and an inherent mental illness.
Rolling’s father was an angry, violent and controlling figure, and fought with Claudia constantly.
He also verbally abused both Rolling and his little brother Kevin; when the boys got older, James began to beat them.
Rolling did find some form of happiness in music and art. Receiving a guitar as a gift at 15 was his happiest memory growing up.
He said he remembered that he developed multiple personalities as a defence from his fearful life; failed suicide attempts only made life more miserable for Rolling.
Rolling’s cycle of crime and incarceration
After being kicked from the Air Force in 1972 for drug possession, Rolling went to live with his grandfather and, for the first time in a long while, found some peace and stability; this was largely due to his church.
He married a woman called O’Mather Halko and had a daughter. He left, however, after becoming abusive towards his wife, similar to what he suffered as a child.
After the divorce, Rolling raped a woman that looked similar to his ex-wife, and committed numerous robberies in the South; this led to his arrest in Jackson, Georgia, in 1979.
In Shreveport (1989), after being fired from his job, Rolling broke into a house and murdered 24-year-old Julie Grissom, her 8-year-old nephew Sean, and her 55-year-old father, Tom.
Resembling later murders, Julie was found with bite marks on her, and her body arranged with her legs spread on the bed.
That May, Rolling got into an argument with his father, and shot him in the head and stomach. James somehow survived this, but lost the use of an eye and one ear. His son, the shooter, fled and ended up in Gainesville.
The Gainesville Ripper murders
Rolling set up a campsite in a wooded area behind the University of Florida (UF) in 1990; he then began a killing spree as students were set to start their autumn semester.
On August 24th, he gained entry into the home of UF freshmen Christina Powell and Sonja Larson; he then brutally stabbed and raped both students.
The next day, Santa Fe college student Christa Hoyt became Rolling’s next victim. Her decapitated head was found facing her body, which had been propped up on the bed.
Shortly after, on August 27th, the killer struck again. 23-year-old UF students Manuel Toboada and Tracy Paules became Rolling’s next victims. Toboada, being a former football player, put up a fight, but both students were killed; neither body was mutilated this time.
Arrest and sentencing
Despite a task force being issued to find the killer, Rolling wasn’t charged for the murders until almost two years later.
Police extracted a tooth from Rolling (who was in jail at the time, due to being arrested for a robbery), and eventually linked his DNA to evidence found at the college murder scenes; he then of course became a prime suspect.
Already facing life sentences for various armed robberies, Rolling was formally charged with the murders of the five students in June, 1992.
In spite of accounts from psychiatrists saying Rolling has a personality disorder, it was said that he still understood the severity of his crimes.
The Gainesville Ripper, aka Danny Rolling, was found guilty on all five counts of murder and was sentenced to death.
Rolling was executed at Florida State Prison on October 25th, 2006.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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