Danny Rolling

"There is much i'd like to say, Your Honor, about our world and beliefs. However, i feel whatever i might have to say is overshadowed by the suffering i've caused . I regret with all my heart what my hand has done. I have taken what i cannot return. If only i could bend back the hands of that ageless clock and change the past. Ah, but alas, i am not the keeper of time, only a small part of history and the legacy of man's fall from grace. I'm sorry, Your Honor."

Daniel Harold "Danny" Rolling, a.k.a. "The Gainesville Ripper", wan an American ephebophilic and necrophiliac serial killer (later spree killer) and rapist.

Background
Rolling was constantly abused by his father, a Shreveport police officer named James, during his childhood, because according to him, Rolling was an unwanted child. As a way to punish Rolling, James pinned his son to the ground, handcuffed him and told his co-workers to take him away, simply because Rolling had embarrassed him. As a teenager and young adult, Rolling was arrested several times for robbery and spying on a cheerleader dressing. As an adult, Rolling got work at Pancho's restaurant as a waiter. In May 1990, he attempted to kill his father during an argument, James was not killed by lost an eye and an ear.

Murders, Arrest and Execution
On the night of August 24, 1990, Danny broke into the apartment of college students, Sonja Larson and Christina Powell. There, he found Powell asleep on the couch but did not attack her at first, he then proceeded upstairs and stabbed Larson to death, he returned to Powell afterwards and raped her before stabbing her five times in the back. He then posed their bodies in provocative positions before leaving the apartment. A day later, Rolling broke into the apartment of Christina Hoyt by prying open a sliding glass door with his knife and a screwdriver, she was not home but Rolling waited in the living room. When Hoyt arrived in her apartment, Rolling attacked her from behind and subdued her, he then raped and stabbed her. His stabs were so violent that her heart ended up being ruptured. Afterwards, he decapited her body and posed the head facing the body. Two days later, Rolling broke into the apartment of Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada with the exact same method as before. When inside, Rolling found Taboada asleep and fought with him, he eventually killed him. Paules heard the struggle and went to Taboada's bedroom, she then saw Rolling and attempted to escape by locking herself in her room, unfortunaley for her, Rolling managedto break into the room and raped her before stabbing her three times in the back. Rolling then posed Paules' body but left Taboada's in the same position in which he had died.

During the investigation, police already had a potential, but wrong suspect, a mentally ill University of Florida student named Edward Humphrey. Rolling was eventually arrested for burglary and his tools were matched to marks left at the crime scenes. When investigating his one-man camp, which was located near the apartment complexes frequented by the victims, police discovered country songs made by Rolling and audio diaries alluding to the murders. He was then charged in November 1991 and Edward Humphrey was released. After his arrest, Rolling was considered the prime suspect in an unsolved triple murder in Shreveport, which was very similiar to the Gainesville murders, the family had been attacked in their home as they were preparing for dinner, one of the victims, Julie Grissom, had her body mutilated, cleaned and posed. Rolling never confessed to the Grissom family murder but wrote about the case using information that only the killer would know. Four years later, Rolling was brought to trial and claimed that he only wanted to become a superstar, similiar to fellow serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy. Rolling pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to death on each count. Rolling was executed by lethal injection on October 25, 2006.

Modus Operandi
Rolling targeted female, brunette college students. He would break into their apartments and there, he would rape them before stabbing them to death with a U.S. Marine Corps K-Bar knife. After killing his victims, Rolling would pose their bodies in sexually provocative positions.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified date in 1976, Mississippi: An unspecified armed robbery
 * Unspecified date in 1979, Georgia: Two unspecified armed robberies
 * Unspecified date in 1980, Alabama: An unspecified robbery
 * November 4, 1989, Shreveport, Louisiana: The Grissom family
 * William Grissom, 55
 * Julie Grissom, 24
 * Sean Grissom, 8
 * 1990:
 * May: James Rolling
 * August 24: Sonja Larson and Christina Powell:
 * Sonja Larson, 18
 * Christina Powell, 17
 * August 25: Christ Leigh Hoyt, 18
 * August 27: Manuel Taboada and Tracy Paules:
 * Manuel "Manny" R. Taboada, 23
 * Tracy Inez Paules, 23
 * September 8: Randy Wilson
 * Unspecified date in 1991, Hillsborough County, Florida: Unnamed police officer
 * Unspecified date and location in 1992: An unspecified bank robbery

On Criminal Minds
Rolling is possibly the inspiration for serial killer Greg Phinney. Both targeted female, brunette college students and killed them in their apartments by stabbing them to death.