Suspicious security

WARNING

The following story contains mention of:

Rape, attempted murder, break-in.

As of April 15th, 1995, Jennifer Morey was a 25 year old lawyer. The night before, she spent a night out with her friends at the local ale house. Just after midnight, a friend agreed to drive her to her home, the Bayou Park Apartments on Memorial Drive. She chose to move in to this building because of the 24-hour on-site security provided by Pinkerton Security.

Around 4am, Jennifer went to bed. A short while later, she woke up to someone on top of her and something pressing on her neck. She realized someone had broke in and was about to rape her. Putting up a fight, she struggled against her attacker. It was only then that she realized the item pressing against her neck was a knife. Jennifer sustained a large, several inch long slash from her right ear, down her neck. Her attacker pulled her out of her bedroom by her hair and into the bathroom, closing the door. He told her if she came out, he would kill her. Jennifer put her back against the door, slid to the floor, and braced her feet against the bathtub to keep him from opening the door again.

Jennifer was continuing to bleed from her wound. Her apartment was once filled with her cries for help and the struggle with her attacker; now all she heard was silence. Then, she heard the sound of her attacker zipping up his pants. She hoped that meant he would leave. She waited a few more minutes, then decided she needed to call for help. Her hands were covered in too much blood; she couldn’t open the door. She had wedged herself against the door so hard that she had jammed it shut. Laughing, Jennifer thought how she had just fought off a murderer, but she was going to die from bleeding to death in her bathroom because she couldn’t open a door that didn’t even have a lock.

Eventually, Jennifer did get the door open. Struggling to turn on the lights, she realizes they aren’t working. Going for the phone, she notices that it isn’t working either. She finds her cell phone, barricades herself back into the bathroom, and calls 911.

On this night, emergency dispatcher Richard Everett was working his first shift. He instructed her to get a clean towel to press against her neck. He tried to keep her calm until the paramedics and police came.

After several minutes on the phone, Jennifer hears someone banging on her door. She shouts to ask who it is. The person replies that it is Bryan Gibson, an employee from Pinkerton Security. He states that he saw the attacker jump from her second floor balcony and attempted to pursue him. They fought for a short while before the attacker fled across a field. Richard lets Jennifer know that neither the paramedics, nor the police, have contacted the building’s security yet. She definitely shouldn’t open the door.

Bryan continues to bang on her door, shouting he wants to make sure she’s okay and to let him in. Eventually, he stops. The police arrive to find him on the scene with a bloody right hand. As they take Jennifer away in an ambulance, he tells the police the same story he told Jennifer. The police look at the dew-covered grass, seeing no footprints.

In Jennifer’s apartment, police discover a knife, men’s boxers, and a Pinkerton Security hat, all covered in Jennifer and Bryan’s blood. After searching Bryan, they see he is missing his Pinkerton hat, his boxers, and he has shaved his pubic hair in an effort to leave less evidence at the scene. They assumed he had returned to retrieve his forgotten items, and maybe finish Jennifer off.

Bryan Wayne Gibson was 26 years old. He started working for Pinkerton in 1992 at $5.25 an hour, $1 more than minimum wage at the time. During his three year employment at Pinkerton, he was removed from two separate assignments for getting into arguments with clients. His final reassignment was after a client complaint at a construction site. Bryan had used the client’s vehicle without permission. Instead of firing him or pressing charges, they transferred him to night shift at Bayou Park, where many young women lived alone.

Jennifer filed a lawsuit against Pinkerton. During 1991-1995, approximately 130 people who worked for, or had recently worked for, Pinkerton as a guard were convicted of felonies. They were one of the four largest security companies in the state of Texas. They eventually paid Jennifer a settlement for her lawsuit.

Two weeks after her attack, Jennifer moved from Bayou Park to the Woodlands. Two weeks after that, she moved in with her mother and hardly left her side. The attack had caused her such anxiety and fear that every little noise in the night resulted in her calling the police. She would regularly patrol the house during the nights, not sleeping until dawn.

Eventually, Jennifer began working a new job. She got a boyfriend, whom she later married. Richard Everett came to their wedding; they’re still good friends to this day. With the settlement money, Jennifer opened a family law practice firm.

Sources

Houston Press

Girls Fight Back

My Favorite Murder (Podcast, episodes 33 & 36)

I Survived (Season 1, episode 11)

Orphaned on the ocean

WARNING

The following story contains mention of:

Murder, shipwreck, children.

Dr. Arthur Duperrault (41), an optometrist from Green Bay, Wisconsin, planed a one week trip to the Bahamas with his wife, Jean (38), son Brian (14), and daughters Terry Jo (11) and Rene (7). They family traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and rented the 60 foot, two masted ship named Bluebelle. The captain they hired was a Word War II and Korean War pilot named Julian Harvey (44). His sixth wife, Mary Dene Jordan (34) would also be joining them on the trip. The departed on November 8th, 1961.

On the evening of November 12th, during their return trip, Terry Jo woke up to hear her brother yelling, “Help, Daddy, help!” Followed by running and a scuffle, then silence. In the main cabin, she saw the dead bodies of her mother and brother, surrounded by a pool of blood. After climbing the stairs, she saw more blood on the starboard side of cockpit, and what she thought could possibly be a knife. On the deck of the ship, toward the front of the boat, she found Julian. He shoved her back down the stairs, growling “Get back down there!” Terry Jo retreated, frightened and alone, to her bunk.

Water started filling the cabin. She knew she needed to get up the stairs before the entire room was submerged in water; it was already up to her waist. Terry found Julian and asked “Is the ship sinking?” Julian replied, “Yes. Hold this.” Passing her the rope to a dinghy. Shocked and numb from everything happening, she dropped the rope. Julian dove overboard to grab the rope before the dinghy floated away. Terry remembered seeing a cork life float on the top right side of the main cabin, which was barely above water at that point. Just as she got the float and got in it, the ship submerged under water.

The next morning, a Monday, was 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The cork float was not meant to be in the rough sea this long; it started to disintegrate, exposing her feet and legs to the sharp beaks of the parrot fish below her.

On Tuesday, Terry Jo saw a small red plane flying above her. She waved frantically at it with her blouse, trying to get it to notice her. Her efforts failed; it passed over her. In the afternoon, a pod of 30 dolphins appeared and swam next to her for several hours. That night, she had a dream of being in the cockpit of an airliner coming in for a landing. She saw her father sitting peacefully, sipping a glass of red wine. “Come on Terry Jo.” He said. “We’re leaving.”

By Wednesday, her eyes were dry and burning. Her muscles were sore. Her skin burnt through her thin blouse and pants. Her lips were rough, dry, and swollen. She was balancing on the edge of the raft; not much of it was left. Terry began hallucinating small desert islands with a single palm tree on each. She would paddle frantically towards them, only for them to disappear. She soon fell unconscious.

Thursday morning, Terry did not wake up. She was near death, not having food or water for almost four days. Mid-morning, a huge shadow came over her. She thought it was a giant whale, leaping over her. She felt herself being lifted up, was held in strong arms, then fell back into unconsciousness.

Terry Jo had been rescued in the Northwest Providence Channel by a Greek freighter named Captain Theo. She was air lifted to a hospital in Miami. One week after her rescue, she was questioned by police in her hospital bed.

Julian Harvey was found three days later on the dinghy with Rene Duperrault’s body. He told the US Coast Guard that strong winds brought down the masts of the ship, knocking a hole in the hull, rupturing the auxiliary gas tank, and starting a fire. He had found young Rene’s body in the water and tried to revive her, but failed. A later autopsy report confirmed that Rene had, in fact, drowned.

Julian heard of Terry Jo’s rescue. He checked himself into a motel under a false name. In the morning, the maid noticed blood on his sheets. When she couldn’t get the bathroom door open, the police were called. He had committed suicide with a razor blade.

It was assumed that Julian had killed his wife, Mary, to collect the $20,000 insurance policy. They had gotten married that past July. Arthur must have seen the murder, so Julian killed him and whoever else might have witnessed the murder. It was never found out why he didn’t kill Terry Jo. Maybe he wanted to be caught. Maybe his plan was to kill her, but when he had to jump overboard to get the dinghy, he didn’t have a chance and thought she would go down with the ship.

Julian had survived a car crash that had killed another of his wives, as well as her mother. There were also suspicions regarding the sinking of his yacht, Torbatross, and his powerboat, Valiant. He collected large insurance settlements from these.

After her release from the hospital, Terry Jo went to live with her father’s sister and her three cousins. One year later, she changed her name to Tere.

This tale inspired three novels, one of which by Tere herself, titled
Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean. She reportedly had an injection of sodium amytal (“Truth Serum”) to aid in the remembering of the events.

Sources

Wikipedia

My Favorite Murder (Podcast, episode 28)

Reader’s Digest 

Get me out

WARNING

The follow post contains mention of:

Rape, torture, physical abuse, children, sexual abuse.

Sylvia Likens was the third child born to parents Lester Likens (1926-2013) and Elizabeth “Betty” Frances (1927-1998). Her siblings were fraternal twins Diana and Denny, who were two years older, and fraternal twins Jenny and Benny, who were one year younger. Jenny was also disabled by polio. Lester and Betty were carnival workers, which lead to frequent moves, an unstable marriage, and financial difficulties. Sylvia and Jenny often boarded, or were forced to live with, relatives so they could continue to stay in school while their parents were on the road. To earn money, Sylvia babysat and ironed clothes.

While the youngest girls were staying with Betty, she was arrested for shoplifting. Since they had recently separated, Lester arranged for them to stay with Gertrude Baniszewski, as they were friends with six of her seven children, Paula (17), Stephanie (15), John Jr (12), Marie (11), Shirley (10), James (8), and Dennis “Denny” Jr (several months). They lived in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gertrude was born September 19th, 1929. She married John (1926-2007) and had six or her seven children. He had a temper and divorced after ten more years. She then moved in with 22 year old Denis Lee Wright. He was abusive and left her soon after the birth of their son, Denny.

Lester knew the Baniszewski family was poor and didn’t pry into the living conditions of the house. He encouraged Gertrude to “straighten his daughters out” and sent $20 a week for their care.

Gertrude was described as haggard, underweight, asthmatic, depressed, and under stress of several failed marriages. If the $20 from Lester arrived late, she would beat Sylvia and Jenny on their bare behinds with a paddle. She accused Sylvia of stealing candy, and even humiliated her when she found out she had a boyfriend. Paula, who was pregnant at the time, kicked Sylvia in the genitals, accusing her of being pregnant.

Gertrude let her older children beat Sylvia and push her down the stairs for entertainment. At a church function, they forced Sylvia to eat a hot dog overloaded in condiments until she threw up, and forced her to eat that as well. When Sylvia was accused of prostitution, Gertrude delivered sermons about the filthiness of prostitutes and women in general. After she was accused of spreading rumors that Paula and Stephanie were prostitutes, Stephanie’s boyfriend Coy Hubbard was provoked into attacking Sylvia. Some local boys helped Gertrude abuse her. She encouraged them and Coy to torment Sylvia, which included:

• Extinguishing lit cigarettes on her skin over 100 times
• Beating
• Tying her up
• Burning her fingers with matches
• Lacerations
• Using her for judo practice, which involved throwing her violently against walls
• Burns with scalding hot water
• Rubbing salt in her wounds
• Eat feces and drink urine
• Strip naked and insert an empty Coke bottle into her vagina

Once Paula beat her with such force that she broken her own wrist. She then used her cast to beat Sylvia later. Gertrude forced Jenny to help in the beatings of her sister. If she refused to help, she was threatened with the same beatings.

Neighbors Raymond and Phyllis Vermillion soon moved in next door. They thought the Baniszewski residence was a good place to send their children. On two separate occasions they visited the home and witnessed the abused on Sylvia, but did not report it, as they were fearful of Gertrude and her family.

Sylvia soon became incontinent, which lead to her being locked in the basement. She was subjected to a bathing regime to “cleanse” her, which involved her entire body being covered in scalding water and rubbing salt on her burns. She was kept naked and rarely fed. Gertrude and John Jr often made her eat her own feces, as well as feces and urine from baby Denny’s diaper. Gertrude would charge the neighborhood kids five cents to see Sylvia’s naked body and abuse her.

Trying to get the neighbors attention, Sylvia would hit the walls of the basement with a spade, to no avail. Her and Jenny had no way to contact their family to tell them of the horrible abuse. Jenny was threatened by Gertrude with the abuse and torture she gave Sylvia.

One day at a local park that summer, they ran into their older sister, Diana. She was 18, married, and unknowingly lived less than a mile and a half away. She was estranged from her family and they were forbidden to contact her. Jenny and Sylvia thought maybe their abuse was because they made contact with Diana. She tried to come visit her sister, but Gertrude refused and ordered her off her property.

Eventually, a neighbor anonymously reported the Baniszewski family’s living conditions. They were visited by a public health nurse, who made inquiries about Sylvia. Gertrude told the nurse she had kicked her out and her whereabouts were unknown. The nurse was forced to leave with no further investigation.

Soon, Sylvia was no longer allowed to attend school after Gertrude found out she stole a gym uniform after refusing to buy her one of her own.

On October 22, Gertrude forced Sylvia to insert the empty Coke bottle into her vagina after finding out she wet herself. She then carved “I’M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT” onto Sylvia’s stomach with a heated needle, having Richard finish the job. He and Shirley then attempted to carve an “S” onto her chest with an iron poker. Gertrude said Sylvia would never be able to get married, due to the horrible words etched into her skin.

The next day, Gertrude awoke her to write a fake letter, misleading her family to think she had run away. The injuries she sustained were blamed on an anonymous group of boys who had attacked her after she agreed to have sex with them. Gertrude then formed a plan to have John and Jenny blindfold Sylvia and abandon her to die in Jimmy’s forest, a wooded area nearby. Upon hearing this plan, she tried to escape. Her injuries were too severe, and she only made it to the front door before Gertrude violently threw her into the basement. Coy then helped tie her up, beat and bludgeon her with a chair, paddle, and broomstick until unconscious. Sylvia was only given crackers to eat, which pushed her further into dehydration. Jenny stated later that her sister was so dehydrated, she was unable to form tears at this point.

When Stephanie and Richard realized she wasn’t breathing, Stephanie attempted mouth-to-mouth, with no success. She sent Richard to a nearby payphone to call police.

On October 26th, after multiple beatings, burnings, and scalding baths, Sylvia Likens succumbed to her injuries and died of a brain hemorrhage, shock, and malnutrition at 16 years old.

Gertrude gave the police the fake letter. Before they left, Jenny took them aside to state, “Get me out of here and I’ll tell you everything.” Her statement, combined with Sylvia’s body, lead to the arrest of Gertrude, Paula, Stephanie, John Jr, Richard, and Coy. Some neighboring children were also arrested for injury to person; Mike Munroe, Randy Lepper, Marlene McQuire, Judy Duke, and Anna Siscoe. Gertrude and her children were held without bail.

Sylvia’s autopsy showed burns, bruises, muscle damage, and nerve damage. All of her fingernails were broken backwards. Most of the outer layer of her skin was peeled off. They thought all of this damage was caused by a mad man. As she was dying, she had bit through both of her lips, partially severing them. Her vaginal cavity was nearly swollen  shut, but it was determined she was still a virgin, therefore never pregnant, nor a prostitute. Her official cause of death was a brain hemorrhage and shock from severe prolonged damage to her skin.

Gertrude denied being responsible for Sylvia’s death. The trial was made highly public. She pled not guilty by reason of insanity. She was too distracted by her ill health and depression to control her children. Paula was 17, John Jr 13, Richard 15, and Coy 15. Their attorneys claimed they were pressured by Gertrude. Marie (11) broke on the stand and confessed she was forced to heat the needle Richard used, and that she saw her mother beating Sylvia and forcing her into the basement.

Gertrude’s lawyer stated, “I condemn her for being a murderess… but I say she’s not responsible as she’s not all there!” Tapping his head. On May 19th 1966, she was convicted of first degree murder. She was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison.

During the trial, Paula gave birth to a baby girl, naming her Gertrude. She was sentenced to second degree murder with life in prison, and her daughter was put up for adoption.

Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, and John Jr were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 2-21 years in prison. They served two years and were paroled in 1968.

In 1971, Gertrude and Paula were granted another trial by the Indiana Supreme Court due to the prejudicial atmosphere from heavy media publicity before and during the trial. Paula pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was released one year later. Gertrude was, again, convicted of first degree murder and life in prison.

Over the next 14 years, Gertrude became a model prisoner at Indiana’s Women’s Prison. She worked in sewing shops and became a mother figure to the younger prisoners, who started calling her “Mom.” In 1985, she was up for parole. Jenny Likens and her family spoke out against her on TV. Two anti-crime groups, Protect the Innocent and Society’s League Against Molestation, traveled to Indiana to oppose her parole and support the Likens family. Over the next two months, they collected over 40,000 signatures of citizens of Indiana, but Gertrude was still granted parole. “I’m not sure what role I had in it because I was on drugs.I never really knew her… I take full responsibility for whatever happened to Sylvia.” She claimed. The parole board took her good behavior into account and voted 3-2 for her freedom. She was released on October 4th, 1985 and moved to Laurel, Iowa. Gertrude changed her name to Nadine Van Fossan, using her middle and maiden names, where she lived in obscurity until her death of lung cancer on June 16th, 1990 at 60 years old.

Jenny married and moved to Beech Grove, Indiana. Upon Gertrude’s death, she mailed the newspaper obituary to her mother, saying, “Some good news. Damn old Gertrude died. Ha ha ha! I am happy about that.” Jenny eventually died of a heart attack on June 23rd, 2004 at 54 years old.

Richard died of cancer January 2nd, 1972 at 21 years old, four years after his release from reformatory.

John Jr turned his life around. He died of diabetes at a General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on May 19th at 52.

Coy Hubbard was in and out of prison. He was charged with the murder of two men, which was later acquitted. He died of a heart attack on June 23rd, 2009 at 56 years old in Shelbyville, Indiana. He left behind a wife, five children, 17 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Paula got 21 years to life. In 1971, she tried to escape from prison on two separate occasions. In 1972, she was released on parole with a new identity. She married, had two children, and currently lives in a small town in Indiana. She was a counselor aid in a school for 14 years, but was fired in 2012 when they found out about her past and fake name.

Marie’s charges were dropped after she turned against her family on the stand. She changed her name and became a teacher.

All the injury to person charges were dropped against the other neighborhood children.

The house the Baniszewski family lived in was demolished on April 23rd, 2009. A six foot granite memorial was erected in Willard Park on June 22nd, 2001.

This story inspired two nonfiction books, five fiction books, two films, a play, and an art piece.

If I have missed something you deem important regarding this story, please feel free to let me know, and I will add edits.

Sources

Wikipedia

My Favorite Murder (Podcast; episode 16)

Set me free

WARNING

The following story contains mention of:

Rape, torture, abduction, mutilation, amputation, and children.

On September 29th, 1978, 15 year old runaway Mary Vincent became homesick. She decided to hitchhike from California back to her home in Nevada.

A blue van noticed her “Going South” sign and pulled over for her. Lawrence “Larry” Singleton stated he had room for her, but not the two male hitchhikers who were nearby. The men recommended she not get in the van with Larry, as it was very suspicious that his empty van only had room for the young girl. Mary was exhausted and desperate, so she took the ride. He looked like someone’s grandfather, she wasn’t worried. She climbed into the back of the van and soon fell asleep.

Upon waking up, she noticed they were headed in the wrong direction. She confronted Larry about this; he knew he was going the wrong way. Mary knew she was in trouble. As he pulled over to the side of a deserted road, she noticed her shoe was untied. She could definitely outrun this old man, but not with an untied shoe. As she got out of the van to tie her shoe, she was struck in the head with a sledgehammer.

After waking up from her blackout, Mary realizes she has been tied up in the back of the van. During the course of the night, she is raped by Lawrence approximately six times until he falls asleep. She pleads to be set free and that she won’t tell. She didn’t sleep at all that night. There was too much pain. She prayed to die.

As the sun rose, Lawrence pulled her out of the van. “You want to be set free?” He says. “I’ll set you free.” He pulls a hatchet out of his tool box. The first swing brought immense pain. The second swing completely took off her left arm, just below the elbow. Mary is screaming in pain and terror, and starts to fall. She grabs onto Larry, which brings his attention to her right arm. Realizing what he’s about to do, she starts kicking and fighting him. Her right arm took longer, but he was successful. As Mary lay bleeding on the ground, she sees Lawrence shaking his arm; her right arm is still clutched to his, trying to prevent her from falling. Presuming her to be dead or dying, he drug her armless body to a cliff and pushed her off.

During her 30 foot fall, she broke four ribs.  As she laid bleeding and in shock on the ground, Mary became cold and tired. She just wanted to go to sleep. But she couldn’t shake the voice in her head telling her that if she didn’t get up, Lawrence Singleton was going to hurt another girl. She couldn’t let this happen to someone else. Mary stuck what was left of her arms in the dirt, building up the mud to help stop her from bleeding to death, and spent the rest of the day climbing back up the 30 foot cliff.

Mary walked along the highway by the light of the moon and stars. From a distance, she could hear traffic. If she could just get to the main highway, someone would surely be able to help her.

The first car to see her was a red convertible. She cried for help to the two men in the car, but they did not stop for her. She had no arms and was covered in blood. “I looked like something from a fright night movie. I’m going to die. Everyone is too afraid to stop.” (“I Survived” Season 3, episode 1). She began walking in the middle of the road.

The second car to see her was an old truck containing a couple on their honeymoon. They put her in their truck and raced to the nearest phone to call the paramedics. A helicopter flew in to air lift her to the nearest hospital. Mary had lost half of the blood in her body. Her remaining blood became extremely toxic, but she had fought hard.

Ten days later, her attacker was identified and arrested. The next time Mary saw Lawrence was six months later in court at his trial. She was terrified. Her attacker sat no more than 15 feet away from her. Mary gave a chilling and detailed account of her brutal attack and rape. He was convicted of rape and attempted murder, and was sentenced to the maximum in California at the time, which was 14 years. Mary also won a civil suit against him for $2.56 million dollars, but was not able to collect as Lawrence only had $200 in his savings. As she was leaving the court room, she had to walk by his seat. He said to her, “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll finish the job.”

Lawrence served eight of his 14 years in prison and was released on parole to Contra Costa County in his home state of Florida. Authorities attempted to have him settle in many Bay Area towns, but angry crowds and Tampa’s Chapter of Guardian Angels protested.

In Rodeo, 25 miles north east of San Fransisco, 500 local protestors forced the authorities to remove Larry from his hotel room with armed guards.

They tried housing him across from Concord’s City Hall, but this also failed due to protests.

After 400 residents surrounded the building he was in to protest the decision to house him in Contra Costa County, he was removed in a bullet proof vest.

Governor George Deukmejian then ordered him to be placed in a trailer on the grounds of San Quentin for the rest of his one year parole.

The outrage of Singleton’s short sentencing resulted in the legislation that prevents the early release for offenders who have committed crimes involving torture. This was supported by Mary Vincent. It also led to the passage of California’s Singleton Bill, which requires a minimum 25 year life sentence.

Larry convinced himself that his crimes didn’t warrant any form of punishment. Donald Stahl, a Stanislaus County prosecutor, stated, “He’s worse now. He hasn’t taken responsibility. He lives in a bizarre fantasy land and acquits himself each day. He doesn’t accept his guilt and won’t resolve never to do it again.”

After completing his parole, he returned to Florida. In the spring of 1990, Lawrence was convicted of theft. He had a 60 day sentence for stealing a $10 disposable camera. In the winter, he was sentenced to two years for stealing a $3 hat.

In the spring of 1997, a neighbor called police, stating Singleton was assaulting a woman in his residence. When the police arrived, they found the body of Roxanne Hayes. She was stabbed multiple times. Mary appeared at the sentencing for this crime to give her testimony. Lawrence was sentenced to death.

On December 28th, 2001 Lawrence Singleton died in the hospital at North Florida Reception Center in Starke, Florida of cancer at 74 years old. He is estimated to have killed 12 women.

You can watch Mary Vincent tell her gruesome tale on season 3, episode 1 of the TV show “I Survived.”

If I have missed something you deem important regarding this story, please feel free to let me know, and I will add edits.

Sources:

I Survived (TV show; season 3, episode 1)

Wikipedia

My Favorite Murder (Podcast; episode 18)