GA GA/NY - CARLTON GARY, Stocking Strangler/aka/Chattahoochee Choker, Columbus, 1970's

Ever since STANDREID started a thread a while back about the Boston Strangler, I've thought there needed to be one about the Columbus, Georgia "Stocking Strangler" (as with many of the Boston cases, victims were older/elderly women) -- but I was a little uncertain where to place it, whether in Serial Killers or Cold Cases -- because, also much as in the Boston cases, there seems to be a lot of confusion about whether one killer committed all the murders in the late 1970s, there is DNA stuff going on that is very confusing, etc.

I just saw a fairly recent (about a year ago) MSM item about Carlton Gary, who was convicted of some of the murders, so I thought I would post that link, and then follow with a link to more of an "overview".

To me, it's a complicated and perplexing case, and I am not truly sure what the status is with Gary as of today -- I hope some of you who post regularly in this section will help fill in some of the gaps.

Carlton Gary seeks another trial, 26 years later

The man convicted in one of Georgia's most infamous cases of murder and sexual assault is seeking another trial 26 years after he was condemned to death. ... He was convicted in 1986 in three of the seven brutal rapes and stranglings that terrorized Columbus in 1977 and 1978.

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http://www.wtvm.com/story/18986237/man-convicted-of-murder-sexual-assault-seeks-another-trial

Carlton Gary: The Columbus, Georgia Stocking Strangler
...As of this writing, the identity of the man who raped Martha Thurmond is unknown. Carlton Michael Gary remains on death row for three murders, of one of which DNA evidence may exonerate him, and uncharged in two murders to which DNA conclusively links him. ...

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http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/carlton_gary/1.html
(The quote above is from the final chapter of the account that begins at this link.)


On a more personal note, I remember when these murders were happening, because I had an aunt living in Columbus at that time; I believe some of the murders happened in her neighborhood, and, also, she was a teacher and I believe some of the murdered women were in (or retired from) the education field.

This is the right forum, BW. Thanks for posting.

Here's something I stumbled upon while researching a different case.

From Our Georgia History blog:
Wynnton Stocking Strangler*The timeline continues at the link

Carlton Gary: The Columbus, Georgia Stocking Strangler
Here's another blog with good information including information about the victims with photos:

Sep 11, 1977 -- Gertrude Miller, 64 (survived)
Sep 15, 1977 -- Mary Willis “Ferne” Jackson
Sep 25, 1977 -- Jean Dimenstein, 71
Oct 21, 1977 -- Florence Sheible, 89
Oct 25, 1977 -- Marth Thurmond, 69
Oct 28, 1977 -- Kathleen Woodruff, 77
Feb 12, 1978 -- Ruth Schwob (survived)
Feb 13, 1978 -- Mildred Borom, 78
Apr 19, 1978 -- Janet Cofer, 61


The Women of Wynnton and Their Cold-Blooded Killer
This blog article by Theresa Garcia Robertson mentions two more victims. Geraldine Moore was the first woman to be attacked. She survived. Also:

The youngest of the ten women was 54 year old divorcee, Mary Sue Butler Ogletree. She was living in the Peacock Woods Garden Apartments on Forest Avenue and was stabbed to death. Her murder occurred two years after the others and caused quite a stir among those who knew the other cases well. While her murder was different from the others, there are those who argue that the change up reminded them of the Boston Strangler.

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Murderpedia
New York victims:
May 1970 -- Marion Brewer
July 1970 -- Nellie Farmer

Just last night I ran across this -- apparently, someone out there has a theory that's, well, different... :waitasec:

Columbus native Tim Wilson's book theorizes Ted Bundy committed one of the Stocking Stranglings

...The book theorizes that Bundy, a notorious serial killer, killed one of the Stocking Stranglings in 1978, after escaping from the Glenwood Springs, Colo., jail. It also theorizes that Bundy, rather than William Hance, killed two prostitutes in Columbus. ...

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more at: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2009/06/24/758547/columbus-native-tim-wilsons-book.html

I've often wondered if some serial killers compete with each other for attention from the public as with the Boston Strangler and Jack the Stripper, Zodiac and Bible John or Jack the Ripper and the Thames Torso Murderer. In this case there was proof that another serial killer named William Hance aka "The Chairman of the Forces of Evil" was competing with Gary for attention.

DNA Profile from Gary Case Turns Up in Atlanta Shooting

Unsealed court records reveal yet another surreal twist to the continuing saga of convicted "Stocking Strangler" Carlton Gary.

This twist involves the same issue uncovered this past November when prosecutors revealed a DNA test appearing to clear Gary in the October 25, 1977, rape and strangling of Martha Thurmond was the result of laboratory contamination. ...​

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more at: http://www.forensicmag.com/news/2014/01/dna-profile-gary-case-turns-atlanta-shooting


ETA: Found the original source for the full-length article, so adding that link here:

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/01/04/2885374_dna-profile-from-gary-case-turns.html

My bid to clear an innocent Death Row prisoner: How reporter went to court to prove convicted U.S. murderer could not have killed seven women because his feet are bigger than the real culprit's


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tice-U-S-man-accused-killing-seven-women.html

Not only are his feet too big, DNA and bite mark impressions might win him a new trial.

In fact, in the case of State vs Carlton Gary, the shoe evidence is far from the most compelling concern. Most disconcertingly, a DNA test has conclusively ruled him out as the source of semen found on the nightdress of the strangler’s first victim.

Gertrude Miller was 64 when she was raped and throttled in 1977. She narrowly survived the attack.

Last week Dr Greg Hampikian confirmed in his testimony the difference in DNA. He is a leading DNA scientist who conducted the analysis that led to the first, successful appeal by Amanda Knox, the American student accused of killing her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Perugia.

Then Dr Thomas David, an expert forensic dentist, testified that a distinctive mould of the murderer’s teeth, which was made from a savage bite wound on the breast of another victim – 61-year-old Janet Cofer – does not match Gary’s teeth. The mould shows the killer had crowded and twisted lower teeth, while Gary’s are perfectly even. Indeed, at the time of the murders, he was working as a model.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tice-U-S-man-accused-killing-seven-women.html

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Apr 14, 1970: Nellie Farmer, 85, Wellington Hotel, Albany, NY; raped and strangled. Fingerprint match
Jan 02, 1977: Jean Frost, 55, raped and choked until unconscious; Syracuse, NY. Frost's watch found in CG's possession.

Aug 22, 1977: CG escapes prison in Syracuse
Sep 01, 1977: Moves to 1027 Fisk Ave

Sep 11, 1977: Gertrude Miller, 64, 2703 Hood St, Columbus, GA, two blocks from Fisk Ave; raped by intruder, survives.
Sep 15, 1977: Mary Willis “Ferne” Jackson, 59, 2505 17th St; raped, beaten and strangled; body covered. Car later is found on Benner Ave, near Fisk Ave. Palm print in home.
Sep 25, 1977: Jean Dimenstein, 66, 3027 21st St; raped, beaten, strangled; body covered. Car found on King St and Rigdon Rd, about four blocks from Fisk Ave.

Oct 04, 1977: CG moves to 3231 Old Buena Vista Rd
Oct 08, 1977: Callye East, 75 and Nellie Sanderson, 78, (sisters), Eberhart Ave home burglarized. Sanderson's son, Henry, is visiting at the time. His car is found on Buena Vista Rd.

Oct 21, 1977: Florence Sheible, 89, 1941 Dimon St; raped, strangled. Eyewitnesses ID'd CG who was seen near the apartment. Fingerprint on a door frame.
Oct 25, 1977: Marth Thurmond, 69, 2614 Marion St; raped and strangled. CG visited a cousin and a friend nearby. Fingerprints on bathroom window.
Oct 28, 1977: Kathleen Woodruff, 74, 1811 Buena Vista Road; raped and strangled, body covered. Palm and fingerprints on a window.

Jan 01, 1978: Abraham Illges, 85 and wife, 75, Brookside Dr home burglarized. Cadillac found at restaurant on Victory Dr.
Feb 11, 1978: Burglar alarm thwarts an attempted break in at the Illges home

Feb 11, 1978: Ruth Schwob, 74, 1800 Carter Ave, nearly strangled with a stocking by intruder. Alarm comes in 30 minutes after incident at Illges home.
Feb 12, 1978: Mildred Borom, 78, 1612 Forest Ave (two blocks from Schwob residence), raped and strangled with window blind cord; body covered with a garment.
Apr 20, 1978: Janet Cofer, 61, 3783 Steam Mill Rd, raped and strangled; face covered with pillow.

June 1978: CG begins making trips from Columbus to Gainesville, FL; Macon, GA; Birmingham, AL; and Greenville, SC.

More here, http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/02/28/2978430/gary-hearing-prosecution-recaps.html

http://www.wtvm.com/story/28024497/hearing-set-for-alleged-stocking-strangler-carlton-gary

A hearing is set for Carlton Gary for 10 a.m. on Thursday. The judge will hear more testimony on the extraordinary motion for a new trial.

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Convicted ‘stocking strangler’ seeking new trial in murders, rapes of Georgia women

A sexually driven serial killer strangled elderly women in the Columbus, Ga., area in the 1970s. Now, the case is drawing new international attention.

“Bombshell” evidence raises new questions about the guilt of the man convicted in the slayings in 1986, according to the headline in Britain’s second biggest daily newspaper, The Daily Mail. The article concerns Carlton Gary’s “last ditch” efforts to avoid execution. A Columbus judge heard testimony Thursday and Friday on Gary’s motion for a new trial.

But the article, by a British writer who has advocated for Gary and volunteered on his case as an investigator, leaves out some information that journalists covering the hearing for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer noted. The Georgia newspaper’s coverage paints a more complex picture of evidence in the case.

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Justice delayed, denied … for 40 years now

Attorneys for convicted “Stocking Strangler” Carlton Gary argued their case for a new trial, based on what they claim is new evidence, back in January before Muscogee Superior Court Judge Frank Jordan Jr.

As of Friday, there had still been no ruling.


Not that local and state legal officials — some of whom were literally children when all this began — haven’t been pushing for one. As reported by the Ledger-Enquirer’s Tim Chitwood, District Attorney Julia Slater and a group of prosecutors, including one present and one former assistant state attorney general, filed a motion June 27 calling on Jordan to make a decision.

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Georgia "stocking strangler" denied clemency on eve of execution

"ATLANTA -- An inmate known as the Georgia "stocking strangler" was denied clemency Wednesday evening, despite evidence his lawyers say casts doubt on his guilt. Carlton Gary, the 67-year-old inmate, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7pm on Thursday.

The Georgia Parole board, in a statement released Wednesday evening, said "after thoroughly considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied clemency in the case."

"Carlton Gary is scheduled to be executed this Thursday by Georgia, despite the fact that physical and scientific evidence developed long after his trial proves that he is likely innocent of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death, including DNA evidence that the only eyewitness identifying Gary at trial was mistaken in her identification," wrote Gary's attorney Jack Martin in a statement released to the press at 3pm on Wednesday, while the State Board of Pardons and Paroles was still in session in a closed-door clemency hearing.

"Despite this compelling evidence of innocence, the Georgia courts have refused to intervene."...
Authorities have said Gary confessed to participating in the burglaries but said another man committed the rapes and killings. His lawyers say the unrecorded and undocumented statement "fits all the recognized hallmarks of a false confession that never happened."

Lawyers for the state have previously disputed these claims in court filings. They say Gary's claims have repeatedly been rejected by the courts. Furthermore, they've argued, the state now has even more evidence that proves Gary's guilt, and a judge who denied him a new trial found that none of the evidence Gary's lawyers cited would likely have changed the verdict.

Gary would be the first inmate executed by Georgia this year. "
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carlto...trangler-denied-clemency-on-eve-of-execution/


Link: https://mylifeofcrime.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/gary-victims.jpg?w=468&h=279
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‘STOCKING STRANGLER’
DNA Shows He’s Not a Killer. Georgia Still Wants to Execute Him...

"Carlton Michael Gary was sentenced to death in 1986. He’s scheduled to die Thursday. In between came new evidence casting doubt on his conviction—and pointing to sabotage.

Gary was on trial as Columbus’ “stocking strangler,” a serial killer who murdered and raped seven elderly, white women in Columbus over eight terrifying months from September 1977 to April 1978...

Gary, who is now 67, was convicted and sentenced to death for three of the subsequent rapes and murders, which were all virtually identical in their modus operandi, and all perpetrated within a small, all-white neighborhood: those of Martha Thurmond, Florence Scheible, and Kathleen Woodruff. Smith told the jury they should be in no doubt: All the attacks were the work of a single perpetrator, Gary, who had carried out eight rapes and seven murders, including the rape of Miller. The reason he had been charged with only three of the attacks was that it was only at these victims’ homes that police discovered his fingerprints.

This Thursday, March 15, unless he gets a stay, he will die by lethal injection at the Georgia state prison in Jackson. Yet if that does happen, his execution will not represent justice for Miller, who passed away many years ago. For it can be stated with what the law terms “scientific certainty” that Carlton Gary did not rape Gertrude Miller. According to DNA tests, the semen police recovered from her sheets and nightclothes after she was attacked came from someone else entirely. If Miller was raped by the stocking strangler, Gary is not that man..."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dna-shows-hes-not-a-killer-georgia-wants-to-execute-him
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Update:

Gary Execution Final Media Advisory

"FORSYTH, Ga. – The execution of condemned murderer Carlton Michael Gary scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, 2018, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson was carried out on Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 10:33 p.m. in accordance with state law. Gary did not accept a final prayer and did not record a final statement. Gary was sentenced to death in 1977 for the murder of Florence Scheible, Martha Thurmond and Kathleen Woodruff..."

http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/NewsRoom/PressReleases/gary-execution-final-media-advisory
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‘Stocking Strangler’ Carlton Gary executed after over 30 years of trials, appeals

"JACKSON, GA.
Condemned Stocking Strangler Carlton Gary was executed at 10:33 p.m. and he did not accept a final prayer or make a final statement, according to a spokeswoman with the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The announcement was made 5 minutes after Gary’s death.

Gary, 67, was scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson...."

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article205439479.html
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