FL FL - GERALD STANO -confessed to murdering 41 victims, 1973-80

mere

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2005
Messages
288
Reaction score
60
Does anyone know any details about Gerald Stano? Gerald Stano confessed to murdering 41 girls in the 1970's through the early 80's. He was executed in 1998 for the murder of a 17 year old hitchhiker. Many of his victims are still unknown.
He admitted to killing teenagers, hitchhikers, and prostitutes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. I believe he lived in all three states during his life. I was wondering what areas of each state he was connected to and what time frames.
 
does anyone know if he pryed on children. and if he did what states was he linked to? was he ever in the ct area. what struck me about this thread was the time he did the killings and such. one of the cases that im really trying to solve is the janice pockett case and anything that would link someone to the area and time helps a little. or maybe even alot or might not help at all. but anything is worth a shot
 
Long before he downed his farewell steak dinner and went to the Florida electric chair in 1998, serial killer Gerald Stano confessed to murdering three women and dumping their bodies in rural Pasco County in the 1970s.

But did Stano - blamed for strangling, stabbing and shooting 41 women across three states - actually kill Diana Valleck, Gail Foster and Emily Grieve?

Homicide detectives have their doubts and are reopening the cases with the help of a team of 21 criminology students at Saint Leo University.

Combining the resources of the Sheriff's Office and the university was the idea of Barry and Kimberley Glover, professors of criminal justice.

The husband-and-wife team figured the students, using modern crime-solving techniques such as DNA analysis, could help heat up investigations that have long gone cold.

The Glovers will divide their weekend class into three groups, one for each victim. A Pasco deputy will advise each group and give members unprecedented access to evidence pulled from storage.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/10/Pasco/College_students_to_r.shtml
 
This can give some degree of peace to the relatives of the missing and murdered. Just to know that someone can explain a modicum will go a long way. Hooray, for people who keep trying and never forget the ones that are lost and the families that loved them.
 
There was a book titled "Blind Fury" written by Anna Flowers in 1993, which detailed the story of Gerald Eugene Stano. Stano confessed to the murders of 42 women, 33 of whom had been identified by name. Most, if not all, of his murders were committed in Florida. Gerald Stano lived in Pennsylvania and Florida at various times.

Stano had no relationship with any of his victims before their murders. He often did not live near the victim or murder scene. None of the victims were related in any way. All were female.

No one knows exactly how or why Stano chose his victims. Most got into his car (a green Plymouth Duster) willingly. All but two were alone when he picked them up. The majority were picked up at night. Almost half of them were picked up with the intended purpose of obtaining sex, the rest either had car trouble or were hitchhiking. Over ninety percent of Stano's victims wore blue.

Gerald Stano committed his abductions and murders between 1973 and 1980. He was captured by police on 25 March 1980 when an intended victim, Donna Hensley, escaped and informed police. From 1981 thru 1982, Stano made his confessions and led investigators to some graves and crime scenes. In 1983 he was convicted on nine counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death in Florida's electric chair. After 15 years of appeals at taxpayer expense, he was finally executed.

Here is a list of 22 of those women and girls and their ages identified in the book:
Ann Arceneaux, 17
Janine Marie Ligotino, 19
Barbara Bauer, 17
Cathy Lee Scharf, 17
Nancy Heard, 24
Diana Lynn Valleck, 18
Susan Basile, 12
Linda Ann Hamilton, 16
Susan Bickrest, 24
Bonnie Hughes, 34
Ramona Neal, 18
Emily Branch, 21
Joan Gail Foster, 18
Molly Newell, 20
Emily Grieve, 38
Phoebe Winston, 23
Mary Kathleen Muldoon, 23
Sandra DuBose, 34
Christine Goodson, 17
Dorothy Williams, 17
Mary Carol Maher, 20
Toni Van Haddocks, 26
 
Richard, thank you for the background on the story.
One thing that is not clear in the article I posted, is why LE is now questioning whether Stano killed Grieve, Foster, and Valleck. Do you have any idea why they are now questioning it?
I know that some serial killers will sometimes take "credit" for murders they did not commit. But LE seems to have strong questions about whether he actually killed these three.
 
mysteriew said:
Richard, thank you for the background on the story.
One thing that is not clear in the article I posted, is why LE is now questioning whether Stano killed Grieve, Foster, and Valleck. Do you have any idea why they are now questioning it?
I know that some serial killers will sometimes take "credit" for murders they did not commit. But LE seems to have strong questions about whether he actually killed these three.
I do not have much information on the murder of Dianna Lynn Valleck (18), who was murdered in Tampa, Florida in 1975. Neither do I have much information on Emily Grieve (38) and Joan Gail Foster (18), who were both murdered in Pasco County, Florida in 1977.

The book "Blind Fury" is pretty good at detailing the crimes for which Stano was convicted, because those details were brought out in public trials and are part of the public record. Ms. Flowers used the trial records extensively in researching her book. She also drew heavily on the assistance of Detective Paul Crow and of the Volusia and Brevard County Sheriff's Department for information about the investigation, arrest, and interrogation of Stano.

As the book points out, Stano's confessions took place at widely separated times and over numerous interrogations. They also involved crimes committed in many different jurisdictions.

Stano was initially charged with three counts of first degree murder after confessing to six murders - in exchange for life in prison. After entering prison, he felt that he could obtain a higher standing in the pen if he continued with his confessions. He did so without any grants of immunity or promises of life in prison. He was subsequently tried on several more counts of first degree murder, over several years.

By January 15, 1984, Stano entered Death Row with three death sentences and eight life terms from murder convictions in five different Florida counties for the deaths of fourteen women - although he had confessed to murdering many more.

Stano was never charged with the murders of Valleck, Grieve, or Foster. I do not know specifically why, but the book mentions in general many conflicts between jurisdictions, sometimes lack of bodies, sometimes improper police procedures, etc.

The answers as to why these cases are being reconsidered may lie in the police files.
 
smile22 said:
does anyone know if he pryed on children. and if he did what states was he linked to? was he ever in the ct area. what struck me about this thread was the time he did the killings and such. one of the cases that im really trying to solve is the janice pockett case and anything that would link someone to the area and time helps a little. or maybe even alot or might not help at all. but anything is worth a shot
Stano's confessions only include the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. His known murder spree went from 1973 to 1980. His Florida victims were spread over a very large area - about a third of the state. So, yes, he did do a lot of traveling.

Perhaps by comparing the cases of other missing persons with his known travels and dates, one might be able to compare. There was a big problem, however, even with cases that Stano confessed to. Many victims bodies were hard to find, and many have still not been found.

Stano murdered 12 Year-old Susan Basile in June 1975 at Port Orange, Florida. He confessed to that murder on 1 October 1982, late in his confession series. He did not want it known that he had killed a child, and was reluctant to give information on it. Susan's body has never been found.

He also confessed to murdering 13-year-old Gail Joiner, but later retracted that confession. If he was lying about this murder, it is quite possible that he was lying about other murders, or refusing to confess about others that he had committed.

Stano was trying to "move up" in the prison hierarchy, and may have wanted to eclipse Ted Bundy who was also in the same prison and on Death Row. But Stano knew that child killers and rapists are despised and ostracized in prison. So he was being careful in how he went about his confessions.

Although, Stano could give interrogators graphic details about his crimes, he was often off by several years when trying to establish the dates of those crimes.
 
Quoting Richard, He also confessed to murdering 13-year-old Gail Joiner, but later retracted that confession. If he was lying about this murder, it is quite possible that he was lying about other murders, or refusing to confess about others that he had committed.


This adds some info to a case mentioned in another thread. Shadow205 had found a brief mention about Gail, but none of us could find any other info. I spoke to a Hillsborough deputy who told me they had a confession, but Gail's body had never been located.


 
shadowangel said:
Quoting Richard, He also confessed to murdering 13-year-old Gail Joiner, but later retracted that confession. If he was lying about this murder, it is quite possible that he was lying about other murders, or refusing to confess about others that he had committed.


This adds some info to a case mentioned in another thread. Shadow205 had found a brief mention about Gail, but none of us could find any other info. I spoke to a Hillsborough deputy who told me they had a confession, but Gail's body had never been located.


Unfortunately, Gail Joiner is only mentioned briefly in the book "Blind Fury". No specifics about her from Stano's confession are mentioned. I wonder if Stano, on the eve of his execution, might have revealed more information to investigators.

Also, Stano was making "confessions" to many different investigators and to fellow convicts. It is possible that somewhere, more information about her is available - if in fact Stano killed her.
 
I am bumping this up from the vault because of recent discussion/interest in Gerald Stano on another thread about Gail Joiner.
 
Gerald Stano had also signed confessions to the murders of Elizabeth Perry and Susan Davis who were found stabbed to death in New Jersey in 1969, but the police there don't believe he did it, because he was unable to provide details of the murders. The Perry and Davis families believe Bundy killed Susan and Elizabeth.

Did anyone mention that Stano is a " neat freak "? Investigators have said when they would interrogate him he would fidget around , arranging and cleaning their desks.
 
Daily Herald
Tuesday October 25th 1977
Chicago Ill

DADE CITY , FLA (UPI)__Nine women have been killed in unsolved slayings in just over six months in the Tampa Bay area and police said Monday the cases have very many similarities.
The latest victim--whose body was found in a rural area of Pasco County Friday-- was identified as Emily Eileen Grieve, 38, of Fort Lauderdale. She was shot in the head with a .22 caliber weapon and her body was clad only in a bra and a print blouse pulled up around her neck.
The body discovered by a father and son who were hunting, was hidden behind a dune like piles of fill dirt about 500 yards from where the body of another woman was found in December 1973.
The 1973 murder remains unsolved, as well as similar slayings in 1975 and 1976 in which one body was found in rural Pasco County and the other in Hillsborough County.
Three of the nine women killed this year were shot to death with a .22 caliber weapon, one was killed with a .38 caliber weapon, three were strangled and one burned to death in a motel room fire which police said was started deliberately.
The cause of death of the ninth victim has not yet been determined, and there is strong feeling among investigators her death is not connected with the others.
At least five of the women are believed to have been either killed in Tampa and dumped in rural Pasco County or taken to the remote areas after being picked up in Tampa.
In addition, three others were found in rural Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.
Mrs. Grieve had been in Tampa three weeks and was reported missing by her sister Oct. 10. She was last seen at a bus stop.
At least six of the other victims were known to frequent bars and to hitchhike for transportation. Some were go-go dancers and some had prostitution records, of the three murders prior to this year, one was a prostitute and the other two were topless dancers.
Mrs. Grieve had just been hired as a maid at a north Tampa motel and was believed to have been headed for work when she disappeared. One of the earlier victims had stayed at the same motel the day she disappeared, stopping there after her car had broken down.
 
You know, it just occurred to me as I was about to retire for the night, that Stano was a suspect in a woman named Mary Carol Maher's death in Datona Beach. She was found stabbed to death in 1980. Her clothes were piled neatly beside her at the scene. In my research of the Elizabeth Perry, Susan Davis murders, the same was true. Maybe he did do it.
 
Philadelphia Inquirer 1982

....It was the non-fatal stabbing of a Daytona Beach prostitute in March 1980 that ended what Florida police now suspect was an eleven year killing spree that began when Stano was a sophomore in high school. The prostitute Donna Hensley, had seen Stano before and identified him from a police photograph. He was arrested soon afterward and charged with assault.
Crow, meanwhile had been investigating the killing two months earlier of Mary Carol Maher, 20. a former area high school swimming star who was found stabbed to death in a dump near the Daytona Beach Airport. She had last been seen at a hotel four doors away from the building where Ms. Hensley was stabbed.
Ms. Mahers body, though stabbed repeatedly was found neatly laid out, her clothes tucked in, her arms folded across her chest and pine branches carefully placed on top of her. Crow said he used those facts to develop a profile of the killer.
Because of the similarity between the wounds of the dead woman and those recieved by the prostitute, Crow called the jailed Stano into his office.....eventually he confessed to killing her.....

Later in a six hour session, Crow mentioned to Stano another slaying victim, a black prostitute named Toni Van Haddocks, who had been stabbed and found in a dump area. Stano denied knowing her, saying he never patronized black prostitutes, but a check with several black prostitutes proved otherwise, Crow said. Stano had been a frquent customer. When he confronted Stano with that information, Crow recounted, Stano said he gave the woman a ride. He remembered that she had her arm in a cast. Later after questioning, he confessed to killing her, Crow said........
 
Hollow said:
...Later in a six hour session, Crow mentioned to Stano another slaying victim, a black prostitute named Toni Van Haddocks, who had been stabbed and found in a dump area. Stano denied knowing her, saying he never patronized black prostitutes, but a check with several black prostitutes proved otherwise, Crow said. Stano had been a frquent customer. When he confronted Stano with that information, Crow recounted, Stano said he gave the woman a ride. He remembered that she had her arm in a cast. Later after questioning, he confessed to killing her, Crow said........
This is typical of Stano's warped way of thinking. Here he had already confessed to some very gruesome and heinous murders, yet he was still worried about what someone might think about him. He might kill a lot of people, but at least he doesn't socialize with black women... well he did - once - but he doesn't want the world to know about it.

Stano was offered immunity from the Death Penalty in his first trial if he would confess to all of the murders that he had committed (in Florida). He confessed to several, gave explicit details, and then later pled guilty to them. Once in prison, he felt used, unappreciated, and gilted. The police, who had proven to be his best friends during interrogation no longer called on him, they didn't write. And prison was such a horrible place. He saw that Ted Bundy and others on Death Row enjoyed a certain amount of status and respect among the prisoners. They even had their own private rooms. Stano started bragging and confessing to others in prison about his exploits with women.

Without benefit of any plea deals, he started confessing to more murders. It is possible that Stano many have included other murders that he had heard of, and it is also possible that he omitted murders that he thought might make him "look bad", like murders of children and black women.

I don't know how typical this sort of thinking and behavior is with regard to other confessed killers, but I do recall Ted Bundy "with holding" information in his last interviews on the eve of his execution for some stated reason or another. So many will only "confess" to what can be proven, and remain quiet about everything else. Or they might confess to abusing over a hundred children, but - Oh, no they never killed anyone.

Coincidence always plays a major part in solving any crime. These maggots are all accomplished Liars. Getting them to tell the truth during a confession is the exception rather than the rule. They tell you what they want you to hear - or what they think you want to hear. Any actual truth is coincidental.

So, it is possible that Stano did actually abduct and kill Gail Joiner, but didn't want his "friends" to know about it.
 
I don't think Gerald Stano was living in Florida at the time Gail Joiner disappeared, he had several computer jobs in PA in 1972-73 which he was constantly getting fired from for absenteism. His grandmother lived in Daytona Beach in 1972 though, and his mother had moved down there to care for her. I've read that Stano had many vehicles due to his bad temper, he'd crash them out of rage and his parents would promptly buy him a new car, I wonder if he owned any white vehicles in 1972 . Also I think it's significant that the other little girl he's suspected of killing, Susan Basile, 12, has also never been found just like Gail Joiner. He will not talk about this killing but did sign a confession that he did it.
 
Hollow said:
I don't think Gerald Stano was living in Florida at the time Gail Joiner disappeared, he had several computer jobs in PA in 1972-73 which he was constantly getting fired from for absenteism. His grandmother lived in Daytona Beach in 1972 though, and his mother had moved down there to care for her. I've read that Stano had many vehicles due to his bad temper, he'd crash them out of rage and his parents would promptly buy him a new car, I wonder if he owned any white vehicles in 1972 . Also I think it's significant that the other little girl he's suspected of killing, Susan Basile, 12, has also never been found just like Gail Joiner. He will not talk about this killing but did sign a confession that he did it.
There is another Florida girl who is still missing from that time frame. Debora Sue Lowe , age 13, disappeared on February 29, 1972 from Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida. Some believe that she was abducted and murdered by another serial killer, as mentioned in the below link. It is possible that she is another Stano victim - but it is probably equally possible that Gail and Susan were victims of the other guy, and Stano was just trying to take credit for their murders. It would be interesting to know if he was ever "caught" trying to take credit for someone else's work.

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1673dffl.html
 
Richard said:
There is another Florida girl who is still missing from that time frame. Debora Sue Lowe , age 13, disappeared on February 29, 1972 from Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida. Some believe that she was abducted and murdered by another serial killer, as mentioned in the below link. It is possible that she is another Stano victim - but it is probably equally possible that Gail and Susan were victims of the other guy, and Stano was just trying to take credit for their murders. It would be interesting to know if he was ever "caught" trying to take credit for someone else's work.

Link:
http://www.doenetwork.us/cases/1673dffl.html
The investigators that interviewed him specifically pointed out that he never took credit for any murders they dangled at him that THEY KNEW FOR SURE he didn't commit. So, it seems he may have been considered truthful in at least that respect.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
79
Guests online
839
Total visitors
918

Forum statistics

Threads
589,925
Messages
17,927,731
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top