They say some of the details the caller talked about were things that only the killer would know. Ellwood himself denied knowing any of the victims or committing any murders, although he could not provide an alibi. Bus. The treads on her shoes definitively matched a shoeprint found next to a dead body that had been discovered only three hours earlier and only a mile awayand the victim had been Sharons best friend. While on probation, Ellwood relocated to Canton, Ohio, where he started working for his brother. The Zodiac vanished into quiet oblivion sometime in the mid-1970s and Weill committed suicide in 2006. How A Serial Killer Was Caught By A Plumber's Gruesome Discovery | Memories of a Murderer 26,602 views Aug 18, 2021 Dennis Nilsen's crimes were first exposed by a clogged drain. First, youll notice Stern is continuing his line of questioning by leading the conversation with suggestions in the hopes that Clay will impulsively give in to correcting him with accurate information due to his narcissistic desire to control the narrative. The suspect has been identified in a police sketch as a large, muscular black man in his 30s. All Rights Reserved. While he was only convicted of 1 murder (Cheryl Lewis), he is believed to killed upwards of 20 prostitutes during the 1990's. [4], On September 3, the body of 21-year-old Tyra Tassin was found. During her testimony, "Brenda" gave a description of her attacker, from which an identikit was created. He was a cab driver in Nola that raped & killed prostitutes. The video, posted by true911calls, replays the call between host Howard Stern, co-host Robin Quivers, and the caller, so-called 'Clay.'. This, along with his mention of wanting to leave clues in the wake of his crimes seems to definitely hint at some obsessive inspiration taken from Zodiac, or a similar killer like BTK or Jack the Ripper. He also said he committed two of the murders in a parking garage and the rest on the side of the road. In fact, you never hear about this incident again until nearly a quarter century later, when the internet digs up an old recording of the broadcast. After the task force was formed, Col. Walter T. Gorman of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and other task force members travelled to Sebring, Florida on July 23, 1997, so they could question Ellwood, who was living with his elderly father. All things considered, these facts make Russell Ellwood a compelling suspect for Clay the Serial Killer, and it is easy to why so many articles name him as such. Sometime in the early 2000s, Gant left Louisiana and moved to Georgia. The Serial Killers Who Invented America. She said that she did not report the incident, due to being a prostitute with a criminal record. Another inmate, Stephen Michael Busser, also told police that Ellwood had boasted of being wanted for more than 60 murders within the state of Louisiana, and had even described to him in detail one of them. His explanation for stopping was to apparently change the oil and repair the brake pads of his car, and willingly allowed his vehicle to be searched. He began killing for unclear motives, taking the life of Cheryl Lewis, his first known victim, by drugging her and drowning her in a canal on February 1-3, 1993. Lewis's mother, Lillian, reported her missing on February 2, 1993. was usually a hammer strike to the head, but one time via strangulation. He ultimately got a job as a freelance photographer, but he left for an undisclosed reason. Collins himself had been previously fired by two separate police departments before working at Carver, and had once been put on probation for an entire year by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. In 1997, 'Clay' called into the show to tell Stern and Quivers he had killed 12 sex workers. According to her testimony, she had boarded the car of an unknown man in Algiers sometime in July, and after having a conversation with him, the man strangled her into unconsciousness and dropped her off on the streets. For now, the answer to this question remains unresolved. A mother of three, she had a criminal record for drug possession. In 1995 New Orleans Police Officer Victor Gant was listed as the prime suspect in the murders of his girlfriend Sharon Robinson, a New Orleans casino employee, and her friend Karen Iverster, allegedly a prostitute. Stern then launches into a flurry of questions, asking Clay why he kills women, how he kills them, if he has sex with them, and more. [6] In the early 1990s, Gant gained a reputation for being corrupt after a number of informants reported that he, along with a few others, were running racketeering operations against pimps and other criminals. Despite raising a lot of suspicions early on, this call quickly faded into relative obscurity after it happened, before being brought back to the attention of internet sleuths in 2019. Powered by RedCircle. He said it was a knife from what he was told. [5] A partially undressed Ellwood was forced out of his car and told to show his driver's license. Russell Ellwood is the man many believe to be "Clay the Serial Killer", the man who called The Howard Stern Show in 1997 and confessed to killing 12 women. As he returned to the crime scene, as other serial killers do, it can be assumed that he was, but as far as is known, no information on the matter has been made public. By August 1995, word had leaked to the press that Gant was a suspect in the murders of Sharon Robinson and Karen Ivester, and possibly as many as 22 other murders in the area. Cheryl Lewis died from drowning, while Delores Mack died from being strangled. His m.o. Camden later testified that Ellwood also confessed to him that he had killed a black girl, whose corpse he had dumped in the canal. An autopsy deduced that she had been strangled, and prior to her death, had taken a large dose of cocaine, which could have caused an overdose. You can read the details Ellwood's trial over at lobservateur.com. Discretion is advised. I think I just do it for the sense of power." [8] Officers found none of the items required for the fixes, not even a flashlight, which would be necessary to perform such repairs in an unlit area at night. When Colonel Walter T. Gorman and other members of the task force met Ellwood in Sebring, Florida, they said he was friendly and willing to help. In December 1965, Weill attended a San Francisco press conference for legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, asking him a series of bizarre questions. Cheryl Lewis on February 1, 2, and 3, 1993 (drowned; found on February 21; it is unknown if the charges against Ellwood were dropped). You might have heard about Clay the Serial Killer and his controversy on The Howard Show. The rest remain unsolved. This was backed up by the emergency room doctor, who testified that the woman's injuries were the result of a beating. Robinson was almost immediately identified due to her body being found still wearing Sharons Hurrahs Hotel & Casino uniform, complete with her identification badge. In 1993 he reportedly began killing "claiming the life of his first confirmed victim, Cheryl Lewis, by drugging her and then drowning her in a canal on February 1-3 of 93" according to criminalminds.fandom.com. Stern goes on to ask questions about Clay's motives behind why he kills, his methods of murder and even asks if he has any tattoos, but the caller was very cunning and careful to not incriminate himself. [2] On the following day, the body of 39-year-old Sandra Warner was found in St. John the Baptist Parish. According to friends and acquaintances of the victims, Gant held a personal grudge against Ivester and had spoken negatively about her on multiple occasions. [2] The results were inconclusive and no charges were filed against Gant, who was dismissed from the force in August 1996.[2]. Spoiler: It's a lot. they rattled off to him. Her cause of death was later determined to be homicidal drowning. Is Russel Ellwood Clay The Serial Killer? He speaks very nonchalantly, something seems genuine about him. Weill, a California photographer suffering from severe Bipolar Disorder, was known to be fixated on celebrities. This policy was apparently the work of Carver College PD's first chief, Joseph L. Woods, who had been fired from five different police departments before finding work at the school in 2006. According tocriminalminds.fandom.com Ellwood would live in his car from time to time when he couldn't afford to live anywhere else. On September 21, the remains of 29-year-old Regiter Martin were discovered in the waters of another canal near a highway. -. He took the lives of ten people in Sedgwick County, Kansas. In a somewhat aggravated tone of voice, the caller answers "No. [2] According to the official investigation, the murders ceased following her death. He also brings with him many years of law enforcement experience, training and talent that would be invaluable to Carver College Police Department. In response, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council reinstated Nemards police certification so that Collins could hire him. An autopsy determined that she had been beaten and strangled. GG.exe Kylo was here Sep 6, 2005 139,195 89,282 AFL Club [5] One of them, Stan Hill, contacted the county prosecutor's office and claimed that Ellwood had described to him in detail how he had driven the women to outlying areas of the city, offering them large quantities of drugs that caused overdoses, then strangled and dumped their bodies. Investigators determined that she was a transsexual, had feminine features and worked as an exotic dancer at a New Orleans nightclub. Although this definition is widely accepted, the crime is not formally recognized in any legal code, including that of the United States. Three other sheriffs from the now-disbanded task force told the same reporter that at least four other suspects were on their radar. 1", was presumably strangled and found not far from Britton's body. I'll look it up later. 1". Weinweir Henry, Lewis' cousin, stated that she last saw her at a hotel in Avondale with a man, whom she identified as Ellwood. This experience, combined with her undergraduate degree in psychology and teaching, has equipped her with valuable skills that she employs on a daily basis in real estate negotiations, homebuyer and seller education, and successful promotion of the team's listings. -The caller knew a black police officer was a suspect in the murders of two women in New Orleans (the FBI requested the recordings & got involved because of that statement due to it matching things not publicly known) & the officer remained a suspect even after Ellwood was linked to the string of murders because police believe the killings to be [2] Like Williams, Filson was transsexual and worked at a nightclub under the name 'Brenda Bewitch'. And so, when 13 Reasons Why season 3 releases (possibly later this year), there will be a lot to discuss. During her lifetime, she had been arrested multiple times for theft and was a known drug addict. SACRAMENTO . This off-hand remark would later become one of the most interesting and controversial aspects of this story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBRAY3N3FXw. Luckily, neither Eric Weill nor the Zodiac ever made good on their shared threat to murder school children. On January 16, he was stopped by traffic cops for speeding and was scheduled to appear in court, but failed to appear on time and was subsequently arrested for contempt of court. While he was only convicted of 1 murder (Cheryl Lewis), he is believed to killed upwards of 20 prostitutes during the 1990's. During "Clay's" call, he joked about how the only suspect the Nola police had was a black people officer. Sharons boyfriend33-year-old Victor Gantwas a known user of chewing tobacco. I say, lowbrow, not in an attempt to throw shade. On June 2, 25-year-old George Williams' body was found in the LaBranche Wetlands area of St. Charles Parish. Zodiac was able to consistently lead the police of wild goose chases with his many letters, cryptograms, and phone calls due to his compulsion for following every detail about the police investigation into his crimes and potential identity printed about him in the press. Robinson's boyfriend was a police officer called Victor Grant, who has denied any wrongdoing. This sort of bizarre call was not out of the ordinary for the show, where Stern often hoax calls from people with crazy stories. [2], The perpetrator(s) mainly targeted girls and women of African-American descent, aged between 17 and 42, as victims. He then decided to become a cab driver because he couldn't afford a house and was living in his car. He boasted to other prisoners about his murders in Louisiana during this period. The trial began on June 8, 1999, in Lafayette. Despite the fact that his attorneys said he was in Ohio at the time of both killings, Ellwood was detained and charged with two counts of second-degree murder. During the hearing, members of the disciplinary committee reviewed the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses. On October 21, 1992, Unsolved Mysteries aired a profile of the unidentified New Orleans serial murders while the killeror killerswere still active. On January 25, the remains of 25-year-old Henry Calvin, who had gone missing months earlier from New Orleans, were found. Sometimes, its not a good fit for a particular department. The phone call starts out a bit rocky as Stern goes to the phone call and asks "Is this Ed? To me, that's definitely a red flag as to what kind of guy we're talking about here. Janie Stokes, a former prostitute, told the court that she first met him in either 1992 or 1993 at Snell's gas station in Marrero, when he was working as a cab driver. This was refuted by Ellwood's receipts, which show a puzzling two-week break in February. During the interrogations, he admitted to frequenting black prostitutes throughout his life, claiming that he knew more than 100 girls, in addition to frequently taking drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine and LSD over the years. 13 Reasons Why season 2 ended with a monumental cliffhanger that had many viewers wondering about Clay's (Dylan Minnette) fate moving forward. Most were forcibly drowned or strangled. But that all changes a couple of minutes into this strange and disturbing phone call. - The victims were mostly African Americans. After all, my listeners who took drama club classes in high school will remember that the first rule of improv is to always say yes. [10] Diane Gilliam, a former prostitute, told the court that she had known Ellwood since the early 1990s and had dated him periodically. Price was a drug addict, but had no history of prostitution. With no confession or hard evidence to charge him with, detectives had no choice but to let Gant go. and our Discretion is advised. Shortly after 7 AM, the man claiming to be Zodiac called in, and asked to called Sam., The mans threat was a clear reference to Zodiacs letter sent to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13, 1969less than two days after his murder of Paul Stinein which he writes, School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. 33rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Show. "No. Here, Clay makes reference to Jimmy Swaggart, the famous Pentecostal Televangelist. You can tell initially that Stern and Robin aren't really taking the guy seriously, and who can blame them? 5" and "John Doe No. The caller then goes on to say "You can call me Clay". [2] On February 5, 1994, skeletal remains were found in St. John the Baptist Parish, later determined to be a young woman between the ages of 25 and 35. While incarcerated, authorities charged him with the murders of Lewis and Mack on March 4, 1998.[5]. Even if Clay the Serial Killer was not, in fact, Russell Ellwood, there is still a strong possibility that this caller was telling the truth. This image shows a police sketch released to the media in 1992, after one woman survived an attack and provided a description to police of the man she said choked her and left her for dead. She too had been strangled, but was had no known history with either drugs or prostitution. "Did your mom beat you? He then dumped her dead next to Louisiana's Highway LA 3160 in Hahnville. Almost immediately, the FBI became aware of a dirty open secret within the New Orleans Police Departmentseveral officers were involved with or straight-up leading prostitution rings while on duty. Three months later, in November 1996, Gant was arrested for battery after choking and threatening his new girlfriend, Karen Thibodeaux, inside her home. They got him iirc. Cheryl Lewis' mother, in turn, admitted that her daughter was a drug addict and a prostitute, but said that she had never seen Ellwood with her daughter before. Ellwood hoped that the second murder charge would also be dropped, but the government stood by its position. I'm willing to confess to two cases and give you all the details when I return to Louisiana. Here we see Stern seemingly referencing the Macdonald Triad, named after psychiatrist J.M. "Clay" The Serial Killer. At any given time, between 25 and 50 serial killers are thought to be hiding in the shadows of the United States and driving around looking for their next possible victim. He said that he was 27 and the girl was 32. may be disturbing to some readers. He was also ordered to perform forced labor. Again, we hear Stern trying to casually ascertain personal details about Clay that might aid in eventually identifying him. Numerous articles from several national publications name Ganta black police officeras a suspect in the New Orleans serial murders a full two years before Clays phone call, and television news segments chronicling Gants activities were aired on CBS and ABC in late 1995. Ellwood was known for keeping extensive amounts of documents that indicate his whereabouts, but the receipts regarding his supposed presence in Ohio for February 1993 had mysteriously disappeared. According to her, Lewis had told Henry that she and Ellwood were on their way to a suburb of New Orleans, where her body was later found. [6] In order to determine whether he was guilty or not, Gant was ordered to submit DNA for testing to see whether they could match it to the perpetrator's saliva, which was found on a piece of chewing tobacco found near Ivester's body. Ellwood first came under police scrutiny in 1994, after he was allegedly found masturbating in his car by police, which had been parked by the road, near where Cheryl Lewis and Delores Mack's bodies were found. On May 4, 1995, less than a week after the formation of this task force, Gant was formally called in for questioning at the New Orleans Sheriffs Office. The Macdonald Triad has been criticized in recent years as an urban legend, as the three key factors cited in Macdonalds theory are more often linked to childhood abuse and neglect rather than some serial killer crystal ball, but nonetheless, but the time of this late-90s radio broadcast, the triad had become cemented as a key element of serial killer culture. .zklaml-1whqzut{display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;line-height:100%;top:2px;position:relative;}.zklaml-1whqzut svg{fill:#000;}.zklaml-1mmyqhz{padding:0 8px;top:4px;position:relative;}.zklaml-1mmyqhz svg{fill:#626262;}.zklaml-pr0334{font-family:adobe-garamond-pro,serif;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:lining-nums;line-height:1.45;overflow-wrap:break-word;color:black;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:inline-block;cursor:pointer;font-variant:all-small-caps;color:#626262;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:16px;}.zklaml-pr0334:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.zklaml-pr0334:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;color:#000;}OthersSociety. Clayface in Batman turns his fist into a hammer. It should be noted that a sketch of the killer was drawn in 1992 after the first six murders; the sketch depicted a large, muscular African-American man in his 30's, which matched Gant's physical description. On December 14, a fourth victim, as yet unidentified, was found near Behrman Highway, not far from where Danielle was found. The caller told the operator that he wanted Bailey to appear on a local television talk show so that he could call in and chat with Bailey. Stern and Quivers asked him questions related about why he did it. [2], On March 24, police found more skeletal remains under an overpass in Tangipahoa Parish. Richard Pennington, chief of the New Orleans police, said that a police officer was a suspect, but he refused to identify him. In 1997, 'Clay' called into the show to tell Stern and Quivers he had killed 12 sex workers. Once the call ended, the saga of Clay the Serial Killer faded into relative obscurity. [3] As a young man, he was a boxer and regularly went to the gym and did weightlifting, and closely matched the 1991 suspect sketch based on "Brenda"'s testimony. He later. [2] On December 14, skeletal remains were found in a ditch near a highway. [2], On July 3, the body of 32-year-old Michelle Foster, who had gone missing in New Orleans just days prior, was found. While reviewing Nemards record as an officerincluding his arrest recordCollins wrote to officials at the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, stating, It is my belief that Mr. Nemard is a man of strong moral character and has a deep faith in God. NOPD Via criminalminds.fandom.com 1. [6] He became a police officer in February 1980, and while on patrol, Gant would spend a lot of time in red-light districts, where in later years he acquired many acquaintances among pimps, prostitutes and street informants. [8] The investigators became increasingly suspicious when Ellwood started speaking about having a dream in which he was being questioned about a series of murders and later admitting to frequenting the locations where the bodies were found, but continued to reaffirm his innocence.[8]. The guy said that he was put on medication in prison and he was having nightmares and hearing all kinds of things. He was a cab driver in Nola that raped & killed prostitutes. When confronted by reporters from Huffington Post in 2016 regarding their hiring of a suspect in a series of serial killings as an officer assigned to protect college students, Carver College Police Chief R.J. Collins tried denying Gant had ever worked theredespite Gant appearing in full uniform on the Police Departments website and in photos shared on Facebook. When he takes control of the conversation by asking Clay if he strangles his victims, Stern then opens the door for this supposed killer to impulsively divulge his true method of killing, should he be incorrect in his initial assumption. He claimed he's killed 12 prostitutes in the New Orleans area. For more information, please see our After the call, police thought Ellwood could potentially be the "Storyville Slayer" a serial killer in New Orleans who murdered up to 24 sex workers. Russell Ellwoods preferred MO was drugging his victims to the point of overdose and then dumping them in shallow bodies of water to drown. In a manner strikingly wise for a shock-jock morning radio host, Stern begins asking a series of seemingly mundane questions regarding Clays modus operandi. Like the previous victims, Williams was a drug addict and had been arrested for robbery and drug possession. He said that he was trying to change the oil in his cab in a covert manner, depositing the used oil outside where no one could see it. He gave details that were similar to how Cheryl Lewis' body was dumped. Back in the day, The Howard Stern Show routinely received tons of insane calls from people claiming many wild things. [8] This request was denied, whereupon Ellwood confessed to killing Lewis and Mack, but refused to be audiotaped and soon after began denying that he had confessed. .zklaml-k63hep{font-weight:bold;color:undefined;}Russell Ellwood.zklaml-1p7ut1l{color:undefined;} was thought to be a serial killer. According to his cellmates, Ellwood implicated himself in the prostitute killings back in New Orleans and its various suburbs. Each time 'Clay' answered a question he responded in a calm, matter-of-fact manner. Is it true that "Clay the Serial Killer" from New Orleans called in livetoThe Howard Stern Show and confessed to killing 12 women? No further information about him is available. Henry testified that she had not given the police this information, as she was wanted for petty offenses at the time. The charges were only dropped after a series of behind-closed-doors meetings with lawyers. One of the people Collins gave a second chance to was Steven Wayne Turner, a Georgia police officer who had been fired for exposing his penis to a woman he had pulled over while working for the Lithonia Police Department. The dramatic arrest in 2018 of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. was all the more astounding because of how detectives said they caught . By Michael Dot Scott. Due to extreme decomposition, neither could be identified, and are referred to as "Jane Doe No. It was revealed that these phone calls were coming from Napa State Hospital and had been made by a young man named Eric Philips Weill. On April 30, the bodies of two women were found in a swampy area near the I-55. One year later, on August 26, 1996, Gant was fired from the police force as result of the four internal investigations opened against him, with his beating of Sharon Robinson in the months before her murder being a major contributing cause. [1] Through the course of the investigation, two separate suspects were considered, one of whom was convicted of one murder, leading investigators to believe that multiple killers are responsible. Did your mom spank you? Russell Ellwood went on trial in 1998 for the murders that he committed in 1993 of Cheryl Lewis, age 30, from Bridge City, and Deloras Mack, age 40, from Metairie. He revealed he had sex with his victims beforehand, then killed them primarily with a hammer and strangled one. [2], On July 25, the body of 33-year-old Noah Filson was found in the waters of a canal near I-55. [7] He was locked up for 85 days after being arrested on August 4, 1997, on drug charges. Antoinette Rainey, who worked as a drug dealer in New Orleans, also appeared as a witness for the prosecution, testifying that Ellwood was a regular customer. Due to extreme decompisition, she too remains unidentified, and is named "Jane Doe No. [2] During the investigations, it was established that Gant had an intimate relationship with one of the victims, Sharon Robinson. It took nearly four months for the results to come back, and when they did, detectives were disappointed to learn that the results were inconclusive. Was your mom a prostitute?" She testified that in 1992, during a date, Ellwood, while under the influence of drugs, assaulted, beat and strangled her into unconsciousness. [2], On January 4, 1992, the body of 29-year-old Lydia Madison, who had several arrests on charges of prostitution and drug possession, was found in a ditch under a highway overpass. 'World's Youngest Serial Killer' Had Murdered Three People By Eight Years Old; Convicted serial killer on death row explains how he feels just hours before his execution; Man Who Caught Golden State Killer Says There Are 2,000 Serial Killers In The US 'America's first female serial killer' says she 'did the right thing' in killing her victims Shortly after 2 AM on the morning of October 22, 1969, a man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer called the Oakland, California Police Department, demanding to speak with famed attorney F. Lee Bailey. Of course, Clay never explicitly mentions Baton Rouge as being Jimmy Swaggart town, but this is an issue worth questioning. From the infamous Zodiac Killer who taunted the media with baffling clues about his crimes to the Cleveland Torso Murderer who beheaded and dismembered his victims, take look at these chilling serial killers who were never caught. At the time, Swaggarts ministries were located in Baton Rouge, Louisianaa city whose population is still today over 50% black. "Clay the Serial Killer" As he has been dubbed calls into the Howard Stern Show to admit to 12 slayings of New Orleans area prostitutes. None of the dozens of New Orleans prostitute victims in question were killed in this manner. Just shoot out the front tire & then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out, However, two months later, police officials traced a series of phone calls made to Melvin Bellis home by the supposed Zodiac. In time, Ellwood also became a suspect in the killing of Delores Mack, a transgender woman whose body was found a day after Lewis and in the same swamp. Gant complied, and the samples were sent to a police lab for testing against the wad of chewing tobacco found near Karen Ivesters body. A death record for Weill notes that he was the son of a man named Sam Weillyoull recall Sam as being the name Eric asked to be called while masquerading as the Zodiac on Jim Dunbars television show. After attempting to corroborate Gants alibis provided during questioning, the investigators found that Gant had lied in nearly every answer given to them during that session. Copyright 2023 washingtonindependent.com. I'll kill you too." Between the years of 1974 and 1991, serial killer Dennis "BTK Killer" Rader was at large. called and asked for tape of that call.". The victims were later identified as Karen Ivester and Sharon Robinson, 30 and 28, respectively. Rader was a pillar of his community and even worked at a security system company. Another girl, Navassa Richmond, a former stripper and prostitute, in turn testified that she had also been beaten and assaulted twice by a drug-crazed Ellwood, during which he also attempted to strangle her.
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