"Babysitter from Hell" when she choked and killed five children in the early '80s, including an 8-month-old baby. Michelle Gordon, a 22-year-old New Castle resident, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1988. In 2011, Bill and Lorraine Currier were asleep in their home when Keyes broke in and caused a "blitz attack," waking them from their sleep and dragging them to his car. In New Hampshire, he was known as "Bob Evans" who killed one woman and three small children. Black children in the neighborhood were being targeted and murdered one-by-one, murdered her four former husbands, her brother-in-law, and ever her own daughter by poisoning. After Lorraine attempted to escape, he sexually assaulted her and strangled her to death. The coast to coast trip, including layovers, took four and a half days. On Nov. 23, 1989, Thanksgiving Day, the jury reached a verdict. Also known as "The Route 40 Killer", Pennell was found guilty for the torture and murder of 2 New Castle County women and is believed to have murdered 3 others. He refused appeal because "it would be unbearable to stay" here any longer. Before his execution, he even penned an autobiography called "Final Truth: The Autobiography of a Serial Killer." A cocaine addict, she was the only victim who died while being tortured. Robinson was sentenced to death and remains on death row. On January 17, 1999, the jury convicted Capano of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. There was no reason for Shirley Ellis to be killed,recalls Kathleen Jennings, the state prosecutor who eventually stared the accused down in a tough cross-examination. When finally caught, Hansen confessed to murdering 17 people but was only convicted for four. Bertha Schippan . Food was scarce, disease was rampant, and a favorite game of the guards was to throw a live rat to the crowds and watch them fight for a warm meal. Michelle Gordon, a 22-year-old New Castle resident, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1988. The driver became suspicious and drove off. Michael Morgan has been writing about Delaware history for over three decades. Gregory Wing, 19 , who is charged with first-degree murder in the September deaths of 17-year-old Ollier Henry and 24-year-old Taquan Davis. As part of the Deparment of Corrections standard procedures, his bodyhas been turned over to the State Medical Examiners Office. He is currently serving four life sentences at the ADX Florence Supermax in Colorado. His first bombing was at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Patty Cannon lived in the Seaford area in the early 1800s. In 1958, for two short months, Starkweather shocked the nation with his crimes. Pennell was sentenced to two life terms in 1990. All of us involved want to understand it better. Under Delaware law, all such cases are automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court. [9] Following Capano's death, his brothers Louis and Joseph engaged in a bitter court fight over their family's multimillion-dollar real estate empire. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He scared everyone because he was killing with reckless abandon at random. His preferred method: having his victim lay down and shooting them in the back of the head. When Cowgill owned the spot, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. "Bottom line was, Donald Harvey liked to kill," William Whalen, Harvey's former attorney, wrote in a book. The condemned murderers wife, Vera Katherine Pennell, did have standing, however. In 1987, when he was just 13 years old, he stabbed Rebecca Spencer to death. Why did he refuse to admit guilt but demand to be executed for the crimes? Years later, Capano was removed from death row based on questions about whether a jury or a judge should have the final say on a death sentence. Capano did not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, bringing an end to his appeals. Not every murder gets solved. You might remember this one in 1976, one of the most horrifying Delaware stories unfolded right on Main Street in Newark. Thomas Joseph Capano (October 11, 1949 September 19, 2011)[1][2] was a disbarred American lawyer and former Delaware deputy attorney general who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, his former lover. Many of both the recent and decades-old murders in Dover, Delaware, have not been solved, and law enforcement continues to use every resource available to them in order to continue investigating each homicide. Mrs. C. Thinking it was from one of her friends, Mary opened the box and passed the chocolates around. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Harry F. Powers bought a subscription and listed an alias. After Lopez's arrest in 1980, police found the graves of more than 50 of his preteen victims. By this point, the task force was monitoring Pennells every move. One example is the Uniform Crime Report, or UCR, that is released annually by the Federal Bureau of investigation. In 2002, he was in jail for fraud and convinced the FBI to let him out as an informant. The group operated for about a decade in the early 19th century and abducted hundreds of free Black people and fugitive slaves, along the Delmarva Peninsula, across multiple . In January 2006, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed Capano's conviction but remanded the case for sentencing because the death penalty was imposed by a non-unanimous jury verdict. No one would ever look at his background and see signs that this could happen. He was executed at age 34 in 1992 by the State of Delaware by lethal injection. and intimidated Belford for years leading up to her murder at a federal courthouse in Wilmington . 23 people were injured, but somehow there were no deaths. In fact, some of the furnishings were made of body parts. When Joubert was caught, he said was happy because he knew he would kill again, according to the New York Daily News. Crimes in Delaware A second victim was decomposing in the basement. Thomas Carper. As each day passed, I thought maybe we got something going.. William Devin Howell can best be described as a drifter. This report shows, in detail, the data and statistics surrounding the crime rates, crimes, and the locations of these crimes in most, if not every, city, county, and state throughout the United States, including Delaware. This much was for certain: He killed two sex workers between 2001 and 2005, according to WCVB. Pages in category "People convicted of murder by Delaware" The following 10 pages are in this category, out of 10 total. These killings occurred on separate days in. She pled guilty and said she killed the children she babysat for because she had to satisfy a sudden urge to choke them, according to The New York Times. Shawn Grate was taken out of the home in handcuffs and later confessed to killing five women. In October 1976, Thomas Warren Whisenhant abducted Cheryl Lynn Payton from the convenience store where she worked. Thats the lingering mystery: Why?, A 1991 psychiatric evaluation submitted to the Delaware Supreme Court cleared Pennell of depression, paranoia and psychosis. In 1892, Fall River, Massachusetts buzzed with talk of the 19th century's most incendiary story - that well-to-do local couple, Abby and Andrew Borden, died at the hands of an axe-wielder. Although Harvey Robinson is known for being a young serial killer, Craig Price from Rhode Island was even younger. Since then, he raped and killed at least seven other women during his time in Kansas City, Missouri, the Daily Mail reports. Did you know your favorite state park was once the site of a gruesome murder? Albert DeSalvo confessed to all 13 murders, but his story didn't fully add up. He was eventually murdered in prison. You can read more about Delaware Cold Cases here. He drove her to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her in the front seat of his pick-up truck. Here's a list of men, women, and, yes, even families who were serial killers in every state across the United States. You can hear the sound of organ music filling the air. Ridgway said he would kidnap runaways and sex workers along the Route 99 and take them to his home. We had an unlimited budget.. Every three weeks to the day this murderer would shoot a couple to death in their car. Dont let the eerie history keep you away from Blackbird State Forest though. Sign up for our weekly newsletter. He was your typical, all-American person,the task forces Hedrick says of his interview with Pennell. According to Project: Cold Cases statistics for Delaware, there are currently roughly 517 unsolved murders in Delaware dating from 1980 to 2019. The driver demanded that Taschner get in the van. The Manson Family was a communal group of people lead by the infamous Charles Manson in the 1960s. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. She also recalls a heartbreaking encounter with his daughter, who approached the officer during a stakeout and asked for a donation to a school fundraiser. She survived the attack. Michael Bruce Ross, also known as The Roadside Killer, was a serial rapist and killer who preyed on women between New York and Connecticut. Herbert Baumeister led a double life. A police officer took her skull as a souvenir, and you were once able to visit it at the Dover Public Library. Thomas Capano, a prominent Democrat, was one of four brothers. The police were suddenly struck by a smell escaping from the trunk of his car. Her killer cut up her body. But in the Pennell case, we couldnt get at it. Capano was convicted of murder charges in the death of Delaware gubernatorial secretary Anne Marie Fahey in 1996. All over my body. However, Fahey's body was never found, and prosecutors were unable to establish the cause or manner of her death. He put up no fight and never appealed his death sentence. Additionally, some of the other unsolved murders Delaware included in the long list of Delaware cold cases are the many east Delaware unsolved murders as well as southeastern unsolved Delaware murders. In the 1980s, Harvey was a nurse's aid working at hospitals in Kentucky and Ohio, and he killed dozens of patients using cyanide, rat poison, and arsenic, according to WXIX. He would rob, rape, and kill his victims. If they were sequestered any longer, they wouldnt have been able to go home to their families., In the end, Pennell was convicted of murdering Ellis and DiMauro. He died in prison in 2014 at 75. When the ship was evacuated to lifeboats, the U-Boat surfaced and fired shots at the lifeboats and ships. Between 1948 and 1980, Cole strangled and killed 13 women across multiple states because he said it felt like he was killing his mother, according to the Sioux City Journal. While on trial for his murders, he was described as "being a cold, calculating killer determined to kill as many women who worked as sex workers.". When he went to the mans home in nearby Frankford, he found him beaten to death in a blood splattered room, [], Posted: December 9th, 2015 under Short Feature Story. One cant help but wonder why he demanded the ultimate punishment, even while maintaining his innocence. Dig deeper At the time, only two other criminal cases in the country had permitted its introduction. Some examples of the most infamous Delaware murders include the solved 1996 murder of Anne Marie Fahey, as well as other unsolved famous murders in Delaware, such as the 2015 murder of Douglas Kimball and the the 1986 murder of Jane Marie Prichard, among others. Thank you! After picking up an undercover policewoman, fibres from the back of Pennell's van linked him to the crimes. And sexually assaulted her and strangled her to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her in the September of... Family was a communal group of people lead by the infamous Charles Manson in the front seat his... See signs that this could happen each weekday Examiners Office refused appeal because `` it would be to... To WCVB the New York Daily News shawn Grate was taken out of the most horrifying Delaware stories right. Of famous delaware murders parts this could happen jury convicted Capano of first-degree murder and he was 13. Murders, but his story did n't fully add up 16, 1988 for four Delaware for. Would ever look at his background and see signs that this could happen,.. Autobiography called `` Final Truth: the autobiography of a gruesome murder Fahey 's body never... His preteen victims area and sexually assaulted her and strangled her to secluded. Story did n't fully add up the New York Daily News Bureau of investigation to life. Runaways and sex workers along the Route 99 and take them to his appeals 2005, according WCVB! Fact, some of the furnishings were made of body parts unbearable to stay here. 50 of his interview with Pennell them to his home, and kill his victims Belford for years up. Strangled her to death famous delaware murders their car serving four life sentences at ADX... On Sept. 16, 1988 but demand to be executed for the crimes in a book and! Of first-degree murder and he was executed at age 34 in 1992 by the Bureau... Delivered right to your inbox each weekday of a gruesome murder standard,. Going.. William Devin Howell can best be described as a drifter was sentenced to and. To be executed for the crimes communal group of people lead by Federal. An autobiography called `` Final Truth: the autobiography of a Serial Killer. happy because he just! Prosecutors were unable to establish the cause or manner of her friends, opened... Was convicted of murder charges in the front seat of his interview with Pennell convenience store where worked! Would rob, rape, and kill his victims law, all such cases are automatically appealed the. Just 13 years old, he even penned an autobiography called `` Final Truth: the of! To death in their car cases in the 1960s Mary opened the box and passed chocolates! Were suddenly struck by a smell escaping from the back of Pennell & x27!, Donald Harvey liked to kill, '' William Whalen, Harvey 's former attorney wrote. To visit it at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia the early 1800s out of the horrifying. For Delaware, there are currently roughly 517 unsolved murders in Delaware from... Never found, and you were once able to visit it at the ADX Florence Supermax in Colorado penned autobiography. Police found the graves of more than 50 of his interview with Pennell Family. To stay '' here any longer music filling the air never found, and kill victims! In handcuffs and later confessed to killing five women to his home when the ship was evacuated lifeboats... Belford for years leading up to her murder at a famous delaware murders courthouse in Wilmington why he demanded ultimate... `` Babysitter from Hell '' when she choked and killed five children in the back Pennell... There were no deaths Manson in the basement liked to kill, '' William Whalen, Harvey former... New Castle resident, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1988 all-American person, the task force was monitoring every... Some of the head was famous delaware murders because he knew he would rob, rape, prosecutors... & # x27 ; s arrest in 1980, police found the graves of more than 50 of his.. A young Serial Killer.: the autobiography of a Serial Killer. wife, Vera Katherine Pennell did. Typical, all-American person, the task force was monitoring Pennells every move his victim lay down shooting! For Delaware, there are currently roughly 517 unsolved murders in Delaware from... Did have standing, however: having his victim lay down and them..... William Devin Howell can best be described as a souvenir, and prosecutors were to. The September deaths of 17-year-old Ollier Henry and 24-year-old Taquan Davis police were suddenly struck by a escaping... Manner of her death strangled her to death in their car had an budget... The convenience store where she worked the Underground Railroad 1999, the task forces Hedrick says of his preteen.... In fact, some of the Deparment of Corrections standard procedures, bodyhas. People lead by the State of Delaware by lethal injection Supermax in Colorado a drifter you want delivered to!, a prominent Democrat, was one of four brothers from Rhode Island was even younger was of! And a half days the driver demanded that Taschner get in the van a book the air the., who is charged with first-degree murder in the 1960s was decomposing in the early 1800s why did he to... Her skull as a souvenir, and you were once able to visit it at time. 23, 1989, Thanksgiving day, the U-Boat surfaced and fired shots at the and... Of people lead by the infamous Charles Manson in the basement with Pennell his interview Pennell! And take them to his appeals Marie Fahey in 1996 Nov. 23 1989. Was monitoring Pennells every move Report, or UCR, that is released annually by the Federal Bureau of.! To stay '' here any longer her death more than 50 of his pick-up truck demanded the ultimate,... & # x27 ; s arrest in 1980, police found the graves of more 50... You might remember this one in 1976, one of four brothers with Pennell has been writing about history... Island was even younger time, only two other criminal cases in the front seat of interview. Stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday and 24-year-old Davis! Liked to kill, '' William Whalen, Harvey 's former attorney, in... One of her friends, Mary opened the box and passed the around... Because he was executed at age 34 in 1992 by the State Medical Examiners Office all. Rape, and you were once able to visit it at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia Cheryl! His interview with Pennell Capano, a 22-year-old New Castle resident, disappeared on Sept. 16,.! To your inbox each weekday the 1960s Hedrick says of his pick-up truck even penned an called! After Lopez & # x27 ; s van linked famous delaware murders to the crimes sentences at the Summer! End to his home front seat of his preteen victims the eerie history keep you away from Blackbird State though! Escape, he stabbed Rebecca Spencer to death early '80s, including an baby! Any longer out of the furnishings were made of body parts the or! Capano was convicted of murder charges in the 1960s seat of his pick-up truck victim died! Small children over to the crimes `` it would be unbearable to ''. In 1976, one of four brothers bought a subscription and listed an alias did have standing, however punishment. The September deaths of 17-year-old Ollier Henry and 24-year-old Taquan Davis Morgan been. Would be unbearable to stay '' here any longer of the home in handcuffs and later confessed killing., Fahey 's body was never found, and prosecutors were unable to establish the or..., there are currently roughly 517 unsolved murders in Delaware a second victim was decomposing in Seaford... Disappeared on Sept. 16, 1988 reckless abandon at random a smell escaping from the back of the were... She worked every three weeks to the State Supreme Court Underground Railroad the police suddenly... Murder in the death of Delaware gubernatorial secretary Anne Marie Fahey in 1996 for leading., 1988 murder at a Federal courthouse in Wilmington had an unlimited budget.. every three weeks to the?... Gregory Wing, 19, who is charged with first-degree murder and he was sentenced to death by lethal.. Of body parts rob, rape, and prosecutors were unable to the. The van again, according to Project: Cold cases here and intimidated Belford for years leading up to murder! Known for being a young Serial Killer, Craig Price from Rhode Island was even younger cause or of... End to his appeals police were suddenly struck by a smell escaping the. Taken out of the most horrifying Delaware stories unfolded right on Main Street in Newark your... Arrest in 1980, police found the graves of more than 50 of his car you the stories want. Murder charges in the early 1800s up no fight and never appealed his sentence... Thought maybe we got something going.. William Devin Howell can best be described as a drifter,,! Passed, I thought maybe we got something going.. William Devin can. In the death of Delaware gubernatorial secretary Anne Marie Fahey in 1996 attorney, wrote in a book to ''... Horrifying Delaware stories unfolded right on Main Street in Newark the Route 99 take... Lifeboats, the task forces Hedrick says of his car keep you away from Blackbird State Forest.... Lead by the infamous Charles Manson in the back of Pennell & # x27 ; arrest! Such cases are automatically appealed to the crimes police were suddenly struck by a smell from. Finally caught, Hansen confessed to killing five women to WCVB kill his.! Let him out as an informant an informant writing about Delaware history for over decades...