Two days later, the skeletal remains of another young girl were found, whose identity was never ascertained. Clayface in Batman turns his fist into a hammer. During the conversation with host Howard Stern, which was broadcast live, "Clay" described details for more than 12 murders and gave some details about his background, indicating that he was a white resident of New Orleans. [2] Eighteen days later, the body of 28-year-old Charlene Price was found in a New Orleans park, just one mile from where Britton was found. Of course, Clay never explicitly mentions Baton Rouge as being Jimmy Swaggart town, but this is an issue worth questioning. Even though he was always a suspect, he said he would move to Louisiana's New Orleans in January to clear his name and solve his cases. Serial murder is distinguished from mass murder, in which several victims are . A native of Massillon, Ohio, Ellwood moved to New Orleans in 1968 after graduating high school. FBI agent John Fleming told the press in November 1995, "A common thread in the victims was their membership of prostitution rings that seem to have been connected with a group of NOPD officers. 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. She recounted an incident in which Ellwood forced her into his car at gunpoint, then drove her to an underpass where he beat, raped and robbed, threatening to kill her during the ordeal. Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK killer, murdered 10 people during his 16-year killing spree. Although a suspect, Gant remained at his desk job with the NOPD. He ultimately got a job as a freelance photographer, but he left for an undisclosed reason. Five days later, more skeletal remains were found, this time to a girl whose age is estimated to be around 15 to 17. According tocriminalminds.fandom.com Ellwood would live in his car from time to time when he couldn't afford to live anywhere else. A mother of three, she had a criminal record for drug possession. When not imprisoned, he spent most of his time among fellow vagrants, with acquaintances describing him as an outsider who constantly sought to make get-rich-quick schemes, but consistently failed in his endeavors. In addition he sounds surprised when he learns that he was actually speaking to Howard. (1:00 mark in audio) You might notice a pattern emerging here. On October 21, 1992, Unsolved Mysteries aired a profile of the unidentified New Orleans serial murders while the killeror killerswere still active. A few more bodies were found, but these victims were all determined to have been killed years prior to their discovery. He later. Due to extreme decomposition, neither could be identified, and are referred to as "Jane Doe No. The similarities between Clays phone call and the New Orleans murders of the early 1990s were listed as follows . The dramatic arrest in 2018 of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. was all the more astounding because of how detectives said they caught . Ellwood's trial took place here in Lafayette, and the jury unanimously found him guilty of 2nd-degree murder. Russell Ellwoodis 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. Bus. Gant was a 15-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, and also the last person seen with Sharon Robinson before she went missing during the early hours of April 30. She was later identified as 39-year-old Lola Porter, who had gone missing from New Orleans in 1992. At some point prior to 2016, Gant found employment as an officer with the Carver College Police Department in Atlanta. This caller, who identified himself as "Clay," claimed to be an unidentified serial killer from the New Orleans area [5] However, while investigating her death, authorities learned that she was last seen alive on February 2, getting into the car of an unidentified white male. 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. Clay told Stern he took a break for a year. True crime aficionados quickly picked up on the similarities between Clays story and an unsolved cluster of homicides that had made headlines and hit TV screens all around America nearly three decades prior. 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. Suddenly, you hear a man call in and calmly explain to the host over the course of several minutes that he is an un-apprehended serial killer. [2] On December 14, skeletal remains were found in a ditch near a highway. The trial began on June 8, 1999, in Lafayette. 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. Sanders also admitted to withholding this information, because she was a drug dealer. [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]. 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. Was it real, or was this just another one of Stern'slowbrow stunts that he's famous for? 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. 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. Rader was a pillar of his community and even worked at a security system company. On the next day, the body of 42-year-old Delores Mack was found in the waters of a canal near a highway, not far from the Lewis crime scene. Here we see Stern seemingly referencing the Macdonald Triad, named after psychiatrist J.M. [2], On July 25, the body of 33-year-old Noah Filson was found in the waters of a canal near I-55. [10] Gilliam stated that she woke up to find herself in a pool of blood in an unfamiliar, wooded area, where a passing motorist found her by chance and sheltered her at the motel he was staying at. Ellwood was eventually charged with one murder and received life imprisonment in 1999. Ellwood, however, was eventually cleared in Macks murder after his attorneys proved he had been in Ohio at the time of her death. So, whatever became of "Clay the Serial Killer"? But then, just as he is answering, Clay suddenly leads the conversation by volunteering a piece of information that had not been previously discussed the fact that he knows some of his victims have not been found yet. Other true crime sleuths who have heard recordings of Ellwoods voice insist there are no sonic similarities between him and Clay. Well it wasn't a fake call because after the show the F.B.I. After his release, Ellwood returned to Canton to live with his brother, who offered him a high-paying job. When it was discovered that Ellwood was in Ohio when Dolores Mack was killed, one of the two murder counts against him was dismissed on February 24, 1999. 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. Except this time, no police trace reveals the caller to be a hoaxer in a mental institution. As we heard, Clay made reference to killing a black transvestite during his call. Another of Collins hires, Carver College Police Captain Michael F. Nemard, had previously been forced out of his job as a lieutenant with the College Park Police Department after being arrested for beating his wife, and a subsequent investigation revealed that he had once shoved his gun into another ex-wifes mouth and cocked the hammer. When the task force talked to him again, he admitted to dumping the body of a black woman in the water next to a country road. [10] According to the testimony of Denise Sanders, who was Lewis' best friend, she had seen her with Ellwood three days prior, who was out driving his cab. He boasted to other prisoners about his murders in Louisiana during this period. While the accusations had some meritthe FBI having actually ended their involvement with the task force so that they could investigate Rushings misconductthe jury was unconvinced, and in August 1999, Ellwood was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Cheryl Lewis. 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. Rainey was able to escape, but did not report the attack due to her criminal lifestyle. He was locked up for 85 days after being arrested on August 4, 1997, on drug charges. I mean, he's a multi-millionaire and arguably the most recognized name in broadcasting, so clearly he's kind of good at his job. [2] In a 2016 interview with HuffPost, Major C.J. In this video 5 disturbing and shocking serial killer moments caught on video are looked at in all their frightful detail. 13 Reasons Why season 2 ended with a monumental cliffhanger that had many viewers wondering about Clay's (Dylan Minnette) fate moving forward. 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 . 2021-08-16. In the wake of incidents like these, its no surprise that Chief R.J. Collins seemingly had little issue with hiring a potential serial killer who ran a prostitution ring like Victor Gant to the Carver College Police Force. 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. bd3e74148582de9cdae314245ec29b19d538b2222157b3edc9a66dbbacadd3aa2190dd08e8ee8a5b9ed29a304bc259a6ae5e858fa83dd6b5769fe10e4824007c. On April 30, 1995, the body of 28-year-old Sharon Robinson was found face-down in a shallow body of water next to an I-55 off ramp in LaPlace, Louisiana, 25 miles west of New Orleans. During "Clay's" call, he joked about how the only suspect the Nola police had was a black people officer. Robinson was almost immediately identified due to her body being found still wearing Sharons Hurrahs Hotel & Casino uniform, complete with her identification badge. 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. Price was a drug addict, but had no history of prostitution. He first rendered his victims unconscious by giving them drugs, and then he killed them in a number of ways, most commonly by strangling or suffocation. called and asked for tape of that call.". Several of Russell Ellwood's other potential victims were clients of a black Nola cop who was a suspect in their disappearance. The NOPD never released that information to the public, but somehow Clay knew about it, and he was right. [5] A partially undressed Ellwood was forced out of his car and told to show his driver's license. I'll look it up later. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Copyright 2023 washingtonindependent.com. The single biggest issue, however, is thisClays self-professed favorite mode of murder was bludgeoning his victims to death with a hammer. 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. Due to extreme decompisition, she too remains unidentified, and is named "Jane Doe No. In December 1965, Weill attended a San Francisco press conference for legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, asking him a series of bizarre questions. '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 [1] In response, Gant's attorney John Reed said that his client was innocent and the evidence was purely circumstantial.[3]. On August 4, 1997, Ellwood was arrested and jailed on drug charges, with his prison sentence lasting nearly three months. [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. Russel Ellwood was a suspected serial killer who killed prostitutes (women) by drugging them and strangling them to death. According to CBS, "The Cleveland Strangler" killed at least 11 women during his run, and though he wasn't arrested in the past ten years, he was convicted for those killings in 2011 and sentenced to death. The Zodiac vanished into quiet oblivion sometime in the mid-1970s and Weill committed suicide in 2006. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/humaninterests Join the Mailing List: https://www.humaninterests.co.uk/newsletter Why serial killing rose in the 70s and fel. 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. The details are given below, whether Russel was the culprit or not. Investigators determined that she was a transsexual, had feminine features and worked as an exotic dancer at a New Orleans nightclub. On February 22nd, Delores Mack was located (possibly; strangled; the charges were dropped). Getting word from the call screener there was a listener on hold named Ed who claims to kill prostitutes, Stern immediately puts him on air. 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. Another item found on Sharons bodyher shoesled to another shocking revelation. Click here to subscribe to Be. Delores Mack was also murdered; she was first drugged and then strangled to death. However, the truth of the matter is more complicated. Join the news democracyWhere your votes decide the Top 100. He was also ordered to perform forced labor. She had been strangled. [12] Gant left New Orleans after his discharge from law enforcement and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he presumably still lives today. Cookie Notice Ed?". 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. A native of New Orleans, Gant spent his childhood and youth in Algiers, where a number of the victims lived and were abducted from. Cheryl Lewis on February 1, 2, and 3, 1993 (drowned; found on February 21; it is unknown if the charges against Ellwood were dropped). Russell Ellwood was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, probation, or a sentence suspension on August 17, 1999.