By 1999, he had attracted the attention of authorities in Kansas and Missouri as his name frequently came up in missing person investigations. A total of nine men are on Kansas' death row. In 1985, a Kansas serial killer believed to have murdered at least 10 women in two states killed Lisa Stasi, a 19-year-old mother whose body has never been found. Nonetheless, he did claim that he had tried to prevent any of his victims from developing any form of malnutrition or infection by occasionally administering antibiotics, or nutrients intravenously as his abuse and torture escalated. Under that guise, he hosted an awards luncheon in his honor. He viewed this business as his full-time job and later ceased working as a chef. [2]:9, In 2002, Robinson stood trial in Kansas for the murders of Trouten, Lewicka, and Stasi along with multiple lesser charges. [3], After completing his probation in 1979, Robinson was arrested for embezzlement and check forgery, for which he served sixty days in jail in 1982. Should Berdella ever discover any of them was a police informant, he would use this knowledge for blackmail. 'Mindhunter': ADT Serial Killer in Kansas Explained - Insider Pick your location. Suspected Serial Killer Charged in Missouri Over 7th Death [28] He would later have his lawyer threaten to file harassment accusations against police unless their questioning and surveillance of him ceased. John Robinson was born in 1943 in Cicero, Illinois, outside of Chicago, and grew up in a working-class neighborhood. "He's maintained the secrets about what he's done with the women. [2] His crimes took place in Kansas City, Missouri, between 1984 and 1987. According to evidence during his trial, Robinson used the Internet to lure Trouten and Lewicka to Kansas, and their bodies were found in June 2000 in large barrels on Robinson's rural property 60 miles south of Kansas City. [4]:307 That evening, Berdella ensured Pearson became intoxicated before injecting him with chlorpromazine and moving him down to his basement, where he bound Pearson's hands above his head, then linked the rope he had used for this purpose to a brick column, before injecting Pearson's larynx with drain cleaner. Berdella accepted with the specific intention of kidnapping Ferris, whom he arranged to meet at a bar that evening. [4]:8182, Berdella is believed to have killed his first victim on July 5, 1984. [2]:9, Across the state line in Missouri, investigators searched a storage facility where Robinson rented two garages. [4]:2425, During later questioning at the KCPD,[n 5] Bryson divulged that his captor had shown him Polaroid images of men who appeared to be deceased,[4]:20 and that he was told that he would never leave the property and that if he became a nuisance or threat, he would either be subjected to greater levels of torture than what he had already endured, or simply killed. Bob Berdella, the Kansas City Butcher, might have been viewed as an odd man by neighbors, but no one ever suspected that he was responsible for raping, torturing, and murdering seven men in 1980s Kansas City. Kansas serial killer John E. Robinson Sr.'s death penalty appeal He further claimed he had been demonized unfairly by the media before, during, and after his arraignments and plea bargains, and that police ineptitude had resulted in his being allowed to remain at liberty following his first murder. [3] The following year, he violated probation by moving to Chicago without his probation officer's permission and gained a job as an insurance salesman at the R.B. In the 19th century, Kansas was a bloody place, especially before the Civil War, as " Free-Soilers " and slavery advocates "duked" it out for control of the new territory. In arguments before the state Supreme Court earlier this year, Robinson's attorney said it was improper for prosecutors in Kansas to bring killings in Missouri into their case, so that Robinson would be eligible for a death sentence for multiple murders occurring in a single course of conduct. No trace of Godfrey has ever been found. [7] The following year, Stasi's daughterknown since her (faked) adoption as Heather Robinsonfiled a civil suit against Truman Medical Center in Kansas City and social worker Karen Gaddis. Two days later, three more bodies were discovered in barrels in a storage locker Robinson rented in the Kansas City area. [2]:9, After his Kansas convictions, Robinson faced murder charges in Missouri based on the evidence discovered in that state. In 2005, he admitted responsibility for five homicides in Missouri as part of a plea bargain to receive multiple life sentences without possibility of parole and avoid more death sentences. Police refute social media posts claiming KCMO serial killer | The [4]:300 On June 27, he ruptured Stoops's anal wall with his fist, causing bleeding and discharge. Three hundred and thirty four Polaroid pictures and 34 snapshot prints of various men were also found in Berdella's house. The entry reading "CP", for example, referred to the chlorpromazine he had injected into his victims to assist in his restraining them, whereas entries reading "DC" referred to swabbing their eyes with drain cleaner or the injection of the substance into their vocal cords.[39]. [4]:33[n 7]. Mon 7am-4pm. Police say there is no truth to a rumor about a serial killer that is circulating on social media in the Kansas City area. Don't try to fight me, or you'll just get more of what you had earlier. In response, Randall sarcastically remarked: "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. John Edward Robinson (born December 27, 1943) is an American serial killer, con man, embezzler, kidnapper, and forger who was found guilty in 2003 for three murders committed in and around Kansas City, receiving the death penalty for two of them. By the summer of 1984, Jerry Howell had turned 19. All rights reserved. The Kansas Homestead Where America's First Serial Killer Family The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas Robinson also was convicted for the 1985 death of a third young Kansas woman whose body was never found. He noted this victim's time of death as being 7:00p.m. on June 23. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Berdella would later claim that his hobby of writing to pen pals in countries such as Vietnam and Burma and the fact these pen pals would send him stamps for his collection, and photographs of mythical and historical icons, ancient cultures, and architecture would lead to his developing an avid interest in primitive art, photographs, and antiques. As a result, he became increasingly withdrawn, and further immersed himself in the solitary activities he had participated in since childhood such as painting, collecting coins and stamps, and writing to foreign pen pals. [45] Moreover, despite his claims to journalists whom he had contacted in the years of his incarceration, Berdella never expressed any degree of remorse for his actions and tersely referred to his victims as "play toys" in an interview he granted shortly before his death. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. "[4]:15, By the third day of his capture, Bryson had earned sufficient trust from Berdella to persuade him to establish a daily regime of tying his hands in front of him after his sexual abuse rather than above his head and to the bed upon the excuse that Berdella's doing so was restricting the circulation to his arms; he had also persuaded Berdella to leave a television on within the room, with the remote control placed between his legs whenever Berdella was out of the room. One month after this first arrest, Berdella and two other students were arrested for possession of marijuana and LSD in Johnson County. Trouten's mother received several typed letters signed by her daughter and purportedly mailed while the couple was abroad, although the envelopes all bore Kansas City postmarks. Berdella had first began socializing in gay bars in, Berdella held a brief relationship with a bisexual. On Christmas Day 1965, the Berdella family drove to Canton, Ohio to visit relatives. The discovery of a woman's body stuffed inside that. [2]:9, Over time, Robinson became increasingly careless, and his ability to avoid detection declined. He was 43 years old. [47] Although many items sold for less than the expected price, by the end of the first day's auctioneering alone, more than $60,000 had been raised for this purpose (equivalent to $151,000 as of 2023[update]). [7], In November 2015, the Kansas Supreme Court vacated the Trouten and Stasi murder convictions on technicalities, but upheld the Lewicka conviction and its accompanying death sentence. or redistributed. [n 11] In addition, he vehemently denied media rumors that he had been engaged in any form of satanism, or that he had sold sections of his victims' bodies at his flea market booth. Because of this he seldom socialized with his peers. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Woman Wins Lawsuit to Halt Profit Sought by Man Who Killed Her Mother. [6] Chris Koster, the Missouri prosecutor, insisted as a condition of any plea bargain that Robinson lead authorities to the bodies of Stasi, Godfrey, and Clampitt. Robert Berdella - Wikipedia 8225 North Church Rd., I-35 & State Route 152, Kansas City, MO, 64158-1105. After Robinson arranged for Bonner's alimony checks to be forwarded to a Kansas post office box, her family never heard from her again. Robinson, who has never cooperated with investigators, refused. Berdella was able to name all of his victims to investigators. [4]:233, By the time of Berdella's arrest, he had abducted, tortured, and murdered at least six young men (although the KCPD suspect Berdella of involvement in two other disappearances). [17], Howell was restrained to Berdella's bed for a period of approximately 28 hours. Soon, Berdella became acquainted with Paul Howell's younger son, Jerry. In 1971, he was arrested for embezzling funds and was ordered back to Kansas City, where his probation was extended. Ferris gradually became delirious,[4]:288 but Berdella continued his physical and sexual assaults until he noted in his log that Ferris was "Unable to sit up more than 1015 sec[onds]". Authorities recovered the bodies of up to 11 people from the Old West tract of land owned by . As Berdella's father valued sports and physical education, he viewed his older son's lack of interest in sports as a sign of failure, and often compared him unfavorably with his younger brother. [4]:151. Despite these later claims to investigators, Berdella would often engage in sexual relations with the men he befriended, and would establish a degree of control over them in part to engage in these sexual relations via methods such as loaning them money and allowing them to live rent free at his house for periods of time. [31] In response to questioning by his attorneys, Berdella stated: "I put a plastic bag over his head, and tied it with rope and allowed him to suffocate." Medical staff determined his heart was unstable and called an ambulance. A suspected serial killer already charged in six killings in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas has been charged with first-degree murder in a seventh death. [2], John Robinson was born in Cicero, Illinois, the third of five children of an alcoholic father and a disciplinarian mother. That evening, Berdella's father had a heart attack at the age of 39. It's the last control he's got," said one investigator. from CA$700.00 Straight & Spiral fluting. By the final day of his captivity, Stoops was so weak Berdella later stated he had been unable "to breathe in a sitting position". [4]:41, Before the search of Berdella's property had concluded, the KCPD assembled a special task force of 11 detectives and one sergeant to focus exclusively on Berdella's case. John Edward Robinson (born December 27, 1943) is an American serial killer, con man, embezzler, kidnapper, and forger who was found guilty in 2003 for three murders committed in and around Kansas City, receiving the death penalty for two of them. [n 6], On the afternoon of Bryson's escape, Berdella was arrested on charges pertaining to the sexual assault of Christopher Bryson. [32] In this plea bargain, Berdella agreed to confess in graphic detail as to whom he had killed, what indignities he had subjected each victim, how he had killed each victim, and what he had done with their bodies. After Stoops and his wife moved out of Berdella's home the second time, Berdella did not see him again until a chance encounter at KansasCity's Liberty Memorial Park on June 17, 1986. He also engaged in acts of animal torture on at least two occasions; during one of these instances, he decapitated a duck in the presence of his peers, and in the second instance, he experimented with sedatives and tranquilizers on a dog. She vanished in June of that year. Serial killer John Robinson appeals death sentence in barrel bodies Throughout his studies in high school, he had earned such excellent grades and displayed such potential that in 1966, one teacher had placed him in an independent study program. [4]:266. When a detective contacted Wallace's sister, she stated her brother had been missing since mid-1985. Berdella finished this discussion with a stern warning: "I've gotten this far with other people before, and they're dead now, because of mistakes they made. A few days later, Robinson contacted his brother Don and sister-in-law, Helen, who had been unable to adopt a baby through traditional channels, informing them that he knew of a baby whose mother had killed herself. The letters were, her mother said, uncharacteristically free of typographical errors. Aside from Pearson's severed head and the striations upon his vertebrae, the accompanying evidence, compiled to bring this charge, included some 60 Polaroid photos of Pearson; the logs Berdella had kept of his captivity of the subject (and which the handwriting was proven to be Berdella's); chemical tests upon Pearson's hair which indicated the subject may have received fatal dosages of various tranquilizers; the injury Pearson was known to have inflicted upon Berdella on August 5, 1987; and the fact Berdella had paid Pearson's bond in June 1987. Berdella remained a casual friend of the family, also offering his assistance if Jerry encountered any minor scrapes with the law. He was also diagnosed with high blood pressure for which he took several medications. In 1964, he moved to Kansas City and married Nancy Jo Lynch, who gave birth to their first child, John Jr., in 1965, followed by daughter Kimberly in 1967, and twins Christopher and Christine in 1971. The Bloody Benders - Serial Killers of Kansas. These confessions were given to prosecutors between December 13 and 15, 1988. Convicted serial killer John E. Robinson's death penalty was upheld in a 415-page ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday. His third, noncapital conviction in Kansas was in connection with the 1985 death of Lisa Stasi, a 19-year-old who was last seen by her family with Robinson in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. Although occasionally making a generous monthly profit, the income he typically generated via this business was often not sufficient to maintain his daily expenses and to make ends meet. After the longest criminal trial in Kansas history,[6] he was convicted on all counts. When asked if he performed this act deliberately, and with malice aforethought, Berdella simply stated, "Yes. [24] The meter reader led Bryson to the house he had been approaching, whereupon the occupants promptly called the police, who arrived minutes later. [4]:353 Berdella sought solace in his Catholicism and later read extensively about many faiths but eventually became cynical about all religion. Also in the room was an electrical transformer, plugged into a wall, and with wires leading to the bed. After several weeks, the woman dies of a contracted illness despite her captor's efforts to keep her alive. The Most Dangerous Serial Killers Netflix Hasn't Done A Series - Grunge Robert Berdella was born on January 31, 1949, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio,[4]:45 the first of two sons born to Robert Andrew Berdella Sr., a die setter for the Ford Motor Company, and Mary Louise (ne Huffman) Berdella. [4]:166 The same day a dental identification was made upon Sheldon's skull, two men separately phoned the Kansas City Police Department to state one of seven unidentified young men depicted in a photographic array released to the media on April 27 was a former high school acquaintance of theirs named Mark Wallace. Prior to his arrest, Berdella was that serial killer clich, someone neighbors described as a nice man who kept to himself. [4]:183, Berdella performed well academically, though teachers often found him difficult to teach, in part due both to his aloofness, and his being the recipient of bullying by other students. For example, at one point in relation to victim James Ferris, Berdella had written an entry reading: "2 1/2 ket nk + shoulder" to indicate he had injected 2.2 cubic centimeters of ketamine into his victim's neck and shoulder. Although one victim (Mark Wallace) had been seized by opportunity when he had discovered him seeking shelter from a severe thunderstorm in his tool shed, his other five victims had been captured after he had unsuccessfully tried to steer them away from their general lifestyles, and had thus simply become frustrated at the failure of his efforts. In 1994, the mother and daughter moved from Fullerton, California, to Kansas City and immediately disappeared. He would later claim to have become increasingly frustrated that many of these individuals were ignorant of his efforts to help steer them away from self-destructive behavior. These bags were later placed inside larger trash bags which Berdella placed outside for a garbage crew to collect and take to a landfill site. Berdella would recall that like the subsequent victims he would hold captive Howell had repeatedly pleaded for his ongoing abuse and torture to cease throughout the period of his capture, although Berdella would either ignore these pleas, taunt his victim, or threaten him. Michael H. Stone & Gary Brucato. Investigators suspect that more victims remain undiscovered. Rader was a serial killer active in Kansas from 1974 to 1991. [4]:316317 An interview with Robert Sheldon's employers at a Kansas City manufacturing plant had confirmed the young man had been a reliable employee of theirs, but that he had suddenly ceased attending work in April 1985. He was sentenced to three years' probation. According to Berdella, one hour after his "experimenting" with hypodermic needles by inserting them into various muscles upon his victim's back, Mark Wallace died through a combination of "the drugs, the gag, and the lack of oxygen". Arms Ltd. 7804371090 ksarmssales@telus.net. John E. Robinson Sr., the convicted serial killer who stored some of his victims' bodies in barrels, has filed a motion to have his Johnson County death sentence thrown out. [9] Two days later, Berdella returned to Cuyahoga Falls by himself. (Investigators later sought to obtain handwriting samples from Berdella in an effort to prove he had written the notes found within the various stenographer's pads discovered at his house; he refused to cooperate and was sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court. In June 1967, Graham reported to the Kansas City police that Robinson had embezzled about $33,000 from him by manipulating checks and deposits. [4]:258, Berdella would later state that he briefly attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation upon Howell after he had died before dragging his body to the basement. [4]:269, Berdella confessed that many of the abbreviated entries within his torture logs were simply shorthand terms for methods of abuse he had inflicted upon his victims, whereas others would describe either their reactions to these ongoing acts of abuse and torture, or his initial observations upon viewing them when he entered the room where he had kept them restrained. Entries reading "EK" or "EKG" referred to torture administered to his captives with electrical shocks, whereas several other entries contained the anatomical location where Berdella administered the abuse or torture to his victims. Both Berdella's career and the side business eventually flourished, and by the mid-1970s he began working as a senior cook at several renowned Kansas City restaurants, also joining a local chefs' association and helping establish a training program for aspiring chefs at a local community college. Born in 1943, Robinson quickly turned to a life of crime, becoming involved in embezzlement and fraud. The following June, Berdella found Mark Wallace (whom he vaguely knew via Wallace having previously helped him with yard work) hiding in his tool shed to seek shelter from a severe thunderstorm. A viral social media post claiming a serial killer is targeting young Black girls in the Kansas City area is "completely unfounded," the Kansas City Police Department said Monday. By Associated Press May 28, 2022 You see, what you got, is nothing compared to what you can have. He would later be temporarily placed in protective custody at the Potosi Correctional Center, due to concerns for his safety. The Blair family is a well-known crime family in Kansas City. He then injected Howell with a heavy tranquilizer before binding the youth to his bed. At the Western Missouri Correctional Facility, he met 49-year-old Beverly Bonner, the prison librarian. [20] According to Berdella, although Sheldon was responsible in paying rent, he considered him "an inconvenience" and, although he was not physically attracted to this victim, chose to drug and hold him captive on April 12 when he returned home from work to find Sheldon intoxicated in his home.