True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

*Please be aware that the details of this post are quite disturbing. I have aimed, as always, to be as sensitive with the details whilst not taking away from the facts of the case. If you have any questions or comments about this post or any case I have covered, please feel free to contact me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com* 

Patrick Kearney is a serial killer that you never hear much about but yet, he is one of the most sadistic, calculating and evil serial killers to have ever existed in American history. He committed his gruesome crimes long before the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer but his name might not ring a bell with most people. As shallow as things can be at times, the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer may make more headlines, more books and grab more attention because of the fact that he and certain other killers were (what some may say) good looking? Patrick Kearney just seemed like any other guy, nothing stood out about him, some would even say he looked more like a librarian or a school teacher with his bookish appearance. 

Like a lot of killers hidden in plain sight, Patrick wasn't really the quiet guy next door that he appeared to be on the surface, there was a whole other layer to him, a layer so evil that even the most darkest and most gruesome of horror movies wouldn't be able to recreate the depths of depravity that ran rampant within him. He was born in September of 1939 and raised in California. His relationship with his parents wasn't a very close one, especially with his father who was often frustrated at Patrick's apparent vulnerability. His father tried his best to encourage his oldest son (Patrick was the eldest of three boys) to be more tougher and he thought the best way to teach his son to be more masculine, was to use guns and hunt. A regular past time was the shooting of pigs and Patrick was encouraged by his father to kill pigs by placing a gun behind their ears. 

As Patrick grew a bit older, he found school to be increasingly difficult because he lacked confidence and was a lot skinnier than the other kids, he felt that he didn't have any control and would be bullied constantly. When he was at home and shooting the pigs, he felt a sense of power and satisfaction. Then came the point where the shooting of the pigs was not satisfying enough and he wanted to see what their insides looked like. He began mutilating the dead pigs and playing with the blood and organs. All of this when he was still just a child. It was around the age of 8 that he claimed to have first fantasized about killing people. It began with the bullies at school, he would imagine ways of killing them and getting revenge. This became a theme throughout his life, he would continue these fantasies and anyone could be a target for these sickening thoughts, if someone disagreed with him over something, he would have sick thoughts about harming them. If someone was rude to him, he would imagine doing horrific things to them. As the years went on as well as having a disturbed mind he realised that he had a strong sexual attraction towards men and soon both his appetite for sex with men and his appetite for murder was blurred together. 

I mentioned Jeffrey Dahmer earlier and as I go more into Patrick's story you may see some similarities between him and Jeffrey. Both men were homosexual, both fantasized about murder and having sexual intercourse with corpses as well as mutilating the bodies. One of the differences between them was that Jeffrey would keep parts of his victims whilst Patrick would dispose of them. 

Either by his own personal choice or to impress his father, Patrick joined the US Air Force at the age of 20 and during his time in the force he realised that his feelings towards men was only growing stronger and he discovered that he had struck up a close friendship with a married man. The married man (David Hill) was living with a woman at the time but he was secretly homosexual and when he met Patrick the pair realised that they both had a strong attraction and so an affair began. Feelings between the two of them intensified and when they both left the force they moved in together in California with David having left his wife for Patrick. 

The relationship between them was often tumultuous but Patrick was utterly devoted to David and felt that for the first time in his life he had found someone who finally loved and accepted him for him. Although happy in the relationship Patrick couldn't keep the dark fantasies at bay and it would get worse whenever he and David had a fight. David would use cheap shots during arguments which would hurt Patrick, he would threaten to return to his wife and on one occasion he did but soon came back a short time later. They were both deeply in love with each other despite the difficulties in their relationship. 

The relationship between Patrick and David made me think about Aileen Wuornos and Tyria Moore, this might not come across as understandable at first but you'll see my point as we continue further. Like Aileen, Patrick was the one who supported the pair financially whilst David stayed at home (much like Tyria). Patrick however, was not a sex worker, he had quite a well paid job as an engineer working for the well respected Hughes Aircraft Company. Patrick despite the obvious flaws we know about, was actually something of a genius intellectually. He had a very high IQ and so was able to bring a decent amount of money home which David took full advantage of. 

So, Patrick had a great job and for the most part, a great relationship but despite the positives in his life, he couldn't shake off the sick thoughts and fantasies. He was eager to carry out his fantasies with real boys and men and even more disturbingly is the fact that he did. Young boys and men started going missing, dismembered male remains were being dumped at the side of freeways, there was a serial killer on the loose and it was Patrick Kearney. These sickening murders of innocent boys and men were said to have taken place whenever David was not around or had left the couple's home either for a few days or the time that he went back to his wife....according to Patrick when later questioned by investigators. 

Patrick was using his bookish, nice guy persona to pick up boys and young men, he would shoot them in that back of the head like he had done with the pigs in the past, then he would have sexual intercourse with the deceased bodies before dismembering and dumping the remains. As intelligent as he was, he was still careless because he used a particular type of trash bag to put the remains into and a particular type of tape. Later on when David and Patrick had a pet dog, the animal had a distinctive type of white fur and this would often be found in the bags with the remains as well as carpet fibres they had in their home. 

Patrick later confessed to investigators that he had been carrying out his sick crimes as far back as 1962. With one of his victims he had shot in the back of the head and panicked about the bullet being traced back to him so he actually removed the bullet from the victim's brain before further mutilation of the remains and disposal. The home that he shared with David (whom he claimed had not a single thing to do with any of the abductions, the murders, the dismemberment of the bodies or the disposal of the remains) had been the crime scene to many of the murders, the bath had been used to dismember bodies and drain the victim's blood. The victims had been either murdered in the house or their bodies brought back to be dismembered because of the dog hair and carpet strands that had been found on the victim's remains in the trash bags. 

Patrick Kearney's reign of terror had been going on for 15 years and most of his victims were vulnerable young men, a lot of them hitchhikers or or sex workers. He was finally traced by the police when they were investigating the murder of his final victim, 17 year old John Lamay. John's family were worried sick about what had happened to their loved one and did all they could to find him. John's mother claimed that John had mentioned having a friend called 'Dave' and that he would often spend the night at his house. His mother knew the location roughly and investigators headed over to the house where they encountered both Patrick and David. The house was searched and at first glance it was clear that a lot of evidence in the property confirmed that the cops had the right suspects. The white fur and the distinctive carpet fibres as well as the trash bags and tape all matched up. Investigators had to take it all back to the forensics lab to confirm that it was all a match before they could go any further. Patrick and David were as cool as cucumbers without a look of anxiety amongst them, they were warned to stay put and they agreed, pretending to be unaware of what was going on and only happy to help the police. 

All evidence that was gathered at the house confirmed by forensics to be an exact match and the cops rushed over to Patrick and David's house to arrest them but as you can probably guess, they fled the scene. A manhunt was quickly underway and they were placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List with posters plastered all over the place it was going to be difficult for them to hide and so it was that a short time later, 37 year old Patrick Kearney and David Hill handed themselves into the police in July of 1977. The pair just walked into the police department, one of them pointed to the wanted poster on the notice board, smiled and said ''That's us''.

Both of them were arrested on the spot and investigators as well as the families of the victims breathed a sigh of relief that they were now in custody and off the streets. In a bizarre turn of events, in the interrogation room, Patrick insisted that David had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the murders. He claimed that David knew nothing and that everything was done without his knowledge. The police investigated David and couldn't find a connection to him and did take note that some of the dates in which the boys and men went missing or the estimated times of death sort of fell in with the times that David and Patrick had been apart from each other, so they let David go. 

This was another part of the story that reminded me of Aileen Wuornos and Tyria Moore, because you may remember me talking about the blood on the steering wheel of the stolen car from one of Aileen's victims. Tyria was driving the car with the blood still there as well as the fact that Aileen was making a lot of money as well as bringing home items that belonged to victims. Tyria always claimed to be innocent of any wrongdoing or knowledge but Aileen was so wrapped up in Tyria emotionally that she protected her. This is just my opinion but I know that many other people have suspected the same but there was no way to ever prove what conversations went on between Tyria and Aileen after the murders and despite Tyria selling Aileen out, Aileen remained faithful to protecting her until the day she died. Was this the same situation with David? Or was David 100% innocent of any part in the crimes? let me know your thoughts on this. 

Patrick confessed to the murders he was accused of and claimed to have murdered even more victims, possibly more than 30. He was convicted of only 21 of the murders due to lack of enough physical evidence but he detailed each murder as if it had only happened the day before. He received 21 life sentences and at the time of writing this post he is currently 86 and serving his sentence at Mule Creek State Prison in California. The whereabouts of David Hill (if he is still alive) are not known. Some of Patrick Kearney's victim's remains have never been found and many victims still  remain unidentified. 

RIP to John Lamay and the many victims of Patrick Kearney. To those who are still unidentified, I hope and pray that one day justice will be done and my heart goes out to all of the victim's families and survivors. 

You may be interested in this little clip about Patrick Kearney's so-called connection to Lee Harvey Oswald (the man who allegedly shot the late President John F Kennedy). You can view the clip here!!

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers | Book by Michael Newton

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood & Rebecca Lo

- Patrick Kearney | Wikipedia

- Patrick Kearney & David Hill: Article | The New York Times

- Patrick Kearney | IMDB

- Patrick Kearney | Reddit Discussion Thread

- Patrick Kearney | Murderpedia

- Patrick Kearney: Documentary | Youtube

- Patrick Kearney Victims | Find A Grave

- Redondo beach: California | Wikipedia

- Patrick Kearney & Lee Harvey Oswald | Youtube

If you have made it this far in this post, I appreciate it, as I know that this was another very disturbing case to get through. I appreciate your time and would be interested to read your thoughts on this shocking story. Please leave a comment below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

In the meantime, I hope you will join me on my Socials and also hope that you will join me for my next post. Stay safe until next time....x 

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some very disturbing details in this post to do with murder, mutilation, dismemberment, physical and sexual abuse and assault, substance abuse and sex work. I will, as always, aim to be as sensitive as I can be with the details without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to contact me about this post, please feel free to do so at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com* 

He's known as one of the most prolific, most evil and most sadistic serial killers that the USA has ever seen, Dayton Leroy Rogers. To the outside world he painted himself as a quiet family man, a supposedly happily married and hard-working father of one young son, who ran his own business that he built up from scratch repairing lawn mower machines. To his local community he didn't stand out, he came across as quite a polite, well-spoken man and appeared to not be a danger to anyone. Little did his family, friends and neighbours know, Dayton was leading a double life. 

Away from playing the busy father who did all he could to help put food on the table to support his wife and child, on paper he sounded like such a great guy but what he really was under this facade and performance, was a cold-blooded sexual sadist, rapist, torturer of women and evil murderer. Whilst his wife and son were at home, Dayton was out searching the streets for vulnerable women in the red light district of Clackamas County in Oregon, USA. His victims of choice were young women who had fallen on to the wrong path in life, who'd struggled to battle drug addiction and worked on the cold streets, selling their bodies to either pay for their habit, buy some dinner or both. It was a hard life for them and any drop of kindness that came their way, they were going to snap it up like a shot. Dayton trawled through the streets looking for his victims and used his average appearance, nice, family guy persona, to lure, manipulate, lie and ultimately murder his victims and he grew such a taste for it that one victim soon became two, then three, then four and then so on. He even had a favourite location where he would dispose of his victims after brutally sexual assaulting them, torturing them, then murdering them and if that wasn't sickening enough, he would cut off their feet. He would promise sex workers more drugs and more money. There was women he had encountered before who worked the streets and he engaged with them but no violence took place, they were the lucky ones. He was a frequent customer of sex workers and like a lot of sexual sadists, the fantasies that he kept locked away in his mind were not good enough anymore, he wanted the real thing. 

In his childhood it may come as no surprise when I tell you that the red flags were always there. He was born into a dysfunctional family on the 30th of September 1953 and his relationship with his parents was said to have been a very distant one, especially with his father who was reportedly very strict and abusive. Dayton was one of three children and despite his parents not exactly being the affectionate type, they decided to adopt more children. Dayton was not pleased with having more children join the family because he saw himself as the baby and there was a jealousy that the new kids would be taking his place as they were younger than him. Whatever was his cause for choosing to travel on to a very dark path is up for debate but as the years moved forward, Dayton became more and more rebellious and began indulging in petty crimes. 

At the age of 16 he thought it would be a good idea to shoot at cars with a BB gun in the hopes of causing some unsuspecting motorist a serious accident. He enjoyed that feeling of having power over people, as he believed it to be, deciding who was going to live or die. This sadistic past time was met with a basic slap on the wrist and this became a running theme throughout the years. Dayton would get himself involved in trouble but managed to get out of it and the more he got away with things, the more he pushed and pushed to see how much more he could get away with. Recently we have seen a number of shocking murders that have been committed by perpetrators who have been given numerous pathetic sentences and allowed back on the streets to go that one step further to the point that some innocent person loses their life. There is an imbalance in the so-called justice system both here in the UK and in the USA, they'll lock someone up for the least little thing but in some serious cases they'll give short sentences or suspended sentences and it leaves you in utter disbelief. 

The petty crimes escalated as he continued to get away with his behaviour and whilst all of this was going on he was harbouring these sick fantasies about sadistic sex with women, torturing them and murdering them. In 1972 he took a girl to the woods for some 'fun'. He was pretending that both of them being in the woods was some sort of kinky game that he was trying to play on her during a sex act. The girl, who was 15 at the time and he was 19, ended up being attacked with a knife but managed to talk him out of causing her any more harm and convince him to take her to the hospital. Luckily the girl survived and was in safe hands when she was able to finally get away from him. 

For this shocking crime he was hardly punished (basically given 4 years probation) and so his violent fantasies and evil behaviour just continued to escalate. His temptation to carry out his fantasies was becoming overwhelming for him, despite being newly married at the time. 

Not long after this, at the age of 20 he committed a violent attack on two teenage girls using a glass bottle but was able to get away with this too by pleading insanity. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and spent less than 10 months there before being released. With all that had gone on before and an obvious pattern emerging, you would have thought that it would have been obvious to the authorities that Dayton Leroy Rogers was a ticking timebomb but no, they chose to turn a blind eye which is, sadly often the case until something even more disturbing happens. 

His first marriage had ended in divorce and that lady was lucky to have been able to get away from him unharmed but he soon found himself a new wife who he married in 1975. Probably feeling that he was untouchable at this point because he had been getting away with his crimes for so long, he took another step further with his sick fantasies and attacked another two teenage girls, one girl was brutally raped and can you believe this?........he was acquitted of this due to his excuse of having a mental illness. He was finally convicted and sent away for five years for coercion and spent just over five years behind bars before being released, the sentence was not enough. 

Not long after serving time in prison he reportedly committed his first murder of a sex worker who was just 21 years old. This began a chain of horrific murders of eight women that authorities are aware of with one of them being sadly unidentified to this day. Each victim was vulnerable and working on the streets when he lured them away, manipulated them into providing sexual services and then suddenly turning violent towards these vulnerable women who found themselves trapped in his car and terrified at his mercy. He forced himself upon them and tortured them before strangling them. He also stabbed the women and placed their bodies in a wooded location known as the Molalla Forest, hence why he is often referred to as 'The Molalla Forest Killer. 

Dayton's victims were all female aged between 16 and 35 and he was suspected of murdering eight women in total but there may be more unidentified victims. Seven of the victims were found at Molalla Forest, six were identified and one remains unidentified. Dayton was a chronic alcoholic so would often carry around miniature bottles of alcohol and orange juice, these were found at the scene. 

A witness who had been walking through the forest had discovered a decomposed body and when the authorities arrived and a thorough search conducted, they found more bodies, it was clear that these poor women had suffered a great deal at the hands of their murderer. Feet had been cut off and one victim had a deep knife wound that started at her vagina and all the way up to her sternum, it was a very sickening scene indeed and only a complete monster could do such a thing. 

Dayton was finally caught and arrested after customers had heard some commotion coming from a truck in a Denny's parking lot. Dayton had been assaulting another victim who sadly died from her injuries. Dayton was taken into custody and investigators were able to connect him to the innocent victims who's remains were found at Molalla Forest. 

Dayton's murder spree was reportedly from 1983 to 1987 but how can anyone be really sure if he just committed murder in that space of time? Having his criminal background and knowing he had been having sick fantasies from a young age and committing petty crimes at 16, one wonders if he actually started killing way before 1983 but the victims are still yet to be identified?. What makes it very difficult to know for sure is his choice of victims always being sex workers and women who were dependent on drugs, often then poor women don't have family to rely on or run away and there's nobody to check up on them so they slip through the cracks and forever remain a mystery. 

He was found guilty for his evil crimes and sentenced to death and that should have been the end of it but no, so began a pathetic merry dance of death penalty changed to life sentence, life sentence changed to death penalty, death penalty changed to life sentence. So right now, at the age of 72, Dayton Leroy Rogers is currently serving his life sentence at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla which is a city in Florida. 

It's clear at the age of 72 that he'll never see the light of day again and it's a relief that he is no longer on the streets but what of the families of these poor women? I know there is often some judgement passed on families of sex workers, especially sex workers who lose their lives to drugs or murder. Some people ask where the families were and why didn't they stop their loved one? It's a very complicated situation and it's not really for us to judge but life can get in the way sometimes and a person's reasons for ending up on the streets isn't always so black and white. Drug addictions can take hold of someone and it can be hard for some families to get through to the person going through the addiction. There may have been families who had lost contact, these were the days before mobile phones and the internet so it wasn't so easy to track people down. Family members may have lost contact with one of these poor girls and then the next thing they knew they were seeing the news reports on TV. Whatever the situation, these poor girls and women did not deserve to lose their lives and to lose their lives in such a horrific way. Investigators believe that some of the horrendous mutilation (ie the cutting of the feet) may have occurred whilst the victims were still alive. 

Why did Dayton Leroy Rogers do all of these evil and horrific things to all of these innocent people? I've watched him in a video where he is making a pathetic attempt at one of his trials to have his sentence reduced. Reading from a piece of paper he gives a really bad performance attempting to convey what he thinks is a display of remorse. I could even predict the pauses in between the fake sniffles. I don't buy his act of remorse for one second and I'm sure you don't either but seeing him stood there, this pathetic looking individual who caused so much hell, he was just a little nobody who had managed to fool so many people with his lies and manipulation over the years and for the most part, in the beginning he got away with it. 

At 72 years of age, it'll soon be time for Dayton Leroy Rogers to meet his maker and what a hell of a disgraceful and disturbing legacy to leave behind. I'm sure his son and ex wives are still suffering and no doubt trying to recover from the trauma of being connected to such a person.

RIP to the known victims, may they always be remembered for who they were and not for the difficult times that they went through or the horrific and cruel ending of their lives......RIP Cynthia ''Dee Dee'' Diane DiVore (21), Maureen Ann Hodges (26), Reatha Marie Gyles (16), Nondace ''Noni'' Kae Cervantes (26), Lisa Marie Mock (23), Christine Lotus Adams (35), Jennifer Lisa Smith (25) and the unidentified lady who was also found as well as any possible others, you are all in our thoughts. Thoughts are also with the survivors and their families too. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Victims of Dayton Leroy Rogers | Find A Grave

- Dayton Leroy Rogers: Article | Statesman Journal

- Dayton Leroy Rogers | Murderpedia

- Dayton Leroy Rogers | Wikipedia

- State v. Rogers | Justia Court Documents

- Dayton Leroy Rogers: Article | Oregon Live

- Oregon | Wikipedia

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood & Rebecca Lo

If you have made it this far in the post, I really appreciate your time and would love to hear your thoughts on this case, either below in the comments section, by contact form or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com. I hope you will join me again for my next post. In the meantime, I hope to see you elsewhere on my Socials. 

Take care, stay safe and I hope to see you here in my next post x 

(Martha Rendell. Picture credit: executedtoday)

*Please be aware that I will be talking about some sensitive details to do with child abuse in this post. I always aim to be as sensitive as I can be when sharing the details without taking away from the facts of the case. Please feel free to email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com if you have any questions about this post*

There's women in this world who are naturally maternal and have the ability to provide a loving, caring, safe and nurturing home to their children but there is also the not-so maternal kind, the women who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children. This case is decades old but still very much a shocking moment in Australia's criminal history. This story is one that you may have heard about before but just in-case it's new to you I have included it here on my blog to finish off this trio of posts that I have written over the past few weeks, to do with women who have used poison as their method of murder. 

In my previous two posts, I shared the shocking stories of Blanche Taylor Moore and Velma Barfield who both poisoned their husbands and lovers as well as being suspected of the sudden deaths of many others, In this post I will be talking about a woman who was so obsessed with her partner that she murdered three of his children whilst also trying to murder a fourth child who managed to escape. Martha Rendell was her name and I'm sure if any of you hail from the gorgeous country of Australia, you will probably be familiar with that name and the case. For those who don't know the story, I hope you will find this post to be informative.

So let's get into it....With this case being decades ago, trying to track down details of Martha's childhood has been a challenge but what we do know is that she was born in Adelaide, Australia on the 10th of August 1871. She left her family home at the age of just 16 and lived a rebellious lifestyle which resulted in her being a single parent of three children. She struggled as a parent and wasn't really cut out for the role, she also had a bit of a bad reputation as it was frowned upon back in those days to have children out of wedlock. With no clear direction in life and feeling tied down as a young mother, she found excitement in a married man named Thomas Morris. 

Call it 'Daddy Issues' or whatever but Martha couldn't keep herself away from this married man who was not only living with his wife but his children too. Thomas encouraged and enjoyed the attention from Martha and the pair went on to have a full blown affair which soon caught the attention of the locals. Martha already had an unsavory reputation as it was and knowledge that she was seeing a married man just made things worse, especially in those days. Thomas decided it was time to move out of town because he had a job offer elsewhere and he wanted to get away from being the subject of local gossip. Thomas and Martha fell in love and he asked her to leave with him. Thomas left his wife and Martha left her three children behind and they moved out of town.

Thomas, Martha and his children all lived in a house together and Thomas was often away working whilst it was Martha's role to take care of the children. Before Thomas left his wife, Martha would dream of the day that she would finally have Thomas all to herself and when he did leave his wife (who he wasn't divorced it was quite difficult to set up a divorce back then so Thomas and his former wife just remained separated) it wasn't quite how she imagined. First of all it was bad enough that she wouldn't be able to marry him as he was still technically married to his first wife on paper, there was also the issue of his children that Martha had a love/hate relationship with. It seemed that the children were never fully comfortable with Martha and she didn't have the patience for them either, she just wanted to be with Thomas.

The children missed their mother and felt some animosity towards Martha as if they felt that she was to blame for the break-up of their parents marriage. Martha didn't have the time, patience or mothering persona that the children experienced previously with their own mother. With Thomas being away working a lot of the time, the children and Martha were together quite a lot and money was tight, it could often be quite miserable and hard to get by. 

In Martha's mind she felt that the children were a burden and a barrier between herself and Thomas, there was no privacy and she didn't want to share him with his children. In the space of just 14 months, three of the children had fallen seriously ill out of nowhere and died. Annie was just seven years old when she passed away after being declared as suffering from 'Diphtheria' which is a serious bacterial infection that causes extreme coughing, sore throat, fever, swollen glands and exhaustion. When the family Doctor was at the house, Martha played the part of the caring stepmother and said that she had been trying to nurse Annie back to health. When the second child died (Seven year old Olive) just a few months later, the Doctor returned and gave the same diagnosis and put it down to just a heartbreaking coincidence. However, when Arthur passed away (Arthur was slightly older than the girls, having been 14) the Doctor became suspicious of what was going on. 

With the Doctor's suspicions and then the revelation that a fourth child, George had fled the house because he believed that Martha was trying to kill him, Martha was taken into custody. George survived but spoke of how Martha had been swabbing the children's throats with Hydrochloric acid and this was causing the children's throats to swell up and for them to exhibit the symptoms that had been seen on the days and weeks leading up to their deaths. On the day that George ran away, Martha had tried to swab his throat with the acid but he was lucky to have survived and got away. 

An investigation was conducted and it was found that Martha had indeed poisoned the children and attempted to poison George also, with Hydrochloric acid. Initially Thomas was arrested alongside Martha because he had been noted as purchasing some of the acid but after some investigation was done, authorities believed Thomas to have been completely unaware of what had been going on. 

Martha Rendell stood trial and was sentenced to death, She was to hang for her despicable crimes and in those days, they didn't mess about. She had initially been arrested in July of 1909 and by October the 6th 1909 she was deceased. Her time of death was noted at 8am and took place at Freemantle prison (which is now a tourist attraction, I'll leave a link to it at the end of this post). There was no tears, no regret and not a shred of remorse, she was buried in Freemantle Cemetery and was the last woman to be put to death in the state of Western Australia. Martha was 38 years old at the time of her death.

Another disturbing bit of trivia about this story is that another serial killer by the name of Eric Edgar Cooke was also placed in the plot where Martha's remains were placed decades before. He was placed there in 1964, so the two monsters share the same grave in Freemantle Cemetery. 

RIP to Annie, Olive and Arthur.

What a shocking story no matter how long ago that it took place, some things in history are so terrible that it's hard to ever forget them and it's important that we don't forget, for the sake of the innocent victims. I hope you have found this post to be informative and do take a look at some of the links I have included about Freemantle prison and the cemetery, so much history and with the prison in particular....can you imagine if the walls could talk? some people believe that Martha haunts the prison and that there is an illusion on one of the prison window's that can only be seen from the outside, people believe that it is the face of Martha Rendell but who know's? If anyone has seen it leave a comment below, I love all things paranormal too. 

Australia is definitely a place I would love to visit one day and I would very much like to visit the Freemantle prison and cemetery. 

Further reading & sources:

- Martha Rendell: Article | Executed Today

- Martha Rendell | Wikipedia

- Eric Edgar Cooke | Wikipedia

- Freemantle Cemetery | Official Website

- Freemantle Prison | Official Website

- Diphtheria: Article | Mayo Clinic

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood & Rebecca Lo

- Martha Rendell: Article | WA Police History

Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post, if you would like to help support my work or follow me elsewhere on social media, all of my links can be found here

Stay safe & I hope you will join me in my next post x 

(Velma Barfield in her prison cell. Picture credit: Fayobserver)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some sensitive details in this post which will include discussion of childhood trauma and abuse as well as mental health issues. I will, as always, aim to be as sensitive as I can be with the details without taking away from the details of the case.*

Velma Barfield (born Margie Velma Bullard on the 29th of October 1932 in Eastover, North Carolina) was known not only as 'Death Row Granny' but also as the first woman to die from lethal injection in the United States. Those familiar with the history of death row cases and specifically executions will know Velma's story very well. On the outside she looked like she could be anyone's auntie or grandmother but behind the friendly and soft spoken persona was a psychopath who was reportedly suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, with an alter ego that she referred to as 'Billy'.

As is not surprising especially with the diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder, Velma's childhood was quite a difficult one at the hands of her father. My last post featured the Blanche Taylor Moore case which is quite similar to Velma's story as both came from similar backgrounds and committed similar crimes. Velma's father was physically abusive and there was nobody to go to for comfort, her mother allowed the physical and emotional abuse to continue and Velma had to continue to endure many years of suffering before she left home. 

Determined to put her traumatic childhood behind her and begin a new life, she met and married a man named Thomas Burke. With Thomas Velma was eager to start a family and try to rebuild her life, they had two children together and it looked as though Velma had gotten the family life that she had always dreamed of, but soon cracks began to appear. When she began suffering terrible pain during her monthly cycle she contacted a Doctor and examinations were carried out that determined that Velma would be best to have a hysterectomy. It was a difficult situation for her to go through but she was in so much pain that she felt she had no choice. Nowadays in this type of situation there are a number of things that can be considered before having to commit to a full hysterectomy but times were different back then.

Going through the procedure and having the task of trying to heal her body, Velma assumed that all of her pain issues would be no more but for some reason she was still suffering and this led to sleepless nights and irritability. Thomas and Velma would have aggressive arguments and thought it would be best for Velma to try some sort of painkiller medication which seemed to help at first but she became addictive and this affected her personality too. 

With all the stress that had been going on in the marriage, Thomas found himself addicted to alcohol. It was clear that the pair were not happy in the relationship. Anyone else would've just called it a day and got a divorce but that never happened because on the 4th of April 1969, tragedy struck (or shall we say....alleged tragedy struck). Velma took the children out for the day to run some errands, Thomas stayed at home. When Velma and the kids returned they were greeted with the horrific sight of their beloved family home in flames with the devastating knowledge that Thomas was trapped inside. 

Everyone was heartbroken for Velma and the children, they'd lost both a husband and a father and people rallied around them to support them the best they could, especially Velma's mother Lillian. Velma and the children were able to find another home but under strange circumstances, that home also just happened to mysteriously end up in flames, luckily the kids and Velma were not harmed but it sure was a horrible 'coincidence'.

With the shocking trauma of having two homes burned down and the tragic loss of her husband, the father of her children, you would have thought that Velma would be taking some time for herself to try to come to terms with so much devastation in such a short space of time but no, she had another man on the scene the very next year. 

The money that Velma had received on the insurances with the houses and of course the horrible loss of Thomas, was able to help her and the children get by, but in her personal life, she decided it was time to start dating again. With things moving so quick there were a few raised eyebrows but some people put it down to trauma and Velma just needing someone to lean on and some company. Things moved super fast with her new man, Jennings Barfield, it was a sort of 'blink and you'd miss it' sort of situation. Practically within a short space of time and meeting they were married and living together and it hadn't even been a year.

More tragedy fell on Velma's shoulders when Jennings suddenly passed away from a heart attack, they'd not even been married a year. It just seemed as though poor Velma could not catch a break. 

With the devastating loss of two husbands and two homes, Velma must have been mentally and physically exhausted with all of the grief so it wasn't surprising that she took some time to live with her mother Lillian. 

Lillian had become a rock to Velma despite the difficulties of the past when Velma felt that her mother didn't care about what was happening to her at the hands of her abusive father. Things seemed to be fine for a while and Velma and the children seemed to have gotten their spark back having Lillian around. But.....as you'll probably guess, things took another tragic turn when Lillian suddenly took very ill with some sort of mysterious illness. She managed to recover within days and everyone breathed a sigh of relief but the mysterious illness later returned and she was admitted into hospital where she sadly passed away on the 30th of December, 1974.

Whatever strange and tragic events that were happening around Velma in those years at least there was the positive knowledge that the children never came to harm although they were heartbroken at the sudden loss of both their father and grandmother. 

Velma decided that she wanted to become a carer for elderly and vulnerable people. In 1976 she grew close to an elderly couple by the names of Dollie and Montgomery (Edwards) who saw her as like the daughter they never had. Velma would run errands for the couple, take them to Doctors appointments, cook and clean the house etc. It wasn't long before Montgomery suddenly fell ill and passed away, with his heartbroken devoted wife Dollie passing away a short time later of the exact same mysterious illness. It was clear that Velma was responsible for the deaths of this couple and no doubt the previous sudden deaths from years before. 

Instead of alarm bells being raised, Velma continued going about her every day business and befriended another elderly couple, Rec and John Henry who met a similar fate to the Edwards couple. The last unfortunate soul to end up crossing paths with Venomous Velma (that's just a nickname I've given her, not an 'official' nickname) was Rowland Taylor and this relationship was a romantic one, not that romantic though because this poor chap ended up deceased within a year of meeting Velma and she stole quite a large sum of money from him. Rowland had passed away on the 3rd of February 1978 and this time people were not buying the 'tragic Velma' story, an autopsy was performed on Rowland and there it was in all it's glory, evidence of rat poison. 

The game was up for Velma and she was arrested and charged with murder. Surprisingly when questioned about the mysterious deaths of people close to her in the past she didn't hold back. Velma confessed to everything and this was acknowledged that she was indeed responsible for the murders. She had confessed to poisoning everyone including Rowland, her previous two husbands and her mother. She was convicted of Rowland's murder and sentenced to death. Due to the full confession of all murders and the abundance of evidence that she was responsible for the death of Rowland, it was decided that exhuming the other victims would not be necessary. 

Velma did appeal and when that was obviously thrown out she gave up and accepted her fate. As the years went on (Velma also served her sentence in the very same prison facility as Blanche Taylor Moore), Velma opened up about her past and despite knowing there was no way she'd be released from prison and that her fate was decided, she apparently demonstrated great remorse for all that she had done. She turned to Christianity and fully devoted herself to helping other prisoners and her reputation for being a shoulder to cry on and a great support to others became well known. Even the guards of the prison took a liking to Velma which may sound bizarre to us but some people believed that she truly turned her life around in prison because of finding faith and getting the much needed psychological help that she should have received many years before. 

It was clear that Velma was either a genius at manipulating people or she was genuinely sorry for what she had done. As I mentioned earlier she was diagnosed with a mental illness and one can believe that she either faked this illness or that she genuinely was psychologically ill. The motive for the murders she could not explain because to her these murders were carried out by her alter ego who she called 'Billy'. It is not uncommon for abused children to develop psychological illness as a result of past trauma. It's not uncommon for abused children to invent 'imaginary friends' or suffer some sort of episode where they believe they are someone else. Velma did suffer terribly at the hands of her father when she was a child and the fact that her mother didn't intervene would have no doubt left her with feelings of betrayal and abandonment. 

I'm not down-playing what Velma did because innocent people lost their lives and she caused her own children trauma due to her heartless actions, but her ability to develop fully was disturbed as a child causing her to have a split personality. She had difficulty feeling love because her parents did not demonstrate love to her, so she grew up cold. 

With so much time in prison and professionals there to listen, Velma's past was put under the microscope and she faced a lot of things and reportedly tried to make good in some sort of way by helping others. 

With endless appeals, some prisoners who are 100% guilty will try to play the system whilst they serve their time on death row, resulting on many of them dying before any sort of execution is served. The appeals prolong time and can take years. Velma's time for her sentence to be completed was fast approaching and that date was to be the 2nd of November, 1984. 

Taking everything into consideration, Velma's case was watched closely by human rights campaigners as well as fellow prisoners who claimed that she was like a grandmother to them. Due to the fact that she had been considered a model prisoner and her mental health difficulties there were people who believed that she did not deserve to be put to death, they thought it more appropriate that her sentence be changed to life imprisonment. Velma was aware of the support she had both inside and outside of the prison but no matter what other people's opinions of her situation may have been, the fact is that she took lives, not one, not two but reportedly as many as seven whilst also benefiting financially from those deaths. 

On the 2nd of November 1984, Velma was dressed in pink pyjamas and blue slippers as she was walked towards the room where she was to be given the lethal injection. She was 52 years old. Just hours before she had refused the option of a 'last meal' and instead opted for a soda and a packet of 'Cheeze Doodlez' (which I think is the American version of the UK's cheesy Wotsits). This option combined with the fact that she was dressed in pink pyjamas gives (in my opinion) a very child-like vibe to the whole situation as disturbing as it was. 

Sixteen people were reportedly present at Velma's last moments and before the deadly drug was administered, Velma was given the chance to have some final words, she said: 

''I know that everybody has gone through a lot of pain, all the families connected, and I am sorry, and I want to thank everybody who have been supporting me these past six years,'' 

Velma had reportedly told friends, family members and supporters that she was prepared to meet her maker with as much degree of dignity as the system would allow. She said that she also saw her execution as her ''Gateway to heaven.''

Just hours before her scheduled execution, during and afterwards, there were protests both inside and outside of the prison. Some people were satisfied at what they saw as justice being done and other people were upset because they believed that she didn't deserve to be executed. 

When Velma was officially declared deceased, her body was taken straight away to a nearby hospital where some of her organs were removed as it was her wish to have them donated to those who were on the transplant register as well as medical science. The rest of her remains were prepared for burial in Fayetteville. 

In a lot of death row cases, convicted murderers are often buried elsewhere in unmarked graves but in another strange twist and some may say, quite disturbing, Velma was buried in Parkton Cemetery near her first husband Thomas Burke as arranged by her son. Velma had kept in regular contact with her children whilst she was serving her sentence. 

RIP to the victims of Velma Barfield. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Velma Barfield: Article | Fayetteville Observer

- The Death Row Granny | Book by Jack Smith

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood & Rebecca Lo

- Velma Barfield | Wikipedia

- Velma Barfield: Article | The New York Times

- Lethal Injection | Wikipedia

So, what are your thoughts on this disturbing and interesting case? Some unusual details included, do you think it's possible that people can turn their lives around serving their sentences or do you think it is all an act in an attempt at a change a sentence or possible early release? Do you believe that Velma was psychologically ill or was it all just pure manipulation? A strange story indeed and I appreciate you taking the time to come through through this case with me all the way to the end. 

I would love to hear your thoughts either below or by email: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

In the meantime, as always, I hope to see you on my Socials. 

Stay safe, until next time x

 (Blanche Taylor Moore. Picture credit: Greensboro News)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post where I will be talking about childhood trauma and sexual abuse. As always I will try to be as sensitive as I can be with the details and if you have any comments or questions about the post, please contact me via the contact form on my blog page or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

They said that her homemade chocolate cake was phenomenal at the church fair, she could've been a chef if she wanted to as she was a dab hand at baking and cooking. She was a pillar of the community, always a friendly, smiling face, always available for a nice chat and a cup of coffee.....but there was just a slight concerning detail about the flirtatious and charismatic Blanch Taylor Moore.......people who were close to her had a habit of dying a painful death. Call it a terrible coincidence or that she was just very unfortunate when it came to her choosing of husbands and lovers, but mysteriously these men would end up deceased.

It wasn't a mystery for long because anyone with two brain cells could see what the real story was with Blanche and the cops were suspicious of her from the start. I briefly talked about Blanche in a post I had written back in 2020 but in that particular post I just touched on her crimes as I had been talking about two other cases too. As I've always been intrigued with the Blanche Taylor Moore case (thanks in part to the 90's TV movie based on the case featuring one of my glamorous idols, Elizabeth Montgomery) I thought it was time for good old Blanche to have a post of her own on my blog especially as she is the USA's oldest living female prisoner on death row. 

At the current age of 92, she seems to be still going strong despite having battled a number of health issues, including cancer. Thanks to her numerous appeals over the years she has managed to manipulate the system and prolong her execution date meaning she'll most probably die before that day ever comes around. 

Blanche is currently serving her sentence in the same prison that she has been in since November 1990, the Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since the day she was arrested she had continued to plead her innocence despite the high amount of evidence to the contrary. She is said to be a model prisoner and spends a lot of time writing poetry as well as partaking in other hobbies such as cooking and reading.

So let's get into some of Blanche's background especially her upbringing and her crimes. She was born on the 17th of February 1933 in Concord, North Carolina, USA. She had a difficult childhood which may come as no surprise. Not much is known about her relationship with her mother Flonnie, but her father was said to have been a very abusive man who subjected her to a lot of trauma. Parker was a religious man and Baptist Minister who was very strict, cruel and reportedly forced Blanche into prostitution to pay off his debts, he was a heavy gambler. According to Blanche he was a violent drunk who would have numerous affairs behind his wife's back. The traumatic experiences with her father and watching how he behaved, developed this mistrust and hatred towards men that would continue for the rest of her life. 

You can see where the path with Blanche began and it was with her father's abuse. Your first important relationships in your life are with your parents and in a lot of cases your experiences in childhood help shape your views on the world and people, and these views can be carried on way into adulthood. Blanche didn't have many positive experiences with men when she was growing up and this further created this view that they were not to be trusted. Blanche's upbringing was quite a cold, unaffectionate one and this shaped her lack of genuine warmth, love and care for others, she knew how to put on an act in front of people but she couldn't feel genuine love for them. 

As she grew older it became more about survival for her and she viewed everyone with suspicion. With having a lot of disturbing sexual abuse in her childhood, she had almost a split personality jumping from an adult like state to a child like state. She was very intelligent, she could quote several texts from the bible and had the ability to be a great conversationalist which enabled people to warm to her and believe her to be a trustworthy person. Blanche's father passed away in 1968 and the death was listed as being due to a heart attack, nobody batted an eyelid because of his lifestyle but suspicions weren't raised until many years later about what was the real truth of his death. 

Having been starved of love, affection and put through horrendous abuse in her childhood, it was no surprise that Blanche was looking to create a family of her own and find a father figure. She thought she had found that in a man named James Taylor. She rushed into marriage with him and had two children. Things were fine at first, she felt she had some sort of security with him and she had taken a job at a local grocery store to help pay the bills but became very dissatisfied with married life. James had disappointed her and she felt that there was no excitement in the marriage so she began an affair with her boss, the store manager, Raymond Reid. 

Just a few years after her father's death from a supposed heart attack, James Taylor suddenly died of a heart attack too. Eyebrows were raised when it was discovered that the whole time she and Raymond were seeing each other and continued to see each other after James's death. By 1985 she was fed up with Raymond and began flirting with another employee at work who just happened to be a regional manager. For one reason or another this affair quickly turned sour and Blanche publicly accused this man (Kevin Denton) of sexual harassment. Whether this was actually the case is unclear but later knowing the full track record of Blanche it's possible that this man tried to end things and she wanted revenge with some sort of financial gain. Kevin was humiliated and viewed as a pervert, his life was turned upside down and he was fired from his position. Blanche didn't let the matter drop and the company ended up paying her $275,000 in compensation. 

Still in a relationship with Raymond Reid and being awarded this sum of money, Blanche didn't waste any time moving on to the next guy who happened to be a Reverend. The man, Rev Dwight Moore was well thought of in the community and instantly fell for Blanche's charms and they grew close, well, he obviously was quite taken with her and she had ulterior motives. Fed up with Raymond Reid, she complained to Dwight that she was having a problem with ants and needed some sort of pesticide to get rid of them. Dwight purchased some 'Anti-Ant' for her. Keeping both relationships a secret, Blanche found herself playing the concerned partner of Raymond Reid who mysteriously fell ill. The poor man struggled to get out of bed and it was a total mystery as to what was wrong with him. Blanche continued to give him her homemade cooking but he just grew worse and worse. Eventually he was admitted to hospital and although practically at death's door on admission, he eventually came round and seemed to be in recovery. You'd think that despite Blanche no longer being happy in a relationship with Raymond, that she would be at least happy to see that he had been improving after this mysterious illness that seemed to just come out of nowhere.

To show how much she apparently cared for Raymond, she insisted on bringing him some of her home cooking into the hospital. This wasn't really allowed but Blanche managed to charm the nurses and because she came across as such a lovely, polite woman just looking out for her beloved partner, they just let it slide. Just hours after Blanche's visit, Raymond suddenly took a turn for the worse and continued to decline, getting sicker and sicker by the day, the Doctors were baffled. Blanche continued to visit him and bring him the food she had prepared at home. Raymond Reid passed away in 1986 and Blanche managed to have the autopsy refused. She was very calculating and very persuasive.

Not long after Raymond's death, Blanche and Dwight made it known in town that they were officially seeing each other and had plans to marry. The pair had to postpone their wedding arrangements a couple of times because Blanche had breast cancer and was undergoing treatment and Dwight needed surgery for a stomach complaint. 

They did eventually get married on the 19th of April 1989 and had their honeymoon but as soon as they returned home, within days, Dwight suddenly fell violently ill and needed hospitalisation. Doctors were baffled at what was wrong with him so they ran a series of tests and found that he had a very dangerous amount of arsenic in his system. When they informed Blanche, she played it off that Dwight had been doing some gardening and must have accidentally gotten some pesticide into his system but the Doctors were not convinced. There was no way that he would be able to get twenty times the amount of a lethal dose of arsenic in his system without it being deliberately administered to him. It was a miracle that Dwight survived and the Doctors didn't waste any time contacting the police. Dwight, when he began to recover, refused to believe that his beloved Blanche had anything to do with his sickness.

The police interviewed Dwight in his hospital bed and the real truth was beginning to emerge. Dwight was in denial about the thought of Blanche deliberately trying to poison him so they showed him documents that also proved that Blanche was trying to have his life insurance policy paid out to her in the event of his death. Dwight had mentioned that Blanche had told him her previous partner had died suddenly after a short illness and the police decided to investigate further and check out who had previously been involved with Blanche. 

The police's investigation resulted in the bodies of James Taylor, Raymond Reid and even her father being exhumed and tested for arsenic poisoning which of course, all three bodies were found to be riddled with it. Blanche was promptly arrested and questioned. Without so much as a flinch, Blanche was cool as a cucumber when being questioned and accused of the murder of her father, her two previous partners and the attempted murder of her current husband. Obviously the circumstances were in no way humorous in the slightest but Blanche actually thought she was smart enough to get away with it all. She sat there in front of the investigators with a straight face and said that all of the men must have been depressed and suicidal and that the whole thing had been some crazy coincidence. She claimed that she knew nothing about the arsenic and complained about how the whole thing was causing her stress and that nobody was thinking about what she was going through. The police were in disbelief at her confidence, lack of remorse and delusional attitude that she thought she could talk her way out of all of this because she had done so for so many years. 

This time Blanche's ability to charm and talk her way out of situations didn't work. She was being tried for murder and attempted murder. Her trial began in October of 1990, she was found guilty and given a death sentence by lethal injection which, as I mentioned earlier, she has managed to stave off with appeals up to the present day (2025).

Blanche is suspected to have murdered many others, there were reportedly a number of mysterious deaths around her and with her father's death occurring in 1968 and her finally being caught in 1986, who knows for sure how many poisonings she was actually responsible for. It would certainly be a difficult task for investigators to have every single deceased person connected to her to exhumed. I think the attitude was that they had her, she was found guilty and put behind bars to meet her maker which they hoped to have been swiftly but Blanche being Blanche, she had other ideas and had to have her usual last say and control on what was happening. 

Rev Dwight Moore, managed to make a recovery despite all that Blanche had put him through but he sadly passed away in 2013. 

The TV movie I mentioned, starring Elizabeth Montgomery is available to view on YouTube 

RIP to the known victims of Blanche Taylor Moore and also to the unidentified victims (I believe there is more). 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- State V. Moore: Court Documents | Justia US Law

- Blanche Taylor Moore: Article | Greensboro News

- Preacher's Girl: The Life & Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore | Book by Jim Schultze

- Blanche Taylor Moore | Wikipedia

- Blanche Taylor Moore | Murderpedia

- Arsenic Poisoning | Wikipedia

- North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women

- Rev Dwight Moore | Find A Grave

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Stay safe and I hope you will join me in my next post x