One of The Worst Cases You Will Ever Read About: The Horrific Murder of Suzanne Rossetti | Part Three

 (Superstition Mountains. Picture credit: viator)


Continued from parts one and two. Please be aware as with the first two parts of this case, some of the details shared in this post will be disturbing. 


The two evil monsters decided that they'd had enough of Suzanne after hours of raping, assaulting, torturing and robbing the poor young woman, they'd had their sick fun and now it was time to get rid of her in their minds. Their plan of action was to throw her off a cliff. Suzanne begged for her life but the monsters overpowered her and she fell. 

They thought the job was done but they were to be mistaken, Suzanne was still alive but in incredible pain for she had landed on some rock on the left side of her body which crushed her face and knocked out her left eye from the socket. They overheard her whimpering in pain and they both panicked and tried to get down the cliff with a flashlight. 

Once they found Suzanne she looked up at the two men whilst blood was pouring from her face and said ''Let's go home and I'll cook you a meal''. One wonders if Suzanne said this as a way to try and save her life or if it was the result of having such a traumatic blow to the head. Either way it just breaks your heart. 

At this point Jesse and Michael both argued over who was going to kill her, they thought it was going to be easy, that she would just go over the cliff and be gone but for some reason they argued about who was going to be the one to end her life. 

As they argued, Suzanne was laying there in agony and begged them to leave her, she told them that she was dying anyway. As evil as they were all the way through (and from the day they were born) their ice cold hearts showed no mercy with Jesse declaring ''You damn right you are, you b****'' with Michael pathetically explaining that he was ''Sorry but this was how it had to be'' 

They pushed her again hoping that this time it would work but Suzanne defied them, her body put up an incredible fight and despite the horrific injuries, she was still alive and the pair of them were frustrated and angry. Michael shouted at Jesse to ''KILL THE B****'' 

Jesse picked up a heavy rock and proceeded to strike Suzanne over and over again but she was still breathing and he became more and more angry as he continued to strike her shouting ''WH***, B****''

Eventually when he grew tired, Jesse stopped and the pair decided to cover Suzanne's body with rocks because they didn't have a shovel and there was no dirt around that area even if they had decided to dig a grave. 

Without a shred of remorse or feeling for the beautiful young and talented woman they just murdered, they both sat there smoking cigarettes whist they gathered their breath to climb back up the cliff. 

Afterwards they made it up the cliff and continued to use Suzanne's car and drove to a cafe for breakfast still wearing the filthy, blood splattered clothes. They were both at odds with what to do next but they continued to use the car and spend the money they stole from Suzanne's apartment. 

Suzanne's parents had not given up trying to get the police to do something, they went over to her apartment to find that the place had been ransacked and there was some drug paraphernalia on the floor. Despite this the police were still dragging their heels and it was very frustrating for Suzanne's family and friends.

Louise was worried sick that her husband was going to collapse with all the worry due to his fragile health, they were doing everything they could to try and get help from the police and find Suzanne even going so far as to talk to a psychic. The psychic knew none of the details of the case or what Suzanne looked like beforehand but told Louise and Peter that Suzanne had been kidnapped and raped by two evil men who had been in prison. The Psychic later said that she couldn't bring herself to tell Suzanne's family that she knew Suzanne was deceased. 

After what happened, Jesse couldn't keep his mouth shut and bragged to anyone who would listen about what happened to Suzanne, he acted as if the whole thing was a laugh. The cops soon did their job and caught up with the murderous, evil pair and both of them started to blame each other for who did what and who actually delivered the final blow to Suzanne. Jesse even asked an investigator ''What do they do to you in Arizona when they put you to death?'' The investigator replied that it would be the gas chamber to which Jesse responded ''All that just for killing that b****''

(Jesse James Gillies. Picture credit: murderpedia)

Michael David Logan struck a deal with the cops that he would lead them to where Suzanne was and give his side of the story in exchange for the death penalty to be dropped in his case. He was given a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years. I'm happy to report that Michael Logan never left prison and actually passed away behind bars recently in 2021. I was worried in my research that I was going to find that he had been released but luckily he never was, the sad thing is, he should have suffered the way Suzanne was made to suffer, I feel that he had an easy 'punishment'. Monsters like him should suffer.

As for the one who was allegedly 'The Leader' in the whole thing, Jesse James Gillies, he was sentenced to death but of course he did what most of these sadistic killers do and put appeals in to try and stretch the time out as much as possible. It took until 1999 for him to finally get what was coming to him and he was put to death by lethal injection, a small price to pay for all of the pain and suffering that Suzanne had to endure that horrifying night of January the 28th 1981. 

[I just want to add in here that I apologise for the lack of pictures in these posts, there are no pictures of Michael David Logan available, only one of Jesse James Gillies exists that I know of and that's the one you see above and Suzanne's parents were very private about their daughter's pictures and even asked the author of the book 'Evil Intentions' not to include pictures in his book]

The two evil men (I don't even want to call them men) who did this are no longer on this earth but unfortunately Peter never got to see the day when these two monsters were no more, he sadly passed away in 1992, Peter was an amazing man and you could see how Suzanne got a lot of her strength from her parents, both were incredible people. Peter was 75 when he passed away and after all of his health struggles over the years combined with the heartbreak of losing Suzanne and the battle with the police (Peter and Louise sued the police department for their conduct during the beginning of the investigation) it's a miracle that he even made it to 75. Louise was also incredible, she passed away sadly in 2014 at the age of 93, she lived to see at least one of the murderers put to death. 

(Peter and Louise Rossetti sharing their daughter's heartbreaking story. Screenshot taken from YouTube. Clip is included below)

Now Suzanne is with both of her parents and they are all survived by Suzanne's sister, brother and all of their children. The Rossetti's were always an amazingly strong and close family and they continued to grow after the sad deaths of Suzanne and Peter. 

(Louise was a remarkable woman who loved running and would often do so for charity & in memory of her daughter. Picture credit: Boston Globe)


This case was very hard to get through and I thank you if you have made it to this point, It's very hard to get your head around such pure evilness. I will never forget this case or Suzanne, I think that anyone who has read this story will feel the same.


RIP Suzanne, Peter and Louise 


'I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. - Psalm 121.


Further Reading & Sources:


Suzanne Maria Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave

Jesse James Gillies: Article | The Courier (1984)

State Vs Gillies | Court Documents

Evil Intentions | Book By Ronald J Watkins

Jesse James Gillies | Murderpedia

Michael David Logan | Inmate Death Notification

Executions Since 1992 | AZ Central

Peter & Louise Rossetti | Video Clip

Peter & Louise Rossetti | Video Clip

Peter Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave

Louise Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave


Thank you for taking the time to read this part three series of this case. I hope you will join me in my next post x 

1 comment:

  1. Good evening Jo !!! I had the pleasure to read your new true crime case late tonight.
    For me, it’s always a special moment to read your new content no matter who’s the subject is. I have to admit that tonight wasn’t a easy case to read. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you to covered! You’ve put so much time into this case. You’re incredible Jo !!!

    As you’ve said from the beginning of your introduction, I was anger and so sad to read what was happening to Suzanne. She was such a bright and smart young girl. I was in disbelief to read that she went to the convenient store and all of the sudden, her life was about to turn into a nightmare.

    Jesse James Gillies and Michael David Logan are pure evilness. 2 cold blood criminals for life. I was so in shock to read what they have done to Suzanne. They are monsters !!! What was happening to her was so disturbing and what she has said to them was so shocking. Oh my my, I had to take a deep breath before continuing to read part 2 !
    The way they were acting after what they have done…I was sick to my stomach.

    I’m glad that Michael will stay in prison for life but I would have loved to see him rot in hell. For this case, I couldn’t be more pleased to read that Jesse James Gillis got the death penality. It took a long time but he got what he deserved !


    I will obviously check all the links from your blog about the case. I always find all of your links so interesting.

    I feel so bad for the parents of Suzanne, it must have been a NIGHTMARE. Poor Peter, he never have the chance to get proper closure. As for Louise, at least she was able to get some closure.

    RIP Suzanne, Peter and Louise Xx

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