True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

If you've seen documentaries about Rodney Alcala before, you've probably noticed that he is often compared to the likes of Ted Bundy due to the nature of his crimes, his smart appearance (as well as academic ability) and that he had represented himself at one of his trials. Like Ted Bundy and other serial killers, the number of actual victims is always called into question. There are the victims that we know about and there are the possible victims that we don't know about. One of the reasons Rodney Alcala is often referred to as 'The Worst Serial Killer in American History' is partly down to the fact that investigators believe that he could be responsible for the deaths of as many as 130 people. Rodney was a keen photographer as both a hobby pastime and an aid in his crimes. He would often photograph his victims and these photographs would be part of his 'trophy' collection. Serial killers often like to either record, photograph or keep personal items of their victims as a way to remind themselves of what they have done. 

Rodney would collect items such as earrings and took photographs of his victims. Some of the victims that were photographed were later identified but there are hundreds of unidentified pictures that still remain a mystery to this day. I'm going to delve into this case which is to be the first in my new series of serial killers of the 1970s posts. I will be focusing on 6 serial killers of each decade, from the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it and writing about true crime is my passion. My readers who I appreciate so very much, have mentioned on so many occasions that my posts on serial killers are the most intriguing, so here we are. 

I hope you find my upcoming posts on serial killers of each decade to be interesting and informative. 

So before we go further in to the crimes of Rodney Alcala, I have to remind you that I will be sharing some disturbing details so please bare that in mind. 

Rodney James Alcala came into the world on the 23rd of August 1943, he was originally known as Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor. He was mostly brought up in a female household with his mother and sisters after his father walked out on the family. With Rodney not having a proper father figure in his life, the shocking abandonment could have contributed to his issues later on. As the only male in a female household it can sometimes be difficult for a young boy to feel masculine and in control. To be dominated in a female environment can sometimes have a soft affect on a male child where they are more loving and in touch with their feminine side and able to communicate with members of the opposite sex in a positive manner. In other ways though, this can have a negative affect, especially if there is abuse in the household. Young men in this environment often grow up to be angry, bitter and seeking revenge which is often played out in future romantic relationships and with possible victims if it happens to be a serial killer. 

Rodney was academically gifted and got on really well at school. He had a close group of friends and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. His home life was also relatively normal. As well as being a good student, he was a very sociable individual who took part in sporting events as well as being on the year book staff. The future looked bright for Rodney Alcala, a bit of a shaky start when his father left the family but they seemed to have been able to pick themselves up and Rodney was able to achieve quite a lot in school. He claimed to have a high IQ and demonstrated his natural ability to learn fast and like Ted Bundy he was able to read people, manipulate them to his own advantage and come across as quite charismatic.

He had a short stint as a clerk in the United States Army around 1960 but was soon discharged due to mental health reasons, reportedly to be a nervous breakdown. He had also been reported to have assaulted a number of women. Not one to give up the chance of a bright future and wanting to put his academical as well as creative skills to good use, Rodney enrolled himself in a course at the UCLA School of Fine Arts. He excelled here and was popular with the professors and his fellow students. During his time at UCLA, Rodney changed his name to John Berger.

With his time at UCLA being promising you'd have thought that this would continue Rodney on to a positive path but for some reason there was something within him that was beginning to boil to the surface just like it had done with Ted Bundy. Rodney (like Bundy) appeared to be this model student and friendly guy but beneath the surface he was something else entirely. 

That same year in 1968, Rodney reportedly committed his 'second crime'. He kidnapped an 8 year old child by the name of Tali Shapiro and the poor girl was subjected to a horrendous sexual assault and beating. Rodney struck her several times with a steel bar at his home and the little girl was basically on the floor in a pool of her own blood. It was a miracle that she was still breathing but only barely. Right at that moment, police officers (who had previously been informed by a member of the public who witnessed Tali being abducted) burst into the house and found the child, Rodney made a swift escape. The policeman who first discovered Tali was more focused (and to be honest he did the right thing at that moment) on getting the little girl to a hospital and saving her life that there wasn't enough time to chase after Rodney who seemed to have vanished into thin air. Fortunately, Tali was able to make a complete recovery (physically at least. Nobody can imagine the emotional trauma that the poor girl must have went through and probably still goes through to this day if she is still alive, I'm hoping she is) but her family moved her out of the country as soon as she was well enough. The whole ordeal was very traumatic for Tali and the people closest to her that they just didn't want to be in the country anymore. 

Again, like Ted Bundy, Rodney moved around to different states, changed his appearance slightly and went by an alias. He was soon found out in 1971 when he was recognised by some people who had seen his picture on an FBI wanted poster. He was swiftly arrested and taken back to California where he was to face charges. Since the Shapiro family had left the country the police had a difficult time tracking them down. It was soon made clear that the family didn't want to put Tali through any more trauma so refused to go back to California to face trial. Despite the evidence that Tali had been subjected to a horrendous sexual assault and beating before being left for dead, a deal was struck which saw Rodney Alcala admitting to a lesser charge basically admitting to molestation but nothing else. 

To add even more outrage to the circumstances, Rodney only served a total of 34 months due to the fact that he painted himself as a model prisoner and managed to charm and manipulate the parole board. So they released a dangerous sex offender and potential serial killer on to the streets. Within (reportedly) two months he was he was caught trying to kidnap a 13 year old girl by trying to entice her with drugs. Again, he served a pathetic sentence and was back on the streets after serving only two years. 

As I mentioned previously, for serial killers such as Alcala and Bundy, moving around, changing names and switching jobs was quite easy back then in the 1970s because everything was mostly done on paper. Rodney had managed to land on his feet again and in 1977 obtained a role as a typesetter for the Los Angeles Times. In a chilling twist, Rodney Alcala was one of the men interviewed by the police who were investigating The Hillside Stranglers (I covered this infamous case earlier this year, you can find it here). 

In 1977, Rodney was responsible for the horrific sexual assault and murders of three women. Jill Barcomb who was just 18 years old and originally suspected to be a victim of The Hillside Stranglers (there is suspicion to this day that Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were the perpetrators of this particular murder but they never confessed to this crime), was found deceased in the Hollywood Hills. Jill had been viciously beaten and sexually assaulted. He'd also raped and murdered 32 year old Charlotte Lamb. Charlotte was found in the laundry room of an apartment complex. Both women had been strangled. Due to the nature in which he killed his victims, Rodney also drew comparisons with The Hillside Strangler and Ted Bundy. He was also responsible for the murder of 27 year old Georgia Wixted. Georgia had been savagely beaten with a hammer and strangled. Rodney had used the hammer to also mutilate Georgia's vagina. 

As I mentioned previously, Rodney would use his photography hobby as an aid in his quest to either attempt to abduct a girl or a woman by posing as a professional photographer wanting to compete in a photography competition. He would also try to persuade his victims to pose in sexually explicit poses for him. Sometimes he would just take random pictures of people but he had hundreds of these haunting photographs and the majority of them are very disturbing. Some of the people pictured were able to be identified and some have yet to be known. 

Rodney would often rely on the kindness and naivety of his victims when it came to taking their pictures. he was able to charm and manipulate them into posing voluntarily and other pictures were taken obviously done out of fear. It's important to note that Rodney was suspected and linked to a number of murders around this time which are still being investigated. He has been linked to various murders around that time. It was around 1978 when he made his infamous appearance on The Dating Game (the American version of Blind Date). It just goes to show the absolute audacity and raving narcissist that he actually was. He believed that he was untouchable and now here he was on national television on a popular TV show. He turned on the charm and actually won a date with a lady but she refused to go out with him once she spent about 5 minutes off of camera with him. She thought he was creepy and made her feel uncomfortable. 

A number of people who were there at the filming of the show all commented that Rodney Alcala came across as a complete weirdo. The presenter of the show described him as a successful photographer. One has to wonder what was going through Rodney Alcala's mind considering that he'd already been responsible for the sexual and physical attacks as well as some deaths of women and girls before and during his appearance on this show. He must have thought that he was too clever for everyone and to be honest, he was able to fool a lot of people. 

In 1979 he was reported to have been responsible for the horrific sexual battery and murders of a 12 year old girl (Robin Samsoe) and a 21 year old woman by the name of Jill Parenteau. He was eventually linked to these crimes and arrested that same year and from 1979 he remained behind bars (I'm pleased to say that partly because we know he would have carried on more sickening attacks and murders and it was bad enough what he had already done). 

The lyrics to Alice's Restaurant which included the lines.....''Kill, I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth,'' It was a poor excuse for a defense and showed just how delusional he actually was. One of the stand out moments from the final trial was when Tali Shapiro turned up on the stand, much to everyone's shock. The little eight year old girl that he so savagely attacked and attempted to murder all of those years ago, was now stood before him as this very brave, strong and beautiful woman. In that moment she had beaten him right back and she had won. Even he looked surprised to see her and the  strength that it took for her to stand there and face him was nothing more than awe inspiring. He told her that he was sorry for what he had done but again there was no real genuine feeling or emotion to it. Tali had this strong attitude about her as if to say that she didn't want his apologies and no longer cared. She'd outgrown her fear of him, she survived him and she beat him. It was like she stood there representing all of the victims and survivors of Rodney Alcala. 

Rodney Alcala was sentenced to death in 2010 after years of endless court proceedings, convictions overturned and constant back and forth, the families and the survivors could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It had been a long time coming and for it to have carried on so long is a disgrace. Tali Shapiro said it best when she said that it should have stopped with her, he should have been punished whether she was there in court or not. Tali went through hell and was lying in a pool of her own blood, he was charged with molestation and nothing more and served a pathetic sentence and released for good behaviour. That is not justice, that is a joke. We know he had attacked women and girls before this but how many? nobody knows. That is the added mystery to the evil Rodney Alcala, just how many lives did this monster take away and who exactly were the unidentified people in the remaining photographs? Will we ever find out? Questions still remain. 

My heart breaks for the families and survivors because he not only took away their precious loved ones, their childhoods, their sense of security, but he also destroyed their lives too. Three trials he put them through, years having to face him and be put through everything time and time again. It should never have been allowed. I'm very against convicted murderers who are sentenced to death with overwhelming evidence, being able to appeal. These monsters just play with the system and put the families through hell as well as draining tax payers money. If he had been put to death years before, the families and survivors would have some closure. Robin Samsoe's mother who began fighting for her 12 year old daughter's justice, was just a young woman herself when it all started. In 2010, she was now a much older woman, she'd lost most of her life because of this. She said in an interview that she wanted to live to see the day that he was put to death, even if she was to live one day longer than him, that would be enough. She said that she wanted to have just one day to properly breathe knowing that he was no longer alive. 

Justice (in the courtroom at least) was finally done but too much time had passed and been wasted. I hope that the families and survivors are still with us now and are able to have some sort of positive lives because lord knows, they have been to hell and back. 

Maybe one day more questions will be answered in this case, we might find out who the unidentified people in the photographs are. Until that day, all we can do is hope but it is one small relief that Rodney Alcala is finally gone. 

I thank you as always for joining me in this case and I know it's a long one to get through but these serial killer posts, when done properly, are often long and this case was a roller coaster. 

I'm thinking of the victims, the families and survivors and the unknown and unidentified victims. RIP Robin Samsoe, Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, Jill Parenteau, Cornelia Crilley, Ellen Hover and those we don't yet know about. 

Click here to view the photographs that were taken of unidentified individuals by Rodney Alcala. If you recognise anyone in the photographs, please contact Sgt. Sam Shepherd of Huntington Police Department on (714) 536 5947

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Rodney Alcala: Article | New York Times

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Rolling Stone

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Daily Mail

- Rodney Alcala: Article | NBC News

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Washington Post

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Crime + Investigation

- The Killing Game | Book by Alan R. Warren

- Rodney Alcala: Article | The Hollywood Reporter

- Rodney Alcala | Wikipedia

- Rodney Alcala | Murderpedia

- Serial Killers of The 1970s | Book by Jane Fritsch

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

- Rodney Alcala: The Dating Game Killer | ABC News Documentary

- 48 Hours Mystery: The Killing Game | CBS News Documentary

- Rodney Alcala Dating Game Clip | Inside Edition

- Rodney Alcala in Court | Orange County Register

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Los Angeles Times

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Sky News

I hope you will join me again in the next post in this series, if you would like to share your thoughts, please do so in the comments below, elsewhere on my socials or simply email me at Jo: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

If you would like to help support my blog/work, please consider making a small donation to my PayPal or buy me a coffee on my kofi  page where you will also find regular updates on my posts.

Much love & stay safe! x 

This is one of those cases that sent shock waves across the world back in March of 2018 and whenever the names of Jennifer and Sarah Hart are mentioned, the feelings of anger and disbelief return. I only knew a little bit about the case back then but over this past week I've been doing a deep dive into this case and even though I thought it was horrible to hear about at the time, I never knew how horrendous it all actually was. 

It's not that long ago when you think about it, only 5 years have passed and it's considered to be one of the worst murder-suicide cases in American history. So what really happened to the Hart family that resulted in Jennifer and her wife Sarah, orchestrating the deaths of not only themselves but also of the six innocent children that they took in to their lives so many years before and built what looked like (to the outside world) a loving family. I'll be looking at this case in this post so please be aware that I will be mentioning some details regarding child abuse but I will try to be as sensitive as always whilst stating the facts of the case. 

So let's get into the background. Jennifer and Sarah were from similar upbringings and were both born in 1979, there was nothing to note of any trauma in either of their childhoods, they both did well in school and had a reasonable group of friends and social life. When they both graduated from school they both decided that they wanted to work with children and had attended university, Jennifer was at the Augustana University whilst Sarah attended the University of Minnesota. Their paths eventually crossed when they both transferred to Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They were still interested in working with children and Sarah ended up graduating but Jennifer had dropped out. The pair were extremely close and the friendship soon turned to more of a romantic one. Fearing that their parents and friends wouldn't understand, they kept their relationship quiet in the beginning but soon decided that they didn't want to hide their love for each other any more and came out officially as a couple. They would later claim that they had upset quite a few people by doing this and had lost a few friends and relationships with certain family members had become strained. 

The couple started to drift further apart from their families and pretty much kept themselves to themselves, they decided to move to Alexandria in Minnesota and both began working at a department store. The money they made from this job wasn't too bad but they would have preferred to have been a bit more comfortable financially. By this point they were married and they started to think about what it would be like to have a family of their own and stumbled across the idea of fostering a child. They'd heard that foster parents were financially supported by the system and even had more chance of better living conditions. They claimed that they wanted to start a family and give disadvantaged children a proper chance at life, they said that the financial benefits had nothing to do with it. So they adopted a young teenage girl by the name of Lee and everything seemed to be going great, well, in the first six months of her living with them. Lee had a difficult upbringing but was quite a level headed young girl and didn't cause any problems, she was quite happy to have been accepted into the Hart household and she hoped that they would eventually adopt her fully. Jennifer and Sarah explained to Lee that they were in the process of adopting her and all three would go on camping and shopping trips together. Then, cracks began to appear, for some reason three became a crowd and Jennifer seemed to be acting quite jealous of the young girl. What was fine before, seemed to be a problem now and it was silly little things that Jennifer picked upon like how Lee dressed or wore her hair. Lee was a bit of a tomboy and that was never an issue before but now the two women began to taunt her, telling her that she needed a makeover. To keep the pair happy, she went along with it. 

Another strange incident occurred when the three of them went to a sporting event together and they queued up afterwards in an attempt to get an autograph. Jennifer was a huge fan of a particular sportsman but because the man was in a hurry and just focused on signing autographs for the kids (which included Lee), Jennifer took this personally and became angry at Lee. Jennifer gave Lee the silent treatment all the way home in the car and for days afterwards, it was ridiculous behaviour for a woman in her 20s towards a 15 year old child but that is how it was played out. Sarah was the less dominant of the couple and would follow wherever Jennifer leaded so it was pretty much two against one at this point. The incident eventually blew over and things seemed to be ok. The couple would tell friends that Lee had been getting on their nerves because they had found her eating left over bits of food out of the trash. They encouraged Lee to take a job at a local Subway as a way of teaching her to be independent and learn to be responsible. She wasn't allowed to socialise outside of work or school. Her free time was spent with the couple and she would pay them some money towards groceries from her Subway job. Lee was attending regular sessions at therapy which was part of the standard procedure for children with her background and circumstances in foster case, it was also a chance for the authorities to see how Lee was feeling and how she was getting on. 

One day out of the blue, Jennifer and Sarah started talking about how they were planning to bring some more children into the family and that these children would be very young. Lee was excited about all of this because that is what she always dreamed of, to have a stable home environment with a loving family around her. Jennifer and Sarah had been back and forth making arrangements and had even shown pictures of the children to Lee. What was supposed to be an exciting time, soon turned sour because the couple had dropped Lee off at the therapist's office for her usual appointment under the pretence that they'd be picking her up as usual later. As soon as Lee sat down in the therapist's office it soon became clear that they had no intention of collecting her that day, she was told that the couple no longer wished to adopt her and that she would be placed with another family. It was a complete shock and utter rejection out of nowhere. It was a heartless and extremely cold thing to do to a child. Obviously those of us that know the case (and as you will see as you read on) are able to say that she had a lucky escape but it must have been a horrible thing for Lee to go through at that time and not to mention what happened later, the thought that she could have met the same fate at the hands of Jennifer and Sarah Hart. 

To say that the authorities failed time and time again in this case is an absolute understatement. Having just basically dumped one child and making up a pack of lies to save face, they told friends and the few remaining family members that they did speak to, that Lee had been a handful, she had mood swings and was suicidal. All of this was found to be untrue but despite this, Jennifer and Sarah would go on to adopt six black children, Ciera, Abigail, Devonte, Hannah, Markis and Jeremiah. From the outside looking in, The couple looked like these kind people who had opened up their home to these children and wanted to give them a better life. With the tensions that had been going on in America at the time, people were looking for a sense of peace, of unity, especially between white people and black people and here was this white couple who also happened to be gay, adopting six black children and it was like a demonstration that there was still love and goodness left in the world. However, the truth of it all was....it was just a facade.

Jennifer and Sarah were claiming money for each of the children that they had taken in and they were looking to make more money. A whole performance on social media played out, endless pictures and videos of the children would be posted with over the top, emotional quotes that the kids are supposed to have said themselves (but really you knew it was just Jennifer and Sarah trying to tug on the heart strings). The children were always as cute as a button and the couple would dress them all up in matching t-shirts and encourage them to dance and sing for the camera. Some people started to notice though that before Jennifer or Sarah hit record, they would be standing there looking utterly miserable. Things started getting more disturbing when the children would be seen with their tops off and their arms exposed revealing tiny, boney frames that were very malnourished. Sarah and Jennifer would tell people that the kids looked like that because of where they came from and that they had been 'drug babies'. Nobody questioned it. Jennifer and Sarah ended up cutting off their family completely and became more and more isolated from friends. They continued to post obsessively about the children and enjoyed the constant likes, comments and attention from their followers. 

The children would be coached to say things and would often be dragged to protests and forced to hold signs. On one occasion, Devonte had been pictured hugging a police officer during the Ferguson Riots and the picture went viral. Little Devonte became a star overnight but all of the attention freaked the couple out and they went quiet for a while before deciding to move again. 

On social media they may have looked like the loving family who were a beacon of hope and unity but behind closed doors it couldn't have been further from the truth. The children were starved to the point that they were digging through the bins trying to find a scrap of food. They'd sneak out to the neighbours and ask for food and even started to eat food out of the bins at school. The children were very small for their age and if the couple ever ordered a pizza, the kids would only be allowed one little slice each, if anyone was caught having more than one slice, they'd be punished the next day by being denied breakfast. Whenever the children spoke up about what was happening at home, the authorities would try and get in touch with the couple to no avail, a lot of the time incidences were swept under the carpet and the children were allowed to continue under their 'care' which was truly shocking. Abigail and Hannah had bruises on their back which were investigated, Hannah claimed that Jennifer had beaten her with a belt, it ended up where Sarah took the blame for everything and was brought before the court, she was given community service for a year and the children still remained with the couple which is so hard to believe. Jennifer and Sarah realised that they couldn't carry on risking the truth of their lifestyle with the children to be exposed so they took the kids out of school and did what they always do, move away. 

They ended up in Washington and the drama continued there with the children growing more and more desperate and trying to to reach out to neighbours. There was a family known as the DeKalbs and Devonte was known to beg for food from this family on a regular basis. He asked them if they could hide some food for him and his siblings but not tell Jennifer or Sarah. The DeKalbs were confused as to what was going on and were quite concerned but they later said that they didn't want to bring any trouble to their doorstep. More incidences occurred with Hannah jumping out of her second floor window in the early hours of the morning and running over to the DeKalbs house, she begged them for help and to keep her safe. They had already been keeping note of the strange goings-on but when Jennifer and Sarah turned up at their door acting like the nice, concerned couple, they ended up returning Hannah back to them. The whole situation grew even more bizarre with Jennifer going over to the DeKalbs house the next morning with a handwritten note by Hannah explaining that she had fallen out with her brother and was sorry. Jennifer told the family that the children had come from bad backgrounds and were just acting out, she even had the kids come over and apologise in person. The family couldn't believe what they were seeing when they saw these six, scared to death kids stood in a row like they had been forced and coached what to say. The father in law of the DeKalb couple was so concerned and alarmed by all of this that he phoned the authorities himself and explained that he was worried sick about the children and that something needed to be done. 

Jennifer and Sarah must have sensed that the net was closing in on them again and this time there was nowhere to run and hide. They knew that it was only a matter of time before they both ended up in jail for what they had been doing to those children, all of their past abuse was going to catch up with them and they were going to be exposed to everyone. 

They had spent years building up this online reputation as this amazing couple, a pair of saints who took these children in and gave them a loving home. They constantly preached about togetherness, equality, love and fairness when they were beating these children and starving them as soon as they stepped away from their Facebook account. 

Like a lot of these horrible stories of abuse, it has to end somehow and we always hope and pray that a child comes to safety and is rescued from evil people but the truth is, a lot of them don't. A phone call was made to the Hart residence by the authorities and it's unknown if Jennifer and Sarah knew about it because nobody answered but one wonders if they checked the phone number and knew that they were in trouble. 

What also angers me about this case is the sheer laziness of the authorities and the whole 'holiday mode' lack of action from other people. I never met these children in real life but I have viewed so many pictures and videos of them and I can clearly see how thin and emaciated they were. The constant pictures and 'perform for the cameras' routine that was going on. It was clear that Jennifer and Sarah were a pair of narcissists that were using these children as props and for financial gain. With everything that had gone on in the past and now reports that the kids were going to the neighbours begging for food, jumping out of windows and begging not to be taken back and all the authorities can do is make a lousy phonecall. They made that one phonecall and then three days later tried again to contact Jennifer and Sarah to no avail. I keep thinking about the man who called the authorities and the care and concern in his voice. I think about how he must feel today, assuming that he is still alive. That poor man was the only one from what I can see that actually really tried to do something to protect those kids and get them some help. 

I have been in a situation where I knew that a child was being physically abused and I didn't hesitate to call the authorities and I chased it up to make sure that they did something about it, I also have experience of working with young people in and out of care in the UK. I've heard many stories of children being abandoned as soon as they turn a certain aged because the financial support stops, it's appalling. There's actual people in this country that are fostering children for financial gain. Let me be clear, I'm not saying that everyone here who fosters is like this but a lot of them are and you'd be surprised at who they let these kids live with. There's been some devastating stories over the years because of failings in the system and by the sounds of it, the American childcare system is just as bad as ours. 

On the 26th of March 2018, Jennifer and Sarah had decided that they were going to commit suicide and take the six innocent children with them, another selfish and evil act right up to the end. They purchased over the counter medicine, Benadryl and consumed some of it before giving it to the children. Jennifer had consumed a lot of alcohol. With everyone in the SUV, Jennifer drove to a 100 ft cliff in Mendocino County in California. All of the seat belts were undone and Jennifer revved up the engine, put the boot down and drove the vehicle over the cliff. 

There were no witnesses and the scene, as you can imagine was horrific. Investigators found that before the suicide-murder took place, Sarah had been looking up things online such as death and suicide. It was clear that it was a pact between the two of them. As always, Jennifer was the leader and Sarah was the follower but Sarah was pretty much on the same thought path as Jennifer, she even told a friend that she regretted bringing the children into their lives. 

In another sad fact of the case, Devonte (15), who inspired people all over the world and became a little star in his own right, well, his body was never found. The bodies of the murderers, Jennifer and Sarah were found. Ciera (12), Abigail (14), Hannah (16), Markis (19) and Jeremiah (14) were found. It is with hope that all of the children were completely out of it with the Benadryl before going over that cliff. 

It's hard to believe that something so evil could have taken place but again it shows us how what you see on social media is not always to be believed. We have problems in this world, people who want to create divides and sadly there are people who want to take advantage of the situation either financially or to get attention on social media. Jennifer and Sarah took advantage of so many people, the black community, the LGBTQ+ community, people who were campaigning for peace and equality and they used those children for their own gain. If they didn't want to be in this world anymore then that was up to them, but don't take the kids too, they didn't deserve that and they didn't deserve any of it. 

I just wanted to add in here that the Hart family had dogs and they were looking at no-kill shelters to send them too. They must have decided against this because when investigators got to the house they found the dogs there alive and also, that there was only one proper bed for the children to sleep in. 

I don't even know if any lessons have been learnt by this, I'm hoping that someone will tell me that the childcare system that dealt with Jennifer and Sarah in the various states that they moved to, have improved or taken this horrible incident and made changes to procedures because this cannot be allowed to happen again. 

RIP Ciera, Abigail, Devonte, Hannah, Markis & Jeremiah and God Bless the man who phoned the authorities and tried to get them to help the children, he truly is a good Samaritan and we need more people like him in this world. Thank you sir. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- The Hart Family: Article | The Independent

- The Hart Family Murders | Wikipedia

- The Hart Family: Article | People Magazine

- The Hart Family: Article | Oregon Live

- Jennifer & Sarah Hart: Article | CNN Edition

- The Hart Family: Article | New York Post

- Jennifer and Sarah Hart: Article | Glamour Magazine

- The Hart Family Murders | Investigation Discovery

- Jennifer & Sarah Hart: Article | News.com.au

This was another difficult case to get through and I thank you for coming this far with me if you've managed to reach the end. As always, please share your thoughts below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Take care and I'll see you in the next post x 

This is one of the worst cases I have ever written about, I remember when I heard about the case very briefly some years ago, it bothered me then and it bothers me now. I don't think anyone could be able to forget about this case once they'd heard about it, to think that such evil exists in this world. I've said it many times on this blog at how utterly frightening it is that we just don't know who's walking among us. The fact that there are some people in this world who simply don't care about other people, who enjoy inflicting pain on others and take pleasure in torture and causing tremendous pain to innocent people. 

The case that I have been focusing on this week is a very tough one to take in and it's almost too traumatic to write about but the reality is that this horrible nightmare actually happened and two innocent young people had their lives ended in such a brutal and evil way for nothing. They deserve their story to be told and this case should never be forgotten or the treasured lives and memories of Channon and Christopher. 

I'm not going to lie, this case is utterly horrendous, I have no idea how to describe it because it's so evil that I just can't find the right words. I will be talking about some of the worst things imaginable to do with sexual assault, kidnap, torture and murder. It's very difficult and it's a case where you already feel disgusted and horrified as it is, but as it goes on, it just gets worse and worse. This case is like a neverending nightmare and it's just so hard to imagine the utter terror that this beautiful young couple felt. 

What started out as a normal Saturday which was supposed to end in Channon (21) and her boyfriend, Christopher (23), going to a friend's party, ended up being a weekend of utter hell that nobody could have foreseen or imagined. Channon and Christopher lived with their parents in Knoxville, Tennessee USA. Both were very bright, good looking, popular and very hardworking. They'd both studied at University and Christopher was a talented carpenter and quite the sportsman, he really enjoyed playing rounds of golf with his best friend Josh whenever they had any free time if Channon was busy working or having some much needed girl time with her childhood best friend, Kara. Christopher was affectionately known as 'Chris' by family and his friends but Josh always called him 'Newsom'. Channon was very independent and whilst continuing her university studies, she worked too. They'd only been seeing each other for two months but the pair were completely besotted with each other. 

They were a young couple with so much going for them and an even brighter future, the possibilities were endless and they shared the same circle of friends too. So they planned to attend a friend's party together on the evening of Saturday the 6th of January 2007. Due to Channon having to work that day, she told Chris that she would be going to Kara's to get ready after work. He said that he would take that time to catch-up with Josh and play a few rounds of golf until she was ready for him to pick her up. The pair had decided that they wouldn't go to the party straight away, they decided they'd have dinner first and hit the party later. 

Channon used to practically live at Kara's place, they'd known each other since they were 7 years old and were more like sisters. When Channon arrived there after work and set about getting ready, she and Chris kept in contact via messages and Kara was also going to the party that night. As the evening drew near, it was approaching 8pm and Chris had still not come to pick Channon up so she told Kara to just go on ahead and she'd see her at the party later on. Boys being boys, Chris got a little held up and ran home to take a shower and get changed, he then dropped his friend off at the party. Kara spotted the boys outside and called Channon to let her know that Chris was finally on his way, Channon was not impressed at having to wait so long for him. 

The beginnings of a lovers tiff seemed to have gone out of the window because when Chris finally did arrive they were all over each other as usual. As they were both hungry (especially Channon, who had been sick recently so hadn't eaten properly in days) they headed out to the parking lot and talked about where they were going to go and what they fancied ordering. 

Being playful and affectionate as they had been throughout their new and exciting relationship, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and couldn't resist a quick cuddle in the parking lot. Unknown to the young couple, they were being watched by a group of individuals and before they knew what was happening, the pair were being threatened and forced into Channon's SUV at gunpoint. They were being carjacked. This gang of hoodlums were in the car and held the pair hostage whilst driving toward the ringleader's rented home that he shared with his on-off girlfriend. 

Lemaricus Devall Davidson was no stranger to trouble and carjacking, he'd only recently been on the wrong side of the law due to his petty crimes and was out on parole over a recent carjacking case, he clearly didn't waste any time trying to do it again. The cast of characters he had with him were also a sight to behold. All of them were unemployed with no car or proper phone, they just lived off petty crime. Lemaricus was reportedly a drug dealer and had recently had a violent altercation with his girlfriend who moved out of the rented house. He was alone so his pals came down from Kentucky to hang out with him for a while (Letalvis Darnell Cobbins who was also his brother, Letalvis's girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, George Geovanni Thomas and Eric Dewayne Boyd) as well as putting together a plan to do another carjacking. 

The gang claimed that they were just looking for anyone with a car and it wasn't anything racially motivated. Some people believe that anyone could have fallen victim to the gang, others believe it was a race-hate crime. Eric had already borrowed a car from his cousin Adrienne so they were cruising around in that particular vehicle until they selected their suitable carjacking victim(s). 

Once they got Channon and Chris to Lemaricus's place, it just continued to get worse. It was soon clear that this was more than just a carjacking, they could've taken the car in the parking lot, drove off and that would have been it but they had other sick plans in mind. Channon and Chris were tied up, beaten, robbed and raped. They wanted to get rid of Chris first so they stripped him of his possessions and clothes and subjected him to an ordeal where he was sodomized by Lemaricus, firstly by an object and then anally raped by Lemaricus. More beatings followed as his hands were tied behind his back, he was barefoot with his legs tied together. His socks were stuffed into his mouth and he had a bandana covering his eyes. Despite the brutal rape, beatings and being restricted by the ties, they forced Chris to his feet and dragged him out to the car where they drove near to some rail tracks where he was forced to walk barefoot in the mud to his death. Once at the rail tracks they shot Chris, once in the shoulder and once in the back. He survived these initial shots but the third and final shot was to the head and it killed him instantly which may come as some sort of relief because the monsters decided to cover Chris in a duvet and set it on fire, leaving him to burn, It was evil, for no reason. 

The murderers headed back to the car and back to the house where Vanessa Coleman had been holding Channon hostage whilst her boyfriend and their accomplices were out killing an innocent young man. You'd have thought that knowing how Chris was brutally raped and beaten, that it would have been enough to have sickened and scared the hell out of her that she would be moved to untie Channon and get the both of them the hell out of there and straight to a police station but no. She enjoyed having the power of being in charge of Channon whilst the others were away. 

When Lemaricus and his evil helpers returned they wasted no time in subjecting Channon to a living nightmare. She had been hog tied, beaten and repeatedly raped over and over again. Completely horrifying how they tied her up leaving her intimate areas exposed and both Lemaricus and Letalvis raped her. When the autopsies were conducted later, semen, cuts, tears and bruises had been found in Channon's vagina, anus and her mouth/throat. The semen belonged to Lemaricus and Letalvis, traces of them were found on her skin too. Channon's ordeal went on for hours and hours until they decided that they'd had their fun and wanted to kill her. First, they thought they would try and get rid of any DNA evidence by forcefully scrubbing her body red raw and then pouring bleach down her throat as well as on her intimate areas. You cannot imagine the sheer pain and suffering that must have caused, it's a horrendous thing that I hope none of us ever have the experience of feeling and to think of Channon having to go through that is just so horrible. 

They then put Channon into 5 trash bags whilst she was still alive (but struggling to breathe due to how tightly they hog tied her) and placed a smaller bag over her head before forcing her body into a trash bin in the kitchen and pushing the lid down on top. Channon slowly suffocated to death. 

During Channon's captivity at the house, Lemaricus's on-off girlfriend who had previously moved out had turned up asking to collect the rest of her clothes. The woman had seen the others in the house behaving suspiciously and she was given a bag of clothes and told that they were hers, she didn't check inside the bag. When she tried to go to the bathroom, Lemaricus stopped her and she noticed the door was locked with what sounded like female sounds coming from behind the door, she just assumed it to be Vanessa Coleman. 

When she finally checked the bag she realised that most of these clothes belonged to someone else, she was thinking about keeping them but noticed that the clothes had been worn so she said that she didn't want them. After dumping Channon's body in the trash bin, the gang fled the scene, some of them went back to Kentucky and Eric helped Lemaricus hide out. 

Going back to that Saturday night when Channon and Chris did not show up to the party, as the night wore on their friends were growing more and more concerned, especially Kara. Their parents were none the wiser because they were under the impression that they'd be sleeping over at the house that the party was taking place. Some of their friends actually left the party to head over to Kara's apartment complex after calls to both Channon and Chris's phones continued to go unanswered. They found Chris's truck there but Channon's car was nowhere to be seen and like I mentioned before, they found this odd because Chris always liked to drive Channon around in his truck. 

Everyone returned to the party and assumed that Channon and Chris just got caught up somewhere else and just wanted to be alone. The next day Channon didn't turn up for work where she was supposed to open the store and Kara had continued to keep calling her phone to no avail. Eventually Channon's boss called her family and home and asked her mother Deena if all was ok with Channon. It was then that Deena knew that this was totally out of character and tried to contact Kara but she had just recently got a new phone so it was bedlam trying to get hold of her. When Deena finally was able to get in touch with Kara, Kara had told her that Channon wasn't there and that she was worried. 

In another horrible moment, a train engineer spotted Chris's body and contacted the authorities who came out to collect his body for autopsy. An autopsy was performed which revealed all of the horrific injuries that Chris sustained as well as evidence of the sexual assaults. Word quickly spread that Chris had been murdered and everyone was shocked and heartbroken and they were panicking about Channon. Her family contacted the police and they were useless in the beginning. 

Channon's family were determined not to give up so they contacted Channon's mobile phone company and they were able to tell them when the phone last pinged. They managed to trace the phone to an area near 2316 Chipman Street and Channon's brother found her car. They noticed that stickers had been removed as well as personal photographs, an Ipod, momentos and clothes, The seats had been pushed all the way back and the floor was really muddy which is not how Channon kept her car, she loved her car and always kept it spotless. The family contacted the police straight away to inform them. 

When investigators arrived, a letter was found inside the car and was dusted for fingerprints which were identified as belonging to Lemaricus and this is when the police went to Chipman street to look for Channon and Lemaricus and his possible accomplices. 

The way Channon's body was discovered in that trash bin in the kitchen of the rented property on Chipman Street, is both disturbing and unbelievable. It is still very hard to understand that level of evil. The poor cop that had found her in the misshapen trash can, became emotional in court when he described how she looked, her eyes were open when he found her and one cannot imagine that nightmare. It was a disrespectful and disgusting way to leave someone like that.

The cops tracked all of them down, even being able to trace them in Kentucky so the police did start acting a bit better at this point although they should have taken it more seriously and helped the families more in the beginning. 

The whole evil bunch stood trial and Lemaricus and Letalvis were found guilty due to the overwhelming DNA evidence against them. Lemaricus was given a death sentence whilst Letalvis was given life without parole. George Thomas was also given life, Vanessa Coleman was given 35 years, since she's been behind bars, she has done appeals which have failed and she'd been turned down for parole many times. Eric Boyd was given 18 years because nobody knew how connected he was to the case, it soon became apparent that he was more involved then was originally thought and fingerprints were found on a holster underneath a car seat in Adrienne's car along with bullets. In a strange turn of events, the judge who had been involved in the original trials of each of the defendants (who were all tried separately) had been charged with misconduct because he had been conducting trials whilst addicted to drugs. In some of the cases that the judge had been residing they had allowed the opportunities for a retrial. Lemaricus Davidson and Letalvis Cobbins were not offered this because of the overwhelming evidence proving their guilt. George Thomas and Vanessa Coleman both had retrials separately but were still convicted and found guilty. Eric Boyd almost walked out of jail early having been sentenced to just 18 years previously for apparently being an accessory after the fact, he was due to be up for possible release in 2022 but thankfully he was found guilty on all counts in 2019 after George Thomas and Letalvis Cobbins claimed that he was involved in the rape and murder of Christopher with evidence to support this fact. He was ordered by a judge to spend the rest of his life in prison. He gave no reaction when the jury gave their verdicts of 'guilty' on every charge. He almost got away with it, thank God he didn't. 

The Christopher Newsom Act prevents the judge from acting as a '13th juror' therefore placing the ultimate decision in the hands of the jury as to the defendants fate. The judge is then responsible for taking the final decision of the jury and deciding the sentence that the accused should face. Because of the drama surrounding the disgraced judge, Richard Baumgartner, the original sentences and trials of the five perpetrators were called into question and the subject of re-trials came up. Luckily everything turned out right but imagine if these monsters were given a softer judge who gave them reduced sentences? The only good thing to come out of this was that Eric Boyd was looked at again and had his sentence changed to life. 

Channon Christian who was incredibly loved and treasured by her family and friends was laid to rest in the beautiful Berry Highland West Memorial Park in Knoxville. Chris was buried in the equally as beautiful and peaceful, Woodhaven Memorial Gardens in Claxton. Anderson County. They are both incredibly missed and everyone who happens to come across this horrendous story is deeply saddened and horrified about how these two young people died. 

It's a case that I will never forget and before I spent the past week researching this case, I only knew about the horror of the actual ordeals and the murders, I didn't know about the ridiculous drama afterwards with the poor families of the couple having to be dragged to the courts time and again having the absolute fear and dread that these monsters were possibly going to be out on the streets before they knew it. For years the families had this extra ordeal to face after losing their loved ones in such a devastating way. The sigh of sheer relief could be heard in the courtroom when Eric Boyd was found guilty of all charges, it was like the last piece of the nightmare could finally be put to an end, every single one of them had been dealt with in the eyes of the law. A lot of people believe that all of them should have been given the death penalty but like all cases it amounts to evidence and although there was plenty to prove that each of them had a part to play to various levels, there was no doubt as to Lemaricus Davidson's role as the leader of this sick gang and his fingerprints and DNA being all over the place as well as on and inside of the victims. He had the sickening audacity to wear Chris's shoes and use his cellphone right after he murdered him. There was not one shred of humanity in this monster. 

It's heartbreaking to think that Channon and Chris were only in there early 20s but a small comfort to know that they had so many people who loved them, they had people in their lives that loved them so much that they left no stone unturned until they found them. When they didn't show up at the party, their friends noticed that they were not there, they cared and wanted to know that they were ok. Nobody gave up calling them and checking to see how they were. In some families and situations, there are times, sadly, where people are not discovered missing until days and weeks, even months later. People thought the world of Channon and Chris so much that when they were not around, people noticed. Even years after their deaths, people still break down in tears at their loss and the horrible way that these lovely lives were stolen. What happened to them will never be forgotten and the memories that they left behind will never be forgotten either. 

RIP Channon & Chris x

The house of horror on 2316 Chipman street where the evil crimes took place is no longer standing, it has since been demolished. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens

-  Berry Highland West Memorial Park | Find A Grave

- Channon Christian | Find A Grave

- Chris Newsom | Find A Grave

- Judge Richard Baumgartner: Article | Knox News

- Murders of Channon Christian & Christopher Newsom | Wikipedia

- George Thomas Retrial | Court on Crime

- Eric Boyd Trial Playlist | Law & Crime Network

- The Murders of Channon Christian & Chris Newsom | Documentary: Knoxville News Sentinel

- Lemaricus Davidson: Trial Footage | Knoxville News Sentinel

- Christian - Newsom News Report | WBIR News Channel 10

- Channon Christian & Chis Newsom: Timeline | WVLT

- Knoxville Five: Article | Daily Star

- Channon Christian & Christopher Newsom Case | Crime Library

- Channon Christian & Chris Newsom: Article | Local 3 News

- Channon Christian & Chris Newsom: Article | NBC News

- Knoxville, Tennessee | Wikipedia

- The Kriss Donald Case | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Thank you if you have been able to make it all the way through this post, I appreciate that it is a very difficult read to get through. I hope you will join me next time for another true crime case. You can find me on my socials here. If you would like to help support my blog/work, you can do so here, thank you, it really helps. 

See you in the next post x