True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Continued From Part One.....

As more and more time went on, it was obvious something was wrong. This wasn't like the girls, it was totally out of character. The thought of their parents worrying about where they were would have mortified Jennifer and Elizabeth. No matter where they were or what they were doing, they would always stop and at least make a phone call but there was no word from the girls at all. Family and friends wasted no time putting a search together and within days the police had received an anonymous phone call from an unlikely source. Peter Cantu's brother Joe provided details to the police about what his brother had been bragging and laughing about. It ended up with Joe teaming up with the police and trying to pin point where the girls bodies were. Soon enough, the sad discovery was made just four days later. 

Although it had been 4 days later, decomposition had set in to the point where the bodies were unrecognisable. The warm temperature and the fact the bodies had been left out in the open with animals, insects as well as internal decomposition made them difficult to identify at first. The sight was very disturbing as flies and maggots had engulfed the private areas that had been left exposed. It was beyond horrific what those two lovely girls had gone through but to be also left out there with no respect and for their bodies to end up infested like that was just heartbreak after heartbreak. Word spread like wildfire that two female bodies had been found in the park and soon members of the community as well as the media were everywhere. The parents of Jennifer and Elizabeth were beside themselves, Randy Ertman (Jennifer's father) saw the news report and rushed down to the park and demanded to be given more information but at that point the bodies were still being removed carefully, they were later identified by dental records and items of clothing. The gang had stolen items of jewelry from the girls and these items were later recovered. 

The six monsters were arrested and stood trial, Venancio agreed to testify against the other gang members but not his brother Jose. None of them demonstrated a shred of remorse, in fact Peter Cantu acted pathetic from start to finish with his unbothered behaviour and lack of respect, he really was rotten to the core. The two cowardly 'Roman brothers' were questioned and they made a deal to give all the information that they knew and since they co-operated and were not involved with the actual assaults and murders, they were let go. All six were found guilty on all counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and murder. Due to his age and the fact that he co-operated with investigators, Venancio didn't face the death penalty but the others did. All five were sentenced to death but Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal later had their death sentences switched to life sentences (with the possibility of parole after 35 years) due to a change in the law, it was ruled that anyone who committed a crime under the age of 18 was not to face the death penalty as they were considered to be a minor. Venancio was given 40 years. 

The families and friends of Jennifer and Elizabeth as well as the local community were so strong and incredible throughout everything, they all banded together. Randy Ertman became a source of inspiration and strength for not only his family and his community but for families of victims worldwide. With the help of Randy and family and friends he had gathered together, they worked to have two laws changed which are still so incredibly important to this day. Before, families of victims did not have the opportunity to have victim impact statements in court, that was abolished and now families have been given the right to have their say. At executions it was unheard of that the families of victims were able to attend but due to this case, it was lifted and now victim's families and survivors can attend executions if they wish to. Both the fathers of Jennifer and Elizabeth were given the opportunity to confront the murderers in the courtroom and Randy told them ''We live for the day that you die.''. Both of the brave men didn't hold back in their thoughts and as well as their words being so powerful, so true, they were also a huge tribute to Jennifer and Elizabeth. 

Derrick Sean O'Brien who was 31 years old, was put to death on the 11th of July 2006. Apparently he kept saying sorry over and over again before he was given the lethal injection. He refused a final meal beforehand. 

Jose Medellin was 33 when he was executed by lethal injection on the 17th of August 2010. Just like Derrick, he apologised for all the pain he caused, whether these two were genuine is anyone's guess but he also refused a last meal.

The ringleader of it all, the pathetic cretin who smiled all the way through the trial. 35 year old Peter Cantu had not a care in the world. He fancied a slap-up meal and requested Mexican food with a cinnamon bun. There was no apologies from him, no emotion whatsoever on his face and when he was asked if there was any last words he simply said no. 

The other three monsters who got off the death penalty due to their ages are still serving time and there is the possibility that they could get parole in the future but it's highly unlikely. Venancio has been up for parole at least five times so far and keeps getting turned down. He's now 47 and could be released in 2033. The families of Jennifer and Elizabeth have vowed to always fight to ensure these monsters are never released.

During the investigation into the background of these monsters, it comes as no surprise that each of them had previous run-ins with the law and it was clear that their lives were always going to end in a negative way. What was also shocking and disturbing for boys of such a young age was that just 6 months before the murders of Jennifer and Elizabeth, it was revealed that this group of sick and evil monsters were responsible for another murder of a young mother. The shocking murder of Patricia Lopez was unsolved at the time and as you can imagine it was horrific what they did to her too. Patricia had run out of petrol (gas) and was stranded, the boys spotted the attractive young woman and offered to give her a lift to the gas station in return for some alcohol. She agreed to get them some and instead of taking her to the gas station they kidnapped her, gang-raped her and then disemboweled her. The police were investigating her murder and when these monsters were in custody it was discovered that their DNA matched the scene as well as statements from Joe Cantu who had also mentioned that the gang had also bragged about Patricia's murder. They weren't put on trial for Patricia's murder but I think the attitude was that they were all facing the death penalty or life in prison anyway so they would be off the streets one way or another. 

The incredible father of Jennifer, Randy Ertman sadly passed away on August the 18th 2014 from cancer at the age of 61 and is forever remembered for his incredible strength and fight for justice for Jennifer, Elizabeth, the families and for all families of victims. 

Two memorial benches currently stand in the area where Jennifer and Elizabeth were found. People often visit and lay flowers and little mementos. Both Jennifer and Elizabeth are buried close to each other in Woodland Cemetery in Harris County, Texas.

I know these two posts were very difficult to get through and if you have made it this far, I appreciate your time so much. The horrific ordeal that Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia (and who knows if there's anybody else who fell victim to this group of monsters?) went through is so unbelievable and it leaves you with feelings of anger, sorrow and shock at the level of pure evil that has happened here. It's like Peter Cantu and his pathetic group of psychotic losers had a hatred towards women and young girls. Not content with the horrendous acts they committed but the utter disrespect, the lack of remorse, decency....the list goes on! Just harassed these girls, tortured them, did horrendous things and then threw them away, it's sickening. The same situation with Patricia. These three beautiful young ladies deserved to live, they had beautiful lives and were so loved and are so deeply missed. This pathetic group of losers were nothing but a stain on society, every one of them had nothing but a list of crimes, disappointments and destruction behind them. They were all monsters but Peter Cantu was an extra level of evil that even his own brother couldn't wait to get rid of him. 

RIP beautiful Jennifer, thank you for trying to save your friend and your incredible courage to go back when you had that opportunity to get free but you were selfless. What you did was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time, your father was an incredible man who fought hard for others in need and it seems you were just like him. What a beautiful legacy to be remembered for. 

RIP beautiful Elizabeth, along with Jennifer, your care and love for others was always your main priority and you fought for what was right and you fought for yourself. The enormous outpouring of grief at the loss of yourself and Jennifer just goes to show how much of an impact you left on so many people in your short lives. We will always remember you both.

RIP beautiful Patricia, a beautiful life taken in such a horrendous way. Your beautiful children carry your legacy and like Jennifer and Elizabeth you were also so kind and loved by so many. We will never forget you. 

RIP to the courageous Randy Ertman. The strength and incredible bravery you showed all the way through not only the heartbreaking loss of your daughter Jennifer, but the determination you had to see that all families had the chance to see justice and have their say. You gave the families of victims a voice as well as being the voice of victims and survivors. 

My thoughts are also with all the families and the friends of all who are sadly no longer with us. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Pure Murder | Book by Corey Mitchell

- Elizabeth Pena & Jennifer Ertman: Article | ABC13 News

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena | KPRC 2 Click2Houston

- Derrick O'Brien | Court Documents

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena: Article | Oxygen

- Peter Cantu: Execution Article | CBS News

- Jennifer Ertman & Elizabeth Pena | Reddit Discussion Thread

- Venancio Medellin: Parole Report | Fox 26 News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Tampa Bay News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Houston Chronicle

- Randy Ertman: Article | Los Angeles News

- Randy Ertman: Article | Boston Globe News

- Jennifer Ertman | Find A Grave

- Elizabeth Pena | Find A Grave

- Randy Ertman | Find A Grave 

- Death row Information | Texas Gov

- Capital Punishment in Texas | Wikipedia

I will be taking a short break from writing as it's my birthday on the 5th of November (if you would like to buy me a birthday coffee and help support my work, you can do so here thank you so much!!!) 

In the meantime, I hope you will join me for a chat, a coffee or whatever on my Socials

Stay safe, until next time.........x 

As a true crime writer I often feel like I sound like a stuck record when I say the words 'this is one of the most disturbing cases that I have ever written about' but the truth is, all of the cases I have written about have been heartbreaking and disturbing. Whether it is one person who has had their lives so cruelly taken or a number of people, each story is equally important and one victim is one too many. We all have the right to live our lives in peace and safety as long as we treat others the way in which we would like to be treated ourselves, with respect, understanding and with the best of intentions. Of course I'm talking about what I would ideally like to be the case but we know that, in reality, our world is often quite a cruel and dark place where we have good people and some bad people....some very, very bad people. 

I'm going back in time in this post to 1993, a time where it was all about hair scrunchies, girlbands and boybands, jeans paired with sweaters, grunge and blockbuster movies like Jurassic Park. Not forgetting the battle of the big ballads with Whitney Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' and Meatloaf's 'I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won' Do That)'. It was an epic time to be a teenager, way before mobile phones and the Internet took over, people had to actually socialise and teenagers could be teenagers without a rush to grow up or the added pressures that young people have today. There is a lot of positive things I could list about the 1990s but again, in all reality, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, the world was still as dangerous then as it is today, it's just that with the internet we have news from other corners of the world, places we never knew existed and a hard dose of reality on a daily basis of what actually goes on in places beyond our reach. We have more knowledge of crimes and often see crimes carried out in real time on our laptops and mobile phones. 

As teenagers in the 1990s (as well as a lot of people in general) there was sense of ignorance about the world and potential dangers lurking around every corner but that wasn't so much a bad thing. I mean, who wants to go through life being paranoid, not being able to fully enjoy life and worrying about what could potentially happen. I like to think that most of us nowadays have a bit of a balance, we are careful with where we go and who we trust but as we know that doesn't always guarantee 100% safety. This case has been covered quite a lot over the years but I have had many readers request for me to write about it. I was familiar with this disturbing story and like everyone else who knows the full details of what happened, it has never left me and will forever horrify me. 

I always make a little note at the beginning of my posts to remind readers that the content may cover some disturbing details and in this post, that goes without question, it will be beyond nightmarish and if you feel that you can go through this very dark, upsetting and evil journey with me in this article, I will be honest and say that it won't be an easy read but I appreciate your time and it's always important that we never forget victims of such evil acts or cloak the monsters who do such things in darkness. Sometimes you find that cases where the perpetrators have been in prison for a long time and nobody's talked about their story and what they did to be put away for so long in the first place, some people tend to get a bit too sympathetic for my liking. No matter how much time has passed If someone or a gang of people have committed horrendous acts where they have taken lives, they should serve every bit of time they are given or face whatever the law has dealt for them and that includes the death penalty. I'll never understand some people who email me that so and so has been in prison for a certain length of time for doing horrendous things to children before murdering them and they'll expect me to help a campaign where the proven, convicted killer gets their sentence changed/reduced. That again taps into the whole 'death penalty' vs life sentence debate and I want to focus on this particular story that is disturbing enough.

So, let's get into this case as tough as it's going to be to get through....

Most of us remember what we were like as teenagers and some of the things we got up to away from our parents. The cheeky cigarettes, the 7-up bottle filled with cheap wine, hanging about the park at all hours and probably hanging out with people that we shouldn't have been. Listening to music, gossiping, having crushes, thinking we were invincible. Bills and taking care of a house was not even a thought in our minds, we believed that when we grew up we'd get a house and have parties all the time. Then at some point reality kicked in and then it was jobs, paying bills, cleaning the house and proper reality. In June of 1993, two close friends, 16 year old Elizabeth Pena and 14 year old Jennifer Ertman were just like your everyday teenage girls who were into fashion, boybands, hanging out with friends and experimenting with makeup. The two pretty girls were like two peas in a pod, almost joined at the hip and anyone who knew them would say how friendly and kind they were. As pretty as both the girls were, there was no air of narcissism or snobbery, they chatted away to everyone and were really down to earth with quite a maturity for their young ages. Both girls highly respected their parents and did what they were told and that included keeping in touch if they were ever out somewhere. If their parents told them to be home by a certain time, they would be there. 

On the night of June the 24th 1993 the weather was quite warm in Houston, Texas and the girls had been spending some time at a friend's party when they realised they were cutting it a bit fine with the time. They had previously agreed with their parents that they would be home at a certain time and they wanted to honour that agreement. Knowing that it was looking like they would be home late if they took their usual route, they decided to walk through the park as it would only take them 10 minutes and they'd done that previously and nothing sinister ever happened. With a short walk they probably felt confident that all would be ok. I'm sure a lot of us remember times when we would cut through a park (or in my case, a graveyard.....yes, I confess, I always used to cut through the old cemetery in my hometown to get to and from high school back in the day....and in my defense a lot of the kids did that and to my knowledge, they still do) to save time and thought nothing of it, especially if we had done that so many times before. 

On this warm evening the girls made their way to Oak Forest Park and unknown to them there was a gang of eight young men who were carrying out what they called a 'Gang Initiation'. These idiots called themselves 'The Black & White Gang' and they thought they were something special. Part of this gang ritual involved fighting and drinking beer and the leader of the group was 18 year old Peter Cantu who was never out of trouble. They had accepted 17 year old Raul Villarreal into their group and they all celebrated. Present at the scene were Peter Cantu, Raul Villarreal, Jose Medellin, Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien and Venancio Medellin, Jose's 14 year old brother. Two other boys were also present and they were known locally as 'The Roman Brothers'. 

Full of beer and getting rowdy, the gang members noticed two girls walking past them, it was Elizabeth and Jennifer. The two girls thought that if they kept their heads down and walked past the guys quickly there wouldn't be any trouble but Jose Medellin had other ideas and so did his evil friends. The boys were excited to see two pretty young girls in the park but instead of just paying a few compliments and letting the girls go about their way, the worst and unimaginable events came into play. 

Venancio looked on as his own brother and his gang mates (encouraged and ordered by Peter Cantu) proceeded to grab and grope the girls, pushing them to the floor, pulling at their clothing, grabbing their breasts and dragging them across the grass. The Roman Brothers became alarmed and quickly realised what was going to happen and they didn't want any part of it. Instead of having a shred of human decency and attempting to help these two terrified young girls, the pair decided they would just let the guys carry-on with it and they left. No phone calls were made to the authorities. 

No matter how much research one can do into a case like this, the horrifying reality of the full details of what these girls went through is traumatic to read but nobody for a moment could imagine the sheer terror and agony that those two young girls went through. Six of these monsters against two young girls and it just got worse and worse and worse. I have to mention the important fact that at one point, Jennifer had the chance to get away but she tried to help Elizabeth and so they grabbed her again and carried on assaulting her. As both girls, kicked, screamed, scratched and tried to bite their attackers the horrific rapes carried on. Both girls had been subjected to the most brutal physical and sexual assaults you do not want to imagine! They were forced to perform oral sex and were subjected to vaginal and anal rape numerous times. Each of the monsters cheered each other on as 14 year old Venancio watched on, soon enough the rest of the monsters encouraged him that it was 'his turn' and he joined in. This sickening nightmare went on for more than an hour with each of the girls trying everything to make it stop but they were powerless against these monsters. 

When the monsters had finished their evil and despicable assaults they decided that the girls would have to be murdered because they would be able to identify them. Nobody could imagine what state these poor girls were in after being horrifically beaten and gang-raped, they now had to hear that they were going to be murdered. The girls begged and pleaded for their lives, they just laughed and continued to call the girls names whilst kicking them, to them they had their fun and that was that. Both of the girls were then dragged into a wooded area and Jennifer was ordered to get on to her knees, she was strangled to death with a belt as Elizabeth was forced to watch. In sheer horror and desperation, she began offering them her phone number in an attempt to get on their 'nice' side (if there was a shred of that, that even existed, I think not) but these monsters didn't care. Elizabeth tried to get away but was mercilessly kicked in the face and body with such forced that her ribs were broken and her teeth knocked out. She was then strangled to death with a pair of shoelaces. 

As both girls lay on the ground, deceased, badly beaten, covered in cuts, horrific injuries both outer and inner as well as partially dressed with no respect or dignity given to them.....the monsters ended their night of horrific evil by stomping hard on each of the girl's necks to ensure (as they later said ) ''that they were dead''. 

The evil and utter depravity of these boys was indescribable, they enjoyed every minute of what they had done, there was no remorse, no regret, nothing. In fact they couldn't shut up about it, Peter was bragging to his brother Joe about what they had done, just hours after the horrific and brutal murders of these two beautiful young girls. 

Back in the family homes of Jennifer and Elizabeth, their parents became increasingly concerned about where their daughters were. As they'd always had a close relationship with the girls and knew that the girls were together, part of them assumed that they must have fallen asleep at their friend's house and they'd call soon but that call never came. 

Continued In Part Two....

*Please be aware that the details that I will be sharing in this post are quite disturbing. I have aimed as always to be as sensitive as I can be 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*

When I first saw a picture of Morgan Chauntel Nick I assumed that this beautiful little girl must have been either a child model or a little actress but soon I was to learn the heartbreaking truth. This little angel had been abducted many years ago on the 9th of June 1995 whilst being at a Little League game with other children. Morgan was being her usual care-free self and having fun at the game in Alma, a city in Crawford County, Arkansas (USA). Being her usual bubbly self she always made friends wherever she went and was so bright. At just 6 years old she was already showing a fiery personality and was popular with everyone who knew her. But at this game which was usual a fun, happy time for all who attended, there was evil in everyone's midst. 

There was a strange man who was there acting very odd, some would say creepy. He was watching the children intently, especially Morgan. He had a red pickup truck and he didn't look like he was a parent or had any business being there, there was lots of people there but yet he stood out, that's how unnerving this guy was. They say you should never judge appearance but in this case people were right to feel uneasy about this guy because he wasn't a nice guy in fact, he was a sick, perverted monster who was highly dangerous to children but how could anyone have known this at the time? Trusting your instincts and judging someone's behaviour is very important to try and keep yourself as safe as possible because you never know what someone's intentions may be for you. 

This creepy man was described as being tall at 6 ft, possibly in his 20's or 30's and Caucasian with some facial hair. Morgan, who had been playing with some of the other kids wanted to join them in trying to catch some fireflies, at this point it was around 10:30 pm and Morgan asked her mother if it was ok to which she agreed. Unknown to Morgan's devoted mother Colleen, it was to be the last conversation she would have with her beautiful little girl, it is a conversation that has haunted Colleen and her family for over 30 years. Morgan ran off into the night excited to join in with her friends but she noticed that she'd had some sand in her shoe, she stopped for a moment to empty it out and this is where this sick monster saw an opportunity to make his move. When the rest of the kids later came back from playing, Morgan was nowhere to be seen. When the kids were asked where she was, they said that Morgan had been talking to that creepy man who had been watching everyone earlier and then she just vanished. 

No one could imagine the sheer panic of hearing those words and your child just vanishing into the night with some sick monster. For over 30 years this case has troubled not only Morgan's loving family but all who knew her and the local community, for years everyone clung on to the hope that one day Morgan would return safe and well. The hope that whoever this person was that they would bring her back to her family but there was also the horrible reality of the possibility that she would never be found and as the years rolled on, it became more and more hard to bare. I always say that it is important to never give up hope because we have seen cases (especially with our advancement in forensics) solved and in some cases where someone has been abducted, even years and decades later, they have by some miracle returned home to their families when a lot of people believed it couldn't be possible. Nobody gave up hope when it came to Morgan and her family worked tirelessly as years went by to always search and keep Morgan's name and pictures in the public eye. 

This case popped up again in October of last year (2024) as a press conference was announced which informed the public that they had a suspect in connection with Morgan's abduction. A man (if you could even call this thing a man) the police had interviewed way back in 1995 because he matched the description of the creepy guy who was there the night that Morgan vanished and he had a vehicle which also fit the description of the red truck. His name was Billy Jack Lincks and he'd actually been arrested for trying to kidnap another child not that long after Morgan's disappearance. At that time in 1995 the police believed him to be responsible but for some reason they dragged their heels because they claimed that all they had was 'rumours' about this guy and no circumstantial evidence. 

Fast forward to October of last year (2024) and investigators made the announcement about Billy Jack Lincks being the number one suspect because they had tested evidence they had found in his truck. Investigators were able to locate that same truck that he had in 1995. Forensics techniques which were now more advanced were able to find DNA in the truck which matched Morgan. However, as much as a breakthrough this was, the monster had actually passed away in 2000. More shocking and disturbing revelations about this predator was also made public, the police had done a search of his red truck back in 1995 and they claimed they had no proper evidence linking him to Morgan but they found what looked like a rape kit in his truck which included a machete, rope and tape. DNA such as hair strands were found in the vehicle which didn't belong to Billy. This evidence was all kept on file because they didn't have the forensics advances that we have today. The case which remained unsolved and considered a cold case, was looked back into in 2019 and this is when everything was tested to see if there was a match back to Morgan. It's heartbreaking because the monster died a year later and they were just on the cusp of charging him, although it was way too late he would have died knowing that everybody knew what he did and that it was proven and knowing that he didn't get away with it. 

If there is any consolation, Billy Jack Lincks actually died in prison in 2000 as he was serving time for a serious sexual assault on a child which took place in 1996. He was 72 years old at the time of his death. Another sickening detail about Billy is that it turns out the rotten apple doesn't fall too far from the tree because this thing actually had a son and guess what? He is a registered sex offender who is serving time for breaking into a woman's house, sexually assaulting her before stealing items and fleeing the scene. He was in his 40's when he committed this horrific crime and some people speculate about what he knew about his father and was he involved in his father's crimes? Also, just how many victims is Billy Jack Lincks responsible for? 

Morgan's parents, Colleen and John and the rest of Morgan's family who had basically been to hell and back with this whole ordeal never gave up and still live in hope that Morgan will be found. Their strength has been inspiring and even though Colleen was suffering greatly as each moment passed without her beautiful daughter Morgan, she wanted to help make sure that she helped support other families who were going through the same situation. In 1996 she started the Morgan Nick Foundation to help support families of missing children and as an extra support and guide for parents on how to help keep children safe. The incredible Amber Alert (Named after 9 year old Amber Rene Hagerman who was sadly abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996) which has been such an important public alert for parents and the public informing them about missing children has been named 'The Morgan Nick Amber Alert' in Arkansas. 

I hope that one day Morgan's parents and family have the answers they need and it's heartbreaking to see that justice what not properly done in this case. There was a lot of mistakes made by the police in the investigation but hopefully now that the public is aware of Billy Jack Lincks, maybe someone might know more information that knew him, maybe someone shared a cell with him and he may have told them where Morgan is? Who knows. If there is any updates on this case I will update this post. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Morgan Nick: Article | Neareport

- Morgan Nick: Article | New York Post

- Morgan Nick | Wikipedia

- Morgan Nick Foundation

- Morgan Nick: Report | DNA Solves

- Morgan Nick | Missing Kids

- Morgan Nick: Article | The Independent

- Morgan Nick Press Conference | Case Update: 2024 |

Thank you as always for making it this far as I know it's always a difficult read especially when children are involved but I appreciate you taking the time to read my work and support me. I hope you will join me in my next post, in the meantime I hope to see you on my Socials

Stay safe, until next time x

*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