True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

 (Superstition Mountains. Picture credit: viator)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RIP Suzanne, Peter and Louise 

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

Further Reading & Sources:

- Suzanne Maria Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave

- Jesse James Gillies: Article | The Courier (1984)

- State Vs Gillies | Court Documents

- Evil Intentions | Book By Ronald J Watkins

- Jesse James Gillies | Murderpedia

- Michael David Logan | Inmate Death Notification

- Executions Since 1992 | AZ Central

- Peter & Louise Rossetti | Video Clip

- Peter & Louise Rossetti | Video Clip

- Peter Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave

- Louise Rossetti | Memorial/Find A Grave

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

 (Suzanne Rossetti. Picture credits: findagrave)

Continued from part one Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. 

Jesse and Michael were originally planning to do a raid but when they saw Suzanne they quickly changed their minds and talked about possibly taking money from her. Once Suzanne had finished in the store she went outside to find that she accidentally locked herself out of her car so she went back inside the store and asked the clerk if he could help her. 

The clerk behind the register explained to her that he was sorry but he wasn't allowed to leave the store. Suzanne went back outside and paced around for a bit just trying to figure out what to do. The whole time she was unknowingly being watched by Jesse and Michael. They could sense that she was alone and vulnerable and swooped in, approaching her they asked if there was anything they could do to help. 

Suzanne explained what had happened and seemed a bit embarrassed about the situation. The two men were a lot taller than her too but they were so friendly to her and agreed to help. Suzanne was so innocent in her thinking that she just thought these two men were doing her a good turn, being good samaritains just like she would have been if the situation had been different. Jesse and Michael were putting on the act of being the perfect gentlemen and told Suzanne that they worked with horses at a ranch. They finally got the car open and she was so happy because meeting her parents at the time promised was very important to her and she didn't want to keep them waiting any longer.

The store clerk was aware of what was happening and could clearly see Jesse and Michael with Suzanne. Being grateful and thankful to who she thought were two kind men, she asked them if there was anything she could do. They asked for some beer so she brought that out to them and went to get into her car when they asked if they could have a ride to the ranch. At this point Suzanne must have felt a bit uneasy, placed in a difficult position because these two men had just helped her. At this point it is unclear whether Jesse and Michael forced Suzanne into the car or if she agreed to give them a ride. Suzanne was always careful to keep herself safe and was not the sort of person who would give rides to strangers especially two men. 

Once at the ranch and the car stopped, Jesse violently struck Suzanne twice so loudly that it apparently startled Michael. Jesse then proceeded to push Suzanne out of the car and followed after her. Whist Jesse tore away at Suzanne's clothes and raped her, Michael went through her purse and searched her car for valuables. Once Jesse was finished with Suzanne he tried to encourage Michael to do the same but he wanted to drive to another location as he was concerned that someone might see what was happening. 

The sick pair forced Suzanne to put her trousers back on and tied up her hands with some towels they found in the car. They forced her into the back of the vehicle and covered her with a blanket. Jesse got into the front and drove the car whilst Michael sat in the back holding Suzanne down and threatening her with worse to come if she dare make a sound. 

To try and imagine what must have been going through Suzanne's mind whilst all of this horror was going on is impossible. The monsters put the radio on and turned the volume way up whilst drinking beer and smoking weed as if the whole sickening thing was a party. They even stopped at one point to buy more alcohol with Suzanne's money. 

At one point they decided since they'd run out of beer and money that they would go to Suzanne's apartment and see what they could find there. They forced Suzanne to give directions. It was on this journey that Suzanne's parents, Peter and Louise spotted Suzanne's car driving past as they were waiting for her and becoming very concerned. At the time they weren't sure that it was Suzanne's car because there was two men in the front seat and what looked like a child sat in between the middle of them (Louise would later say that this moment haunted her for the rest of her life because she remembered the look on this girl or woman's face and it was a look of sheer sorrow that she didn't even recognise that the person was Suzanne).

Once in Suzanne's apartment, Jesse raped her again whilst Michael went through her drawers and cupboards looking for money and valuables, smoking and listening to loud rock & roll music as he did so. During the raid of Suzanne's apartment he found her ATM card. 

When Jesse was finished assaulting Suzanne he called for Michael to come to the room that they were in and a discussion about the ATM card ensued. They wanted to know exactly how much money Suzanne had and she tried to tell them. Jesse ordered Michael to rape Suzanne and he followed through with the order. Jesse then took over the raid of Suzanne's apartment so see what else he could find and stuffed two hundred dollars into a pillowcase. Once this horrific act was over they forced Suzanne to put her clothes on and they decided to leave the apartment. They left Suzanne's apartment at 12:47 am.

Around the same time that Suzanne's horrendous ordeal was taking place at her apartment, her parents were on the phone to the Phoenix police department and were told that they couldn't report Suzanne missing because it hadn't been 24 hours. 

By 2:10 am Jesse and Michael were driving around trying to use Suzanne's ATM card, they managed to get $200 but were struggling to withdraw more money. Their images were captured by a camera on the cash machines. They were trying to decided what to do next with Suzanne, they wanted the money from the ATM card so badly as Suzanne had told them that her account had $4.000 in it. She was still tied up in the car and they didn't want to let her go because they knew that they'd both be going back to jail for even longer this time. 

The monsters decided to drive to a popular mountain range known as the 'Superstition Mountains' and once there they pulled Suzanne out of the car. Suzanne was by now exhausted, filthy with cuts and bruises and said to the two vile creatures stood before her ''I guess you are going to kill me now?'

In these horrific moments you get a sense that Suzanne was beyond caring, she had gone through a nightmare, a living hell and come to a point where she just did not care and who could blame her, they had numbed her of not only the feeling in her arms and legs from being bound but from the pain, the terror because at that point she was beyond it. When I've researched horrific cases previously where someone has been tortured over a number of hours and put through sheer hell (but by some miracle later escaped) they often say a point comes where you welcome death, you just want it all over with and you become fearless because you just want the suffering to stop. Death is peace, death is like escape. 

I wish I could find the most evil of names to call Jesse James Gillies and Michael David Logan but how I feel about them cannot be put into words. I have a deep hatred and anger mixed with disgust and sheer disbelief when it comes to the pair of them. 

Suzanne was stood there in front of these monsters in the middle of nowhere and it was freezing cold. She knew they were going to kill her but was not going to go down without a fight. What a brave, amazing woman she truly was. 

They both took turns raping her again and then told her to move because they were going for a hike. Suzanne turned to them and said ''I'm not going anywhere with you''. Jesse responded to her by slapping her across the face and saying ''Yes you are, you're going hiking'' 

Continued in part three..

Further reading and sources are included in part three of this case series. 

 I've covered quite a lot of murder cases on this blog and each one has been difficult to put from paper to screen, I always feel a sense of loss and sorrow for the victims and their families and in my latest case this week, I felt a profound sadness and anger at what happened to a young 26 year old girl who had a heart of gold. I was surprised that this horrendous case had not been covered by other blogs or others in the true crime community but hopefully my piece will inspire others to write about Suzanne and the monsters who took her life in the most evil and unimaginable way. 

This is such a horrible story to tell but it's part of my job to bring you these cases, the ones you may know about and the ones you might not know about. I feel we don't get enough credit in the true crime community, yes, there are those who have jumped on the true crime bandwagon to make money and then there's people like me who just want to make a difference, all I've ever wanted is my own books on the book shelves, not my name up in lights. It is us in the true crime community (the serious content creators) that bring awareness to these cases, we blow the dust of the case files, we remind the world what these killers have done and we remind the world of the beautiful lives they stole. We care about the victims and their families and if it had been one of our relatives that had been so cruelly taken, you best believe that we would not want that to be forgotten....ever. The police move on to another case and the world moves on, time moves on but for the families and friends of victims, their sorrow continues and their loved one or loved ones can never be brought back. 

This case took me a while to put together because I had to get a lot of information from America including books and other materials. I managed to get a copy of Ronald J Watkin's incredibly harrowing and moving book 'Evil Intentions' (which I could only get ordered in second hand from America) which has been invaluable in my research in this case. 

This story is going to be a heartbreaking journey for the reader as it has been for me as the writer. I have to warn you that the details are very harrowing and you will experience a mixture of emotions along the way from sadness to anger to shock to sadness again. As I always try my best to do in my posts, I will try to be as sensitive as possible without shying away from the facts of the case. So please be aware that I will be sharing disturbing details in the following posts. 

I want to start by talking about Suzanne, who she was and give you a flavour of what she was like as a person. Suzanne was born on the 3rd of May 1954 in Saugus, Massachusetts (USA) to the most amazing parents anybody could ask for, Peter and Louise. She had a brother (Peter Jr) and a sister (Donna) and the family were very down to earth, hardworking and independent. The Rossetti's were very academically focused and believed in hard work. Suzanne and her siblings would focus on their studies but also took part in any housework that needed done. The family had the perfect balance of work and praise, when the kids did well at school or did their chores as asked, Peter and Louise would take them out for ice cream as a reward. They were strict but fair and it was all done in a very loving, encouraging and nurturing way. 

All of Suzanne's guidance from her parents worked wonderfully because she shone at school from being incredibly gifted at her school work, making the honour roll as well a being a cheerleader and into other sports, she was well liked and popular. The future looked bright for Suzanne. 

As the years rolled on, Suzanne was turning into a very beautiful, talented woman even though she was often shy when receiving compliments and didn't think of herself as pretty. She was not conceited in any way. Her friends and family would affectionately nickname her 'Suz'. Despite all of her achievements and looks, Suzanne never really knew her worth and much preferred to big up the achievements of others, she certainly took on that humble, down to earth and kind-natured approach that her parents often had. 

So that was the kind of person that Suzanne was, caring, focused, kind-hearted and an achiever. She'd graduated with flying colours and by the time January 1980 rolled around she found herself at a happy place in life, sure she wanted to start a family and told friends that she wasn't sure if she would ever meet the right man for her but apart from that, she was up for a promotion for the Pharmaceutical company that she'd been working for in Phoenix, Arizona where she was now living at this point. She had an amazing social calendar and a tight group of friends. She was active with sports as she always had been and regularly attended church. Life couldn't have been better in Phoenix for 26 year old Suzanne Rossetti. She was extremely proud of her parents and family and they were extremely proud of her. Suzanne was always so supportive of her parents and always kept in contact with them especially as her father, Peter had suffered with his health over the years. 

It was on the cold. dark Wednesday night of January the 28th in 1981 that Suzanne was getting ready to meet her parents but decided to stop off at a convenient store to get some chewing gum. Little did she or anyone know what lay ahead of her was a horrific nightmare that nobody could have foreseen. 

Whilst Suzanne was in the store, two men by the names of Jesse James Gillies (20) and Michael David Logan (27) were outside watching. Both were from the wrong side of the tracks, both were the worst type of guys that you would wish to meet on a cold, dark night or any night for that matter. 

Jesse James Gillies was evil personified and had quite the criminal career despite only being 20 years old. His mother made it clear from the day that he was born that he was an unwanted child, she just couldn't bring herself to love him. Jesse had caused sheer hell to everyone around him since childhood with his erratic behaviour, petty crimes and utter disrespect towards his mother and grandparents. During his childhood he was moved from place to the other because nobody could handle him. He'd spent time in Juvenile Hall and stole a car all before the age of 12. He was in and out of prison and now here he was in 1981, out of prison yet again but on the promise that he would finally turn over a new leaf and work on a ranch and that is where he met Michael David Logan.

It was like the friendship from hell because Michael David Logan was also bad news in a big way, he was an escaped convict and like Jesse, he had a long list of trouble and convictions behind him. He was from a rough background and was a racist who drank heavily. He was also involved in petty crime and these two forged an alliance and it was a very dangerous one indeed. 

These two men were going nowhere in life despite their young ages, they'd already left a trail of destruction behind them and now here they were on the night of the 28th of January 1981, watching the beautiful, young and promising Suzanne Rossetti with nothing but evil intentions in their minds. 

Continued in part two & three....

Further Reading & Sources are included in part three of this case series.