[8] Ultimately, the murder charge for Delores Mack was dropped,[11] but on the basis of very circumstantial evidence and unreliable testimony, Ellwood was found guilty of killing Cheryl Lewis and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on August 17, 1999. It is unclear where she was employed, but nothing indicated that she engaged in prostitution or used drugs. Russel Ellwood was a suspected serial killer who killed prostitutes (women) by drugging them and strangling them to death. Ellwood hoped that the second murder charge would also be dropped, but the government stood by its position. After all, my listeners who took drama club classes in high school will remember that the first rule of improv is to always say yes. There were a few things Clay said, or the way he said them, that made me think he was making stuff up on the fly. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Serial murder is distinguished from mass murder, in which several victims are . A few more bodies were found, but these victims were all determined to have been killed years prior to their discovery. GG.exe Kylo was here Sep 6, 2005 139,195 89,282 AFL Club Ellwood worked for a while as a freelance photographer in New Orleans and eventually worked as a cab driver. Will Clay Jensen get arrested at the start of 13 Reasons Why season 3 for his involvement with Tyler's deadly plan? However, the truth of the matter is more complicated. When reporters called Carver College President Robert Crummie for comment on the situation, Crummie defended Chief Collins, telling them Nobodys broken a law or committed a sinpeople are just uncomfortable about talking to strangers. When confronted with the information about Gant, Crummie finally said that he was no longer working for the Carver College Police and that he had no obligation to discuss it further. At some point prior to 2016, Gant found employment as an officer with the Carver College Police Department in Atlanta. During her lifetime, she had been arrested multiple times for theft and was a known drug addict. True crime aficionados quickly picked up on the similarities between Clays story and an unsolved cluster of homicides that had made headlines and hit TV screens all around America nearly three decades prior. Although this definition is widely accepted, the crime is not formally recognized in any legal code, including that of the United States. Many people believe that Russell Ellwood is "Clay the Serial Killer," the man who contacted The Howard Stern Show in 1997 and confessed to killing women in a call that was broadcast on the show. Stern and Quivers asked him questions related about why he did it. Antoinette Rainey, who worked as a drug dealer in New Orleans, also appeared as a witness for the prosecution, testifying that Ellwood was a regular customer. Judging by what I can find, Victor Gant was never charged with any of the murders and not much is known about him today. Bus. Sharons boyfriend33-year-old Victor Gantwas a known user of chewing tobacco. 1. A native of Massillon, Ohio, Ellwood moved to New Orleans in 1968 after graduating high school. But that all changes a couple of minutes into this strange and disturbing phone call. Richard Pennington, chief of the New Orleans police, said that a police officer was a suspect, but he refused to identify him. Weill had also photographed The Beatles final live performance before a paying audiencetheir famous August 1966 Candlestick Park concertand was now apparently obsessed with the Zodiac Killer, along with lawyer to the stars, attorney Melvin Belli, who was working with the Rolling Stones at the time. I mean, he's a multi-millionaire and arguably the most recognized name in broadcasting, so clearly he's kind of good at his job. [1] [2] Murders [ edit] At any given time, between 25 and 50 serial killers are thought to be hiding in the shadows of the United States and driving around looking for their next possible victim. Woods retired less than a year later while facing the suspension of his police license, and was eventually replaced by R.J. Collins, who apparently later hired Victor Gant. All things considered, these facts make Russell Ellwood a compelling suspect for Clay the Serial Killer, and it is easy to why so many articles name him as such. [2] During the investigations, it was established that Gant had an intimate relationship with one of the victims, Sharon Robinson. EDIT: Glad to see this post has stirred interest in possibly unraveling a case or debunking one! When he appeared in court, other prisoners who knew Ellwood gave witness accounts against him. He boasted to other prisoners about his murders in Louisiana during this period. Ultimate Unexplained. With the 29th Pick in the NFL Draft, The Saints Select Bryan Bresee, Nate Diaz, Former UFC Fighter, Chokes Out Logan Paul Look-A-Like on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, The Worlds Largest Bounce House Heading to New Orleans April 21-23, Reopening Date Announced for Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, 2023 New Orleans Jazz Fest is Going Cashless, Recall of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell Falls Short, Official Numbers Show, Company Behind Popular Mobile Games Opens Hub in New Orleans, Louisiana, LSU Wide Receiver Malik Nabers Arrested in New Orleans on a Weapons Charge, New Orleans, Louisiana Accounts for 5 Percent of Mass Shootings Nationwide in 2023. There was one that rang in to radio a while back, I think it was the 'Weepy Voiced Killer' and he confessed. This experience, combined with her undergraduate degree in psychology and teaching, has equipped her with valuable skills that she employs on a daily basis in real estate negotiations, homebuyer and seller education, and successful promotion of the team's listings. The penalty couldn't be upheld though, since Sowell died in prison in February 2021. serial murder, also called serial killing, the unlawful homicide of at least two people carried out by the same person (or persons) in separate events occurring at different times. [13], As of November 2021, all of the murders, aside from that of Cheryl Lewis, remain unsolved. [2] On December 14, skeletal remains were found in a ditch near a highway. This guy is either the dumbest serial killer or this was just a jokester with a really bad sense of humor seeking attention. In 1998, Russell Ellwood stood trial for the 1993 murders of Cheryl Lewis, 30, of Bridge City, and Deloras Mack, 40, of Metairie. Once the call ended, the saga of Clay the Serial Killer faded into relative obscurity. Each time 'Clay' answered a question he responded in a calm, matter-of-fact manner. Gant complied, and the samples were sent to a police lab for testing against the wad of chewing tobacco found near Karen Ivesters body. Just shoot out the front tire & then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out, However, two months later, police officials traced a series of phone calls made to Melvin Bellis home by the supposed Zodiac. She was later identified as 39-year-old Lola Porter, who had gone missing from New Orleans in 1992. The details are given below, whether Russel was the culprit or not. - During the call, Clay claimed he was white, and that the only suspect at the time was a black cop who was romantically involved with one of the victims. One of the people Collins gave a second chance to was Steven Wayne Turner, a Georgia police officer who had been fired for exposing his penis to a woman he had pulled over while working for the Lithonia Police Department. He speaks very nonchalantly, something seems genuine about him. Several of Russell Ellwood's other potential victims were clients of a black Nola cop who was a suspect in their disappearance. Discretion is advised. She said that she did not report the incident, due to being a prostitute with a criminal record. He indicated that he had "dreamed" of the moment that he was questioned by a task force looking into serial killers. Internal investigations were launched, and Gant was taken off his patrol beat and place on desk duty. According to multiple reports, what grabbed the FBI's attention during the phone call on The Howard Stern Show was that the caller revealed information about his murders that authorities say they never made public. This clue became one of the most significant in this entire saga. In 1997, a man who called himself Clay called into the Howard Stern show. His attorneys argued that Ellwood was not in New Orleans at the time of the murders, claiming that he had been in Ohio with some relatives. A native of New Orleans, Gant spent his childhood and youth in Algiers, where a number of the victims lived and were abducted from. [9] Ellwood was eventually convicted and ordered to spend 120 days behind bars. Do you think "Clay the Serial Killer" is Russell Ellwood? [2] On October 19, the skeletal remains of a woman were found in a wooded area near a highway within the limits of Bridge City. On September 22, 1991, the killer claimed his third victim, twenty-eight-year-old Charlene Price. Britton had dropped out of school shortly before her death, and was last seen in a New Orleans bar next to an unknown man. Little is known about Ellwood's early life other than the fact that he might have been born in Massillon, Ohio, and that he served time for drug offenses and probation violations in Florida and Ohio. When he takes control of the conversation by asking Clay if he strangles his victims, Stern then opens the door for this supposed killer to impulsively divulge his true method of killing, should he be incorrect in his initial assumption. While he was only convicted of 1 murder (Cheryl Lewis), he is believed to killed upwards of 20 prostitutes during the 1990's. During "Clay's" call, he joked about how the only suspect the Nola police had was a black people officer. [2] FBI agent Neil Gallagher later clarified that Gant was a suspect only in Robinson and Ivester's murders, and at present, they had no evidence tying him to any of the other killings. The Zodiac vanished into quiet oblivion sometime in the mid-1970s and Weill committed suicide in 2006. The autopsy established the remains belonged to a young black girl, who at the time was in her early twenties and approximately 1,57cm tall. Another complication is thisBaton Rouge, the possible Jimmy Swaggart town referenced by Clay, is over 80 miles away from New Orleans, where nearly all the bodies were found. The call remained virtually absent from public discourseand even the internetuntil 2019, when fans of Stern began posting about the segment on Reddit, reigniting interest in the incident. Ellwood was eventually charged with one murder and received life imprisonment in 1999. As he returned to the crime scene, as other serial killers do, it can be assumed that he was, but as far as is known, no information on the matter has been made public. The trial began on June 8, 1999, in Lafayette. Or was something even stranger going on? and our They say some of the details the caller talked about were things that only the killer would know. Reading comments online and on this video, it looks like I'm not alone. With no confession or hard evidence to charge him with, detectives had no choice but to let Gant go. 30-year-old Karen Ivester had been strangled and her nude body was left in a swamp under I-55. Louisiana Serial Killer Confesses Live on The Howard Stern Show. While reviewing Nemards record as an officerincluding his arrest recordCollins wrote to officials at the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, stating, It is my belief that Mr. Nemard is a man of strong moral character and has a deep faith in God. - The majority of known victims were sex workers. This sort of bizarre call was not out of the ordinary for the show, where Stern often hoax calls from people with crazy stories. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. An autopsy deduced that she had been strangled, and prior to her death, had taken a large dose of cocaine, which could have caused an overdose. To some, these questions might seem like the kinds of things all of us might ask if given the opportunity to interview a serial killer, but Stern makes some key maneuvers less than a minute into this conversation. He said it was a knife from what he was told. [2], The perpetrator(s) mainly targeted girls and women of African-American descent, aged between 17 and 42, as victims. [2] In a 2016 interview with HuffPost, Major C.J. He began killing for unclear motives, taking the life of Cheryl Lewis, his first known victim, by drugging her and drowning her in a canal on February 1-3, 1993. She recounted an incident in which Ellwood forced her into his car at gunpoint, then drove her to an underpass where he beat, raped and robbed, threatening to kill her during the ordeal. "No. During the hearing, members of the disciplinary committee reviewed the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses. No further information about him is available.
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