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The Beginning
- Julie Grissom, age: 24, her father Tom Grisso, and her nephew Sean Grissom, age: 8 were all discovered dead on Novermber 4, 1989. All three victims were wrapped in duct tape. The father and nephew had been stabbed to death. Julie had been brutally raped and then she was stabbed to death as well with a knife. When Danny felt he was done, he cleaned up the crime scene then placed Julie's body in a posing position.
Danny's stop in Gainesville, Florida
- The first and second victims of the five Gainesville murders were discovered on August 8, 1990. Two young females by the names of Sonja Larson (age 18), and Christina Powell (age 17) were both found murdered in their arpartment which they shared. When Danny entered the apartment, he noticed Christina Powell sleeping on the couch. Ignoring her, Danny went upstairs and entered Sonja Larson's bedroom where she was asleep. He muted her screams with duct tape as he stabbed her to death. Once Sonja was dead, Rolling then went back downstairs to where Christina was sleeping. He applied duct tape to her mouth as well as to her hands, which he placed behind her. He then cut off her clothes and underwear and brutally raped her. Afterwards, Danny turned her face down and stabbed her five times in the back. He also duched Christina Powell with a blue house-hould deturgent which was later found by police along with semen stained paper towels.
- The murder of Danny's third victim in Gainesville occured on August 25, 1990, only 17 days after the first two bodies were discovered. Christa Leigh Hoyt (age 18), also a college student, was murdered in her apartment. Danny Rolling had broken into her apartment with a screw driver, then waited patiently for the arrival of Christa. Christa entered her apartment that night at around 11 o' clock at night. After suprising her from behind, Danny put a choke hold on her. He taped both her hands and mouth and brought her into the bedroom where he then violently raped her. After he was finished, he turned Christa face down and stabbed her with a tremendous amount of force, rupturing her aorta. He then methodically cut open her abdomen from her pubic bone to her breast bone. Next, he sliced off her nipples and inserted them into her abdominal wound. Believe it or not, he still was not finished. He decapitated her and placed her head on a shelf in plain view.
- Danny's last two murders occurred on August 27, 1990, two days after he raped and murdered Christa Leigh Hoyt. This time his pattern changed. He killed a man by the name of Manuel Taboada, age 23, who was rooming with Tracy Paules, who was 23 as well. Rolling again entered the apartment by prying the front door open with a screwdriver. Danny went into the bedroom of Manuel Taboada and stabbed him with such a great deal of force that it penetrated through to his thoracic vertebrae. Taboada's roomate, Tracy Paules, heard strange noises from her roomate's room and decided to check up on what the commotion was about. When she saw Danny, she ran to her room and locked the door. However this would not stop Danny Rolling, who easily kicked in the door. Tracy was then subdued and taped up exactly like Danny's other victims and anally raped. Within the last few seconds of her life she was placed on her stomach, and then stabbed three times in the back. He then posed her body and left the apartment.
