In late August 1990, Florida serial killer Danny Rolling — infamously known as the Gainesville Ripper — murdered five college students near the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Over the course of four days, Rolling stalked and brutally killed his victims (Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt, Tracy Paules, and Manuel “Manny” Taboada), unleashing panic across the campus community and drawing national attention.

Investigators pursued a manhunt under intense pressure, even arresting a wrong suspect, before evidence from a hidden woodland campsite and subsequent DNA tests finally unmasked Rolling as the killer. Rolling ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death (executed in 2006), but not before his reign of terror had already seeped into pop culture: screenwriter Kevin Williamson cited the Gainesville case as inspiration for the hit 1996 horror movie “Scream.”

What you’ll hear:

→ Sonja Larson & Christina Powell (Aug 24, 1990): Two freshmen roommates (18 and 17) are found stabbed to death in their off-campus apartment; one victim is also sexually assaulted – the first double-homicide that kicks off a terrifying spree.

→ Christa Hoyt (Aug 25, 1990): When the 18-year-old fails to show up for her night shift at the sheriff’s office, deputies discover she has been savagely murdered and decapitated in her home – confirming that a serial killer is at large.

→ Tracy Paules & Manuel “Manny” Taboada (Aug 27, 1990): Close friends (both 23) are attacked in their apartment; Manny confronts the intruder and fights fiercely but is overpowered and killed, after which the killer rapes and murders Tracy – bringing the death toll to five students within four days.

→ Gainesville under siege: Fear grips the University of Florida campus and city as the murders continue – students evacuate in convoys, those who stay behind push furniture against doors and stock up on locks and guns; the once-sociable college town takes on an atmosphere of curfew and dread.

→ Manhunt & false suspect: A multi-agency task force links the murders by a signature M.O. (knife attacks, posed bodies, cleaning of scenes, forced entry). Under intense media scrutiny, investigators focus on an 18-year-old student, Edward Humphrey, whose erratic behavior and facial scars make him a convenient suspect. Humphrey’s name and photo dominate headlines until forensic evidence (and his blood type) prove he isn’t the killer.

→ Campsite discovery: Investigators chasing a robbery lead stumble upon a hidden campsite in the woods near the murder scenes. They collect a trove of clues – a bag of cash stained by an exploding dye pack, a screwdriver matching pry marks at the crime scenes, a handgun, and an audio recorder with a taped confession – not initially realizing these items belong to the very killer they seek.

→ Zeroing in on Rolling: Ten days after the last murder, 36-year-old drifter Danny Rolling is arrested for a supermarket robbery in a nearby town; only later do detectives connect the dots. Weeks into the investigation, they finally press play on the recovered tape and hear a man singing about being a “killer” and calling himself Danny Rolling. DNA testing soon confirms that Rolling’s genetic profile matches evidence from all five slain students. The Gainesville Ripper is unmasked, and authorities also link him to a similar unsolved 1989 triple murder in Shreveport, Louisiana.

→ Guilty plea & death sentence: Facing overwhelming evidence, Rolling pleads guilty to five counts of first-degree murder in 1994 (telling the court, “there are some things you just can’t run from”). A jury unanimously recommends the death penalty, and in 2006 Rolling is executed by lethal injection after years of appeals. Shortly before his execution, he even provides a written confession to the Shreveport murders – ultimately closing the book on eight victims in total.

→ “Scream” inspiration: The case’s legacy extends into pop culture. In 1994, screenwriter Kevin Williamson, unnerved by a TV documentary on the Gainesville Ripper, was inspired to draft a screenplay that would become the blockbuster horror film “Scream”. The 1996 movie’s premise of a knife-wielding killer hunting college students (and even its famous opening scene of a young woman terrorized at home) drew directly from the real-life terror in Gainesville, forever entwining the Rolling case with modern horror lore.

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Debate the News: True Crime Edition is for informational and discussion purposes only. We are not attorneys, law enforcement officers, or forensic experts. While we research each case, the show is recorded live with little to no editing; any factual errors are unintentional. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Listener discretion is advised. Guest and audience views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts.

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