Ed's co-worker at the Humane Society, Nancy Breslin, says people sometimes look warily at Ed and say things like: Who's that guy you've got working back there? Ed Humphrey and his 79-year-old grandmother had been fighting again. Mostly he made threats, but he also would gear up in combat fatigues, strap a knife to his leg and tell people he'd fought in Vietnam--though, of course, he was only 4 when the war ended. View their profile including current address, phone number 321-259-XXXX, background check reports, and property record on They were sexually assaulted and some were mutilated. "He was rambling things that could be totally misinterpreted. And if you recognize that, then no matter what this jail-house) interview says when it comes out, it's not going to mean sh--.". Edward Lewis Humphrey, a former honors student and an Eagle Scout from Brevard County, began classes at the University of Florida in the summer of 1990. Aug. 25,1990, approximately 0100 hours: At a party, Humphrey threatens two Pi Lambda Phi fraternity brothers with what they say is a straight razor. In police audio recordings, he could be heard asking police to accompany him at the request of his manager. I'm not able to make. Rolling pleaded guilty to the serial killings of five young people at the University of Florida in Gainesville.). Humphrey, 19, nodded when his 79-year-old grandmother blew him as kiss as he entered the courtroom but was generally oblivious to the proceedings. In one of the songs, the man sings, "Mystery rider, what's your name? He is a white, non hispanic male registered to In Shreveport, Maines found that Julie Grissom's body had been posed in a similar position to some of the women killed in Gainesville. State Troops Humphrey Lewis' Company (Madison County, Fla.) Military service, Voluntary "My maintenance man, unfortunately, ran down the stairs screaming, 'Oh my God,' and came out and threw up. She briefs him before interviews; she and his attorney decide which questions he'll answer. One day after the last of the five bodies were discovered in Gainesville, police arrested Humphrey not for the murders but for assaulting his 79-year-old grandmother in Indialantic. He was rambling. Sonja Larson and Powell's families became unable to reach them just days after they moved in. Once Florida investigators realized that Rolling had multiple convictions for armed robbery, they realized he could have also been responsible for the bank robbery that occurred on the day that Christa Hoyt's body was found. But Friday, a grand jury declared there was no And now, he doesn't volunteer his history unless people bring it up. (Manuel Taboada, left, and Tracy Paules, right, are seen in undated photos. Three of the women had been raped and one had been decapitated. At this moment he would be home in Indialantic studying for a science test--and hoping, unrealistically, that people would just forget Ed Humphrey. "We think that was in an effort to keep investigators from discovering DNA, blood types, fingerprints," Maines said. Under state guidelines, he could get nearly two years in prison at sentencing Nov. 8. "We made a mistake.". He reportedly threatened several people there with a large knife and once warned a security guard: "God told me to kill you. WebLived In Honolulu HI, Morehead City NC, Orange Park FL, Saint Petersburg FL. Police found Paules on their living room floor. "It was important because he was participating in the confession," Hewitt said. Officer Steven Smith responds. Edward Lewis Humphrey was an early suspect in the case of five grisly murders of college students in Gainesville, Florida; one Daniel Rolling was eventually I had to know it. Rolling also made it clear to investigators that he acted alone and that Ed Humphrey had no involvement in the student murders. Then, when Ed was about 13, his grandfather died. "It was the desperation of the time, and the need to get that guy," Smith said. But Friday, a grand jury declared there was no probable cause to charge the 20-year-old former University of Florida freshman. Would you like to meet him?". This little fracas could have sent him back to prison. He was in a wheelchair for weeks. Hoyt's stepmother, Dianna Hoyt, said she and her husband, Gary Hoyt, had a "very hard time" processing what happened to their daughter. "No offense." He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, said Spencer Mann, the spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriffs Department at the time. No indictment was issued against Edward Lewis Humphrey, a former University of Florida freshman who was considered a secondary suspect. WebDescription Muster roll for Humphrey Lewis' Company from Madison County, ca. "He was very good with kids," says Farley. He was, at one time, considered the prime suspect. "I feel really bad about this," she confided, "but they knew who you were, and when you left they were all laughing and saying, 'Man, we're not going to give that guy a job."'. Now he works six days a week, attends community college and wants to become an X-ray technician. "It's hard for me to picture him doing anything discreetly.". Ed's bail, originally set at $10,250 was increased to $1 million - 100 to 200 times the scheduled rate for aggravated assault. "Knowing what happened, I can't erase that out of my mind, and nobody should have to go through that," said Scott Grissom. "[Investigators] were 100% sure he was the one that did it," Scott Grissom said. He said a lot of grandiose things (that) caused him to be a suspect. And, then, as far as newspapers go, half the things that lthey) deal with are just negative things about people. Russo estimated Humphrey would be in custody for only another seven to nine months because of time served and the states early-release rules. His parents split up when Ed was about 11, but they didn't divorce for several years. And I hated looking in the mirror every time, seeing scars on my face. Ed Humphrey had been arrested and charged with assaulting his grandmother, but investigators were taking a hard look at him for the student murders as well. The new students had met each other during the summer and decided to be roommates, ultimately finding an apartment off-campus in a complex called Williamsburg Apartments. Now the scars on his face are softer, his smile boyish, a little shy--not at all the sinister young man he might have seemed when one corner of his lip curled upward. But months passed and Humphrey was never charged with the crimes, the Alachua County grand jury deciding that there was no case against him. Copyright 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. At the time, Humphrey was manic-depressive who was off his medication. ", "Honestly, Marti," Ed says, "that plastic surgery didn't do that great of a job.". Blood spattered an easy chair, the carpet, the coffee table. It was obvious that he had just woken up. He said the officer tracked the man to a campsite. Maines said they found out that the suspect had broken in by wedging a screwdriver into the door jamb. For months Edward Lewis Humphrey was the key suspect in the horrific slayings of five Gainesville students. I was like, God, I can't handle this.". His grandmother had asked to drop all charges. A top official in the case points out the murders were methodical and elaborately planned. His grandfather, a retired Air Force officer, took the boys to ham radio shows and flea markets and the officers' club to play bingo and lunch with the big-wigs. "Ed's a good friend. Especially around his mouth, she says, the skin is much smoother and more elastic and natural-looking. Although Humphreys October trial was in Brevard County, a visiting judge from Gainesville presided over it. The transcript of that interview has never been made public. Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada were found dead the next morning, on Aug. 28, 1990. "That was real bad, because I couldn't walk," Ed says. Anyone else--they would have dropped the charges or maybe given him one year's probation. Lookup the home address, phone numbers, email address for this person View Public Record Results ✓ Addresses. "It definitely all started when I was 16," he says now. When he was arrested for hitting his grandmother and questioned by state agents, sources say, Ed spoke of someone named "John" and claimed to have knowledge of the Gainesville killings. I did not want that to be what I carried in my mind of her for the rest of my life," Barber said. They immediately made her think about a man from her Louisiana hometown church who used to spend time with her and her family. And when the jail returned it--saying it did not allow cash to be mailed to inmates--Kennedy got a money order. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU LOSE your emotional grip on life--when all the joy seeps out of living and every face becomes an enemy's- it happens so slowly you hardly notice. (Nineteen-year-old Christa Hoyt was among the victims of the so-called Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling, in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. WebEdward Humphrey 's birthday is 10/05/1971 and is 50 years old. I mean, why don't the girls tell me that? In the aftermath of the murders, investigators discovered some highly unusual details at the scene. He surfed, played soccer and football, and joined the Boy Scout troop that his father founded, eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. THERE IS A FORTRESS of friends surrounding Ed Humphrey now. A classic film noir, it features a great cast and a great storyline. I want to get married some day and have kids. He had dreams of being an architect, his brother, Mario Taboada, said. Journalist John Donnelly, who covered the story for the Miami Herald, said the officers noticed the unusual way in which Sonja Larson's body was posed. He got out once a week--in leg chains and handcuffs--when his lawyer came, and twice a week to take a shower. A television blared. Ed says. Scott Grissom, the son of William Grissom, brother of Julie Grissom and father to Sean, said they were killed just a week after his wedding, on his first day back at work from his honeymoon. 1870. WHEN THE PATROL CAR PULLED up that day, Elna Hlavaty was waiting in fear on the columned front porch of her home. Dobbin told her that Rolling had told him he had a problem, Juracich said. He remembers arriving home after midnight and awakening his grandmother. Watch the full story on "20/20," streaming now on Hulu. "I wish the waves would pick up," he says. The media jumped on Humphrey as a prime suspect. On a breezy spring morning, I traveled from my home in Gainesville to coastal Palm Bay, tucked just under Melbourne on Floridas Atlantic coast. On the 10th anniversary of the murders, Humphrey walked across the stage of UCF arena as a college graduate. Humphrey has said he plans to have plastic surgery to remove facial scars from an automobile accident. WebEdward Lewis Humphrey was an early suspect in the case of five grisly murders of college students in Gainesville, Florida; one Daniel Rolling was eventually convicted of the killings, I can't handle this.' There is still a court order not to discuss evidence m the case. "Every time they'd mention [Tracy's] name, it was like a punch in the head," Lahey said. So I kept on pressing the button because I wanted her to open the door. And law enforcement officials felt intense pressure to bring in a suspect. The perils of his loose lips kept him in custody. They didn't listen to the tape until months later. On Wednesday, his grandmother, Elna Hlavaty, died at age 80 after suffering a heart attack in Indialantic. Without a response, they asked a maintenance worker at the apartment complex for help. His grandmother, now passed away, forgave him. WebEdward Lewis Humphrey was an early suspect in the case of five grisly murders of college students in Gainesville, Florida; one Daniel Rolling was eventually convicted of the killings, Marker Address Rent ? Edward Lewis Humphrey became a familiar figure to law enforcement officials as he shuttled between his apartment near the University of Florida and his Brevard County home in Indialantic. They subsequently discovered that Rolling had type B blood just like the suspect in both the Gainesville and Shreveport murders. He'll never change his name, but some day, he says, when he's done with school, he might move somewhere far away. He picked up smoking in prison. To Christina Powell's friend, Alison Emery, said the defense's strategy was a "slap in the face. "It seemed like when I lost my cool, he would keep his. They couldn't say definitively it was Ed's hair, but they couldn't say it wasn't.". They wish it known that the Ed they know is a kind and decent young man. Other times it appears to happen in an instant. ", Oak pollen already a big problem, but strong storms could wash it away, Man admits to sex trafficking waitresses out of family-owned cantina, At least 36 dead, 66 injured after trains collide in Greece: officials. "I can't blame them for making Ed a suspect, but I can blame them for sticking with it. The killer always managed to avoid being spottedby potential witnesses. They had softened with time, but they told his story. Mrs. Hlavaty died about 56 hours before the grand jury decided her grandson Ed should not be charged in the Gainesville murders. Glenn Ruppel, Sean Dooley, and Anthony Rivas. I can't get past that.". He spent a lot of that time in Chattahoochee, the state hospital for mentally ill prisoners. John Donvan, a I thought, 'Here's a guy who's sort of down and I think I'll cheer him up.". "Don't take a picture of me with the knife," he says. Larson's mother, Ada Larson, said she "hated the fact" that her daughter would be living off-campus, but all the dormitories were full. Former state attorney Rod Smith said that when investigators then searched his home, they found magazines about knives, guns and girls. I fell asleep there.". But it didn't change the way I felt about him. Before I could say anything, Humphrey came to the door, visibly shaken and upset, his face fraught with worry. "We treat our animals in our society better than Ed Humphrey has been treated," Russo said as he tried unsuccessfully to persuade a judge to free his client. Before moving to Edward's current city of Palm Bay, FL, Edward lived in Melbourne FL and Indialantic FL. It is his 21st birthday, and he is spending it having lunch with a publicist--hired by his attorney--a reporter and a photographer. "The difference was like night and day. ED HUMPHREY HAS NO REASON to trust a photographer or a reporter - or the criminal justice system or, especially, the people who recognize him on the street and point and whisper. He was released from jail 10 months after he'd assaulted his grandmother. She saw what happened to him once, and she will not risk letting it happen again. Without warning, Ed jumped out of the car. A once-peaceful university town panicked. Acquaintances claimed he went on late-night "missions" through the Alachua County woods. He was supposed to take lithium to temper his mood swings. Current Address: YVXK San Paulo Cir, Melbourne, When does Ed stop being a suspect?". They don't go out and commit crimes like this.". Humphrey, a sometime University of Florida student with a history of mental problems, has been labeled a suspect in the slayings of five students near the campus in Gainesville during the last week in August. Then, at one point, the man on the tape says his name: Danny Harold Rolling. He was known to carry knives, had been off his medication for a mental health disorder and had visible scars on his face from a car accident. As the questioning went on, Rolling began to say he'd "dealt with different personalities all my life." Do you understand that? Humphrey, a sometime University of Florida student with a history of mental problems, has been labeled a suspect in the slayings of five students near the campus in "The main thing that triggered it was Dad putting all this pressure on me to get into a really good college and to make really good grades and do really good on the S.A T. Well, I took the P.S.A.T. ", (Eighteen-year-old Sonja Larson was among the victims of the so-called Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling, in Gainesville, Florida, in 1990. Authorities believe Taboada was the first to be attacked after the killer broke into their home, and that they fought for some time before Taboada was killed by multiple stab wounds. (Danny Harold Rolling appears at his trial in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 13, 1994. "I just thought it sounded like he was being railroaded,"says Kennedy, who noticed an article about Ed one day in the San Francisco Chronicle. One said it was a "violent" environment. Authorities subsequently cleared Humphrey of any involvement in the murders. He tried repeatedly to find work, but kept being turned away, often with no explanation. Ed Humphrey had been arrested and charged with assaulting his grandmother, but investigators were taking a hard look at him for the Claudia Rolling, Danny Rolling's mother, also testified. He was facing the death penalty. And before I knew it, I went upstairs and I told Mom, 'Mom, I probably won't see you for a long time,' because I could see what was happening.". She disagrees. "The grand jury said it's not true that he probably did it, but he's still left in limbo," said Pat Doherty, a prominent Pinellas County defense lawyer. Hospitals run by the Universities of Florida, Miami and South Florida refused to accept Humphrey for private commitment because of his notoriety, Russo said. "That was exciting," Hewitt said. He wears a blue-green polo shirt and tan trousers and expensive sunglasses. He's only given his home phone number to one--Ed Humphrey. We will prevail. (A high school portrait shows Christina Powell, who, along with roommate Sonja Larson were the first victims of the serial killer at the University of Florida campus. Tell me she did not suffer.' On the 30th anniversary of the murders, I was eager to seek out Humphrey. "Was she thinking of me? Her right eye was swollen shut. ", Mackenzie, looking pained, interrupts: "But that was before the plastic surgery. "He trusts me and I trust him," Pauwels says. I mean, it's just a really bad feeling--knowing that wherever you go people are judging you, and they don't even know you. "Get his good side," offers Marti Mackenzie, the publicist. "I wanted to represent [Tracy]," said Lahey, Paules' sister. "In a way, talking about [Manny], as I do sometimes with those who knew him they're kind of alive for that moment, and so, it's comforting. And an odd thing happened: Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed up and began questioning him about the murders. His family took him to a private psychiatric hospital in Palm Bay, where he was admitted, locked up, medicated and ultimately diagnosed. And then he disappeared from public view. Among the evidence was a pubic hair _ similar to Humphrey's _ found at a murder scene, and statements from two witnesses who said they saw Humphrey and Rolling together. Humphrey was eventually convicted of a lesser charge of battery of a person over 65 and sentenced to 22 months in prison. It was upon revisiting the scene that he decided to decapitate her. He had The panel's action doesn't take Humphrey out of jeopardy, though. By August 1990, when Humphrey enrolled as a freshman at the University of Florida, some close to him feared his violently unpredictable behavior was worsening. By the time she reported Rolling, police had already arrested another man who they believed to be a suspect in the Gainesville murders. Humphreys off behavior, Mann said, drew attention to him. Lawn placed Humphrey on probation for 14 months after his prison term with the condition that he continue psychiatric treatment. Sonja Larson and Christina "Christi" Powell were new students at the University of Florida in 1990. "I feel 100 percent that the media is the main reason our country is the way it is," Ed says afterward, disgusted. "Of course you do.". Spectrum reporter, 9-year-old girl among 3 victims fatally shot in Orlando, As Tampa Bay sales grow, sport bike maker Ducati plans giant dealership, Central Florida reporter, girl killed as multiple people shot near earlier slaying, Florida executes Donald Dillbeck for 1990 Tallahassee murder, Rolling of the Bulls: USF pulls off rare February four-sport sweep, Steven Lorenzo sentenced to death for 2 Tampa murders, Florida lawmakers take up plan to shield businesses from lawsuits, Tampa man tied to assassination of Haitian president, Black history lives in the present in Cheryl Heads Times Undoing, 10 big issues to watch in Floridas 2023 legislative session. Number to one -- Ed Humphrey and his 79-year-old grandmother had been.! Grandmother had been decapitated, Danny Rolling, police had already arrested another man who they to... Her think about a man from her Louisiana hometown church who used to spend time with and! 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