A shocking week with the murder of an MP; regardless of which side of the political spectrum you stand. Sadly political discourse and educated debates are no longer a thing. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Granville Adams, 58, American actor (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street, Empire), cancer.  
• Bob Herron, 97, American stuntman (Spartacus, Diamonds Are Forever, Rocky) and actor, complications from a fall.  
• Ruthie Tompson, 111, American animator (Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo).  
• Emani 22, 22, American R&B singer, car accident. 
• Sir David Amess, 69, British Conservative politician, MP (since 1983), stabbed.  
• Masten Wanjala, 20, Kenyan suspected serial killer, beaten to death. 
• Alan Hawkshaw, 84, British composer and pianist, (Grange Hill and Countdown), pneumonia.

In Other News

Bournemouth and Wales football star David Brooks has been diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. The winger, who left international duty with Wales last week following medical examinations, is set to undergo treatment next week. The Cherries confirmed the news via an official club statement on Wednesday, adding that the 24-year-old had received an “initial positive prognosis”. In a statement of his own, the Wales international said: “This is a very difficult message for me to write. I have been diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin Lymphoma and will begin a course of treatment next week. Although this has come as a shock to myself and my family, the prognosis is a positive one and I am confident that I will make a full recovery and be back playing as soon as possible. I’d like to show my appreciation to the doctors, nurses, consultants and staff who have been treating me for their professionalism, warmth and understanding during this period. I want to thank everyone at the Football Association of Wales because without the swift attention of their medical team we may not have detected the illness. I’d also like to say thank you to AFC Bournemouth for all their support and assistance this past week. Although I appreciate that there will be media attention and interest, I would like to ask that my privacy is respected in the coming months and I will share updates on my progress when I am able to do so. In the meantime, thank you to everyone for their messages of support – it means so much and will continue to do so in the months ahead. I look forward to seeing you all again and playing the sport I love very soon.” Hodgkin lymphoma is an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body. Brooks joined the Cherries from Sheffield United for a fee of £11.5m back in the summer of 2018, and has since made 78 appearances for the club, netting four goals. He has also emerged as an important player for Wales, scoring twice in 21  appearances.       

Robert Durst has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been placed on a ventilator, according to his attorney. The 78-year-old real estate heir was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday for the first degree murder of his friend Susan Berman at her Beverly Hills home. He was found guilty last month of shooting Ms Berman, 55, in the back of the head in December 2000. A jury also found him guilty of the special circumstances of lying in wait and killing a witness, which in California carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of early release. “All we know he’s tested positive for Covid-19, he’s in hospital and on a ventilator,” his attorney Dick DeGuerin told our Flying Monkey. “He looked awful Thursday, worst I’ve ever seen him. He was having difficulty breathing, he was having difficulty speaking.” Our Flying Monkey reports that Durst has been held in a wing of USC Medical Center under the watch of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department throughout the trial. It is not clear if he is still in that facility or when or where he became infected with the coronavirus. There are concerns about the exposure to the virus for others present at the trial in which dozens of people were packed into the courtroom. A month ago, the day that Durst was convicted by the jury, he was absent from proceedings because he had been exposed to someone who had tested positive for Covid-19. Durst spent much of the trial in a wheelchair but still engaged in tense exchanges when cross-examined regarding the death of Ms Berman more than 20 years ago. Prosecutors told his trial that Durst killed his friend because she knew too much about the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst. Ms Durst’s body has never been found after she disappeared in New York in 1982 and he has never been charged in connection with her death. The court was told that Ms Berman had provided a false alibi for Durst in 1982 and that he feared she would reveal that to authorities. Superior Court Judge Mark Windham, who presided over the trial and sentenced Durst in Los Angeles County on Thursday, described the murder as “awful and disturbing.” Durst, who appeared at his sentencing in prison uniform, testified in his own defence for 15 days, with prosecutors telling the jury that he had lied or changed his story multiple times. The trial took place six years after he appeared on the HBO documentary series The Jinx, where he appeared to confess to multiple killings. During the filming of the show, Durst was caught on a live microphone muttering to himself, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

On This Day

• 1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. 
• 1814 – Eight people die in the London Beer Flood.  
• 1907 – Marconi begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service.  
• 1931 – Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion.  
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.  
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened in Sellafield, England.

Deaths

• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810). 
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906). 
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (b. 1936). 

British MP’s Killed in Office

Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, is the ninth parliamentarian to be violently killed in office in British political history. The 69-year-old father-of-five was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday. A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Essex Police said. 

Tributes to Mr Amess quickly poured in from his parliamentary colleagues, with Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis saying he was “one of life’s truly nice people, a gentleman, who was always ready to give his help to anyone who needed it”.

The killing comes five years after Labour MP and mother-of-two Jo Cox was assassinated at the age of 41 by a far-right terrorist, who shot and stabbed her outside her North Yorkshire surgery. Jo’s widower, Brendan Cox, described Mr Amess’s killing as “an attack on democracy itself. There is no excuse, no justification. It is as cowardly as it gets” he said.

Before the death of Ms Cox, the last MP to be killed in office was Ian Gow, 53, who lost his life after the IRA detonated a car bomb at his Sussex home in 1990. The Eastbourne MP, who had previously served as a private parliamentary secretary to Margaret Thatcher, was not the only British politician to die at the hands of the terrorist group.

Sir Anthony Berry was killed by the organisation’s bombing of Brighton’s Grand Hotel during the 1984 Tory Party conference, three years after the group shot dead the Ulster Unionist Party MP Robert Bradford in Belfast.

In 1979, the Conservative MP and former Northern Ireland secretary Airey Neave was assassinated by the Irish National Liberation Army. His car was blown up as he drove it out of the parliamentary car park.

These are the only sitting MPs to have been murdered since World War II. However, Andrew Pennington, who had previously served as a politician, was killed when he rushed to defend his boss, the Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones, from a samurai sword attack in January 2000.

Spencer Perceval, who was shot in the Commons in 1812, is the only prime minister to have been assassinated in office.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Michael McKean (74), Eminem (49), Mark Gatiss (55), George Wendt (73), Angela Lansbury (96), Tim Robbins (63), Suzanne Somers (75), Peter Bowles (85), Dominic West (52), Steve Coogan (56), Cliff Richard (81), Sacha Baron Cohen (50), Christopher Judge (57), Himesh Patel (31), Chris Carter (65), Paul Simon (80), Hugh Jackman (53), Josh Hutcherson (29), Hiroyuki Sanada (61), Robin Askwith (71), Michelle Trachtenberg (36), Claudia Black (49), Joan Cusack (59), Emily Deschanel (45), Jane Krakowski (53), Stephen Moyer (52), Lennie James (56), John Nettles (78), and Dawn French (64).

Another strange week, but I’m glad I’m not Chris Peckham, quietly going about his life until  a bunch of nutters blow up a Land Rover in front of his house! Might be a good contender for next year? Also a couple of supercentenarian’s we all missed!!!!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Sir John Chilcot, 82, British civil servant, kidney disease. 
• Cynthia Harris, 87, American actress (Edward & Mrs. Simpson, Three Men and a Baby). 
• Alan Kalter, 78, American television announcer (Late Show with David Letterman).  
• Sebastian Shaw, 53, Vietnamese-born American serial killer.  
• Francisca Celsa dos Santos, 116, Brazilian supercentenarian, pneumonia.  
• Jules Théobald, 112, French supercentenarian, oldest man in France (since 2019).  
• Gerald Home, 70, British actor (Return of the Jedi, London Boulevard) and puppeteer (Little Shop of Horrors), liver cancer.  
• Luisa Mattioli, 85, Italian actress (The Angel of the Alps, Mia nonna poliziotto, Romulus and the Sabines), third wife of Sir Roger Moore. 
• James Brokenshire, 53, British politician, MP, secretary of state for Northern Ireland (2016–2018) and housing, communities and local government (2018–2019), lung cancer.  
• Rick Jones, 84, Canadian-born British television presenter (Play School, Fingerbobs) and musician (Meal Ticket).

In Other News

Kim Kardashian’s ex Ray J has been hospitalised with pneumonia and placed in a Covid ward. The rapper, who previously dated the Kardashian, is currently receiving treatment in hospital after having breathing difficulties, his manager David Weintraub has revealed. Ray J is frustrated as he has been sent to a Covid ward for treatment, despite testing negative for the virus five times. He was sent to the Covid ward initially as doctors feared he had the virus as he was struggling with his breathing. However, he was moved out of the wing two days later and is currently receiving oxygen. Ray is asking for his fans to pray for him as he recovers from his illness and his sole focus has been getting better for the sake of his kids. There are times where he thinks he is improving as he feels fine at six in the morning, but by 6.30am, he is struggling with his breathing again and is starting to fear the worst. “I thought it was over. I started praying and knew God is good so I just kept praying,” he explained to the website of his first few hours in hospital, where he is being kept a close eye on by doctors. The British public will best know Ray J for his short-lived stint on Celebrity Big Brother. The rapper exited the show in 2017, just over a week after he first entered the famous house as he claims he was suffering from terrible pain from his teeth.    

Fans of Fuller Goldsmith were sad to learn that the young chef had died days before his 18th birthday this Saturday. The TV star had been battling cancer, after his leukaemia returned five times. He is best known for Winning Chopped Junior 2017 when he was just 13-years-old. He was first diagnosed with the relentless illness when he was three. In August 2020, Fuller announced he was cancer-free but in February received the bad news that the leukaemia had returned for the fifth time. It came after he reported having nausea and dizziness symptoms a doctor, who ran some tests and found a brain tumour. In the run up to his death, Fuller’s father Scott Goldsmith, said that his son had taken a turn for the worse earlier this week. Scott told us: “He got tired and was ready to go. We damn sure didn’t wake up yesterday thinking this would be the day.” He continued: “We knew what the outcome was going to be, but we definitely didn’t think it was going to be yesterday. Monday he was up and moving about, building Legos, and watching all the football games. Yesterday morning he was running a fever, and struggling to breathe.” Scott added: “He was ready to go. He went peacefully in his sleep, no pain, no struggle, laying in his bed, and went to Heaven.” After finding out that his cancer had returned for a firth round, Fuller announced the sad news on Instagram at the time, revealing he would be starting 12 sessions of radiation therapy. When he was 13, Fuller pretended to be his mum and signed himself up to Chopped Junior. He ended up winning the show with his delicious beer-battered catfish with okra and landed a $10,000 prize, which he donated to the Division of Haematology and Paediatric Oncology at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.                 

A world-famous gorilla who starred in a hilarious selfie has died in the arms of the man who rescued her. Ndakasi became a celebrity in 2019 after appearing in a selfie taken by animal rescuer Andre Bauma. The 12-year-old gorilla puffed her chest out in the funny photo alongside buddy Ndeze. Mr Bauma rescued Ndakasi after her mother was killed by an armed militia in Virunga National Park, Congo. For more than a decade, Andre and his colleagues cared for Ndakasi and helped her recover from the trauma of losing her mother. Because of that, she could never be released back into the wild. But Ndakasi did enjoy a happy life with Ndeze and other orphaned mountain gorillas at the parks Senkwekwe Center. In a moving statement Virunga National Park wrote: “It is with heartfelt sadness that Virunga announces the death of beloved orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi. On the evening of 26th September, following a prolonged illness in which her condition rapidly deteriorated, Ndakasi took her final breath in the loving arms of her caretaker and lifelong friend, Andre Bauma.” The national park also remembered the viral World Earth Day selfie which made Ndakasi go viral. They wrote: “The photo features Ndakasi and her partner-in-crime, Ndeze, both standing relaxed on two feet, bellies out with cheeky grins. Their playful nature was a reminder to the world of how much we see ourselves in these animals and it’s one of the reasons Andre Bauma will miss her so dearly.” Andre added to the heightened feelings with his own beautiful message posted on the park website to remember Ndakasi. He wrote: “It was a privilege to support and care for such a loving creature, especially knowing the trauma Ndakasi suffered at a very young age. One could say that she took after her mother, Nyiransekuye, whose name means “someone happy to welcome others. I am proud to have called Ndakasi my friend.”

On This Day

• 1957 – The Windscale fire results in Britain’s worst nuclear accident.
• 2015 – Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara kill 109 and injure 500+.
• 2018 – Hurricane Michael makes landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. It kills 57 people in the United States, 45 in Florida, and causes an estimated $25.1 billion in damage.

Deaths

• 1913 – Adolphus Busch, German-American brewer, founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1839).
• 1963 – Édith Piaf, French singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1915).
• 1983 – Ralph Richardson, English actor (b. 1902).
• 1985 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor (b. 1920).
• 1985 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915).
• 2004 – Christopher Reeve, American actor, producer, and activist (b. 1952).
• 2009 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (b. 1976).

Serial Killer Archives

Sebastian Shaw was a Vietnam-born American serial killer and rapist responsible for at least three murders in Portland, Oregon between 1991 and 1992. When interviewed by detectives in prison, Shaw confessed to killing ten more people. He is the prime suspect for the 1994 murder of 14-year-old Jenny Lin in Castro Valley, California. At the time of his death he was serving three life sentences in the Oregon State Penitentiary. 

Born Chau Quong Ho in the Phước Tuy Province of South Vietnam on November 28th 1967, he moved to Oregon with his father Van at a young age. As a young boy, Chau became an Altar Server at the local Saint Mary Catholic Church, but was reported to have problematic behaviour at school. Between August and November 1975, he lived at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, before a group from Port Arthur, Texas sponsored the father and son to move to the state. At age 14, the two moved to Woodburn, Oregon and attended the local high school, where Chau was reportedly enjoying himself. However, at one point, in a supposed suicide attempt, he overdosed on aspirin, but survived. 

In 1985, Chau and Van got into a fight that resulted in the young man being beaten with a piece of wood. He then moved to live with his aunt and cousin in California, where he briefly worked for a company before joining the Marine Corps, serving in Okinawa, Japan. In 1990, Ho applied for an honorable discharge, and was sent back to Oregon, where he applied for a job as a security dispatcher for the Paragon Cable company. During this time, he legally changed his name to Sebastian Alexander Shaw.  

Murders

Jay Rickbeil: On July 1st 1991, the body of 40-year-old Jay Rickbeil, a quadraplegic suffering from cerebral palsy, was found in his Portland home by his roommate and apartment manager Mac MacCartney. He had bled to death as a result of an injury to the neck, likely inflicted with a knife. According to his neighbours, Rickbeil was a New Age believer who would often invite strangers into his apartment to have discussions, and often attempted to convert the visitor to his religion. A trusting man, he would often give them a business card with his name and address, and occasionally even money, which often resulted in his personal possessions being stolen. At that time, Shaw had just been fired from his job at Paragon Cable, following complaints of sexual assault by his colleague Shirley Phillips. In order to vent out his anger, he picked Rickbeil at random, slashing his throat while the man lay in bed.

Donna Ferguson and Todd Rudiger: On July 20th 1992, a couple were found murdered in their trailer home by their fathers in Portland. Todd A. Rudiger, 29, and his live-in girlfriend Donna G. Ferguson, 18, were both stabbed in the necks and bled to death, with Donna having been bound and raped beforehand.

Jenny Lin: On May 27th 1994, after returning home from work, John Lin found the partially naked body of his 14-year-old daughter Jenny in the bathroom of the family’s home in the Palomares Hills neighbourhood, in Castro Valley. She had been stabbed multiple times, but, peculiarly, there were no signs of a struggle, any apparent sexual assault or any items missing from the house, which puzzled the investigators. She had no known enemies, was a straight A-student and gifted violinist who was about to graduate the following month. According to her friends, when they last spoke to her via phone around 5:15 p.m., Jenny said that she was fine and that she was currently at home. Authorities believed that Jenny’s killer was a man, as she had been easily overpowered, and that they did not know each other. They announced that they were looking for a young man on a motorcycle who was seen handing out leaflets in the area, as they wanted to question him as a potential witness.

John Lin later recalled that two weeks before his daughter’s death, he had been stopped at a parking lot by a disheveled man who claimed to have “got his daughter”, but, knowing that Jenny was on her violin lessons, he brushed the man off and left. Although this bizarre individual was not considered a suspect, a sketch of him was released to the press in an attempt to identify and then interrogate him. In the meantime, the Lin family created “Friends of Jenny Lin”, a volunteer organisation aimed at spreading awareness about their daughter’s case. In October, a neighbour came forward to police, claiming that they had seen a stocky man in a dark jacket and cap outside the Lin residence near the time of the murder, claiming that they had been afraid to come forward out of fear that the killer might return to exact revenge on the informants.   

Arrest, trial, imprisonment

On August 31st 1994, Sebastian Shaw was arrested for burglary, after he was found asleep in a stolen 1978 Pontiac Bonneville in San Ramon. Among the items confiscated were a so-called “murder kit”, consisting of ski mask, surgical gloves, duct tape, knives, binoculars, and plastic handcuffs. As there was no evidence linking him to any murders at the time, he was let go. On February 20th 1998, he was arrested again and charged with the Rudiger/Ferguson murders and the 1995 rape of 18-year-old Amanda Carpova in Portland. His DNA was matched to the crime scenes after police obtained a discarded cigarette he had thrown out at a supermarket.

He plead guilty to the double murder and sexual assault of Carpova, but, in a rare decision, the judge acquitted Shaw of the Rickbeil murder before the trial on behest of the prosecutors. Sebastian was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment instead. While in jail, he told a fellow inmate that he had killed a total of 13 people, information which was relayed to investigators. When two detectives came to interview him, Shaw said that his confession was truthful, and that he would name the victims if he was transferred to a federal prison where he could smoke, as smoking was prohibited in Oregon prisons. Two years later, he was convicted of Rickbeil’s murder and received another term of life imprisonment. That same year, he was officially announced as the prime suspect in the murder of Jenny Lin, but was not charged, as there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder. Prosecutors attempted to put him on trial the following year, but the charges were dropped. Lin’s murder officially remains unsolved. 

Shaw died in prison on October 4th, 2021, having served 21 years of his sentence. Cause of death is currently unknown but is unlikely to have been Covid related as the state refuses to name inmates who have died of the virus. He was 53.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Dan Stevens (39), Rose McIver (33), Charles Dance (75), Manu Bennett (52), Martin Kemp (60), Chris O’Dowd (42), Tony Shalhoub (68), Brandon Routh (42), Scott Bakula (67), Brian Blessed (85), Sharon Osbourne (69), Matt Damon (51), Sigourney Weaver (72), Chevy Chase (78), Kristanna Loken (42), Paul Hogan (82), Karyn Parsons (55), Ardal O’Hanlon (56), R.L. Stine (78), Shawn Ashmore (42), Aaron Ashmore (42), Tim Minchin (46), Thom Yorke (53), Simon Cowell (62), Elisabeth Shue (58), Emily Mortimer (50), Ioan Gruffudd (48), Britt Ekland (79), Kate Winslet (46), Guy Pearce (54), Karen Allen (70), Jesse Eisenberg (38), Stephanie Cole (80), Glynis Johns (98), Clive Barker (69), Diane Morgan (46), Neil deGrasse Tyson (63), Bob Geldof (70), Christoph Waltz (65), Dakota Johnson (32), Alicia Silverstone (45), Melissa Benoist (33), Nick Mohammed (41), Susan Sarandon (75), Liev Schreiber (54), and Sarah Lancashire (57).

Another  decidedly average week, no points to award and another bunch of ‘famous’ people who you might not have heard of… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Roger Hunt, 83, English footballer (Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, national team), world champion 1966.  
• Darrell Bath, British punk guitarist (The Vibrators, The Dogs D’Amour).  
• Vin Welch, 84, British actor (Coronation Street, The Bill), pneumonia.  
• Tommy Kirk, 79, American actor (Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones).  
• Ravil Isyanov, 59, Russian-born American actor (GoldenEye, K-19: The Widowmaker, Transformers: Dark of the Moon). 
• Greg Gilbert, 44, English singer and guitarist (Delays), bowel cancer. 

 In Other News

Vic Reeves has candidly revealed he is ‘living with deafness’ after doctors discovered a tumour is growing on his brain and has cut off all hearing in one of his ears. The 62-year-old comedy star has been diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma – also known as acoustic neuroma, which is a non-cancerous brain tumour. The NHS explains that acoustic neuromas “grow on the nerve used for hearing and balance, which can cause problems such as hearing loss and unsteadiness.” They can become dangerous if they grow to a large size – with Vic saying doctors are now monitoring his tumour to track it’s size, requiring regular trips for MRI scans. And he says he has now been robbed of all hearing in one ear, prompting him to throw out all his favourite old LPs. Opening up about his health battle Vic said: “I’ve got a vestibular schwannoma – it’s a tumour in my head. I’ve gone completely deaf, 100 per cent deaf, in the left ear, and it will never come back. It’s dead – absolutely completely gone. It’s like the size of a grape so they just have to keep an eye on it.” The comedian went on to explain that the growth is fortunately not at risk of being deadly, and he’s being advised on treatment. He said: “It’s benign. They can’t remove it – they can shrink it or they can leave it and keep an eye on it, and that’s what they’re doing. The eardrum and your brain, there’s a nerve and that takes all the information from your ear to your brain and the tumour is right in between the nerve, so it’s gone ping and snapped it and you can’t reattach nerves.” Describing how the illness has affected his life, the Shooting Stars legend said: “I had to throw away all me stereo LPs. I’m living with deafness. Can you imagine a life without stereo records – no more will I hear Jimi Hendrix, well the producer. On If 6 was 9 he goes all over the place. I thought it was great stereo when it first happened. All I’ve got left is Frank Ifield and mono!” He continued: “Because I like going out bird watching I never know where the birds are because I can hear them, but I don’t know what direction they’re in.      

Phil Collins has been pictured leaving his hotel in a wheelchair before his gig in Leeds on Tuesday night. The musician, who recently admitted he can ‘barely hold a drumstick’ in one of his hands, has been suffering from ill health for the past 15 years. On Tuesday night, the 70-year-old performed alongside his band Genesis at Leeds Arena and remained seated throughout the show. As he belted out his hit songs, the musician stayed in his chair and leant against a microphone stand while treating a delighted audience to renditions of his best-loved songs. Ahead of the gig on Tuesday, the Genesis star was pictured in a wheelchair on Monday afternoon. As he was wheeled out of a hotel in Leeds, the drummer and singer wore a medical face mask and baseball cap as he was pictured out and about. Clutching a brown wooden walking stick, the One More Night singer kept warm in the cold weather conditions in a leather jacket and blue scarf. Earlier last month, Phil sparked concern amongst fans as he appeared on BBC Breakfast and gave a rare interview where he discussed his health. The dad-of-five has been suffering from ill health for the past 15 years with him suffering an injured vertebrae in his upper neck which has led to crippling nerve damage. During his chat on the early morning breakfast show, the award-winning artist spoke candidly about his future and admitted that the band he plays with will be retired after their current UK tour.   

Katie Price has been seen for the first time since court as she was photographed on her way to rehab. The former glamour model, 43, has pleaded guilty to drink-driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance following a crash near her home in Sussex on Tuesday. The mother-of-five was involved in a single-car collision that left her BMW flipped on its side on the B2135 near Partridge Green. Katie’s sentencing has now been deferred until December 15th to allow her to have treatment at the Priory Centre and speak to the probation service. After her appearance in court, Katie was photographed driving through London on her way to the Priory. The star looked downcast and tense as she sat in the passenger seat of a Fiat 500. Katie held her hand to her forehead after pleading guilty to the charges. She was told that her sentence would be deferred on the condition that she have treatment at the Priory Centre, not commit any further offences, and be banned from driving in the interim. The reality TV star was told she must also engage with the probation service so a report can be prepared. It will not be the first time that the multi-millionaire has had a stint at the facility as she checked into rehab in September 2018 in order to tackle her drug issues. She spent 28 days in the facility after deciding to receive professional help after depending on cocaine to numb the pain of her problems. 

On This Day

• 1863 – The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. 
• 1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world’s third nuclear power.  
• 1981 – The hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and ten deaths.  
• 1995 – The O. J. Simpson murder case ends with a verdict of not guilty.

Deaths

• 42 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (b. 85 BC). 
• 1226 – Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and saint (b. 1181 or 1182). 
• 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Welsh prince (b. 1238). 
• 1998 – Roddy McDowall, English-American actor (b. 1928). 
• 2004 – Janet Leigh, American actress (b. 1927). 
• 2005 – Ronnie Barker, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929). 
• 2015 – Denis Healey, English soldier & politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1917)

Last Meals

Emeline Meaker was the first woman who was legally executed by Vermont. In 1883, Meaker was convicted and hanged for the murder of her husband’s niece Alice. 

Sometime in the spring of 1879, a child welfare worker approached Meaker and her husband to ask if they would consider taking Mr. Meaker’s eight-year-old niece, Alice and her brother, Henry, into their home, as the children were living in an overcrowded orphanage. Mr. Meaker was offered a stipend of US$400 (equivalent to $11,110 in 2020) to care for Alice, and so he agreed. Emeline Meaker was not pleased with the arrangement and beat, starved, and otherwise mistreated Alice.

Meaker decided to kill Alice, and ordered her son Almon to get a lethal dose of strychnine from an apothecary. On April 23rd, 1880, Meaker and Almon seized Alice, placed a sack over the girl’s head, and took her to a remote area outside Burlington. When they arrived at a clearing by a stream, Almon handed the poison to his mother and she poured it into a drink which she gave to Alice. While Alice thrashed about in reaction to the strychnine poisoning, Meaker forcibly held her hand over Alice’s mouth to keep the girl from crying out, keeping it there until Alice was dead, and then Almon and his mother buried Alice’s body.  

Alice’s disappearance was investigated, and Almon confessed to the local sheriff. At trial, both he and Emeline were sentenced to death; however, Almon’s sentence was commuted by the Vermont Legislature because it was believed that he was dominated by his mother. Almon’s confession was published in the newspaper on the date set for Emeline’s execution. It was reported that Emeline acted violently while in jail, but calmed as her execution date drew nearer.  

On March 30th, 1883, the morning of her scheduled execution, Meaker ate a large beefsteak, three potatoes, a slice of bread and butter, a piece of meat pie, and a cup of coffee. Then, at her request, she went to view the gallows, remarking that it was not half as bad as she thought it would be. She sent a message to her husband through the sheriff, and then ate a lunch consisting of two boiled eggs, two slices of toast, one potato, one doughnut, and a cup of coffee.

Over 125 spectators gathered in the prison guardroom at the Vermont State Prison in Windsor County, and it was reported that the sheriff was besieged with requests for passes to witness the hanging. When Meaker was finally led to the gallows, and asked (by slip of paper as she was deaf) if she had anything to say, Emeline said in a low voice, “May God forgive you all for hanging me, an innocent woman. I am as innocent as that man standing here,” indicating a deputy. None of her family was present at the execution and her husband and children did not accept her body for burial after the execution.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Denis Villeneuve (54), Alicia Vikander (33), Lena Headey (48), Clive Owen (56), Neve Campbell (48), Seann William Scott (45), Gwen Stefani (52), Tommy Lee (59), Greg Proops (62), Lorraine Bracco (67), Sting (70), Avery Brooks (73), Tiffany(50), Brie Larson (32), Julie Andrews (86), Zach Galifianakis (52), Randy Quaid (71), Monica Bellucci (57), Alistair Petrie (51), Kieran Culkin (39), Eric Stoltz (60), Omid Djalili (56), Ian Ogilvy (78), Rula Lenska (74), Zachary Levi (41), Ian McShane (79), Erika Eleniak (52), James Lance (46), Mackenzie Crook (50), Luke Goss (53), Robert Webb (49), Patricia Hodge (75), Naomi Watts (53), Mira Sorvino (54), Hilary Duff (34), Brigitte Bardot (87), Dita Von Teese (49), Gwyneth Paltrow (49), Indira Varma (48), Meat Loaf (74), Denis Lawson (74), and Avril Lavigne (37).

An odd week, the deaths seemed to be rolling in on the Telegram group, yet no points to award. Anyhow…. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Al Harrington, 85, Samoan-American actor (Hawaii Five-O), stroke.  
• Roger Michell, 65, South African-born British film director (Notting Hill, Venus, My Cousin Rachel).  
• Willie Garson, 57, American actor (Sex and the City, White Collar, John from Cincinnati), pancreatic cancer.  
• Robert Fyfe, 90, Scottish actor (Last of the Summer Wine, Around the World in 80 Days, Cloud Atlas), kidney disease. 
• Matthew Strachan, 50, English composer (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) and singer-songwriter.   
• Melvin Van Peebles, 89, American film director, actor and playwright (Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Posse, Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death). 
• Helmut Oberlander, 97, Ukrainian-born Canadian World War II soldier, member of the Einsatzgruppen.  
• Alan Lancaster, 72, English rock bassist (Status Quo, The Party Boys), complications from multiple sclerosis.

In Other News

The television presenter Julia Bradbury has announced she has breast cancer, and urged other women to check their breasts and seek help if they notice any changes. The 51-year-old broadcaster will undergo a mastectomy in October to remove her left breast, along with its 6cm tumour. Surgeons will also take tissue from her lymph nodes to establish whether or not the disease has spread. Bradbury, who made her name presenting the BBC’s Countryfile, said she was going public in order to encourage others to get tested. “My plan is to come through it and out the other side and I hope to be able to do that bravely enough so that women who are scared to get tested, to get a diagnosis, go ahead. I want to be able to give them a wave and say: look, it’s horrible, but you can do it too.” She urged women not to ignore warning signs: “We must, must, must check ourselves and seek help. Being scared of a diagnosis could be the thing which kills you. So learn what to look for and check, check, check. Doctors are experts but only you can press a lump, know how it feels and think you should do something about it.” Doctors have told her the cancer cells are currently confined to her milk ducts and have not yet spread to the breast tissue. This means that, despite the significant size of the tumour, she may not need chemotherapy.  

Harry Potter star Tom Felton was carried off a golf course in Wisconsin during a Ryder Cup Celebrity Match on Thursday. Felton, 34, who is famous for playing Draco Malfoy in the popular Harry Potter franchise, suffered a ‘medical incident’ on the golf course, according to the PGA of America. A statement from the PGA of America said: “In today’s Ryder Cup Celebrity Match, actor and musician Tom Felton experienced a medical incident on the course while participating for Europe. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. No further details are available.” Pictures show Felton looking shaken as he is helped to his feet by fellow players, volunteers and tournament officials.

Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Snow Patrol are among leading figures in the music industry to pay tribute to music agent Steve Strange. The co-founder of X-Ray Touring, from Carrickfergus, in County Antrim, died following illness, aged 53. X-Ray Touring has the likes of Eminem, Erasure, Linkin Park, Kodaline, Queens of the Stone Age and Stereophonics on its books. “Steve was a titan of the global music industry,” Limelight Belfast said. The music venue described Mr Strange as “an unsung hero, and a fantastic and loyal friend to this venue and to Northern Ireland’s music community for more than 40 years”. Mr Strange started his music industry career at Limelight Belfast in the 1980s, according to the venue, before becoming an agent in London a few years later. Writing on Instagram, Grammy Award winning artist Ed Sheeran said it was “a very sad day, and a huge loss”. While Coldplay said it was “devastated” by the news of Mr Strange’s death. On Twitter, the band said it spent “a bittersweet hour” with Mr Strange last week. “Despite his illness he was still taking calls and watching ticket counts.” Rock band Snow Patrol said that their agent “believed in us before almost anyone else in the music industry did”. To picture a world without him in it is to picture a world so diminished. With less joy, less positivity, less optimism, less heart. Quieter, duller and much less interesting,” said the band. “So instead we’ll remember the joy he brought so many people and tell Steve Strange Stories.” Strangely enough, Strange does not have a Wiki page. 

On This Day

• 1580 – Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth in Plymouth, England.  
• 1905 – Albert Einstein publishes the third of his Annus Mirabilis papers, introducing the special theory of relativity.  
• 1933 – As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, “Don’t shoot, G-Men!”, which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.  
• 1953 – Rationing of sugar in the United Kingdom ends. Due to start again in December 2021. 
• 1959 – Typhoon Vera, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history, makes landfall, killing 4,580 people and leaving nearly 1.6 million others homeless.
• 1969 – Abbey Road, the last recorded album by the Beatles, is released.  
• 1973 – Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.

Deaths

• 1902 – Levi Strauss, German-American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (b. 1829).  
• 1937 – Bessie Smith, American singer and actress (b. 1894). 
• 2003 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter (b. 1949). 
• 2008 – Paul Newman, American actor, director, producer, and businessman (b. 1925). 
• 2019 – Jacques Chirac, French politician and President of France (b. 1932). 

Last Meals

Richard Glossip is an American prisoner currently on death row at Oklahoma State Penitentiary after being convicted of commissioning the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese. Justin Sneed, the man who murdered Van Treese, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for testifying against Glossip, and received a sentence of life without parole. Glossip is the recipient of international attention due to the unusual nature of his conviction, for which there is little or no additional corroborating evidence. 

On January 7th, 1997, Justin Sneed beat Barry Van Treese to death gruesomely with a baseball bat. The killing occurred at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where Van Treese was the owner, Sneed was the maintenance man, and Richard Glossip was the manager. In exchange for avoiding the death penalty, Sneed confessed and told police that Glossip had instructed him to commit the murder.  

Glossip insisted on his innocence and refused to accept a plea bargain. In July 1998, an Oklahoma jury convicted Glossip of the murder and sentenced him to death. In 2001, the unanimous Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals threw out that conviction, calling the case “extremely weak” and finding Glossip had received unconstitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel. 

In August 2004, a second Oklahoma jury convicted Glossip of the murder and sentenced him to death. Glossip complained that prosecutors had intimidated his defence attorney into resigning, but, in April 2007, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the death sentence, with two judges in the majority, one judge specially concurring, and two judges dissenting. Glossip attracted the advocacy of Sister Helen Prejean, but failed to get the clemency board to consider letters from Sneed’s family, who believe Sneed is lying.  

Glossip’s legal team asserts that Justin Sneed was addicted to methamphetamine at the time that he murdered Van Treese, and that he habitually broke into vehicles in the parking lot of the Best Budget Inn while he was employed as a maintenance man. Glossip’s execution is controversial in that he was convicted almost entirely on the testimony of Sneed, who confessed to bludgeoning Van Treese to death with an aluminium baseball bat by himself and who was spared a death sentence himself by implicating Glossip.  

In September and October 2015, Glossip was granted three successive stays of execution due to questions about Oklahoma’s lethal injection drugs, which makes him the only man known to have had three last meals, possibly facing a fourth! 

For his three last meals, he’s had the same four items every time: fish and chips, a Wendy’s Baconator, a strawberry shake, and pizza — Pizza Hut once, Dominos twice. He’s also  listened as two men have been put to death, botched lethal injections both. And, as soon as early next year, he could be there again, in that endless daylight cell, waiting for death.

Glossip’s team are convinced they can prove his innocence. The problem is that Glossip was denied clemency in 2014, and inmates usually don’t get a second hearing. “I try to encourage people that there’s always hope,” says Glossip. “Look at me, I survived three executions.”

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jim Caviezel (53), Linda Hamilton (65), Olivia Newton-John (73), Lysette Anthony (58), Serena Williams (40), Ricky Tomlinson (82), Jon Richardson (39), Will Smith (53), Catherine Zeta-Jones (52), Mikael Persbrandt (58), Michael Douglas (77), Mark Hamill (70), Michael Madsen (64), Heather Locklear (60), Felicity Kendal (75), Kevin Sorbo (63), Sven-Ole Thorsen (77), Anthony Mackie (43), Rosalind Chao (64), Karl Pilkington (49), Bruce Springsteen (72), Tom Felton (34), Billie Piper (39), Sue Perkins (52), Ruth Jones (55), Joan Jett (63), Nick Cave (64), Bill Murray (71), Luke Wilson (50), Stephen King (74), David Wenham (56), Ricki Lake (53), Alfonso Ribeiro (50), Jon Bernthal (45), Kristen Johnston (54), Sophia Loren (87), Asia Argento (46), Moon Bloodgood (46), George R.R. Martin (73), Michelle Visage (53), and Connor Swindells (25).

Points!!! Well done to Laura, Louise, Julie, Neil, Mark, Chrissy, Martin, Paula, and Ron for correctly listing Jimmy Greaves. All of you get 69 poin1ts each. But a special well done to Martin who finally broke his duck, now everyone has scored some points this year. Also, as some of you who follow the Telegram channel already know, we have a further 44 points for Paul C as I missed the passing of Arthur Smith back in August. Well done everyone! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Fran Bennett, 84, American actress (Nightingales, Sunset Beach, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare).
• Bob Enyart, 62, American talk radio host, Covid-denier and anti-vaxxer, COVID-19.  
• Antony Hewish, 97, British radio astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (1974).  
• Norm Macdonald, 61, Canadian comedian, actor, and screenwriter (Saturday Night Live, The Norm Show, Dirty Work), leukaemia. 
• Geoff Hill, 52, British news editor (ITV News), leukaemia.  
• Jane Powell, 92, American actress (A Date with Judy, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Royal Wedding), singer and dancer.  
• Sir Clive Sinclair, 81, English entrepreneur and inventor.   
• Jimmy Greaves, 81, English footballer (Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, national team), world champion (1966).  
• John Challis, 79, British actor (Only Fools and Horses, Benidorm), cancer.

And a missed death from 21st August 2021

• Arthur Smith, 106, English footballer (Bury, Leicester City).

In Other News

Brazil soccer legend Pele has re-entered an intensive care unit at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein Hospital, the evil flying monkeys on Friday, in an apparent deterioration of his health after he left the unit earlier this week. The hospital said it had no new information. Pele, an 80-year-old, three-time World Cup winner, was re-admitted to the ICU due to acid reflux. He had a colon tumour removed this month and was transferred out of the ICU on Tuesday. After leaving the ICU, he said in a message to fans on Instagram that he was ready for “90 minutes, plus extra time.” But that proved to be rather premature. Pele has suffered from hip problems for years and cannot walk unaided. His public appearances were already being cut before the COVID-19 pandemic and since then he has made few unnecessary forays outside his house near Santos. It was initially reported that he was not “seriously ill” in hospital, but after the operation to remove the tumour he stated he was “used to celebrating great victories” and would “face this match with a smile”. Now 80 years old, Pele earned 92 caps for Brazil and won three World Cup titles, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.  

Coronation Street’s Craig Charles has revealed how his “breathing is laboured” after getting Covid. The actor and DJ, 57, told fans he had tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating. The Red Dwarf star took to Twitter to tell followers he was feeling very unwell. Craig’s post read: “Okay guys I don’t want to alarm, but I’ve caught the Covid. Breathing is a bit laboured which is a worry, but I’ve got an oxymonitor so so far no hospital. Starting to feel a bit better but have to isolate, Sorry to let everyone down. Back soon.” Hundreds of fans then responded by sending the one-time rapist (allegedly) supportive messages. One fan wrote: “Get well soon Craig, my wife and I both have it this week too, trying to rest up, hope you are too.” Craig became a household name when he landed the role of slob technician Dave Lister, the last known survivor of the human race, in the cult BBC sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf, beating Hugh Laurie to the role. In 2005, Craig joined the Coronation Street cast as taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney and was given free rein to introduce various aspects of the character’s personality. He quit his role on the soap in May 2015 in order to concentrate on filming the new series of Red Dwarf.  

Elton John has postponed dates of his farewell tour after injuring himself in an “awkward” fall, which has resulted in him experiencing “difficulty moving”. The star, 74, revealed that his upcoming UK and European tour dates of his 2021 Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour have been rescheduled to 2023, after being left in “considerable” pain following a fall earlier this year. In a post to his 3.6 million Instagram followers, the Tiny Dancer hitmaker shared that he’d hurt his hip after “falling awkwardly on a hard surface”. Elton wrote: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am forced to reschedule the 2021 dates of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Europe and the UK to 2023. At the end of my summer break I fell awkwardly on a hard surface and have been in considerable pain and discomfort in my hip ever since. Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving,” he said. “I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications. I will be undertaking a programme of intensive physiotherapy that will ensure a full recovery and a return to full mobility without pain.” Despite postponing his tour dates, the iconic singer told that he would still be going ahead with a charity event, as he didn’t want to disappoint the organisation. Elton explained: “I am going to complete the charitable Global Citizen event on 25th September as I don’t want to let a charity down. Being just five songs it’s a very different physical undertaking to the demands of playing for close to three hours every night on tour and travelling overnight between countries.” He confirmed that following the event, he will be having surgery to ensure he can start performing in as soon as three months time. “After this I will be having the operation to ensure the tour can get back on the road in January of 2022 in New Orleans,” he continued. “I know how patient my incredible fans have been since Covid halted touring last year, and it breaks my heart to keep you waiting any longer.” Elton signed off by promising his loyal fans that the postponed farewell show will be worth waiting for. Last year, the star revealed in February that he had been diagnosed with walking pneumonia, which is an inflammation of the airways. 

First Dates’ barman Merlin Griffiths has revealed he is battling bowel cancer after receiving a bleak diagnosis from doctors at Northampton General Hospital. The 46-year-old was told he has a 75% chance of living for more than five years after medical tests unearthed a stage three tumour that measured 4.5cm in length. Speaking to the Evil Monkeys, Merlin said: ‘I’m keeping that positive outlook, but I’ve a morbid sense of humour. I tell people, “I have colorectal cancer… it’s a real pain in the arse!” Merlin has a seven-year-old daughter called Alix with his partner Lucille, 40, who he has been with for more than a decade and will be by his side as he faces a year of life-saving treatment. When the barman told his young daughter of the troubling diagnosis he reassured her of the powers of modern medicine and gushed about the public healthcare system. He said: ‘I have so much faith in medicine and the NHS in this country, which is just so incredible.’ Keeping his emotions behind closed doors, Merlin admitted: ‘I’ve shed a tear in private. But you can choose “to do” or “not to do”. I chose to lead my life as normal, to stick to the facts about it, and to keep putting one step in front of the other.’ The TV personality, who became a household name alongside Fred Sirieix in the First Dates restaurant, started to feel pain in June but thought it was caused by an old stomach injury from a car accident in his 20s. Merlin was diagnosed with bowel cancer six weeks ago and said his tumour looked like an alien and felt like a walnut stuck inside of him. Doctors discovered the tumour when they gave the barman an emergency sigmoidoscopy to probe his lower intestine after the star spent three months telling people he felt something wrong in his body. Merlin admitted he was terrified by the ordeal but immediately focused on his chances of survival following his diagnosis. The star revealed that his tumour wanted to move into the tissue surrounding it but wasn’t ‘lymph’ – meaning the cancer thankfully hadn’t spread. His oncologist hopes to remove his tumour in three months time, after which he will continue with other life-saving treatment.

Professor Tim Wilson, the former UK Independence Party candidate for South Northamptonshire and more famously a contestant on the Channel 4 series The Circle, announced on Instagram that he’s had a rather serious bowel cancer diagnosis after haemorrhaging into his trousers! He also revealed that whilst having his balloon knot studied by medical professionals, that a nurse recognised him from the show. He has no idea how she did so as he was wearing a surgical mask and had his trousers around his ankles at the time. Anyhow, he’s off for a ‘serious operation’ next week. While taking part in The Circle, Wilson claimed he actually voted to Remain and wished to “expose UKIP from the inside” which probably helped him win the shows “Viewers’ Champion” title for being the most popular finalist by viewer’s vote, winning a £30,000 prize. 

On This Day

• 1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
• 1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield dies of wounds suffered in a July 2nd shooting. Vice President Chester A. Arthur becomes President upon Garfield’s death.
• 1970 – Michael Eavis hosts the first Glastonbury Festival.
• 1991 – Ötzi the Iceman is discovered in the Alps on the border between Italy and Austria.

Deaths

• 1881 – James A. Garfield, American general, lawyer, and politician, and the 20th President of the United States (b. 1831).
• 1998 – Patricia Hayes, English actress (b. 1909).
• 2015 – Jackie Collins, English novelist (b. 1937).

Last Meals

Bobby Joe Long was an American serial killer and rapist who was executed by the state of Florida for the murder of Michelle Denise Simms. Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least 10 women in the Tampa Bay Area in Florida during an eight-month period in 1984. He released one of his last victims, 17-year-old Lisa McVey, after raping her over a period of 26 hours. McVey provided critical information to the police that enabled them to arrest Long.

Long was born on October 14, 1953 in Kenova, West Virginia to Joe and Louetta Long. Long was born with an extra X chromosome, also known as 47,XXY, a specific variant of Klinefelter syndrome. This condition results in excessive oestrogen production yielding some female traits such as breast development. Long was teased as a child for his large breasts and underwent breast reduction surgery in adolescence. Long also suffered multiple head injuries as a child. Long had a dysfunctional relationship with his mother; he slept in her bed until he was a teenager and reportedly resented her multiple short-term boyfriends. Long married his high school girlfriend in 1974, with whom he had two children before she filed for divorce in 1980.

Long committed at least 50 rapes as the “Classified Ad Rapist” in Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Miami, and Dade County.

Starting around 1981, Long began contacting women through the Penny Saver and other classified ads. When Long found a woman alone, he asked to use the bathroom, took out his “rape kit” and raped and robbed the woman. Long was tried and convicted for rape in 1981 but requested a new trial, which was granted. The charges were later dropped, because that was a thing back then….

Long moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1983. In 1984, while on probation for assault, Long raped and strangled 20-year-old Artiss “Ann” Wick in March; her body was discovered in a rural area on November 22, 1984.

Over the next eight months, Long abducted, raped, and murdered at least 10 women in three counties in the Tampa Bay area. The investigation involved personnel from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the Tampa Police Department (TPD), the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

The bodies of the victims were typically found in a state of decomposition long after the murders, having been dumped near a rural roadside or dragged into the woods. Long appears to have targeted vulnerable women, including abducting women walking alone and those working as sex workers, persuading women to enter his car where he would rape and torture them. Of Long’s 10 known victims, five of the women were identified as known sex workers, two as exotic dancers. The remaining three victims were a factory worker, a student, and one with an unknown occupation.

During this period, Long also continued his classified-ad rapes, attacking 33-year-old Linda Nuttall in her home.

In the early hours of November 3, 1984, Long abducted 17-year-old Lisa McVey as she rode her bike home from work. She was blindfolded and taken to Long’s home, where he repeatedly raped her. Aware of the danger she was in, the blindfolded McVey reported leaving as many fingerprints in Long’s home as she could to aid any future police investigation. After 26 hours, Long released McVey and she provided investigators with information on his home, car and a time period in which she heard him use an ATM Machine. This led to police identifying Long and he was arrested on November 16, 1984. He was linked to the murders through red carpet fibres found on the bodies of several victims.

At the time of his capture, Long was wanted in three Tampa Bay area jurisdictions where investigators had collected multiple forms of forensic evidence, including clothing, carpet fibres, semen, ligature marks, and rope knots.

Long was arrested outside a movie theatre on November 16, 1984, and charged with the sexual battery and kidnapping of Lisa McVey. Long signed a formal Miranda waiver, and consented to questioning. After the detectives procured a confession for the McVey case,  their questioning focused on a series of unsolved sexual battery homicides in the Tampa Bay area. As the detectives questioned Long about the murders, he replied, “I’d rather not answer that.”

The detectives continued the interrogation, and handed Long photographs of the various murder victims. At this point, Long stated, “The complexion of things sure have changed since you came back into the room. I think I might need an attorney.” No attorney was provided, and Long eventually confessed to eight murders in Hillsborough County, and one murder in Pasco County.

Fibre evidence analysis by the FBI linked Long’s vehicle to most of his victims.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Long was ultimately serving one five-year sentence, four 99-year sentences, 28 life sentences, and one death sentence.

On April 23, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Long’s death warrant, this being the first death warrant signed by DeSantis since he took office in January 2019. Long’s subsequent appeals were denied and he was executed by lethal injection on May 23, 2019, more than 30 years after his conviction. He ate his final meal at 9:30 am local time; he requested roast beef, bacon, french fries and soda. He was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm and had made no last statement.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Danielle Panabaker (34), Jeremy Irons (73), David McCallum (88), Jimmy Fallon (47), Twiggy (72), Jason Sudeikis (46), Jada Pinkett Smith (50), James Marsden (48), Keeley Hazell (35), Tim McInnerny (65), Cassandra Peterson (70), Bruce Spence (76), Mickey Rourke (69), Madeline Zima (36), Amy Poehler (50), Nick Jonas (29), Danny John-Jules (61), Tom Hardy (44), Tommy Lee Jones (75), Oliver Stone (75), Jimmy Carr (49), Brendan O’Carroll (66), Andrew Lincoln (48), Sam Neill (74), and Walter Koenig (85).