clay the serial killer caught
Again, we hear Stern trying to casually ascertain personal details about Clay that might aid in eventually identifying him. Ellwood's trial took place here in Lafayette, and the jury unanimously found him guilty of 2nd-degree murder. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Suspected Stockton serial killer caught while on 'mission to kill': What we know . However, the truth of the matter is more complicated. He was locked up for 85 days after being arrested on August 4, 1997, on drug charges. Before we go any further, I want to be crystal clear about the details discussed, and the contents of the audio in this story. The similarities between Clays phone call and the New Orleans murders of the early 1990s were listed as follows . Britton had dropped out of school shortly before her death, and was last seen in a New Orleans bar next to an unknown man. The next day, Stern said on the show that the FBI came to the studio asking for a tape of the call. V C. Facebook 0 Twitter Pinterest 0 0 Likes. He said that he was 27 and the girl was 32. [2] Most of them were strangled to death, while a number of others were beaten and drowned in canals and rivers, and then dumped in swamps, rivers or canals near highways bordering the western shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Here, Clay makes reference to Jimmy Swaggart, the famous Pentecostal Televangelist. Well it wasn't a fake call because after the show the F.B.I. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. [8] Ellwood's attorneys then filed a motion for a polygraph test to be performed on Sue Rushing, then-head of the task force, which was granted. Of course, this does not immediately eliminate Clay as a legitimate suspect, but it does prove that he could have learned about Gant being under suspicion merely from picking up a newspaper or watching TV. But then, just as he is answering, Clay suddenly leads the conversation by volunteering a piece of information that had not been previously discussed the fact that he knows some of his victims have not been found yet. Allegedly the day after this aired on B97 during the station's brief stint as a "Hot Talk" radio format, the FBIshowed up at Stern's studios and collected the audio as evidence. Despite raising a lot of suspicions early on, this call quickly faded into relative obscurity after it happened, before being brought back to the attention of internet sleuths in 2019. So, whatever became of "Clay the Serial Killer"? In addition to Gant, another resident of New Orleans, Russell Ellwood, soon came under police suspicion. Russell Elwood, a convicted killer in Louisiana, seems to fits the pattern perfectly. may be disturbing to some readers. Investigators determined that she was a transsexual, had feminine features and worked as an exotic dancer at a New Orleans nightclub. The chilling moment an apparent serial killer called intoThe Howard Stern Show is going viral again on TikTok, and the clip still leaves us with more questions than answers. Luckily, neither Eric Weill nor the Zodiac ever made good on their shared threat to murder school children. Is Russel Ellwood Clay The Serial Killer? Clay King Smith (July 25, 1970 - May 8, 2001) was an American mass murderer executed by the state of Arkansas for the March 25, 1998, murders of Misty Erwin (age 20), Shelley Sorg (24), Shelley's two children Sean Sorg (5) and Taylor Sorg (3), and babysitter Samantha Rhodes (12) at his home near Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On January 25, the remains of 25-year-old Henry Calvin, who had gone missing months earlier from New Orleans, were found. 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. [13], As of November 2021, all of the murders, aside from that of Cheryl Lewis, remain unsolved. From the infamous Zodiac Killer who taunted the media with baffling clues about his crimes to the Cleveland Torso Murderer who beheaded and dismembered his victims, take look at these chilling serial killers who were never caught. Before hanging up, the self-professed Zodiac said he would settle for Melvin Belli if Bailey could not be reached. [2] Eighteen days later, the body of 28-year-old Charlene Price was found in a New Orleans park, just one mile from where Britton was found. Other true crime sleuths who have heard recordings of Ellwoods voice insist there are no sonic similarities between him and Clay. The guy said that he was put on medication in prison and he was having nightmares and hearing all kinds of things. I think I just do it for the sense of power." In 1995 New Orleans Police Officer Victor Gant was listed as the prime suspect in the murders of his girlfriend Sharon Robinson, a New Orleans casino employee, and her friend Karen Iverster, allegedly a prostitute. Getting word from the call screener there was a listener on hold named Ed who claims to kill prostitutes, Stern immediately puts him on air. In 1997, a man who called himself Clay called into the Howard Stern show. The next day Howard says they were contacted by the FBI. More on that after we finish listening to the call. According to her testimony, she had boarded the car of an unknown man in Algiers sometime in July, and after having a conversation with him, the man strangled her into unconsciousness and dropped her off on the streets. Unlike Sharon, Karen supported herself through sex work. After doing drugs together, Ellwood beat her, but she managed to flee. 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. It is currently unknown whether Gant is still employed by any law enforcement agency, but investigators within the New Orleans Police Department are hopeful that future advancements in DNA technology will bring conclusive answers regarding his possible involvement in the slayings of these young women. One year later, on August 26, 1996, Gant was fired from the police force as result of the four internal investigations opened against him, with his beating of Sharon Robinson in the months before her murder being a major contributing cause. I'm willing to confess to two cases and give you all the details when I return to Louisiana. "Clay the Serial Killer" On the morning of 13 August 1997, a mysterious man called into the syndicated radio program of popular shock-jock Howard Stern. Realizing the call could be real, that the man on the phone could actually be a dangerous serial killer, Stern and Robin began carefully grilling Clay in hopes of getting a few solid leads for authorities. "Did your mom beat you? The entire call is unnerving, but there are parts of the call that are absolutely terrifyingand this guy was stalking and killing people right down I-10 only a couple of hours away. [2] According to the official investigation, the murders ceased following her death. Destor of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed that Gant is still on the suspect list.[2]. During the conversation with host Howard Stern, which was broadcast live, "Clay" described details for more than 12 murders and gave some details about his background, indicating that he was a white resident of New Orleans. "Yesterday a guy called in and said that he had killed 12 prostitutes. When he appeared in court, other prisoners who knew Ellwood gave witness accounts against him. Except this time, no police trace reveals the caller to be a hoaxer in a mental institution. During the hearing, members of the disciplinary committee reviewed the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses. The bodies of Lewis and Mack were discovered on February 21 and 22, 1993 respectively. If he was responsible for the string of murders that occurred in New Orleans, Ellwood's victims were almost always prostitutes. The Son of Sal Salvatore Perrone Department of Corrections 1", was presumably strangled and found not far from Britton's body. Ellwood is still considered a suspect in several of the homicides, although he has not been charged in connection with any of them. [2], On May 6, the body of 39-year-old Sandra Williams, who had been strangled, was found on a boulevard in New Orleans. Ellwood first came under police scrutiny in 1994, after he was allegedly found masturbating in his car by police, which had been parked by the road, near where Cheryl Lewis and Delores Mack's bodies were found. After the task force was formed, Col. Walter T. Gorman of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and other task force members travelled to Sebring, Florida on July 23, 1997, so they could question Ellwood, who was living with his elderly father. In 1997, 'Clay' called into the show to tell Stern and Quivers he had killed 12 sex workers. Although this definition is widely accepted, the crime is not formally recognized in any legal code, including that of the United States. Howard said that's a pretty crazy story. [2], On January 4, 1992, the body of 29-year-old Lydia Madison, who had several arrests on charges of prostitution and drug possession, was found in a ditch under a highway overpass. During his murdering rampage, Rader would taunt police by sending letters with details about his killings. According to CBS, "The Cleveland Strangler" killed at least 11 women during his run, and though he wasn't arrested in the past ten years, he was convicted for those killings in 2011 and sentenced to death. When the task force talked to him again, he admitted to dumping the body of a black woman in the water next to a country road. Another of Collins hires, Carver College Police Captain Michael F. Nemard, had previously been forced out of his job as a lieutenant with the College Park Police Department after being arrested for beating his wife, and a subsequent investigation revealed that he had once shoved his gun into another ex-wifes mouth and cocked the hammer. Gant also had a violent history of abusing Sharon, sometimes beating her so bad that she required hospitalization. Self-Professed New Orleans Serial Killer Once Confessed 12 Murders to Howard Stern. 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.
