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The Execution of Danny Rolling


Danny Rolling was executed at 6 p.m. Wednesday for the 1990 slayings of five college students in Gainesville.
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  • VIDEO: Youngest Victim Remembered
  • Visual Timeline: Murder, Fear, Investigation, Confession, A Sentence Of Death


    The Victims

    Sanja LarsonSonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach, was a second semester University of Florida freshman, studying science and pre-engineering. She graduated from Pompano Beach's Ely High School in 1989. She was a member of Students Against Drunk Driving and a manager for the girl's varsity basketball team. Her body was found in her upstairs bedroom at Williamsburg Village Apartments on Aug. 26, 1990.
    Cristi PowellChristi Powell, 17, of Jacksonville, was a second semester UF freshman after attending summer school. She planned to study architecture. She graduated from Episcopal High School in 1990 and was editor of the high school yearbook and worked on the school's literary magazine. She also participated in a church youth group. Her mutilated body was found downstairs in the apartment she shared with Ms. Larson on Aug. 26, 1990. She had been raped.
    Christa HoytChrista Hoyt, 18, of Archer. Hoyt was a chemistry honors student at Santa Fe Community College and planned to attend UF. She worked as a records clerk at the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and was a police explorer. Ms. Hoyt, whose nickname was "Glowworm," graduated from Newberry High School in 1989 and was a member of the band. Her decapitated body was discovered Aug. 27, 1990 in a duplex where she lived alone. She had been raped.
    Manny TabodaManuel (Manny) Taboada, 23, of Carol City. Attended Metro-Dade Community College and Santa Fe Community College. He graduated from American High School in 1984 and was president of the Thespians club and played high school football. His body was found in his bed at Gatorwood Apartments. Authorities believe Taboada was attacked as he slept.
    Tracy PaulesTracy Inez Paules, 23, of Miami, studied pre-law at UF. Paules was a member of the National Honor Society and 1984 homecoming queen at Miami's American High School, where she played soccer and softball. Her body was found in the Gatorwood Apartments unit she shared with Taboada. She had been sexually assaulted.
    Rolling was also suspected of killing three people in Shreveport, La., in November 1989 and of the attempted murder of his father in May 1990. He was never tried in those cases.

    The Killer

    Danny Rolling Department of Corrections photo
    Danny Rolling once wrote that it "is entirely in the sovereign will of God Almighty and the State of Florida" to determine when he would draw his last breath.

    By order of Gov. Jeb Bush, that day will be Wednesday. More

    The Investigation

  • Sept. 24, 1990 - Suspect Ed Humphry cleared; no DNA match
  • Jan. 24, 1991 - DNA matches Danny Rolling
  • Nov. 14, 1991 - Alachua County Grand Jury indicts Danny Rolling
  • Feb. 15, 1994 - Danny Rolling pleads guilty to five counts of first-degree murder
  • April 20, 1994 - Danny Rolling is sentenced to death on all five counts of murder
  • Nov. 17, 1997 - Florida Supreme Court denies Petition for Writ of Certiorari
  • June 27, 2002 - Florida Supreme Court affirms the trial court's denial of Motion for Post-Conviction Relief
  • July 1, 2005 - U.S. District Court, Northern District, denies Petition for Writ of Habaes Corpus
  • Feb. 9, 2006- U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirms District Court's denial.
  • Sept. 22, 2006 - Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signs death warrant to be carried out on Oct. 25
  • Oct. 18, 2006 - Florida Supreme Court rejects an appeal that claimed the state's death penalty is flawed.