True Crime On This Day October 1st

October 1st

On October 1st, in true crime, there were kidnappings, mob wars, a cop killer, unsolved murder, and a serial killer.

1978

In Park Hills, Kentucky, a female in her twenties contacted police to report her own rape and kidnapping. The perpetrator had grabbed her by the throat and forced her at gunpoint into his car.

They drove to St. Joseph’s Lane in Park Hills where the victim was raped and abused for hours on end. During the attack, the perpetrator bragged about having killed many other women.

In the early hours of the morning, after begging for her life, the victim was released. The attack went unsolved for over 40 years until the Boone County Cold Case unit arrested 77-year-old Michael Dean Tate.

1979

In New York, the Gambino Family members James Eppolito and James Eppolito, Jr. were shot to death by Anthony Gaggi and Roy DeMeo of the DeMeo Crew. The murder was witnessed by a member of the public who sought help from a nearby police officer.

After a shoot-out with the officer, Gaggi was wounded and arrested. Despite being charged with the murders, Gaggi was only convicted of assault and sentenced from 5 to 15 years in prison.

He served less than two and was released in 1981 on appeal. At the time, Roy DeMeo was not identified and got away with the murders.

1980

In Kentucky, police trooper Jerome ‘Butch’ Clifton died of a gunshot wound he had received two weeks earlier. Along with other officers, they were attempting to rescue hostages from a siege when the gunman fired a shot that tore through Clifton’s leg.

The wound severed major arteries and despite keeping him alive for two weeks, he finally succumbed to it. The suspect was caught the same day and subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. Today, in Kentucky, there is a bridge dedicated to Trooper Clifton.

1981

Near Devils Lake, North Dakota, the body of 69-year-old Clifton Wendell Marsh was discovered in a rest area along Highway 2. He had left his home in Hope, Michigan, two days earlier, on his way to British Columbia, Canada, for a fishing trip.

An autopsy showed he had been shot multiple times but no one passing the rest area noticed anything suspicious. No suspect has ever been caught and Marsh’s murder remains unsolved.

1982

In Washington State, 17-year-old Shawnda Leea Summers was abducted from Pacific Highway South. Her disappearance remained a mystery until her body was discovered on August 12^th 1983, in a vacant lot near South 146^th Street.

She had been brutally murdered by Gary Ridgway, AKA: The Green River Killer. Ridgway was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison in 2003 after entering a plea bargain to plead guilty to 48 charges of murder.

Though, he claimed more murders and is linked to at least 71 in total. He remains one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States.

1983

Somewhere between Iowa and Florida, 29-year-old mother of three Viola Marie Findley disappeared under suspicious circumstances. She had left Waterloo, Iowa, with a friend to visit family, leaving her three children behind. On the way home from visiting her mother in Florida, Findley disappeared.

12 years after she went missing, she was officially declared dead with a ‘presumed death’ certificate. The police then closed her file and put it into storage where it was destroyed in a flood of the records room.

Despite numerous Jane Does being tested over the years, no trace of Findley has ever been found and the circumstances of her disappearance remain a mystery. Her family are still seeking answers.