Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan: A Cold-Blooded Christmas - the Sturmfels Murder

Episode Date: November 12, 2023

Robert and Georgette Sturmfels, spending the winter holiday season in their cozy Florida home, are blissfully unaware that their lives are about to be irrevocably shattered. Tragically, their lives abruptly end on December 20, 1989, as they become the victims of a chilling double homicide. In this episode, Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack delve into the horrifying details of the Sturmfels' murders. They meticulously unravel the case, from the suspect's choice of a 22-caliber rifle to the unsettling finality of the crime scene. The conversation goes beyond the murder itself to examine its broader implications, such as the weapon's surprising lethality, common misconceptions about gunshot wounds, and the cold-blooded nature of the perpetrator. Subscribe to Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan : Apple Podcasts Spotify iHeart Time codes: 00:00:00 — Joseph Scott Morgan starts off with a touching reflection on Christmas. From stress to joy, his sentiments evolve over time, especially as he becomes a grandfather. At 00:01:20 — The tragic case of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels is introduced by Joe Scott. Their murder in Florida sets the stage for a disconcerting episode. 00:04:20 — Diving deeper, Joseph Scott Morgan paints a vivid picture of the Sturmfels' murder. He describes the horrific scene in disquieting detail. 00:05:20 — Louis Gaskin, the suspect, is discussed by Dave Mack. He outlines Gaskin's ruthlessness and the premeditation behind the crime. 00:06:20 — Weaponry is the topic as Joe Scott and Dave debate the lethal nature of a 22-caliber rifle used in the crime. 00:08:00 — A lesson in firearms ensues as Joseph Scott Morgan distinguishes between long arms and pistols, explaining why the latter is more easily concealed. 00:10:20 — Unveiling the crime, Dave shares how Louis Gaskin meticulously planned, and executed the murders of the Sturmfels couple. 00:12:20 — Debunking Hollywood myths, Joseph Scott Morgan explains that gunshot wounds are not just dramatic effects; victims often realize they've been shot and experience pain. 00:13:00 — Gaskin's own words add horror to the narrative as Dave recounts the unsettling sounds Mrs. Sturmfels made during her final moments. 00:14:20 — Joe Scott dives into the world of forensics, explaining how a gunshot through glass has implications on bullet behavior. He describes how the bullet’s trajectory and energy are affected upon impact. 00:17:04 — Joseph Scott Morgan elaborates on snipers and the adjustments they have to make due to the influence of gravity on bullets, especially when glass is involved. 00:20:36 — The episode’s atmosphere becomes tenser as Morgan and Mack discuss Gaskin's execution of Mr. Sturmfels and his chilling confession. 00:21:00 — The term "death wheeze" is introduced as Joe Scott explains the physiological impact of a gunshot wound to the lungs. 00:24:01 — Dave summarizes Gaskin's crime spree; from killing to covering the bodies with blankets and burglary. 00:24:35  — Gaskin, dressed in all black and carrying a 22 rifle, drives to the home of Joseph and Mary Rector, where he shoots at them after waking them up. 00:26:20 — Dave Mack discusses the gunshot wounds and how the Rectors managed to escape. 00:28:20 — The hosts ponder Gaskin's motivations, diving into the psychology behind these appalling acts. 00:33:40 — The episode concludes with Joseph Scott Morgan revealing the final fate of the killer, a grim but just end to a twisted journey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan. I can't help myself. As trite as it is, I used to really loathe the thought that Christmas was around the corner. Because it always meant buying gifts. And it always meant me having to spend money. And it meant rushing about and waiting to the last minute to accomplish those tasks. But something has changed in me. I'm a grandfather

now. And now I cannot wait for Christmas to come around because the circle is complete. Can you imagine going to Florida to celebrate perhaps Christmas with your wife? You're hanging out. You're in a house. You live in New Jersey. You've escaped the cold weather. And you're headed down south to sunny Florida. And you're just going to relax and enjoy the Christmas season. And on the night of December the 20th, 1989, a couple were seated in their home in Flagler County, Florida.

And there's a beautiful window with little panes that have been placed in the window of Christmas images. Santa Claus and Christmas trees. And all of a sudden, that window just explodes. You're sitting in your chair. You're watching television. And it explodes as a result of bullets passing through it. And suddenly, your life ends.

Today, we're going to talk about the brutal homicides of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels on the night of December the 20th, 1989. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan, and this is Body Bags. Dave Mack, are you a fan of Christmas? Do you like Christmas? Yes, I do. You do? Yeah, well, I do too, man. I've actually never been asked that question as an adult. Really? Yeah, and it's a different way of looking at it. When you're a kid,

they ask you that question. Of course, I'm 40. You out of your mind? Of course, I like Christmas. But as an adult, you start to, I don't know. It's just me. I sit there and I think, oh, God, it used to be such a labor. But now, man, when you get grandbabies, it's such a cool thing. It really is for me, at least. And also, one of the things about Christmas specifically that causes our memories as we get older to get bigger and more loving is because it tends to remind us of very special times when we were a child and our parents were younger and our grandparents. It reminds us of those times and that's a very warm thing. So there's multiple things going into the whole Christmas spirit beyond just the act of gift giving that as an adult, it's which credit card do we use to buy this with?

Yeah, I hate to be that cynical about it. I truly do. And I've tried to get past that. I really have, Dave. And I'm chief among sinners in that area. But, you know, now you get a little bit older and you get a few miles on the tires and you think, wow, this is really a great opportunity to be together as a family and to celebrate. Right. And that's what I mean. As you get older, you recognize those things.

When you're younger, you don't because you're a kid. But then even when you first have children, you remember this when you're a young parent, there's a lot of stress involved with Christmas. It's only after you get older. And that's why I have such a loving, wonderful feeling when I involved with Christmas. It's only after you get older. And that's why I have such a loving, wonderful feeling when I think of Christmas. It reminds me of my mother and my grandparents and people that are no longer with us. And that's why it's so special. And of course, you know, you mentioned grandchildren. This is the time for Pawpaw to show off. What do you mean you can't have a pony? You're absolutely right. And I wonder, thinking about Robert and Georgette, they had made the trip down from their New Jersey home to spend the holiday season down in what they refer to as Palm Coast down there.

And they're just minding their own business. And this is what's so horrible. The case is horrible anyway. All right. But what is so horrible is that this kind of peaceful thing that's going on and you're sitting there and I can't imagine the horror. I saw the crime scene photos from this, by the way, particularly this blown out window I was referring to. You're sitting there in your chair. You're there with this person that you're spending the rest of your life with. And all of a sudden, your world just crashes in on you, literally.

In just a few moments, your life comes to an end in this home that is just kind of a, it's not like home in New Jersey. It's a home that you've come to in Florida to stay and spend part of the year. And I just, I can't begin to imagine, Dave. Going to Florida, it's almost a rite of passage. Once you reach a certain age, you go there for the comfort of the warmer climate and everything else. Snowbirds, yeah. Yeah. And with regard to the Strumpfells, they're 56 and 55 years old. They're just relaxing. It's an evening. It's the two of them. It's quiet. They're just watching TV. But outside their window lurks a ninja. as the quote-unquote ninja killer. That somehow romanticizes the fact that this guy is a cold-blooded killer

that decided to do his Christmas shopping while committing the most heinous act of murder one can imagine. Backing up here, a.22 caliber rifle. I've always thought of that weapon as one step up from a pellet gun. I've never thought of a.22 as the type of killing machine that it really is. Am I correct in assuming that a lot of people think the same thing? Yeah, you are.

Because when you look at the spectrum and there's a spectrum of pistol and rifle cartridges out there, it's on the low end as far as the size of this. It's.22. And so it's very tiny. But also keep this in mind, we fire around in the military. I say we as a former soldier, we've fired around in the military called 5.56 millimeter. But if you convert that over to caliber instead of millimeter, Dave, that's 0.223. It's roughly the same diameter as the.22. It has more bulk to it a bit, the 0.223, and it's also got more propellant with it

as well in the shape of it too. It's got this kind of conical shape, the.223. With the rifle rounds being fired from a.22 caliber, I think back there's a variety of different types of.22 rounds. You've got like a .22 short that when you hear it fire, you can barely make out the sound many times. It sounds, it's a few decibels higher than, say, firing a pellet rifle. Pellet rifle will have that poof sound to it like that. .22 short, it cracks the wind. It's fired. But when you go above that and you get into a standard.22 and then certainly into a.22

long rifle, that round has a lot of power. What I can't figure out, Dave, is that you got a perpetrator that shows up to a scene. And this is not standard. You see it in the movies all the time. All right. This is not standard. You got a perpetrator that shows up to a scene wielding a long arm. And a long arm is a rifle or is a like a rifle.

You have to fire it from your shoulder and the military they refer to them as shoulder fired arms and so you have to nestle this thing into your shoulder now you can fire it audie murphy i guess if you want to from your hip but standardly you put the butt of the stock into your shoulder and you open up you fire it and you have more accuracy, but it doesn't give you a lot of portability. With a pistol, you can conceal it. Look, man, if you're walking down the street and you're carrying a long arm, you're walking down the street and you're carrying a rifle, I'm going to take notice of you. Bottom line is you mentioned carrying that rifle in broad daylight would bring about a lot of attention. But in the case of Louis Gaskin on this particular night, it was dark. It was bedtime and he was not necessarily bedtime, but it was all dark.

He's wearing all black. He parked his car a ways away. And the home where Robert and Georgette Stromfels, youfels were staying was actually their winter home. It wasn't a rental. Back then, they didn't have Airbnbs. So if you had a place, a house or whatever in Florida from New Jersey, that was your winter, summer home, however you wanted to look at it. It was your escape from New York. And that's why it was even more than just sitting at a house at night, Joe.

This was not just a house. It was even more than just sitting at a house at night, Joe. This was not just a house. It was their getaway home. This was their peaceful environment. They probably looked forward for months before they could go to their Florida home, their escape, in their living room. In particular, Mr. Sternfels, Robert rather is sitting in his recliner. And I'm picturing this man and watch, you know, you got the TV on. You're just relaxing. And you mentioned the blast of the window.

Louis Gaskins had parked his car down a ways from the house. He walks up to the home and he has his plan. He does not want to come in there while they're sleeping. He doesn't want to sneak up on them that way. He needs them up and about so that he can take them out from outside. That's the part about this that really shocked me, Joe, that Lewis Gaskin planned on shooting out the window to take out the Sternfels. And when he takes that first shot with his.22 caliber rifle, he shoots directly through the window and hits Mr. Sternfels in the chest. He then shoots a second time and sees Georgette Sternfels

as she starts to try to get out of the room. She's headed to the hallway when Gaskins shoots her. He then breaks out the window the rest of the way, pulls the screen break, gets out the window and goes in. He then puts another shot in the head of Mr. Sternfels, who had been trying to get up again, by the way. He had been shot twice. He's still trying to get up, Joe.

And all I could think of is his last moment was what in the world just happened. Bam, bam, bam. So fast. His wife is trying to crawl her way. And Louis Gaskin goes around the house. He's looking in windows to find where she is. He wants to take her out before he goes in as well. And he gets in the house and shoots her in the head. So we've got two murdered individuals. And in that moment, those final moments of their lives, as they are bleeding out, as Mrs. Sturmfels is lying in the hallway, Gaskins enters the home and robs them, literally robs them. And their lives were exchanged for lamps, VCRs, cash, and a bit of jewelry. Just because you're shot doesn't mean that your life immediately ends.

That's, again, a lie that Hollywood has sold you. Gunshot wounds are painful. There's an awareness many times that people have been shot. There are other times when people are shot, in fact, particularly with a high-velocity round where it will pass through the body and they won't have an awareness. But for the most part, depending upon where you were shot, there is a high probability you're going to feel it. In the case particularly of Mrs. Sternfels, she had an awareness. I think something came up about, what was it, Dave? About a dog? You mentioned the noise that she made as she was dying. He actually compared the gurgling sound to that of a dog,

a dog that you were taking out. The reason we know a lot of what took place, Joe, is this career criminal, by the way, he was a young guy. You know, Gaskins was only, what, 22 years old at the time of these murders, and he already had a rap sheet. But we know that he picked this house randomly. It could have been anybody. It could have been you or me.

It just happened to be the Sternfels that night. And he parks his car away. He goes up to the house and says he circled the house. He walked around it six times. Six times he walked around the house before this, you know, making the plan. He already knew he was going to shoot from the outside. And Joe, when you do that, when somebody shoots through a window to hit a target and I, boy, I want to apologize to the families right now of anybody who's ever been the victim of a violent crime. I am not trying to act like this

is nothing. The man was murdered. And I don't know another way to actually say this than to ask the bullet goes through the window. Does that not change its trajectory? Does it take glass with it as it enters the body? I mean, you're talking about going through screen, glass, clothing before ever hitting the body. You're right on all those points. And let me break this down from forensics perspective. When a round is fired through what's referred to as an intermediate target, and essentially what that means is just imagine that you're standing, staring out a window, and a rock flies through from the outside and strikes the window and then happens to hit you.

Well, that glass window gives way, right? And that window acts as almost kind of a barrier. Not much of a barrier, but a barrier nonetheless. And you are subsequently struck by the rock. Now, the question would be, would the rock maintain first the same level of energy as when initially thrown before striking the intermediate target? And would it stay or remain on the same path? Well, the answer to both of those questions is no and no. So what happens? Well, when a round, when even a bullet is fired and it strikes intermediate target,

you mentioned the screen, you mentioned the glass, that is going to bleed energy of the round. So as that explosion takes place in the barrel, the muzzle velocity, which is kind of significant in a.22 rifle, all right, it's spinning. We know that because of the rifling that is within the structure of the bullet. It twists. It either twists to the left or twists to the right. Either way, as it is spinning, it's like a football. If you've ever seen a football that is thrown, and it's kind of what they refer to as a wounded duck, where it kind of flutters in the air. That means that the spin is not present in the

bullet as it should be, because if thrown correctly, the bullet will maintain that tight spin as it travels downrange, and it will maintain all of those ideal ballistic characteristics. Bullet works the same way. As it's flying through the air and it strikes glass, the screen, the glass, it's going to bleed off energy and then depended upon the position of the shooter, that is when the round is first fired, and their position relative to the intermediate target. Remember, he could see them through this glass and he fires at them. The pitch of the round is going to change. There's a high probability it will probably drop down because gravity is working on the

bullet as well as this intermediate target. So even as a bullet is traveling through the air, it's fighting against this downward pull of gravity all the while. Now, the initial energy that's generated in that blast will defeat gravity just for a few seconds. But after it's traveled out of the end of the barrel, gravity takes hold and it begins to pull it down. That's why when you see people fire around at a great distance, like snipers, they have to elevate and adjust for bullet drop. The shorter the range, it doesn't have as much of an effect, but then you throw glass into it and it does begin to pull and it pulls downward. And as it pulls downward, it even deflects further downward with the striking of the

glass. And so if you were aiming, say for instance, at, well, let's just say you had a target where you're aiming just below, if you think of a silhouette of a person, one of those that you see at a firing range that has a head on it and the shoulders and that sort of thing. Let's just say that you were aiming at the chin of a target and you're firing through a piece of glass. There's a high probability that you will not hit the chin. You might hit center mass in the chest. It'll drop down to like where the breastbone is, the sternum. Once the glass is blown out, if you fire another round at that point, now you don't have an intermediate target any longer. But I like what you did when you mentioned the nature of the glass. Glass is

fascinating. We can learn a lot from it. First off, you mentioned the nature of the glass. Glass is fascinating. We can learn a lot from it. First off, you mentioned the nature of the glass flying through the air. Well, glass is just sitting there being glass, all right? And once this energy is introduced into it, it's very brittle, as we all know. It's blasted outward. It doesn't have optimum aerodynamic qualities. So you've got static glass that's sitting there and a bullet meets it. It blows it out. And for a few inches, maybe a foot or two, you'll get the glass blasted out. And for that moment in time, you'll see it turn into like little flecks of shrapnel. And sometimes the glass will actually burst so that it creates almost a powder. But then you'll get the heftier fragments that will travel downrange. Dave, I've actually had cases where people have been shot while seated in a car with the driver's side window up.

Now, that's safety glass. Their entire course has taught them glass in forensics. But I've seen a shotgun blast go through a car window where the glass along with the pellets from the shotgun are embedded in the body. So you'll find you'll be picking bits of glass. But in this particular case, I think that there's sufficient distance that the lack of aerodynamicism in the glass, the glass will essentially shatter and fall in a way, but you'll see it all over the floor. And when this actually transpired, Joe, we had Mr. Sternfeld got up after the first shot. It says he stood up and that caused an immediate second shot from Gaskins that dropped him.

In this process, Mrs. Sternfeld fell she actually realizes what's happening after the second shot and that's when she goes to move to get out of the room and that's when lewis gaskins shoots her for the first time right there when she realizes something bad has just now happened in this house my husband has been shot twice boom now she Now she is hit. Mr. Sternfels, and I don't know how this is even possible after being shot twice. He actually tries to make it to his feet a third time, Joe, to get to his wife. And that's when we now know Gaskins grabs his knife from his pocket, cuts the screen out, comes into the house and then shoots him right in the head. It's a kill shot. He executes him.

Yeah, he does. In this confession that Gaskin makes, he states it's like putting down a dog or something to that effect. First off, how do you know what it's like to put down a dog? And that gives you a real insight, doesn't it? That it does. I did that past me. I'm glad you brought that up.

I don't know. Maybe you were out shooting dogs before you decided to take out humans. I have no idea, but I do know this. He said that Georgette was actually gurgling like a dog. And if that's the case, this is what I know that because I've seen it at scenes, this is more than likely a shot that would have passed through her lungs. And you get this kind of fine pink aspirate that issues forth out of your mouth in these death throes, if you will. And she's crawling

down the hallway. And so there's this trail of kind of frothy blood that's been left behind her. And you can still see this many times at the scene when you arrive. And you can certainly see it still issuing from the nose and mouth. and this is this kind of hyper aerated blood because of this gurgling that's taking place you've been shot in the lung so they've got this death wheeze that's going on and then he walks up after he's Gaskins has made entry into the home and he shoots her in the back of the head and executes her. And at this point that he goes about beginning to burglarize the home. And if I remember correctly, Dave, I think that it was for the purpose of getting Christmas presents, if I'm not mistaken.

The saddest part of crime is the motivating factor that began this whole what took place. Yeah, it was December 20th and the criminal needed to go Christmas shopping. What do criminals do? They don't go to the store and shop. No, that's the easy thing to do. Gaskin actually went out hunting for his Christmas presents. That's why some of the things he stole were fairly odd. Who steals a lamp? Who goes into a house, kills two people and steals a lamp?

That makes no sense. He stole a VCR. He stole several other items and he took them all to a friend's house. Here, you got some Christmas presents I need to stash here for a little while. The conflating of the home of these two innocent people. They're just in this place that obviously they found joy in. They've traveled down from the north, the cold north, at this particular time of the year. Remember, it's December 1989. They've left their New Jersey home to come and fly south for the winter. And there they are, and their life ends in this little home. Apparently, that wasn't the end of this night of terror that Gaskins decides to perpetrate on this local community. Now, to give it a very quick overview, we mentioned Gaskin burglarizes the home. Joe, after the kill shot on Mr. and Mrs. Strumfeld, shooting them both in the head, he covered their bodies with blankets and then burglarized the house, taking lamps, VCRs, cash, jewelry, things like that. I don't know what goes on in a person's mind or their physiology. I would imagine you've got a little adrenaline rush going on.

There's going to have to be something along those lines to push you to the next part of the adventure, which is a couple hours later. Gaskins, again, just arbitrarily picking a place, drives up to the home of Joseph and Mary Rector. And he finds them, you know, in the first murder, we talked about how he got them in the living room. He was able to, he goes around the house several times to make sure he knows exactly where they are. And he does the same thing here at the home of Joseph and Mary Rector. He sneaks up there in his all black ninja outfit with his 22 rifle. He walks around the house and he notices that they are in the den slash living room. So what he does this time is

he cuts the phone line. And as he's getting ready to go up and do his dirty work, the rectors decide it's time for bed. So he cuts the phone line. They turn off the lights and head to the bedroom. Now, this was not the plan. You know, I mentioned earlier that he didn't want to go in and sneak in the middle of the night and shoot people in their bed. There had to be some terror here. He wanted them to know that he was going to kill them and rob them. He wanted them to know that. Otherwise, wouldn't it make sense to sneak into a house, catch people unawares, do your business and leave? So what he does, they've turned the lights off, they've gone to bed. So he starts throwing logs, rocks at the side of the house on the roof, trying to wake them up.

After a couple of times of doing this, finally, Joseph Rector, honey, I got this. He gets up to go and see what's going on. And it's when he gets back in the den, that's when Gaskins starts shooting again. That's when he actually shoots from the outside. He shoots the Rectors. But in this particular case, Mr. and Mrs. Gaskin, yeah, they were scared. They were shocked, but they managed to escape. They got out of the house. They got in the car and Louis Gaskins, while they're taking off down the road in their car, he's shooting at them. He's shooting at their car. They go to the hospital, but you know what? Bless their hearts. Joseph and Mary Rector, they were actually suspects. They didn't make any sense.

Their story didn't make sense to the local police. You hear a story like this where, can you imagine, you're sitting there and you're talking to the police and you're telling them. This ninja guy, somebody dressed all in black in the middle of the night. Yeah, and he's throwing items at our house and we heard these noises. I get up and, of course, speaking for Mr. Rector here, and he gets shot. He's shot one time. Now, how in the world they were able to escape that home? I have no idea. And they were able to get to their car and get on the road. And as in this, you talk about being emboldened. Can you, and it's

like something out of some crazy Hollywood trope. He steps out into the road and begins firing at their car as they're driving away. I can only imagine if you're this man and woman, the rectors, and you're thinking, what in the world have we done? You're thinking, who could I have harmed to this degree where my car is now being, I've been struck by a bullet. I'm in fear that my life is at its end. My wife is here in the vehicle with me. We're heading out. Maybe she's driving. We're trying to make it to a point of safety. And then they're saying that in some way we're involved in this. I don't know in recent memory if I remember hearing someone being drawn out. And that's the really kind of dark part of this. A while back, you mentioned the word hunting.

You're literally drawing your prey out so that you can essentially bag them. Was it all about taking from these people or was it taking their lives? Is that what you're about? Because it kind of sounds that way to me. It sounds as though that, yeah, you're going to take these worthless trinkets from the home, but you were more about trying to hunt them and kill them. And I really wonder what the motivation behind that was. And it's quite striking to me. He had an awareness, I think. He had an awareness that he had done wrong. You had mentioned going back to the Sturmfels, he covered their bodies with blankets.

We talk about face covering in death investigation, and that sometimes gives us one of two answers here when we're looking at trying to understand who may have done this. First off, it gives you an idea that they may have been known by the perpetrator or the perpetrator has an awareness of their guilt because their shame involved in it. And so they're going to cover the bodies because they know what they've done. I mean, this is you don't get to use this term very often anymore, but this is dastardly what has taken place. And their lives are at an end just laying there on the floor in that home. Back to the Sternfels. When Mr. Sternfels

is shot, it says in the first time the shot in the chest, he comes up out of the chair. He gets shot a second time and that drops him back down. But somehow he is able. I don't know how. And that's why I wanted to ask you, if you're shot twice by a.22, what is allowing him? I mean, the guy shot in the chest, at least we know that. What kind of wound is he going to have? What's going on inside his body with that.22 shot that still allows him to get back up and to try to get to his wife? All of this is going to be dependent upon placement of the shot, the location anatomically. Obviously, if an individual, let's just say you're shot in the torso, if you're hitting the heart, it's going to bring your life to an end pretty

quickly. But again, like Georgette Sturmfeld, she's shot in the lung, Dave. That is a languishing way to die. To be gut shot or shot in the lung, you're not going to die immediately. So you're still struggling. You're still able to uptake oxygen at that point in time. And there's evidence of that with Mrs. Sturmfeld because she's bleeding out, wheezing in the hallway. She still had life in her. And to that point with her husband, Robert, you're thinking, well, yeah, he was shot in the chest, but was it a lung strike with him? You can be shot initially and it not strike any major organs. That does happen, in fact.

Or if it strikes an organ, it might not be as catastrophic as other gunshot wounds might be. Now, he shot twice, we know, and then he is executed. Now, and when I say executed, that's a term that we kind of throw around quite a bit relative to, folks will say, an execution-style shooting. And what does that mean? Well, traditionally, what that means is that you're going to walk up behind somebody and shoot them in the back of their head with you in a dominant you, universal you, being the perpetrator, shooting them in the head. And that's quite fascinating.

But, you know, all through this drama that night, that dark, cold night, you're thinking about his preparation. You've got a guy that's dressed all in black. He's trying to, for whatever reason, blend into the night. He shows up with a weapon in hand. Now, certainly an interesting weapon, to say the very least, to commit such a crime, a.22 caliber rifle. You don't hear that very often. And he is standing outside of the house. He's not certainly man enough to break into the house and go toe-to-toe with an older couple. He doesn't even have that kind of intestinal fortitude. He stands outside the house and fires through glass and shoots them. They were innocent victims sitting there in their chair, I mean, just

completely unaware that their life was about to end. And the same way with the Rectors. To a lesser degree, they survived. But you feel the safest at night, don't you, Dave, when you're all snuggled down in your bed, you've turned the lights out, you're getting ready to close your eyes, maybe to get some sleep. And then all of a sudden,

you're hearing something raining down on your house or glass is breaking out. And how evil do you have to be in order to draw somebody out, probably in their pajamas, and then shoot them down. And you're in a position of cover where you're going to do this. It's not like you're going to head with somebody that's armed and you're firing at them like this. And that's what makes this so very ominous. I think, you know, you kind of dig through this and you think about, well, what was this? Why would you be motivated at this point in time to do it? Gaskins made an

interesting quote, Dave, and this is him saying this. He admitted this to the police when they questioned him. And he stated that the night that he committed these heinous acts, that in fact, and I'm paraphrasing, that the devil had more of him that night than God did. And that's certainly an interesting point because this was, in fact, pure evil. On April the 12th, 2023, Louis Bernard Gaskin, otherwise known as the Ninja Killer, was pronounced dead at the Florida State Penitentiary at 6.15 p.m. after dying from lethal injection. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan, and this is Body Bags. is body bags. This is an iHeart Podcast.