Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “Serial Confessor” Gerald Stano Pt. 2

Episode Date: September 15, 2022

What kind of person confesses to multiple heinous crimes — while innocent? Gerald Stano did just that, until there was nothing left to confess to. But while there was no forensic evidence linking him to the 41 murders he implicated himself in, Stano was sentenced to death three times over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode contains discussion of murder, sexual assault, and graphic childhood trauma. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13. Last words. Ordinarily, there are a somewhat morbid thing to talk about. But for this story, they play a key role. Historians can't decide exactly when the practice started of allowing condemned prisoners a chance to offer their final statement.

before their execution, but it goes back hundreds of years. Some use the opportunity to apologize to their victims or to those left behind. Others use humor as a way to deflect from the horror of the situation, or else remain stoically silent as they face their end. Then there are those who take one final chance to insist they're innocent. Of course, by the time they've gotten to the last words stage, it's likely too late for that kind of argument. All the same, they go to the same.

their graves with injustice on their lips. It's easy to write those particular declarations off as the desperate ramblings of the condemned. Maybe they just can't face the truth of what they've done. Perhaps they don't want people to remember them badly. In the grand scheme of things, the intention behind these kinds of last words doesn't really matter. If they're on death row, they must have done something terrible, right? But what if they didn't?

What if it was all a lie? Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is serial killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're finishing our story on Gerald Stano, the Serial Confessor. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify.

Last time, we delved into Stano's heartbreaking early months and turbulent childhood. Then we learned about the attack that landed him in police custody and his first murder confession. Today, we'll hear more of Stano's confessions, learn about the investigator who pulled them out of him, and try to decide what the truth is. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the lonely hearts killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer, the hunt can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for. So, if you're hiring, I've got news for you. You can skip the lengthy investigation and the tiresome process of sorting through hundreds of resumes. Just use ZipRecruiter.

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That's ZipRecruiter.com slash killers. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Transport your senses with Sol Dijanato's limited edition perfume mist collection. Sprits on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp sea breeze with he fresco paraizzo. Embrace a floral and fruity scent inspired by Rio's nude beach with cheeky bikini or capture sun-kissed bliss with limonada gelada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection only at Sephora. In April of 1980, 28-year-old Gerald Stano confessed to murdering Mary Carol Maher.

He told Detective Paul Crow that he'd stab the 20-year-old college student to death when she wouldn't have sex with him. Knowing that Stano had just stabbed another woman, Detective Crow pushed him for more. He didn't seem satisfied that these were isolated incidents, and he had several unsolved murders on the books. Perhaps he thought Stano was behind some of those, too. At this stage, it's important to understand that the timeline for much of the story is murky at best. We know the general shape of a lot of what happened, but specifics are harder to nail down. With that in mind, we'll do our best to present you the information accurately, and in a way that's easy to follow. After Stano confessed to Mary Mahers' murder, Detective Crow asked him more leading questions,

presenting him with information about other unsolved slings from in and around Daytona, Florida. We mentioned this last time, but it bears repeating now. Crow worked hard to make Stano see him as a friend. And as someone who'd spent his whole life craving acceptance, Stana responded well to this tactic. Over the following months, he confessed to another five murders. Justice isn't always swift, but in this case, the legal system moved quickly. His confessions earned Stano three life sentences,

and given that Florida was and remains a state that isn't shy about the death penalty, the punishment was relatively light. But even after he went to prison, Stano wasn't done talking. He knew he'd never be free, so what was the harm in owning up to some more crimes? Far from harm, Stano was actually rewarded for his confessions. Between 1980 and 1983, Detective Crow took Stano on multiple field trips beyond the prison walls to visit the sites of murders he copped to. Stano loved these trips because they usually meant he got fast food or soda,

or at the very least, sometime in the Great Island. outdoors. Those kinds of incentives are huge for a prisoner on death row, especially one with the kinds of learning difficulties Stano had, so it's hardly surprising that eventually he confessed to 41 murders in total. Crowe, however, linked Stano to 88 slayings and announced that he believed Stano's real victim count was well over a hundred. We should pause for a moment to acknowledge that Gerald Stano was a violent man, who deserved to be in prison for what he did. to Donna Hensley and several other sex workers. That much is not up for debate. What's less clear is what role he played in the dozens of murders he was tied to,

because to this day there's never been any physical evidence linking him to the crimes, which is unusual. Like we said, Stano wasn't a particularly smart man, so it seems odd that he'd cover his tracks so completely that there was nothing left. The truth is, Stano's case is confusing for many reasons that we'll get into. But for now, we'll start by taking you through the story of these killings, according to Stano himself. However, even that part of the story is debated. Detective Crow believes that Stano's first murder occurred in 1969 when he was still living in the Greater Philadelphia area with his parents. But when Stano was arrested in 1980, Stano said that his first murder was in 1973.

According to Stano, he was driving through the Gainesville, Florida area when he picked up two young female hitchhikers. As they drove along, Stano said the girls started poking fun at him. They made comments about his manhood, the way he was dressed, and the fact that he was overweight. Something about the conversation also made Stano believe the women were gay, which was some kind of trigger for him. According to Stano, he killed both girls while driving. He never mentioned how he killed them, but this is believed to be his first, quote, murderous rage. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. As a reminder, she's not a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, but we have done a lot of research

for this show. Thanks, Greg. Gerald Stano's accounts of these murders caused experts to classify him as a rage killer, meaning a spontaneous fit of anger is what drove him to kill. This disorganized style of killing tends to be impulsive and unplanned, triggered by something the victim supposedly says or does. Of course, most rage killers blame their victim's actions, when in reality, they were always planning on killing someone, even if subconsciously.

In every single murder he confessed to, Stano could pinpoint a moment when the woman argued with, rejected, or criticized him. Sometimes he was upset because their dirty shoes tracked mud onto the floor of his freshly cleaned car, or they'd get mad at him for driving drunk. He'd argue with them, then tell them he'd kill them if they said another word.

According to Stano, he usually killed his victims while driving, either by stabbing them or by beating them to death. He also had a gun he'd used to shoot them on occasion. He also confessed to a few cases of drowning and strangulation. All in all, it was an unusually broad MO. One of Stano's more consistent claims was that the women he killed always reminded him of his ex-wife. It was almost like role play,

but in this version of the fantasy, he got to have the last word. He got to be the one to walk away instead of getting left. As we covered last time, Stano hated women, especially sex workers. So it's unsurprising that he claimed the majority of his victims were sex workers. But if you look at the women he admitted to killing, many of them never performed sex work. So either Stano was mistaken or he was making things up when he told Crow about his M.O. That list of details included attacking women whose cars had broken down.

Like one day in September of 1973, Stano said he was driving by the Holly Hill shopping place. Plaza in Daytona, when he saw 17-year-old Barbara Bauer in the parking lot. She was having engine troubles. Stano pulled up and asked if the team needed help. Barbara figured Stano looked nice enough, so she let him give her a jumpstart. Once her car started running again, Stano told the cheerleader that she'd have to drive around for a while to recharge the battery. If she just drove home and shut it off, it would die again.

Then he got behind the wheel and told her to get in. He'd drive her just in case something went wrong again. He didn't want her to be alone, he said. He even offered to pay for her gas. It's hard to say whether Barbara felt relieved to have found such a gracious hero that afternoon or whether her intuition told her that something about this wasn't right.

Either way, she got in the car, but they never made it back to the parking lot. Seven months later, her skull was found in the woods outside Gainesville, Florida. Almost a decade after that, Gerald Stano confessed to killing her. To hear him tell it, Stano picked up hitchhikers and women he saw on the sidewalk because he liked the sight of them walking down the road. Their strut, he called it.

Stano also admitted that alcohol was the catalyst for all of his killings. A shot of Jack Daniels would take the edge off. It relieved one part of his mind so the other half could take over. That's how he came to kill Kathy Lee Sharf, a 17-year-old living in the greater Daytona area. Stano said he spotted her one evening in December, 1973, as she was walking home. He apparently pulled up alongside her and offered her a ride home. She thanked him and slid into the front seat. Kathy told Stano where her house was, but he ignored her instructions.

Instead, he started driving in the wrong direction and got annoyed when she asked him to turn around. He kept telling her he knew where he was going, but she wouldn't let up. Eventually, she told him to just let her out of the car, he was going to waste her time. Years after the fact, Stano told Crow that the bickering took him back to his marriage, when he and his wife would get into arguments over the dumbest stuff. He hated when women nagged him.

The sound of their complaining aided him. That's when something wicked emerged. He called it Old Red. To this alternate persona, the idea that this annoying, mean, evil woman still drew breath was repugnant. At this point, they were on Merritt Island. over an hour south of Daytona.

And as Stano weaved back and forth over a series of highways and county roads, Kathy grew more impatient. Frustrated, she asked Stano to turn the music down, it was really loud. Besides, who even listened to Donna Summer anymore? That was the final straw. Nobody came for Donna Summer and got away with it.

Without warning, Stano punched the 17-year-old across the face. He landed the blow, square across her jaw. Kathy was shocked and cradled the red spot where Stano hit her, eyes filling with tears. That only made Stano more annoyed, and he told her to shut up as he turned down an abandoned dirt road.

He pulled over and told Kathy to get out of the car, but she refused. Enraged, Stano grabbed a knife he kept under his seat and started stabbing the teenager. After she was dead, he drove down an unpaved road through bramble and low-hanging trees, then abandoned Kathy's body in some bushes. On edge after the murder, Stano wanted to blow off some steam, so he stopped at a skating rake. He spent hours drinking and skating, enjoying the one place on earth where he felt carefree. There he wasn't some lousy screw-up, some

overweight nobody, as he called himself. He was a bird, taking flight on a perfectly waxed floor. Kathy's body was found about a month later in mid-January, 1974. At the time, her case went cold, but eight years later, in October 1982, officials finally closed the book with Stano's confession. Detective Crow must have been thrilled. Even based on that one story, it seemed like he'd put a dangerous killer behind bars. Except, as we mentioned last time, Detective Crow used all kinds of leading questions to get Stano to confess to his long list of crimes.

And with the benefit of just a little distance from the story, it's easy to see the problems with that tactic. It's also easy to bind to the theory that Stano might not have committed any of the murders he confessed to. We'll take a look at this idea throughout the rest of this episode, but we'll start by going back to look at Stano's reported crimes that are less debated, ones with victim testimony,

because they're helpful in showing a pattern of escalation. Specifically, Stano's various reported assaults in the weeks leading up to his arrest don't seem like the behavior of a man who'd been killing for upwards of six years. Yes, he attacked Donna Hensley and allegedly at least two other sex workers, but he didn't kill these women. Donna had to fight for her life, but the other women got away somewhat easily. It was like Stana was toying with the idea of killing them, but wasn't quite ready to go through with it. In an interview with journalist Jill Cederstrum, criminologist Scott Bonn and retired investigator Paul Holes, talk about the crimes killers commit long before they actually start killing.

Bonn explains, you don't just wake up one day and suddenly say, I am a serial killer. Like all of us, potential serial killers have insecurities and some understanding of social norms. They also know it's risky to break the law or encroach on other people's personal space. So they test their limits, seeing how far bound. boundaries can be pushed. Paul Holes calls these societal barriers. A potential killer might start off as a peeping Tom, for example, peering through a window from across the street.

As he grows more comfortable with invading personal space, he'll work up just spying from the bushes outside someone's bedroom. Then he might break into the house when nobody's home and steal a personal item. Which is why it's worth noting that before Donna Hensley, Stano reportedly drew his gun on at least one woman, but it's not clear if he even shot. If we take Bonnetta's word, then these encounters resemble the beginning stages of a killing career, like Stano was testing the waters. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't a killer at the time, just that in 1974, most of his other behavior was indicative of someone who had yet to cross that

threshold, even if he was working up to it. Someone who had plenty of experience with murder, though, was Detective Crow. That his motivations for closing cases might help us understand exactly what happened here. Then again, maybe not. In a moment, one cop's desire to convict meets a prosecutor's underhanded tactics. It's been said that art is in the eye of the beholder. But what about greed or chaos? Hi, it's Richard from the Spotify original from Parcast, Unexplained Mysteries. This September, join us as we comb through the clues of some of the greatest art mysteries of all time. The Lost Vinci, the fake Rothko, the real identity of Banksy. If you've never listened to Unexplained Mysteries before, there's no better time to dive in

than with this fantastic five-part special. You can also find hundreds of other mystifying stories and new episodes each week by following Unexplained Mysteries free on Spotify. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptide may be able to be able to be. help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off. Zep bound is approved as a 2.5, 5,

7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains terseptide and should not be used with other terseptide-containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicine. It is not known if Zepbound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it, or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop Zepbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction.

Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before you. scheduled procedures with anesthesia if you're nursing pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking Zepbound with a sulfonal urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-99 or visit Zepbounds.lily.com. Now back to the story. Starting in 1980, Gerald Stanow confessed to dozens of murders, but he didn't do so unprompted. There was always someone else in that interrogation room with him. Detective Paul Crow was the one who first suspected

that Stano was a killer, and it's important to consider the role he played in eliciting the confessions. To fully understand that, you need to understand a little of Crow's backstory, because it's not like he was a rookie detective out to solve his first big case. On the contrary, Crow had once been invited to attend an FBI profiling seminar at Quantico. There, he learned from experts in the field, including people like Robert K. Ressler, the man who coined the term serial killer, and spent 20 years tracking them for the FBI. And John Douglas, co-author of Mind Hunter, the most famous book on criminal profiling ever written. Exactly what he learned and how much contact Crow had with his instructors, we can't say.

But given their expertise, we can guess that they covered. subjects like patterns of violence in serial killers and the ways their behavior escalates. Perhaps the training inspired Crow to be a better detective. Maybe he rethought his approach to questioning suspects. And maybe he even kept his eyes peeled for potential serial murder cases so that he could try out his new skills. Sometime after the seminar, Crow learned about the case of Donna Hensley, which is how he first encountered Stano. It didn't take Crow long to work out that the 28-year-old liked attention and wasn't used to being fond over. So in their interviews, Crow spoke to him like a friend. Perhaps eager to please his new buddy, who seemed to sympathize

with his hatred of women, Stano started admitting to each murder that Crow put in front of him. According to research, people with lowered IQ and developmental disabilities, like Gerald Stano, are far more likely to confess to crimes they didn't commit. There are several reasons for this, but in Stano's case, it was about finding validation from Crow, which he got when he supplied the correct answers. This is a newer study, so Crow probably wasn't aware of that kind of information back in 1983. But that's no excuse. Crow almost certainly knew he was manipulating Stano. Though maybe he thought he was outsmarting a killer. Perhaps his opinion of himself was so high that he assumed he'd seen something that everyone else had missed. In a signed affidavit,

one of Crow's colleagues revealed that Crow bragged about being able to convince Stano to confess to all of these murders, and he was eager to brag about his skill to the world. Former agent of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Susan Nix, later testified that Crow planned to write a book about his experience with Stano. Crow even got Stano in on it, promising that the pair of them would share the profits. It's like Crow was incentivizing Stano to give him the best stories he could, but it seemed like they'd never run out. Crow focused on cold cases involving young women that had already come across his desk at one point or another. But when he ran through those, he started reaching out to law enforcement in other counties around Florida,

asking whether they had any unsolved homicides that fit the same time frame and travel pattern he'd established for Stano. When he didn't hear back from most police stations, he got in touch with the state attorney's office. That's when he spoke to Dean Moxley, one of the state's most ambitious attorneys. Now, here's when we have to dive in a little deeper, because the underlying truth about Stano's guilt is buried somewhere in here. In his podcast, Murder on the Space Coast, newspaper columnist John Torres explains that Dean Moxley was the driving force behind a three-year frenzy. In the early 1980s, Florida State Police closed a record number of cases.

Moxley did that by developing a metaphorical playbook that basically guaranteed convictions. The first step was to find an easy target, someone who lacked the resources or mental faculties to advocate for themselves. Perhaps they were facing a genuine robbery or battery charge, but they'd also have a murder pinned on them. The next step took place in the jail, while this scapegoat awaited trial. According to John Torres, police would pay inmates to snitch on one another. Then they'd testify in court that the defendant admitted to whatever trumped up charge they were being slapped with. This sounds so ridiculous it's hard to believe, but these testimonies were usually enough to sway any jury. Of course, what the jury didn't know was that in exchange for this uncorroborated testimony,

the snitch received reduced charges or a lighter sentence. In the end, the frenzy drew to a close when Moxley eventually got promoted to circuit judge. It seems that no one after him was morally bereft enough to use his insidious playbook. But before that, Paul Crowe came knocking. Needless to say, prosecutor Moxley was happy to help Crow dig up unsolved cases to take to Stano. The detective spent countless hours learning these cases until he had every detail of them memorized. But interrogating Stano, he never asked a question he didn't already know the answer to. One of Crow's colleagues, Daytona Beach officer James Gadbury, said that Crow's spoon-fed

Stano enough information about the murders for him to cobble together a confession. Stano offered almost no information of his own accord. That said, Crow did try to dig up some physical evidence to incriminate Stano. For the case of Kathy Lee Sharp, he enlisted the services of a dog handler. In 1982, they traveled to Merritt Island, where Kathy's body had been found eight years earlier. There in the brush, a cadaver dog indicated that it picked up on Stano's scent in the exact location Kathy's body was found. again, eight years after he'd supposedly been there. If that sounds incredible, that's because it is.

The dog handler in question was eventually outed as a fraud. The Arizona Supreme Court called him a charlatan. The questionable evidence from the cadaver dog was never actually used in court against Stano, but investigators did use it to build their case, and Crow still pressed forward with the murder charge. That careless slapdash approach to the investigation is particularly alarming because in Kathy's case, prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.

And if they'd stopped to think about it, there were key parts of Stano's confession that just didn't make sense. First, the fact that he drove Kathy to Merritt Island more than an hour south of his home. It wasn't an area he frequented, which doesn't mean he couldn't have taken her there. It's just curious that he would drive a protesting, yelling girl more than an hour just to kill her. Next, if you remember the details of the confession, there was a part of the story where Stano said he punched Kathy in the face. After that, he stopped the car and told her to get out. But Kathy refused to leave, which is why he killed her.

Again, there's no proof this isn't true, but it's hard to believe that a teenager who'd just been attacked by an older man wouldn't seize her chance to escape. Of course, that would have meant being alone on a dark road that ran through a swamp, so it's not outside the realm of possibility. but it's the kind of detail that gives you pause. Another issue was raised by former prosecutor Sam Bardwell, who later represented Stano. He pointed out that Stano was obsessive about his car.

Bardwell says that when he first met Stano, he assumed it must have been a really nice ride, the way he talked about it. That's why he took note of the area where Kathy's body was found. Supposedly, Stano drove his car down through a rough, wooded area that would have scratched the paint and wax right off his skin. car. Bardwell thought, there's no way Stanow drove his precious car down there, and he definitely didn't get dirt under his fingernails for the sake of hiding a body. You'll remember from our last

episode that from a young age, Stanna's appearance and belongings were very important to him. So from moment one, Bardwell wasn't buying Stanow's confession about Kathy. Finally, it's worth noting that when Stanow told this entire story to Paul Crow, he seemed emotionally cold, like he wasn't affected by Kathy's death. At the time, Crow took this lack of remorse as a symptom of Stano being a psychopath. And in fairness to the detective, that makes sense if Stano committed Kathy's murder. But if he was innocent, if he was just confessing to impress Crow, maybe he seemed detached because he genuinely was. But if that's the case, if you believe that Gerald Stano didn't kill anyone, then how did he end up on death row? In a moment, the case again. The case again.

against Gerald Stano. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book-to-screen favorites you've already read twice. Off-campus, L, every year after,

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there's nothing to indicate that Gerald Stano ever voluntarily brought up any of his murders. In other words, he only confessed to crimes if Crowe suggested he was behind them. That sounds fishy, right? That Crow had such an incredible success rate for picking Stano's murders. It's also odd that such a prolific killer

would have only committed the specific crimes that officials brought to him. Eventually, Crow told Stano that he didn't buy that. He said he must have killed before. With a body count as high as his, how could he not? Finally, during a psych evaluation in 1983, Stano conceded. He said that he hadn't killed anyone else,

but he had tried to. A few women he tried to kill got away. He just hadn't said anything until then because he was scared of getting the electric chair. That excuse is, weirdly specific and doesn't make much sense given how many murders Stano confessed to, but it offers some insight into a state of mind, particularly his fear of the electric chair. It seemed like he was happy to talk with Crow to give him any confession he asked for,

as long as Crow promised to keep him out of the electric chair. What Stano didn't realize was that it was already too late. He'd already received multiple life sentences for the first handful of murder charges, but prosecutors were taking the Kathy Lee-Sharf case to trial, and they were seeking the death penalty. Despite his many varied confessions, this was the first murder trial Stano had to face. Presumably, his confessions earned him deals on the other cases, closure for investigators and families of the victims in exchange for a life sentence. But for some reason, that wasn't an option in this particular case, so Stano stood trial in September of 1983. But unsurprisingly, the prosecution's case was so flimsy that it ended in a mistrial.

However, that didn't force the authorities to rethink their decision to go after Stano. It just got them reconsidering their approach. It became clear to Crow that if he wanted that conviction, he'd need more than Stano's confession alone, which is what prompted him to revisit Step 2 in the old conviction playbook he'd learn from Dean Moxley, jailhouse snitches. At the time there was a favorite snitch that officers often called on to testify against other inmates. Clarence Zaki was a convicted child rapist, murderer, drug dealer, and car thief, who was supposed to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Zaki was willing to do anything to get out. And astonishingly, a number of cops in state prosecutors were happy to work with him. It was such a clear pattern that a defense attorney once joked that Clarence Zaki heard more confessions than a Catholic priest. So shortly after Stano's mistrial, Zaki was taken to Stano's cell block. The guards gave Zaki a mop and asked him to clean the floors. And wouldn't you know it? He started up a conversation with Stano, who apparently told him in vivid detail all about killing Kathy Lee Scharf.

Once Stano had set his peace, Zaki scurried back to Detective Crow and the prosecutor on Kathy's case. In addition to corroborating the details, Stano already confessed to Crow. He added that Stano tortured the teenager for about an hour before killing her. Stano enjoyed it, Saki said. The prosecution likely thought they had a slam dunk at this stage, but two things stuck out to lawyer Sam Bardwell, who later represented Stano in clemency hearings. Bardwell knew Stano well. In particular, he knew that when Stano talked about any of the

women he claimed to murder, he talked about his alter ego, Old Red. He blamed Old Red for everything, so that he never had to make himself accountable. But in the hour, Stano supposedly spoke to Clarence Saki. Old Red never came up. Furthermore, the story of Stano as a serial killer hinged on the belief that he was what experts classify as a rage killer. Typically, rage killers don't spend an hour torturing their victims first. Especially when it came to Stano. To hear him tell it, when his old red persona emerged, it was because he was sickened by the idea that the woman next to him was even alive. He didn't want to draw out their death.

He just wanted them gone. But Zaki said otherwise. Even still, in 1983, when Clarence Zaki took the stand to parrot the story of Stano's confession, it was the piece of the puzzle that was missing from the first trial. The jurors declared Stano guilty of murder, and he was given the death penalty. Ultimately, Gerald Stano was convicted on 33 murder charges. He received eight life sentences and three death, all without any actual evidence linking him to the crimes. One of Stano's attorneys, Mark Olive, told reporters that the only thing Gerald Stano was guilty of was telling Detective Crow what he wanted to hear.

And yet, we're told that Stano shot, stabbed, strangled, or drowned, countless women in Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. But it all hinged on stories Stano told. in the interrogation room. There were no bloodstains found in his car, no stolen property, no murder weapons, or any other kind of forensic evidence. No witnesses ever came forward to say they'd seen a thing. Everything wrote on Stano's confessions. If you stop and look at all the pieces of this story, it's hard to argue that Stano committed every murder he confessed to. In fact, you could make a compelling case that he never killed anyone. And if either of those statements is correct, then how did all of this happen? Part of it was probably that Stano enjoyed the attention

that came with being a serial killer. He got to hang out with Paul Crow and go on field trips to different locations where a supposed victim's bodies were found. Every time Stano confessed to a murder, Detective Crow would tell him what a wonderful job he was doing, that he was already repaying a debt to society. He spoke to Stano with respect. He went so far as thanking him for ridding society, of such dubious women. For someone who longed for approval their entire life, each word of praise worked like a dog treat, compelling Stano to keep going.

In a 1983 report, a psychologist working with Stano said his ego was easily bruised, which made him extremely sensitive to rejection. It's possible that he never wanted to tell his friend no because to do so was to risk the end of their transactional friendship. So he did what any good improv performer would, He said, yes, and.

And whether intentionally or inadvertently, Crow encouraged this behavior. He admitted that he once joked with Stano. You know, killing these girls is one thing. But if you don't quit taking these goddamn purses and causing me all this trouble trying to find out who they are, I'm going to bust you bad next time. Cracking these obscene jokes was an effective way of eliciting more confessions out of this supposed killer.

They made Stano believe that he and Crow were genuine, friends. But they weren't. Crow was working against Stano the whole time. And given that he was a detective, that seems fairly obvious. If you read the interview transcripts, it's clear that Stano never came up with information on his own. Because of this, some prosecutors, like former state attorney James T. Russell, refused to close many of the cases Stano confessed to. He fears that because of Paul Crow and Gerald Stano, several killers are walking free. Of course, Detective Crow wasn't the only one to lack that kind of critical thinking. In all the excitement, Stanno probably never considered what would happen when they ran out of victims for him to cop to, when the final cold case was closed.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks one day in 1980 on one of his field trips to a murder site. Stano stood on the plot of land where he supposedly buried one of his six original victims. At that moment, it hit him. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a federal prison. He'd need permission to step outside and smell the spring air. He'd never roller skate to Donna Summer again. He began to weep. This is a strange case.

On the one hand, you might be inclined to feel sorry for Gerald Stano. If you believe that he didn't commit any murders, that is. But at the same time, he was an increasingly violent man who'd attacked several women. and even tried to kill one of them. So it's tempting to think that the story went just as it should have. A monster was taken out of play before he could kill anyone. Even so, it's hard to argue that the ending of this story is just. In 1995, a grand jury removed Paul Crow from his post as Daytona's police chief,

citing corruption in a case unrelated to Stano. For his part, Gerald Eugene Stano was executed on March 23rd, 9th of the time. His last words were released to the public in a statement prepared by his lawyer. Stano said that Paul Crow forced him to confess to all of the murders, indicating that he never killed anyone. In that same statement, Stano said, I am innocent. Now I am dead. And you do not have the truth. As far as last words go, those pack a punch. Because when you consider all that we know about Gerald Stano's story, it's hard to deny. We don't have the truth. And we never will. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. We'll be back next time with a new story.

For more information on Gerald Stano, amongst the many sources we used, we found the episode Electric Chair from season two of the podcast Murder on the Space Coast, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify, Original is from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler,

sound design by Jaron Cohen, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro, Nick Johnson, Trent Williamson, and Carly Madden. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Aaron Lan, edited by Sarah Batchelor and Joel Callan. Fact-checked by Amelia Mulm. Alar's researched by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood and produced by Bruce Kitovich. Serial killers stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson.

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