Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Bogey Man” David Elliot Penton

Episode Date: June 24, 2021

There are few criminals so reviled as a child killer. David Elliot Penton was one of them. His crimes were so horrendous, he earned the nickname "The Bogey Man." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of child abduction, sexual assault, rape, and murder. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On a mild November night in 1984, David Penton paced around his living room with a baby in his arms. His son, Michael, was just shy of two months old, and he seemed to cry constantly. David understood that sometimes parents simply have to be. had to let their children cry it out. What he didn't get was how people tolerated it, how they managed to let their babies shriek

for hours and still stay sane. Because David couldn't handle it anymore. He was supposed to love his son unconditionally, but Michael was making it very hard for him. Every time he looked down at his beet red skin and his gaping gummy mouth, all David felt was pure hatred. With each piercing scream, David rocked. Michael harder and faster, swinging him up and down and side to side. Eventually, he began shaking his baby, desperate to get him to just shut up. Sure enough, Michael finally stopped crying, and the

room fell silent. But David didn't feel the wave of relief that he'd hoped for. Instead, he was terrified. He stood for a moment with heavy breaths, refusing to look down to see what he'd just done. 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 taking a look at the life and crimes of the predator, David Elliott Penton. 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, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the first part of this episode, we'll explore how David's difficult childhood, angry adolescence, and turbulent adulthood all contributed to his evolution into a child killer. Later, we'll detail David's gruesome crimes and examine his chilling modus operandi. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. 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. Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash killers. because not only does ZipRecruiter have the technology to match you with potential candidates quickly, it also just added a new feature that pushes candidates who are qualified and interested in your role to the top of the list.

They can even tell you why they're interested, making it easier for you to get a sense of who they are. Cut through the standard and get to the standouts with ZipRecruiter. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. and now you can try it for free at ziprecruiter.com slash killers. That's ziprecruiter.com slash killers. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the Lonely Hearts Killers,

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels. But you don't need to break any laws to find your perfect business partner because you have Shopify. It's the commerce platform that can help you with literally everything, website design, marketing, shipping, and more. So start your business today with the best partner, Shopify, and get that.

Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash killers. That's Shopify.com slash killers. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th. powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino,

celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. We've all heard the tale of the boogeyman. He's the creature who hides beneath our beds and deep inside our closets, waiting until the dead of night to come out and scare us. In some versions, he exists to punish little ones for misbehaving. In others, he represents the literal devil and can take the form of almost any

monster imaginable. In real life, the boogeyman looks just like any other man. He has a warm smile and a kind voice, and he often charms his new friends with irresistibly decadent treats. Perhaps that's exactly what makes him so terrifying. His wickedness lurks on the inside, hidden from view. Because Because of this, only his victims know his true nature. Of course, by the time they realize their mistake, it's already too late. David Elliot Penton was one of these boogeymen. The children he kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered, knew him as a monster. But to everyone else, he was just your average Joe.

Sure, he was a little odd, and sometimes his temper got the best of him. But he'd had an incredibly difficult childhood in Columbus, Ohio, one that was a little odd. that set him up for a terribly hard life ahead. As far as we know, David was born a perfectly healthy boy in February of 1958. But six months later, everything changed. That August, young David was in a terrible car crash. The accident left him in a coma, suffering from a traumatic brain injury. When he finally woke up, it was clear to both his parents and doctors that his road

to recovery was going to be long. His mother, Ruth, was more than willing to devote as much time and energy as needed to keep her son's mental and physical development on track. Unfortunately, no matter how attentive she was, David was still at a high risk for future challenges. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. As we've previously covered on this show, numerous studies have shown. that children who experience traumatic brain injuries are more likely to suffer from mental

health problems later in life. This is because traumatic head injuries often damage more than the part of the brain that gets hit. According to psychiatrists from A-man clinics, when a blow to the head is so violent, the brain rattles back and forth within the walls of the skull, impacting multiple areas. The pituitary gland lies in a particularly vulnerable spot, and it is often affected in cases of significant head injuries. As the body's hormone regulator, when this gland gets damaged, it can cause drastic hormonal imbalances, which are linked to the symptoms of many mental illnesses and behavioral problems. In a 2013 study in developmental medicine and child neurology, doctors Linda Lee and Zhang

Hong Liu found that up to 50% of brain-injured children are at risk for presenting with behavioral problems and disorders, which may emerge shortly or several years after injury, and, importantly, often persist and even worsen with time. As far as we know, David was never diagnosed with a disorder. However, by the time he reached adolescence, when his hormones began to surge, he did go through a drastic behavioral change. Almost overnight, David turned from a sweet and somewhat slow child into an angry and sullen teenager. He also reportedly became physically abusive. He often took playful fights or pranks with his little sister, Patricia, too far. One time, David grabbed her by the legs and held her upside down

over their second-story banister. When she screamed for him to stop, he just laughed, seemingly delighted by her terror. But David's behavior was nothing to laugh at. Not only was he becoming angrier by the day, he was also having difficulty keeping up in school. At some point, he fell behind his cohort and was held back. It happened again in 1977. David failed his senior year and was told he'd have to repeat it. The humiliation was all too much. Rather than stay behind and redo his last year old David dropped out of school altogether and decided to join the army. He was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, where he met a young woman, will call him. call Caroline. The couple fell quickly in love and got married shortly after they started dating.

Caroline and David had a passionate relationship, but it wasn't always positively charged. David had a temper, and according to family members, was known to physically abuse his wife. Despite their obvious problems, they tried to make their marriage work, and in 1978, Caroline gave birth to a baby girl. Sadly, it appears this happy arrival marked another drastic change in David. Soon after her birth, David allegedly began molesting his daughter. At some point, he also allegedly abused Caroline's daughter from a previous marriage, both physically and sexually. According to David's sister, when Caroline made the ghastly discovery, she was beyond upset. In 1979, she filed for divorce and took both girls away from him forever.

If this bothered David, he certainly didn't show it. By February of the following, year, he was married a second time to a woman will call Sukhja. While the details of their romance are a mystery, we do know that the newlyweds only had three months to enjoy their honeymoon phase, because in May of 1980, David was shipped off to Korea. Interestingly, it was here when David was half a world away, where he seemed to thrive. Though he was trained as a track vehicle mechanic, he was also an expert marksman. Because he was skilled in so many areas of combat, David was promoted to Sargent. And for a brief moment, it looked like David had gotten his life together. His marriage was holding strong, despite the long

distance, and he was going above and beyond at work. Unfortunately, a look beneath the surface revealed trouble on all fronts. According to one of his platoon mates, David was secretly visiting a place known colloquially as the Turkey Farm, a place where David employed the services of sex workers. Many of these women looked extremely young, and some people alleged that they were, in fact, underage. Of course, visits to the turkey farm were strictly forbidden by the army. But David didn't seem to care about breaking the rules. He even went against orders and brought alcohol onto the base, hiding it in his locker. When his superiors learned of his misconduct, David was demoted from sergeant to specialist.

Fortunately for David, he didn't have to deal with the humiliation for long. In September of 1983, his tour in Korea came to an end, and the 25-year-old returned to Texas to be with his wife. A year later, Sukhja gave birth to a boy they named Michael James Panton. Two months later, David's life changed forever. On a cold November night, Sukja went out and left David to care for the baby. As soon as she walked out the door, Little Michael started crying. David tried everything he could think of to get the infant to quiet down, but nothing seemed to work. As time passed, David's frustration turned into rage, and he became desperate.

To shut him up, David shook his son so violently that it killed him. What happens next is unclear. We don't know who discovered Michael's body, nor are we sure if David was immediately arrested for his actions. If he was, he must have been released on bail, because David didn't remain in. Port Hood for long. As soon as he could, David skipped town and began his life on the run. Now a wanted man, there was nothing left to keep him accountable. He cast prudence to the winds and allowed his most gruesome thoughts to bubble to the surface, ones that involved praying on young children. By the start of the new year in 1985, David was cruising the sleepy suburban

Prince Streets of Dallas, Texas. These were safe places where children played outside, completely unsupervised. In other words, the quiet streets were the perfect hunting crown for a child predator. On January 19th, 26-year-old David drove past the manicured lawns and neatly trimmed bushes of Mesquite. At some point, he saw a group of kids playing a game of hide-and-seek and slowed his car to a stop. He watched as five-year-old Christy Meeks tottled across the yard of her apartment complex in her rainbow t-shirt and cabbage-patch doll shoes. She was searching high and low for her seven-year-old brother Michael and her nine-year-old neighbor, Tiffany. Eventually, she found them both and the trio prepared to play another round. But before they could get started, David strolled

up with a warm smile. He told them he had some cookies back in his car and he invited them to have their fill. While the Meeks children were excited about the prospect of treats, Tiffany wasn't sold. As the eldest of three children, she suspected that David was bad news. She'd been told never to take candy from a stranger, and cookies fell into that same purview. She tried to get Christy and Michael away from David, insisting that she too had cookies waiting for them back at home, but Christy wouldn't hear of it. She took David's hand and followed him to his cause. To prevent Michael from doing the same, Tiffany grabbed his hand and led him back home. There, Tiffany told Christy and Michael's mother, Linda, what had just transpired.

Alarmed, Linda followed the kids out to the yard, but Christy was nowhere to be seen. David and his car were gone. With tears running down her cheeks, Linda ran inside and called the police. Then she said the words no parent ever wants to utter. She told them that her daughter had been kidnapped. Coming up, David takes Christy's abduction in a gruesome direction. Every so often, something so impactful happens, it has the power to capture the attention of a whole country.

An event so deadly or dumbfounding, it has no choice but to live on in infamy. Hi, Parcasters, it's Ashley Flowers, and I'm exposing the most sinister cases from the darkest corners of the globe in my new True Crime Limited series, International Infamy. Every Tuesday, come along as I guide you on a wicked world tour, 15 different countries, 15 infamous crimes. Take a trip to Iceland where six people confessed to a murder that never actually happened. Journey to Mexico, where Alucha Libre wrestler moonlights as a serial killer, and travel to New Zealand where two friends hatch a deadly plan to become famous.

Each episode of International Infamy explores the twists and turns of a notoriously high-profile case zeroing in on the cultural details which make the crime unique to its location and explaining why it couldn't have happened anywhere else. Follow my new Spotify original from Parkast

International Infamy with Ashley Flowers and catch a new episode every week. Listen free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right. so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon.

Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Now back to the story. On January 19, 1985, 26-year-old David Elliott-Pennie. Trenton cruised through the suburban streets of Mesquite, Texas, and abducted five-year-old

Christy Meeks. He drove her about 150 miles north to the shores of Lake Texoma. At some point, he sexually assaulted Christy and strangled her to death. Then he dumped her body into the lake. Meanwhile, back in Mesquite, investigators scoured the area for the missing girl, but they had virtually no leads. They were working solely off of the information given to them by the two children who witnessed the abduction. The youngsters could give only vague descriptions of the man

who took Christy as well as his car. Still, investigators did the best with what they had. Over the next couple of months, authorities offered rewards, took calls from psychics, and plastered posters all over the once sleepy suburb. But by the end of March, they started losing hope of ever finding Christy. Then, on April 3rd, all that changed. While outfitting, In fishing in a remote cove of Lake Texoma, two fishermen spotted what they thought was a dead animal floating nearby. They approached the object with the intent to toss it on the shore and get it out of the way. However, when they got close, they realized that it wasn't an animal at all. It was a child.

The men called the police and law enforcement came down to examine the body. Unfortunately, it was so badly decomposed, it was difficult to even determine the body's sex. When medical examiners got a better look, they ruled that they were indeed staring at the corpse of a little girl, one that matched the description of Christy Meeks. Unfortunately, DNA testing wasn't yet available in 1985, so the authorities put in a request for Christy's dental records. They also took photos of the scraps of clothing and shoes still left on the body and sent them to Christy's parents to see if they recognized them. Sadly, they did. Christy's rainbow t-shirt and cabbage patch doll shoes were quite distinct. Her parents were certain that was her body, and the dental records soon confirmed it.

As Christy's family began the devastating process of mourning, detectives looked back on their investigation, trying to figure out what they'd missed. Meanwhile, David Penton was right under their nose, once more prowling the suburban streets of Dallas. He was thrilled to have gotten away with this murder and was eager to kill again. However, he wasn't about to let his enthusiasm get in the way of his craft. Rather than jumping right into his next attack, David began a year-long process of careful research and planning. He drove through multiple towns and discovered that unsupervised kids were most prominent in lower-income working-class neighborhoods. This is likely because their parents worked all hours of the day and often couldn't afford child care.

As a result, these youngsters were left to their own devices. So, when deciding where to grab his next victim, David selected the low-income area of North Dallas. On the morning of February 12, 1986, 28-year-old David was parked on Waterfall Lane when he noticed 10-year-old Tiffany Ibera alone on her way to school. While she usually made the trek with some neighborhood kids, this morning she was running late and they left without her. David knew this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He hopped out of his van. Then he approached Tiffany, ready to tempt her with some made-up sweets.

Even though David had a smile on his face, Tiffany sensed that the man was dangerous. As he got closer, she started to run. But David was faster. He easily grabbed her by her backpack, covered her mouth, and carried her into his van. After shoving her in the back and climbing in behind her, David prepared to move into the driver's seat and take off. He'd already scouted a secluded area nearby, where he planned to sexually assault and murder the girl. But for some reason, David stayed put. He stared at Tiffany for several minutes, watching as she shook with terror.

Then he did something incredible. He pulled out a bag phone, or an early version of a cell phone, and handed it to her. He instructed Tiffany to call her mother and tell her she'd been kidnapped. Terrified, Tiffany did as she was told. But as soon as her mother started asking questions, David snatched the phone back and hung it up. Then he told Tiffany, You better not walk to school alone again. I've been watching you, and the next time I won't let you go.

Soon after that, he opened the door and let Tiffany go. He followed her as she ran home, weeping, and sped away as soon as she went. walked into her apartment complex. While Tiffany's mother, Teresa, was thankful that her daughter was safe and sound, she was understandably confused. She'd never heard of a kidnapper letting someone go so fast. Because of that, she suspected that Tiffany might be making it all up just to get out of school. Still, she alerted police and told them what happened. Both the authorities and the Abaras drove around the neighborhood searching for the van Tiffany had described. But they all came

up short. With no other leads, it seems the police also wondered if Tiffany was telling the truth. Then again, if she was, it appeared the perpetrator himself had stopped the crime. As such, it's possible the investigators hoped the predator had learned the error of his ways and would never do it again. Unfortunately, that's not what typically happens. Sometimes serial killers simply let their victims go. While this act may seem to suggest that they've turned over a new leaf, they usually end up killing again. Psychologists Annette and Frank Lachman explored this very phenomenon in their paper, the personification of evil, motivations, and fantasies of the serial killer. In it, they assert that fantasy plays a central role in every aspect of a serial killer's

murder, including the ones that don't pan out. Before taking a life, many serial killers pictures scenarios in which they're in complete and total control over another human, which gives them a feeling of intense satisfaction. After mulling over these daydreams for days or even years, they eventually find that they're no longer fulfilled by their own imaginations and have to bring these scenes to life. However, if something goes wrong in the manifestation of their fantasy, it's extremely difficult for them to continue. Things like the physical interruption by a third point.

person, or a revealing personal anecdote from a victim, can let the proverbial wind out of the killer's sails. Even something as simple as a victim not behaving in the way the killer anticipated can ruin the fantasy. Annette and Frank Lockman presume this is because it indicates that the victim is a real person and not some sort of inanimate object that the killer can predict and dominate. In these cases, the killer will usually decide to preserve his fantasy and let the victim him go, then start over with a new target. Of course, we'll never truly know why David decided to set Tiffany free. But in all likelihood, she said or did something that destroyed his fantasy, and he couldn't

bring himself to keep on going. However, that didn't mean his urges were curbed forever. Just three days after letting Tiffany go, he returned to Waterfall Lane in search of another victim. It wasn't long before he spotted a young girl walking down the street completely unsupervised. And this time, David planned to go through with his murder no matter what. Coming up, David brings his dark fantasy to life. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business,

From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. Now back to the story. On the evening of February 15, 1986, 28-year-old David Elliott Penton drove his van down a small residential street in North Dallas. Around six, he spotted nine-year-old Christy Proctor, walking home from a friend's house. Her friend accompanied her for a couple of blocks. Then the girl said goodbye, and Christy

continued down the last block by herself. That's when David struck. He jumped out of his van and snatched Christy off the sidewalk. In the fray, she dropped the Valentine's Day box in her hands, and it tumbled onto the street. Then David threw Christy into the van and sped off, driving over the box as he did so. Meanwhile, Christy's mother, Laura, was worried that her daughter was so late. After confirming with Christy's friend that she had left on time, Laura stormed outside to search for her daughter. She hoped to find Christy somewhere along the route,

simply distracted by a flower or a bug. But when Laura saw the crushed Valentine's Day box in the middle of the street, she knew that something was terribly wrong. She raced home to call the police, and they immediately began their search for Christy. Unfortunately, they were already too late. It's estimated that after grabbing Christy, David drove about eight miles northeast

to a remote field in Plano, Texas. There, he sexually assaulted her and strangled her to death. Then he stashed her body underneath an old burned mattress and left the scene. What happened next is anyone's guess. Following Christy's murder, David fell off the grid for over a year, year, and his whereabouts are unclear until the fall of 1987.

On November 3rd, the 29-year-old traveled to the Dallas suburb of Garland, where he spent the day lurking around an elementary school. Eventually, he drove to a residential area and came upon three-year-old Roxanne Reyes and her five-year-old friend who will call Anna. The girls were picking wildflowers in the alley behind Roxanne's apartment. With no one else around, David parked his car and hopped out. He approached Roxanne and Anna with a friendly smile. Then he told them that he had some candy for them in his car. Anna was old enough to know about this trick.

She told Roxanne that the man was lying and instructed her to run. Upset, David lunged for Anna, but she was quick and darted onto the street. However, when she looked back, David was close on her heels. Fortunately, Anna saw a narrow opening between two apartment buildings that David couldn't fit through and quickly slid herself inside. David growled with frustration, then headed toward the opposite side of the apartments, hoping to catch Anna as she came out. But instead of Anna, David ran smack into an older resident named Wanda, the two locked eyes. And David knew that should he take the girl, Wanda would be able to provide police with a detailed description of him.

So he gave up. Angry and dejected, David walked back to his car. But to his surprise, when he arrived back at a sedan, Roxanne was already standing there, patiently waiting for the candy that he promised. It was all too perfect. With adrenaline surging through him, David punched Roxanne and threw her in the car. Seconds later, he was in the driver's seat, speeding away from the alley. It's thought that David drove Roxanne about eight miles north to the town of Murphy, where he raped and strangled her.

Then he disposed of her body in a remote area. It was eerily similar to the murders of Christy Meeks and Christy Proctor. At this point, it's safe to say that David had established a modus operandi. He targeted young girls between the ages of three and ten and lured them into his car with the promise of treats. Then he drove to an isolated area where he sexually assaulted the girls, strangled them to death, and left their bodies to be claimed by nature. In this way, David's behavior is statistically consistent with other child serial killers.

At least two studies on sexually motivated child abduction murders have confirmed that strangulation is the most common method of murder. They also assert that most involve the use of multiple locations, usually with the intent of confusing or delaying police investigations. When the victim is not a family member or close friend of their attacker, data suggests that these abductions are performed opportunistically, that is to say, they aren't planned. However, in contrast, the disposal of the bodies is usually well thought out. Most of these killers attempt to destroy all evidence after the murder,

hoping to ensure that the corpse is never found. For some reason, David operated this way only once when he discarded Christy Meeks in Lake Texoma. But after that, if he made any effort to conceal his victim's bodies at all, It was rushed and haphazard. He used a mattress to hide Christy Proctor, and he didn't even bother to do anything with Roxanne Reyes. Perhaps he took comfort in the hundreds of miles of distance he'd often put between the abduction and dump sites.

Or perhaps he was beginning to feel invincible. By 1988, only one of his victims had been found, and no one had linked it to him yet. With knowing the wiser, he likely felt above the law, which might explain why he made such a careless mistake. That March, David returned to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. While we can't be sure why he made the trip, it was likely to visit his mother, Ruth. Though she knew David had beaten his sister, his first wife, Anne was on the run for killing

his infant's son, Ruth loved David very much and kept in contact with him. He also still had some friends in the area, and on the morning of March 31st, he visited the home of Michael and Thelma Bacchus. Michael and David had worked together at some point in the past and wanted to catch up. At the time of David's visit, Michael and Thelma were hosting their nine-year-old niece, Nydra Ross. She was to spend her spring break playing with her cousins. David had other plans. Around 1 p.m., he left the back as home, waving a friendly goodbye to Michael and Thelma. Then he walked outside and found

Nydra playing by herself on the front lawn. We don't know exactly what he said to Nyder to get her into his car, but whatever it was, it worked. She eagerly hopped inside, and David sped off. He went 50 miles north to the city of Marion, Ohio, where he exited the highway and headed onto the deserted country roads. He spotted a heavily shaded creek just off the intersection of two of those roads and pulled over. There he raped Nydra, strangled her to death, and tossed her body into the water. Afterwards, he drove away from the scene, but unlike before, the adrenaline that had been fueling him began to dissipate.

Even though Nidra was only a relative, briefly visiting the Bacchus family, David had a clear connection to her. What's more, if anyone saw him with the girl, residents could easily identify him. Since David had grown up in Columbus, many people knew who he was. They also knew that he had a less than stellar reputation, as he began to realize that all signs point out. to him, he tightened his grip on the wheel. For the first time in several years, David was worried. He was right to be. Just days after David killed Nidra, one of his other victims was finally discovered. On April 3rd, the remains of 9-year-old Christy Proctor were found in a field in Plano, Texas. Because she'd been dumped there over two years earlier, and because there were plenty of animals in the area,

all that was left of her were a bunch of scattered bones. Fortunately, her skull was mostly intact, and authorities were able to compare it to an x-ray she'd gotten years earlier. Ten days after that, David was questioned by Columbus Police in relation to Nidra's disappearance. Velma and Michael had told authorities that David was at their home the morning she went missing,

and based on the timing of his exit, he may have been the last person to see her live. David played it cool, claiming he had no idea where the nine-year-old was. While they certainly could have taken David at his word, investigators did their due diligence and ran his license through the system. They quickly discovered that he was a wanted man in Texas. They could see that David had killed his infant son in 1984, then skipped town on bail.

It seems that he'd been convicted of the involuntary manslaughter in absentia, and Texas wanted him to return to face his punishment. Based on David's criminal history, investigators were sure that he was also responsible for Nidra's disappearance. As such, Columbus PD took him into custody for the crime and continued to question him. David stuck to his story and maintained his innocence, even suggesting that someone else might have taken the little girl. Of course, no one believed him. And because of his fugitive status, they were able to keep him in lockup while they raced to build a case. At some point, they searched David's vehicle and discovered a giant blood stain.

But as DNA testing wasn't yet widely available, there wasn't much they could do to prove it was Nidra's. Even still, investigators were confident that they had their man and continued to look into his past. They didn't have to dig that deep. On May 19th, the body of Roxanne Reyes was found in Murphy, Texas. It was at this point that the authorities in Ohio and Texas began to come. communicate. Already convicted in the death of one infant, and as the only suspect in the disappearance of another, detectives felt sure there was more to the story. To them, it seemed very possible that David was also responsible for a string of other disappearances.

Not only did his MO match the other unsolved cases, his appearance did too. He looked a lot like the descriptions given by the witnesses who had seen him take Christy Meeks and Roxanne Reyes. With that in mind, Dallas authorities began a frenzied investigation, attempting to find anything that might place David in Texas during the time of the abductions. Little did they know, David was working to tighten his own noose. While Dallas police were revisiting cases that had long gone cold, David was in a Columbus jail cell, bragging about how he'd killed Nidra Ross. His fellow inmates came forward, all with remarkably similar stories about how to be. David kidnapped, raped, and strangled her.

It appears their testimony helped prosecutors build a solid case. Two years later, in May of 1990, David was officially indicted for Nidra's murder. The following April, the 33-year-old was found guilty and was sentenced to life behind bars. That didn't satisfy authorities, though. In 2003, Texas police concluded the years-long investigation into the abduction and murders of six-year-old Christy Meeks, nine-year-old Christy Proctor, and three-year-old Roxanne Reyes. That May, 45-year-old David was officially charged. Two years later, in January of 2005, David pled guilty to all three murders, and was given

three more life sentences. It was a satisfying conclusion that ensured David could never hurt a little girl again. This particular boogeyman was finished. But the memory of him, of his crimes, lingers just as terrifying as ever. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with another episode. For more information on David Elliott Penton, amongst the many sources we used, we found Boogie Man.

He was Every Parents' Nightmare by Steve Jackson, extremely helpful to our research. You can find more episodes of serial killers and all of the Spotify originals from Parkast 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 designed by Scott Strannick.

This episode of Serial Killers was written by Ellie Reed, with writing assistance by Jane O. and Joel Callan. Fact-checking by Haley Milliken, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial Killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. Hi listeners, it's Ashley Flowers, and here's a quick reminder to check out

my new True Crime Limited series, International Infamy. Every Tuesday, I'm taking you across the globe to look at 15 of the most notorious crimes from 15 different countries. Some stories are sure to shock, some may leave you stumped, but all are quite the trip.

Follow my new series, International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat.

Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Do you want to hear something spooky? Some monster, it reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like lifted its head out of the water.

Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes. Somehow I lost eight whole hours. Listen now on Spotify or wherever. You get your podcast.