True Crime All The Time - Arohn Kee

Episode Date: April 22, 2024

Arohn Kee is known as the “East Harlem Rapist.” Over eight years, he murdered three teen girls and raped four more teens in New York City. One detective called him “every young lady’s worst nightmare.” Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the life and crimes of Arohn Kee. This man was so despicable that we were often disgusted while talking about him. His crimes were horrible, but his callous nature towards his victims also stands out. He once told a victim that she should be happy about what was happening because he was such a good-looking guy.You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime Visit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 380 of the True Crime All the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And with me as always is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. How are you? Hey, I'm doing good. How about you? Doing very well. Good. Having a good week. I think I mentioned it last week. I had a root canal. You did. This week I went in and had the permanent filling put in. So I am all back to normal. Man, you are like perfect now. I would not say that. But there are some. parts of the body. Yeah.

When you're ailing, it's pretty rough. Like when you got a bad tooth, makes it hard to eat, you know, you got a bad back. You don't realize how much you use your back for. Pretty much everything. And you basically use it and everything you do. So when your back goes down, it's hard to do anything. Why, it's in your core. Core.

That's good. Yeah. No, I'm feeling really good this week. You're like the bionic man. Or the bionic man. Yeah. You're like, Steve. Did you say bionic?

What's his name? Steve Austin. Yes, it is. Right. We can make them stronger, faster, something else. I can't remember how I remember. I had a little bionic man doll. And then there was like a Sasquatch.

Oh, yeah. That was his nemesis or something. Yeah, I remember that episode. And I had that doll too. I don't know what. Not doll, action figure. Was he the $10 million man back then? No.

I thought he was like the $10 million. $6. The $6 million man? Yeah, that wouldn't even get them anything. No, you wouldn't get nothing for that today. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Jason Tint jump out at our highest level. Hey, thanks, Jason.

Kara. What's going on, Kara? Kristen Chukwuma. Ah, Tukawuma. Ann Miller. Hey, Ann. Michelle Buckley. Hey, what's going on?

Buckley. Marcy Nelson jumped out to our highest level. Thanks, Marcy. Joe Murphy. There's Joe. Michael Voigt. Well, thank you so much, Michael. Cool. Mandy Joe jumped out at our highest level. Oh, you're awesome, Andy Joe.

Finn Katz jumped out of our highest level. Oh, good day to you, Finn. Tina page. Hey, Tina. Adrian Judge. Thank you, AJ. Ruthus Carver. Hey, what's going on, Ruthus? And last but not least, Captain Morgan Phillips. Everybody's got to have some captain with them. Yeah, Morgan. The captain I added. And then if we go back into the vault, this week, we selected Brian Schrum. You're awesome, Brian. Thank you so much. Yeah, we appreciate. the new support, the continued support, all of it. So Gibbs, we have an episode out right now on true crime all the time unsolved where we're talking about the disappearance of Mary Batarako.

This goes back to 1984. She went missing in August. And the police kind of thought initially that she was fleeing her marriage, trying to get away from her husband. But then as the years went on, they started to become suspicious of him. And so we'll get into all the details on that. If you haven't checked it out, make sure you do. Please do.

All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time? I'm ready. We're talking about Aaron Key, who has been called the East Harlem Rapids. Over a period of eight years, Aaron Key murdered three teen girls and raped four more teens in New York City. One detective called him every young late. 80's worst nightmare. And this is a very scary thought.

You know, we've profiled people before. You think about the Bundys. You think about somebody like the East Area rapists. Yeah. Joseph DiAngelo, these types of individuals, they strike fear in maybe a community, maybe a much larger area, but it's very scary. It is. When you really think about it, it really can.

strangle a community, right? I mean, they can't move because they're so worried about what's going on out there. I remember, was it Danny Rollins? Was he in Florida? Yeah. Around the campus there? Yes. Yeah. And that was devastating to that campus during that time. And I was watching the news the other night, which I don't do a lot, but I saw this story, local story. And I think it was up north by you somewhere in a small community where somebody tried to break into the home. of a teenage girl and her mother. And they actually have the surveillance from like the ring doorbell, but you can't make out who it is.

And, you know, the mom was talking about how scary it was. I could only imagine what that was like. It's going to make it hard to go to sleep, right? No doubt about it. Aaron Key was born on September 18th, 1973 and grew up in East Harlem, New York City. And we talked a little bit about it on page.

Patreon this week, but New York City is a place I've never visited. It's been on my list. My wife and I have talked about going a number of times. We just never have. You should really go. Okay. And wear your cowboy outfit. For what reason? Just wear your cowboy outfit. Okay. Yeah. We'll see how around time square. In the cowboy outfit. Yes. Now, the sources that we used for this episode didn't provide a lot of information about his childhood, which is unfortunate, right? A lot of times we really like to profile or get into detail about some of these real heinous killers, childhoods. Well, because sometimes it's helpful to understand where they're coming from.

Yeah, what they went through, what potentially could have been their triggers or set them off. but the problem is sometimes the reporting is just not there and that's that's what we had here according to the new york times erin was a computer whiz he also claimed to be a rap producer but there's no real actual evidence that he ever worked in the music industry so this had to be pretty early on with the whole computer technology world and you would think that would be a great time to be a computer whiz i would think think bill gil Gates. Who? Think Steve Jobs. Think Wozniak. Think of, you know, all of these individuals who made more money than most of us can ever dream up. Some of it out of their garages. That's true.

Starting up. True story. Aaron was described as personable, intelligent, articulate, and clean cut. But underneath all of this was an evil person who raped and murdered vulnerable teenagers. And we just talked about how scary it would be, right? One detective even said, every young lady's worst nightmare to have this type of predator roaming around your area. And I think you and I have discussed this before. There is a real difference, not in the brutality, but there is a difference when you're talking about like an oddest tool or a Henry Lee Lucas versus a Ted.

or in this case, you know, Aaron Key, who's described as intelligent, articulate, clean cut. I'm assuming this is a person that you would see walking down the street and not immediately think, uh-oh. A better move to the other side. Yeah. If you saw Audit's tour Henry Lee Lucas, and I hate to say that because, you know, you don't want to judge a book by its cover, but.

Yeah, you might turn down. a different road. You might. By 1991, Aaron was living with his family and a housing project in Harlem. Later that year, he was convicted of armed robbery, but he didn't serve a lot of prison time. Aaron's neighbor said that although he initially came across his charming, he had a history of disturbing behavior. He looked into peep holes of women's apartments and walked around with a camera to try to look up women's skirts. All those are a big no, no, don't do it.

Well, and I've heard about the camera. I've heard of, I've heard stories of people putting like little mirrors on the tips of their shoes. Yeah, how strange is that? I mean, who is not going to notice that you have mirrors on the ends of your shoes? But maybe some people don't. What I didn't understand is how, you know, he was able to look into. to the peep holes of other people's apartments. I just kind of always assumed those went one way.

I guess if, yeah, well, I mean, you can look through, but it would do the opposite, right? Right, you wouldn't be able to see anything, really, would you? Maybe he thought, maybe he somehow was able to see more, I don't know. Oh, so you're thinking he had special powers? No, but I'm thinking he, maybe for him. It was enough? Yeah, did something because he felt like he was, you know, sneaking on him.

That could be, that could be. From 1991 to 1998, Aaron Key murdered three girls and raped four others in East Harlem. His M.O. was to approach the victim from behind and force her to go to an area where there would be no witnesses. The victims were blindfolded with a piece of their own clothing, forced to undress and raped. So no doubt we're in a really rough topic here. 13-year-old Paola Iera was murdered on January 24th, 1991. Paolo was the youngest victim. She and her family immigrated to the U.S. from Columbia in 1990.

She'd only been in the city for seven months. Paola was happy to be there and said she loved it more and more every day. I started getting used to being, you know, in the city and there's a lot to like about a big city. Well, she's also in the United States. Yeah, it's a different environment. And maybe there were some things here that were better than where she came from in Colombia. That's possible. Paolo's family said she was highly intelligent and mature for her age.

She dreamed of becoming a lawyer one day. Paola and her family lived in an apartment building on East 111 Street, which was the same building where Aaron Key lived with his family. You know, a lot of these apartment buildings in New York are huge. Well, they have to be, right? They have to make the most of the limited amount of space that they have. Because there's only so much real estate in New York City. Oh, that's for sure. They're not making more of it.

But, you know, this detail kind of reminded me of silence of the lambs. You know, when you get towards the end of silence of the lambs where they're hunting, Buffalo Bill. Right. And they're closing in on him. Lector gives this piece of advice. And it's about, you know, the killer starting out with what they covet, like what they see or the person they see every day.

That might be what happened here. Well, that's true. Because they lived in the same apartment building, you know, Aaron probably saw this girl on a pretty regular basis. Paula's mother buzzed her into their apartment building at 4.45 p.m. on January 24th. She stayed late at school and it was already getting dark by the time she got home. It's what I hate about January. It's what I hate about the winter. It's like four or five o'clock. It's pitch dark almost. You just want to go get in bed. Yeah. Paola got into the elevator but never made it to her apartment. Her mother, Olga, knew something was wrong. and started searching the neighborhood. Around 7.30 p.m., a man walking his dog,

saw a girl lying on the ground, a few steps from the East River. This was over 10 blocks from Paola's building on the busy FDR drive under the Wards Island Bridge. The witness also reported that he saw a man drop an object into the water before fleeing the scene. So NYPD detectives came to investigate and what they found was a very disturbing crime scene.

Paola had been raped, strangled, and stabbed three times in the chest. It was noted that her body was redressed after she was assaulted. So no doubt this was a very horrific crime, especially because we're talking about, you know,

a very young, 13-year-old girl. Yeah. But what I want to touch on for a minute is this detail of, of a victim being redressed after an assault and murder. I'm assuming it was easy to tell that she had been redressed because she was stabbed in the chest three times.

Right. Yeah. Because she would have had cuts in her garment. Had she been stabbed when she was dressed? Yeah, that's what I was thinking about. But here's my real question. Why would you do that if you were this really bad person, this perpetrator? You've just committed the worst possible act that somebody can commit.

Why would you take the time? And I'm going to use the word care. And I know that's a strange word to use in this scenario. But it's almost like there was a level of care or maybe there's a better word for it. Yeah. I mean, maybe he did actually in a weird. way care for her because he saw her frequently in the building and he didn't want to leave her like that like didn't want her mother seeing her nude or you know someone to stumble upon her and and

see her nude but isn't that such a strange notion it really is you know it's or maybe he saw her as you know because she was so young that she shouldn't be left like that or maybe he didn't want anybody else to see what he felt was his okay so there's a couple of different angles there. You know, the, the first couple to me are just very strange after you've committed this terrible act. Yeah, you think you would want to get out of there. Yeah, flee the scene as quickly as possible, not take the time to do something that you don't need to do. And in a way, is almost showing some level of concern or whatever word you want to use. Could you use the word guilt or maybe there's some guilt there yeah but you can have guilt and and still leave and

redress the victim to me it's just a detail that's definitely worth kind of discussing or at least you know keeping in the back of your mind what does it mean and for me i'm also trying to figure out how did he get her 10 blocks away you know what occurred during that time but like you said if she was befriended by him, that wouldn't be hard to do then. Hey, come walk with me for a little bit. Yeah, I think there are a number of different scenarios there that you can kind of think about. I've got something interesting. I want to show you. And maybe because this girl had seen him, maybe not day in and day out, but often, maybe she felt a little bit safer than she would if it was a, you know, a complete stranger, I don't know.

Paola was not identified at the crime scene, but it was obvious to investigators that the victim was a young girl. She was wearing a new kid's on the block watch and had a piece of chalk in her pocket. Paola had finger-shaped bruises on her inner thighs, which indicated the killer forced her legs open during the sexual assault. Just thinking of that makes me sick. And that was my thought exactly. we know how bad this was.

But sometimes in the research, there are little details that make your skin crawl. And this is one of those types because I think you can really picture it and you don't want to have to. But you can't help it because the detail is so vivid. A male's pubic hair was found on her body and stored as evidence. this would play an important role in Aaron Key's conviction eight years later. On September 10, 1997, firefighters were called to a rooftop fire at the George Washington houses on East 104 Street. One firefighter later testified, per the daily news, I came upon what I thought at the time

was a piece of rubbish or furniture burning. He saw a bare breast and realized, according to him, them, it was a person. What was left of her? I stepped back and looked at her. I was amazed that somebody could do something like this. Again, we talk about it, you know, quite frequently. What would it be like to be in, you know, this type of situation, right?

You know, here's a firefighter who for a living kind of puts his life on the line. Yeah. In certain situations and could probably, and, and probably did run into burning buildings, save people, you know, do a lot of heroic types of things, but is so floored by this discovery. And who wouldn't be? Really? Horrific. The victim was 19-year-old Jahalus Castro. She was identified by an ankle bracelet that her mother gave her. Johalus had been raped, beaten, and strangled. Based on evidence from the autopsy, investigators suspected she was still alive when she was set on fire.

How terrible. I mean, all of it's terrible, right? That's a given. Yeah. But to be set on fire while you're still a lot, that is something that's hard to comprehend. I mean, it makes him so much worse. He's already such a bad individual. Yeah, but I get what you're saying.

It makes him like a different level of monster, right? to not only do all this, but then set the victim on on fire. And it's hard for me when we talk about something like this, not to go back to that, I think it was a Buddhist monk. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah. Was that in like the 60s or 70s? I forget when it was.

But he set himself on fire and it was caught on camera. It was horrific. Because of the fire, there wasn't much forensic evidence left at the crime. seen. Like Paola Iera, Joe Halas Castro and her family were immigrants. The Castro's moved to New York City from the Dominican Republic. And New York City has kind of always been, number one, a melting pot, but it's kind of always been the kind of beacon for a lot of people who have immigrated to the U.S. You go back to Ellis Island and all of that. Very diverse. Very, very diverse. Joe Hallis had a young daughter and was studying computer science at a community college in the Bronx.

Phone records showed that Joe Hallis exchanged calls with Aaron Key dozens of times before she died. When the police spoke to him, he said Joe Hallis was a friend of his girlfriend, Jacqueline. And there were so many calls because the two women were planning a shopping trip. The police also questioned his girlfriend and she confirmed his story. What I couldn't find in the research is how Joe Hallis and Jacqueline met, how their, their friendship kind of started. Now, normally, if you're a murderer and you're questioned about someone who you killed, and during that questioning, they have phone calls linking the two of you, that would be,

you know, possibly damning evidence. I would think. but in this case he's able to pretty easily explain it away and not only that his girlfriend corroborates his story yeah so it kind of lets the air out of that tire well i think it from the standpoint of police how much further can you you move on at least that piece of evidence because it seems like it's not pointing where you thought it was or doesn't mean exactly what you thought it meant in april 1998 A girl was raped in the same neighborhood where Joe Hallis Castro was killed. She reported that she screamed in pain.

And the attacker told her to be quiet and take it like a woman. Okay. Again, the guy's sick. We already don't like this guy because of what he's done, what we know he's going to do. But then you hear a quote like this. And somehow it just enrages me even further. Because the way I take that. quote is that it's almost as if he thought this is what women were for, which is such a

ludicrous thought, obviously. But to me, that's almost like what he's saying. On June 2nd, 1998, the body of 18-year-old Rashida Washington was found on a 15th floor stairwell of a housing project near 5th Avenue and East 112th Street. One source reported that Rashida, Shea lived with her cousin in Harlem. But another source claimed that she lived with her father in the same housing project as victim, Paola, I.Ara. Rashida worked at a clothing boutique and attended school at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She wanted to be a clothing designer. Yeah, I know that's something that you've dabbled in quite a bit.

Absolutely. You have your own line. You've not really publicized it a lot, at least on the podcast. I try to keep it low. I think the cells. For good reason. Rashida was killed just three days after she turned 18. She was robbed, raped, and strangled.

Her bare torso was covered by a blouse that did not belong to her. And she was propped up against the wall in a seated position. So here we have another very nasty crime. But we also have the problem. perpetrator covering the victim up. In positioning her. Yes. I don't know what that means, but the covering up, again, that says something to me, but it also,

you know, maybe goes to his MO or fits in with his signature, whatever you want to call it. I think if you're the police, could you at least, or would you have to at least entertain the thought that at the very minimum, these two victims who were covered? were known to their killer. I think so. I think you'd have to. There were two more disturbing rape incidents in East Harlem that year. They remained unsolved for months.

On September 25th, 1998, a 15-year-old victim was raped on the roof landing of a building in the Wagner houses near East 112th Street. The victim described the attacker as clean cut and muscular. He told her, she was lucky to be raped by such a handsome man. Wow. Wow.

Is that mind-blowing that someone could be so full of themselves while at the same time being so callous and committing these really nasty horrific acts? To tell a 15-year-old that she was lucky to be raped is so outlandish. And it doesn't matter what kind of. comes after it. No. Right. In this case, it's, you know, by such a handsome man, but no girl, no woman in the history of this world has been lucky to be raped. No, never. That just makes no sense. You know, this guy was noted as being intelligent. And you got to wonder, you know, how could he think this was a true statement? The victim ultimately picked someone out of a lineup.

this man was arrested, but later released once cleared by DNA evidence. And that must have been pretty rough for that individual to be arrested for the rape of a 15-year-old picked out of a lineup. You know, your family knows it. Everyone knows or thinks they know what you've done. Yeah, not going to be good. And you're cleared probably much later by DNA evidence. But it's also, to me, the kind of fallibility of a lineup.

You have a 15-year-old girl who went through such a very traumatic experience. And I'm sure she was trying her best. How much more traumatic would it be thinking, well, the person in the lineup I thought did it, but you're saying that's not him. So are you saying my guy's still out there? You know, I mean, I think, you know, how rough could that be, knowing that your attacker is not in custody? It brings to mind, you know, the woman in the Stephen Avery case that was raped out on the sand dunes. She picked Stephen Avery out of a lineup.

Now, she'd already seen him. There was the composite drawing. And then many, many years later, it turned out DNA proved it was someone else. Yeah. Now, that person did look quite a bit like Stephen Avery, but that lady felt horrible that she had put a man in prison for, I think it was what, 18 years? Yeah. Or she had helped. She didn't put him in prison.

On November 16th, 1998, a 14-year-old girl was raped at the Jefferson houses, which is in the same area. She reported that her rapist told her to act like she loved him. That's so strange. both girls were blindfolded and did not get a good look at the attacker. And maybe that's why the photo lineup that the 15 year old did just didn't pan out. Yeah, it could be. I mean, I hate to say it, but we have seen in many instances where the police believe they know who did it. And they're kind of steering the victim with a photo lineup.

It has happened over the years. years many, many times. The police did not make a public announcement that there was a serial rapist targeting teenage girls in East Harlem, despite the fact that the rapes had the same MO. And this was the decision that was heavily criticized by the victims, families, and the public. And I get why that would be. On the one hand, you know, if you're the police, do you want to scare everyone? No, you don't. But are you doing people a disservice? if you're not letting them know that there's something out there to be extremely worried about and cautious about. Yeah, I think you're better off giving the notice and trying to keep it

quiet, try to solve it. And act like everything's okay. Right. Yeah. The families would later accuse the police and the media of not giving much attention to the cases because the victims were raped and murdered in low-income areas and were not white. And man, have we heard that before? And unfortunately, as we've talked about many times, the facts bear that out. They speak for themselves. Gregory Washington, Rashida's father said, it's because they're black and Hispanic. It's because it's all above 96th Street.

Let there be a white girl and it's solved within days. By 1998, DNA testing was considered one of the most important and useful investigative techniques in history. DNA testing was becoming widespread in the U.S., but there were still challenges. Databases were limited because DNA testing of felons was not routine practice at this point. There were tissue samples in the East Harlem rapes and murders that could now be tested thanks to advancements in forensic technology. prosecutors ordered DNA testing on at least five male suspects, including two who were picked out by victims in police lineups. In the fall of 1998,

seaman from the Rashida Washington case was linked to the two rape cases that occurred that year in the same neighborhood. And that's a big deal because, you know, you can look at MO and you can look at the area and think, well, these are all connected. And you're probably right. Sure. But this leaves no doubt, right?

This confirmed that there was a serial rapist in Harlem and the NYPD established a small task force to find him. The police distributed a wanted poster with a sketch of the attacker based on descriptions from rape victims. Detectives received their first tips about Aaron after a February 3rd news conference. where they asked for the public's help in identifying a baseball cap and sweatshirt left at a crime scene. And I thought this was a very interesting piece of this whole case. In the September 1998 case, the rapist left behind a black fubu cap and a gray sweatshirt. It had a laundry tag on it that led the police to a dry cleaner near Aaron's building. His mother, Cynthia, was one of the customers.

A little evidence. But you also have to ask the question. If you are a perpetrator, why would you leave behind some of your own personal items, clothing items? I'm thinking maybe they were rushed to get out of there for some reason. Or possibly they had blood on them. They didn't know what to do with them. You know, you can make some educated guesses, I guess. Well, and it was also maybe that.

they didn't think the police could do anything with them. Forensically? I don't know. Well, that's true, too. A few days later, a tipster told detectives, they should look into a man called Ace, who lived on the 19th floor of Paola Iera's building. The police learned that his real name was Aaron Key. After Paola entered her apartment building on January 24th, 1991,

she was seen getting into the elevator at the same time. as another young man. When the police spoke to this man in 1991, he said his name was Aaron Warford. He admitted that he rode in the elevator with Paola, but said he exited on the 19th floor and she continued going up. But it wasn't until years later

that police realized Aaron Warford and Aaron Key were the same man. Yeah. Warford was his dad's last name. and key was his mother's last name. So now he was officially connected to two murder cases, Paola Iera and Johalus Castro. Detectives wanted to obtain a DNA sample

to see if he could be linked to the murder of Rashida Washington and some of the unsolved rape cases. DNA testing was still considered an invasive procedure. At this time, a judge had to authorize the collection of DNA samples. And the police were worried that they didn't have enough evidence to justify their request. But then the police got a break in the case on February 8th, 1999. Aaron Key was arrested in a computer store on 5th Avenue in charge with misdemeanor larceny. He purchased the new hard drive from the store, switched it out with his old hard drive, put the tag on the old hard drive,

and tried to return it to get his money back. Do you know how many people have done this over the years? I'm not saying it's right. I don't mean to laugh about it. But when I was a young man, I was an assistant manager at Walmart. And the things that I saw come through the customer service department used diapers.

Wow. With somebody trying to say that they were like that when they purchase. as them. It was when I bought them. I got to return these. Just the strangest things with the strangest stories. That's what you get at the customer service counter at a Walmart. There's somebody you want to go out to lunch with just so you can hear the stories. The thing about Walmart back then was they didn't really seem to care. They were making so much money. Their policy was just give give the customer back their money. Whatever. Take it back. Give their money. Yeah. I think they've since tightened up a little bit. Yeah.

But back then, they didn't put up much of a fight. But I think especially when you're talking about electronics, this is something that people have tried probably many, many times over the years, right? There's a serial number on that hard drive. It's probably on a sticker. You switch out to stickers and you get a free hard drug. There you go.

They don't know that. Now, it's also a misdemeanor larceny. Well, that's true. As Aaron Key found out, while he was in custody, A female detective dressed as a doctor and asked him for a saliva sample for a routine tuberculosis test. Aaron agreed and the detective gave him some paperwork to sign. Aaron took his time reading it and he refused to take the test when he saw the part of the release form that said his DNA could be checked against databases. He told the officer that he was a Jehovah's Witness and was opposed to invasive medical procedures.

So he said this guy was considered to be pretty intelligent. And I do think that's a pretty smart move. You know, who reads all the paperwork on some routine test at the doctor? I don't even do that. No? No. But I'm also not a serial rapist. No, you are not.

So I'm assuming he was a little more guarded than most of us, but he had the forethought to read carefully through. I always read my stuff. And you should. I do my do the houseer role proud. But what does it say that as soon as he gets to that part of the release form that says his DNA could be checked against databases and he's, nope, I'm out.

I'm a Jehovah's Witness. I can't do this. Aaron suspected that the officers were trying to get his DNA to link him to the unsolved cases. After he ate his meal in the evening, he tore up his paper cut and he flushed it down the toilet. He put his cellmates cup on his tray to throw off investigating. And I've actually seen this in a number of cases where people were locked up.

They know that the authorities are trying to get their DNA. What better place to get it, you know, from the cup that you drank out of. And so they either switched their cups with their cellmates. In this case, he flushed his and put his cellmates on his tray. but again, that's pretty smart stuff. It is. To even think of that. I mean,

you've done some weird things around here to get my DNA that you keep locked up in a little case behind you, just in case you say, if I ever need it, I find it really strange. It's in a glass case, like a trophy case. Yeah. Yeah,

it's just CYA type stuff. Yeah. Because he was arrested for a misdemeanor, Aaron was released. after his arraignment on February 9th, the DNA testing had not been completed yet. And that's a little scary, right? He wasn't in there on murder. He was in there on a misdemeanor charge.

Yeah. They're not going to be able to hold him. He's going to get out. But yet the DNA testing hadn't been done. And I'm assuming back then it took even longer, much longer than it does today. That had to have been a scary. thought on the part of authorities because you think this guy is a nasty, prolific serial rapist, but yet he's going to be walk out on the street and who knows what he's going to do.

He's walking out in one of the biggest cities in the world, too. Easy to disappear. After this, Aaron did disappear from police radar. On February 12, 1999, DNA evidence linked Aaron Key to the murder of Rashid. to Washington and the two 1998 rape cases. So it really only took, um, what, three or four days to get this DNA done? Two or three, four days too late. Too late because he's already out.

And two days later on Valentine's Day, another teenage girl went missing. Aaron fled the city with 17 year old Angelique Stallings, a girl from Brownsville, Brooklyn. Aaron took her out for a date on February 14. and she never came home. Her parents saw Aaron's photo in a newspaper article about the murders and rapes and reported their daughter missing. The police feared that he had already killed, Angeley.

Now, you and I talk a lot about parents being worried. And most of the time, it's because they don't know where their child is. This is a little bit of a different scenario. Yes, your child is missing. You're not sure where they are. but now you find out that they went out on a date and were in the company of this guy who is wanted for murder and rape. It's a whole nightmare situation here. Aaron Key was arrested in Miami, Florida on February 19th, 1999.

He called his girlfriend in New York once he got to Florida and she gave his location to the police that day. She said he was staying at the Miami Sun Hotel downtown. Two detectives from New York traveled to Miami and staked out the hotel. They saw Aaron and Angelique walking inside and called a local Swat team. Well, first of all, they had to be very relieved to see Angelique still alive. Oh, for sure. Aaron was arrested without incident. Angelique was found hiding under a bed in an adjoining room.

Thankfully, she was physically unharmed. One Miami-Dade officer said, Angelique had no clue. Aaron was wanted for murder and didn't realize the danger she was in while traveling with him. How lucky was she to be found alive? Very lucky. It just shows sometimes you just don't know who you're with. I think there's a lot of times people don't know who they're with.

You think about the proliferation of online dating apps like Tinder and I don't even know what else is out there. you are meeting people that you only know from what they've told you online or the interactions you've had online. You don't really know them. No. I mean, when you're talking to someone online, they've got time to think about the answer where you can't see their face,

right? So they can kind of script their answers to sound like the perfect person to you. Well, and even if they don't sound like the perfect person, nobody is going to come out and say, I'm a rapist and a murderer. Never. Aaron was arrested for the murder of her sheet of Washington and two rapes.

He did not want to answer questions about his crimes in New York. So the police sent Angelique into the room to say goodbye and watched from behind a two-way mirror. That seemed a little risky. I think so. Seems a little risky. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I get it. They're trying to get her to get him.

to admit to something, but, and I know they're on the other side, but can they get there quick enough if he decided that, you know, he wanted to do something really bad? There is a bit of a risk there, I think. Angelique asked him why he committed the crimes and Aaron said he, quote, bugged out and had a sickness. After his arrest, the two victims from September and November 1998 identified Aaron Key as their rapist. DNA evidence linked Aaron to two of the three murders, excluding the Jahalus Castro case. He was also connected to the rape case from April 1998. So not looking good for Aaron Key. Not at all. The DNA is stacked up against him. On March 2nd, 1999, Aaron Key was indicted on three counts of murder and two counts of rape. During a hearing in April, 2000,

It was revealed that Aaron admitted to his ex-girlfriend that he killed Rashida Washington and an unidentified white girl. Not something you really want to hear from your significant other or even your ex. No. You know, when you think that maybe you're in love with somebody. Or you were in love. Or you were in love. And then they tell you these terrible things. Some of which was probably done while you were going.

out. But then I think secondly, you have to make a decision. What do you do with that information? Is this person telling me the truth or are they just trying to shock me? Do I go to police? That's a lot to put on someone. It is. And do you feel safe? And, you know, we've heard from others in the past, they didn't feel safe. And that's why they held it in for a while because they just needed to get to a point where they could feel safe relaying that information. Yeah, I think the easy. thing to say is, well, if you get that type of information, you should go directly to the police. But is the answer to the question that easy? And I think in some scenarios, it's not. It's not that clear cut. You mentioned safety. Sometimes people have to worry about their own safety. They're

not in a good situation. And that could exacerbate it. It could push someone over the edge. Yeah, we've all seen the movies where they went into the police station and said, this is what he told me, he did it. And then they, you know, they arrest the person. But then like a couple hours, he's back out on the street. Going back to the apartment, probably where you're at, you know, I mean, it's. And not going to be real happy with you. No, exactly.

And I guess the only reason I bring it up is because it's one of the things that I think you and I have learned in all these years of researching cases and doing this podcast. Everything is not so clear cut. There's some gray area in situations where, you know, previously I wouldn't have thought there was because I didn't understand all the different components maybe. Yeah, we've, we have found gray area within gray area. That's my fancy legal term gray area within gray area.

Like a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside of an annum. Enigma. Yes, and twisted up after that. In August, prosecutors sought a blood sample from Aaron Key. His defense argued that the entire case should be thrown out because the first DNA sample was taken illegally, which invalidated the arrest warrants and the indictment. The judge ultimately decided to allow the DNA evidence at trial. And that would have been huge if the defense would have been successful, right, in getting that DNA sample thrown out. My thought is, though, they would have been able to get another one. You would hope.

I would think so. But it would have delayed things for sure. Aaron's trial started on October 24, 2000 in Manhattan. The jury heard in graphic detail about how the victims were raped and murdered. And we talked about each one of them. We didn't go into every graphic. detail that there was, I didn't feel any need for it, I think it's safe to say that Aaron Key was a very nasty, sadistic individual. Yeah. Prosecutor John Irwin also told the jury that

Aaron was monitoring the investigation online. Before he was arrested, he visited the 23rd precinct website and searched for articles about the victims. This was where his intelligence and his computer expertise comes into play? Yeah, I don't know how much computer expertise you need to use a search engine, but I think what it does show is what we often see with, you know, killers and people like that, they enjoy following the investigation. Many of them do. Not only because they want to know what the police know and they want to know if they're in danger, but I think there's also a voyeuristic component to it? You know, are they getting something out of kind of following along with the updates, knowing that the police can't figure out that it's them? Yeah, I think they do,

you know, especially if they can see the police going down the wrong track. There's got to be some satisfaction in that. Maybe some type of gratification. Now, I'll be honest with you. I don't know what gets some of these guys off, but it's strange in many instances compared to what most of us are used to, if you get my meaning. I get your meaning. Irving said that some of the victims pleaded with Keith to use a condom, but he refused, leaving behind DNA evidence that proved he raped the victims. I always feel for anyone who's been raped or had any type of, you know, sexual contact

made against them against their will. But here you have a scenario where the victim is pleading with the rapist to use a condo. And there could be a number of reasons for that. The person doesn't want to get pregnant. They don't want to get some, you know, disease that this person has. Obviously, they don't want to be raped at all. Of course. But he's a rapist.

He doesn't care. No, he doesn't care about anybody but himself. and his own sick gratification. And we know he has a pretty big ego too. You're lucky. You have somebody like me. You're lucky to be with me. Yeah.

Even though I'm violating you and you want no part of this. But it ends up kind of, you know, being his undoing. Yeah, backfires. Defense attorney George Goldzer argued that the police had the wrong man. He attacked the DNA evidence and noted that two other men were identified. and charged before Aaron. Medical examiner Barbara Butcher testified that at first she thought Joe Hallis Castro was burned a lot because there was soot in her nostrils and mouth, which

indicated that she might have inhaled smoke. However, Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch concluded Joe Hallis was dead before she was set on fire because of the silhouette of so surrounding her body, which showed where she was propped up against a wall. Butcher testified that even if Joe Hallis were unconscious, she would have moved if she were burned alive because of the extreme pain. Good point. Yeah, it does make a lot of sense.

Earlier at trial, the prosecutor mentioned that she died from a blow to the head. One of the surviving victims testified on November 1st, 2000. She was 15 years old at this time. according to the daily news, she testified that she was waiting for an elevator in an apartment building when a man said, Shorty, come here. He grabbed her right arm, stuck a rusty knife to her back and said, if you scream, I'll kill you. He put the knife against her neck and took her to a stairwell, then forced her inside a dark room. He blindfolded her with her scarf and forced her to take her clothing off. he then raped her. And this is where that one quote comes in, where he says, with this girl screaming

in pain, be quiet and take it like a woman. Monster. It makes your skin crawl to hear stuff like this. But you have to talk about it because it goes a long way in showing what a monster this guy really was. Aaron Key testified in his own defense on December 13th, thousand he insisted on being the first defense witness despite his attorney's objections his attorneys asked to remove themselves from the case but the judge refused their request and i think you know maybe this is where his intelligence backfires gets in his own way gets in his own way because he does think that he's smart enough to call the shot and i think we've said it before right just because you're just because you have intelligence doesn't mean that you know how to defend yourself in court.

People go to school for a very long time to learn how to do it. And then some of those, even when they get out, they're not that good at it. Exactly. It's part of having the knowledge and the experience. Experience together. And the skills, yeah. I mean, think about some of the conversations we've had over the past year about where we might be going with, you know, future professionals coming up that may lack the ability to communicate

well. Can you imagine an attorney that, you know, doesn't know how to basically be a sales guy, right? You kind of got to be a sales guy or woman because you got to try to convince that jury. You have to be persuasive. Yeah. And if you can't communicate, how are you going to make it? Yeah. I get what you're saying. But I think if you can't. that's probably not the field you want to go into or you don't want to go into criminal defense. I'm going to be some other type of attorney like a bankruptcy attorney or corporate attorney or something like that. But I think the takeaway is, right, he thinks he's so smart. He knows better than his attorneys. He wants to be the first defense witness. Why? Because I'm so

smart that I'll be able to clear this thing right up. It'd be done. We'll be fine. And I'll be going home shortly afterwards. Right. I'm going to spew out a bunch of stuff. The jury's going to eat it up. And I'm walking out of here.

Look at me. They should be happy that I'm on the stage talking to them right now up in this witness stand. Because I'm so handsome. Yes. And I know we joke around about it, but I honestly believe that this is what some of these individuals think. the way they think. They're a gift.

Aaron testified that he was being framed to cover up the medical examiner scheme to harvest and sell human organs. Three corrupt cops and an employee with the medical examiner's office conspired to convict him. So that was what he came up with. That's his defense. Organ harvesting. Yeah. He claimed that a female detective and another employee of the medical examiner's office warned him, warned him he was being set up.

Aaron continued his testimony on December 14th and read notes written on a T-shirt. He said he took the notes after viewing a computer disc that described the conspiracy. Can you imagine a defense witness with a T-shirt with all his notes on it? Hold on, Judge. Let me take my shirt off. I gotta read my notes.

According to the Daily News, Aaron said, I'm looking at the faces in here. and realize that some people think I'm full of shit. But that's what I saw. I got that shirt on now. It hasn't even been washed. It's not the best smelling T-shirt in the world.

Now, obviously, the Daily News didn't put the word shit in there, but I filled in the blanks. It's so strange that he's reading the notes off the shirt he's wearing. Why when you just wear a different shirt and bring that shirt with you? Or just take your notes on a piece of paper like everybody else. Yeah, that's pretty like law 101, I think. You get you one of those long yellow legal pads and stentobas, take your notes. He also insisted that he was arrested because the police were under pressure after the shooting of Amadu Diallo on February 4th, 1999.

Amadu was a young student who was shot 19 times by plainclothes officers. The officers were acquitted at trial. And I do remember that. It was a huge case. And people were very upset. Many people were that these officers were acquitted. Aaron believed the police planted his DNA on the victim's bodies and said it had something to do with genetic shuffling. Okay.

I don't know what that means. But maybe that was something he had written on his foul-smelling t-shirt. Yeah. I mean, he just, he's hoping to get the jury to. have a doubt, a reasonable doubt. Based off of what? A t-shirt with some notes on it, a weird conspiracy theory.

He's going to throw everything at the wall, I think. Yeah, but what is going to stick? Because not, you know, not much is making sense here. On December 20th, 2000, Aaron was convicted of 22 counts, including murder, rape, and robbery. And maybe it was that he knew

he had so much DNA evidence against him. What does it matter if I take the stands? I'm going for a Hail Mary shot here. But, you know, a conspiracy theory with really nothing to back it up. Yeah. Is not going to overcome a mountain of DNA evidence. It's just not going to do it. As he was let out of the courtroom, he told the victim's families per the daily news. Fuck all of you. I'd beat his ass. I know you would want to. I will. could you restrain yourself and I think it would be hard now I'm sure they had deputies lined up of course that's why he's saying what he's saying between him and and all the victims families

but you know we've seen convicted rapists and murderers act all kinds of different ways some are contrite some are apologetic to the families some go double bird yeah this guy goes F you to the, you know, all the victims families. What I find tough is that you're going to protest your innocence. But then you're convicted and you're going to tell these victims families to F off. Those two don't seem to be in line with each other. You know, I've heard where people have said, you know, I feel really bad for the families, but I didn't do this, you know, something along those lines.

This is not smart. No. In my eyes. But maybe by that point, he just didn't care because he'd been convicted of 22 counts. He probably knew he was never going to see the light of the day. I challenge him to the octagon. That would make a hell of a reality TV show. Convicted rapist versus victim's family member.

Yeah. In the octagon. But what if the victim's family member gets beat up? then you're going to feel really bad for them. No, just, I'll go. Oh, you'll just do them all. Yeah. Okay.

I got the wrestling scene. Yeah, I don't know that it looks the same as it did back in 1970, whatever. Yeah, my body's a little different. But, hey, let's go for it. We can stretch it and get it on somehow. I'm not saying you can't get it on. What I'm saying is it's going to look a little differently. Should we want me to put it on is what you're saying.

I get you. I think that's six. pack that you had in your teenage years has probably been replaced, not with a keg, but I'll call it a pony keg. There's, there's something more there. Yeah. A little bit more there. Aaron Key was sentenced to life in prison on January 26, 2001.

As reported by the New York Times, Paola Iera's mother said in court, I hope you experience what it's like to not be able to sleep, to eat, to walk, to breathe, to not have a moment of peace, thinking of my daughter's suffering at the time of her death. And you know, you would hope that someone incarcerated would go through that. But I have a real feeling, Gibbs, that most of these people do not. They don't sit around crying about what they've done or thinking about their actions, feel bad about the victims, the victims' families. I just don't know that many of them do.

I'm sure some do. I don't think this guy does. I don't think this guy does at all. Aaron said at sentencing, everything I do is scrutinized and watched by the press. Even now, I have to be careful. The family member shouted at him to apologize, and he finally said,

I am sorry. So, you know, maybe he had a little bit of time to think about his demeanor in court because this is a, you know, I am sorry. is a far cry from F all you. Right. And maybe his attorney's got to him and said,

hey, you're not doing yourself any favors. No. You're not giving us anything to work with. Now, and it's also going to have an impact if you even get a chance to have parole. Yeah. You know,

you just, the people that are going to help make that decision if you get out are the ones you're saying, FU too. Yeah, you don't think that's going to come up at parole time. If there is a parole time, that you said FU to all the victims

family members? He was sentenced to two life sentences for second degree murder in the deaths of Joelus Castro and Paola Iera. He was convicted of first degree murder for the death of Rashida Washington. Paola Iera was killed before the first degree murder statute took effect. This statute required aggravating factors to charge someone with first degree murder. In total, he was sentenced to life plus 400 years. So I think that probably probably answers the question on parole, getting out. It's a long-ass time. That is a very long time.

On August 12, 2004, Aaron Key was sentenced to 20 more years for raping a 17-year-old girl in Harlem in 1994. He was linked to the case by DNA evidence earlier that year. So they were still going after him, you know, three, four years later and linking him to cases. The victim reported that he held a, box cutter against her throat while he raped her in the basement of an apartment building.

She didn't know his name or criminal record until 2004. Aaron said in court, according to the New York Post, I just want to say, I'm sorry for what happened. Not because I'm in jail. I'm not the same person. I'm sorry for what I did. So this is a few years later, right? He is definitely talking a different game in court. He's apologetic. He's even saying it's not because I'm in jail. I'm a different person. I'm a different person. Now, is he really or is it because he's had time to think about what's best for him, what strategy is best for him? I don't know. I think some people really truly are sorry for what they did. Yeah. And if you are truly sorry, your actions will show that. Yeah. And some people just saying it for the benefit of the court, later appeals, so on and so on. In 2009,

the New York Daily News reported that Aaron Key was selling what they called rape cards online that provided explicit details about his crimes. So this son of a bitch does not feel sorry for what he did. There's no way he's a different person because if you're a different person, you wouldn't exploit what you've done. Yeah, you would know this is wrong. Yeah. Do you think this is what your victims want, one out there?

Or the victim's families. Yeah. Yeah. So you don't feel bad about what you've done. No, not at all. Actually, you're trying to profit from it. And it just kind of leads me back to my thought. More often than not,

what these guys say is bullshit. Absolutely. It's for their appearance. It's, you know, It's not their true feelings. And the person buying these, you're just as sick. If you're buying these cards, you have a problem. These aren't collector cards.

There's a problem here. So basically what he did is he created 25 by 7 cards and he was trying to sell them for $19 each. He also tried to sell his prison issued t-shirt for $99, an autographed mugshot, and a hot dog rapper he used in prison. He just really thinks that he's something. Well, I get it. There are some people who are into, I guess, what you'd call murderbillia. I get that piece.

But to me, these five by seven cards with explicit details of rapes and murders, that's, that's not in that category. Yeah. I just, I just can't understand that. These quote unquote rape cards, I don't know who would buy those. You know,

were you actually paying him, paying him for that? Well, that's the thing too. I think that changes everything. Giving money to this person, he's directly, he's directly profiting off of his crimes.

You know, this is not some company completely unaffiliated who's making bobbleheads. or, you know, something like that. Yeah, yeah, it's a little different. Prison officials promised to start an investigation into the online sales. NBC, New York reported that he did not include the victim's names in the accounts. He might have done this because of the son of Samlaw, which prevents criminals from selling

their stories for profit. However, they can't still make money off their stories as long as they don't discuss offenses against specific people. Yeah, but you can kind of read between the lines and figure out who the people are. Well, how hard would it be to figure out if the details are accurate who he's talking about? Yeah. Can't you find a better way to be creative, right? Something that's not sick.

Aaron Key is now 50 years old and incarcerated at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York State. This case was originally cited as an example. for the need to develop DNA databases for convicted felons. It was believed that if Aaron's DNA had been on file from his 1990 arrest, he would have been caught earlier and some of the victims would not have been raped or murdered. And I think that's probably a true statement. I think that that is a reality.

I mean, you can always wish that things could have started earlier with it. Yes. I mean, that's the problem, right? technology starts at a certain time. It's very easy to make the argument that we should have had it earlier. And if we would have this, this or this would have been prevented. But, you know, it is a good example for why those databases were needed. And it's a good thing that, you know, we have them today.

I think as we wrap this one up, Gibbs, there is no doubt. Aaron Key is an extremely violent person. And I do believe he would have continued committing violent crimes if he had not been caught. I don't think this was a guy who was going to stop out of some moral dilemma or moral decision that he just, you know, came to one day. I think he enjoyed what he was doing. That's sick to say it that way. But I do believe that's true.

Yeah. Think of the things that he said to his victim, the nasty thing. I know. It gives you a sense that he was enjoying it. Whether it was the act or the power that he had over them or the taunting them or whatever it was, you can't tell me that he was just going to give that up, whatever feeling he was getting from that. And unfortunately, that's the problem with most of these types of individuals.

I mean, this is a guy who targeted vulnerable girls and young women subjected them. subjected them to horrible, heinous crimes, he killed three girls. He did. In an extremely brutal manner, he raped a number of other girls and women. Many believe that Aaron Key is an example of a truly evil person who can never be reformed. And I think that's a question that a lot of people ask in cases like this. Is there true evil? Is this person truly evil?

to the point where they could never change. Now, I don't know if it's going to matter for him. I don't think he's ever getting out. No, he's where he's going to be. But it does matter for people who, you know, come up or have the possibility for parole. Yeah. I think this guy's evil. Yeah, I think so too.

What he did, you know, even to the extent of, you know, putting, catching people on fire. Whether he's evil or not, I believe he should never be out of prison. and it doesn't sound like he will. But that's it for our episode on Aaron Key. We've got some voicemails. You want to check those out? Let's hear him. Hey, guys.

This is Travis Snickers. I've been listening to you guys for quite some time. Fellow Ohio in here, go bucks. I'm a plumber on my way to work. I listen to you guys all the time, especially when I'm working. Now, I do not donate,

but I can probably convince my wife to allow me to spare if you change. If an order. only is. Gibby says Team Bergey. It's a little better than, you know, team Gibby. I always got to be Team Berge just because I'm a plumber in our supply house, Ferguson.

They never got any of my stuff wrong. So I have a little suggestion. I'm not too sure if you guys have done him. I kind of go through the oldest of the newest. So Albert Fish, he's one really messed up dude. I did a little report on him back in high school when I was in criminal justice. And he was a card. Again, go team Fergie.

And have a wonderful day. Go Bucks. First of all, go Bucks. And man, I really like that guy. Do you? Yeah. I think you do. Yeah, because, you know.

He had a lot of good advice. But he said, I just need to say, Team Fergie is better than... No, I don't think he said you had to say that. Oh, okay. I mean, you know, Albert Fish is such a big case, and we've had it on our list since the very beginning. I don't know why we haven't done it. We do need to. We do.

And, you know, maybe that'll be 400. Who knows? Could be. Keep an ear out. Is that a saying? I don't know. I just made it up. It is now.

Keep an ear out. Keep an ear out. Hi, this is Deborah Dean's Fry. I just heard my name online. and it made me smile. I've been watching you guys, or I should say, listening to you guys since last November, and I work from home on the computer and you guys just keep my day going. And I am pink T-Cat all the way.

But giving you've got such a sweet voice, I might be just a little partial. You guys keep your head on the swivel and keep your own time ticking. I love you. Bye-bye. I really like her. All right. One voicemail for you. One voicemail for me. That's perfect. Right? That's how it should be. Now, I remember saying her name last week, and I know for a fact, I didn't say it the way she just said it.

You messed it up. I messed it up. Oh, man. It was a little different than the way she said it. So we had one thing in the mailbag. Travis sent in a really cool poker chip from Sturgis, Michigan. And he said in his note that. to tell you to straighten up.

All right, man, I'm trying. That's all it said. I didn't know if that meant your posture that he was watching the Patreon videos or just get your, you know what together. Probably just get my you know what together. It could be. I wasn't sure. Yeah.

We're to go both ways. I'll just try to sit up a little better. Shoulders back just out. And, uh, yeah. Also, see if I get my shit together. Get your life in order. Yeah. All right, buddy.

That is it for another episode of true crime all the time. So for Mike and Gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.