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| Full Name: | Danny Harold Rolling |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Caucasian |
| Birth: | May 26, 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Death: | October 25, 2006 in Raiford, Florida, United States - Age 52 |
| Cause of Death: | Execution by lethal injection in prison |
| Nicknames: | Gainesville Ripper |
| Murder Toll: | 8 murdered victims |
| Murder Time Frame: | 1989-1990 / Age 35 at first murder, 36 at last murder |
| Murder Locations: | United States - Gainesville, Florida / Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Preferred Prey: | Young females (males were killed if they were with the females) |
| Modus Operandi: | Bondage, biting, rape, stabbing, mutilation |
| Victim Disposal: | Left them in their homes |
| Signature: | Arranged his victims in an obscene manner |
| Trophies: | --- |
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 Tom Grissom Male - Age 55 Death: November 1989 |
 Julie Grissom Female - Age 24 Death: November 1989 |
Sean Grissom Male - Age 8 Death: November 1989 |
 Christina Powell Female - Age 17 Death: August 1990 |
 Sonja Larson Female - Age 18 Death: August 1990 |
 Christa Hoyt Female - Age 18 Death: August 1990 |
 Manuel Taboada Male - Age 23 Death: August 1990 |
 Tracy Paules Female - Age 23 Death: August 1990 |
I tried. I just can't make it.
- What he wrote on a mirror with lipstick, before running away from his abusive father.
"...this is Danny Harold Rolling out under the stars tonight." / "Well, I'm gonna sign off for a little bit. I got something I gotta do." - What he recorded on cassette tape, before murdering victims Christina Powell and Sonja Larson.
I love her and it cuts me deeply to know there are people out there who have caused her pain because she finds something in Danny Rolling to love.
- What he wrote in a letter about Sondra London, who he exchanged letters and drawings with.
"Gemini." - The name of his evil alter ego that he claims made him commit murder.
"Your honor, I've been running from first one thing then another all my life, whether it be from home or the law, but this being one of those things you just can't run from." - When he admitted his guilt for the Gainesville murders, in court.
A mangy dog gets more consideration than what I received in Parchman. Imagine... being forced to dwell in a prison cell that floods out two to three times a week with putrefied raw sewage, and having to exist in such filth for over eight months till it drives you crazy as a loon.
- What he wrote in a letter to The Associated Press in 2000, about his time spent in a Mississippi prison.
Any complaint I may have pales in comparison to the terrible wrong I inflicted upon good people. I stand in the shadow of their suffering. If it is to be mercy, then I shall be eternally grateful. If it to be the wrath of vengeance, then God grant me the strength to face what I must. For I owe a debt I cannot repay... not even with my own life.
- What he wrote in a letter to The Associated Press in 2000.
"They couldn't help but look at me... from a viewpoint that I'm a monster. But I am not a monster." - What he said at a hearing on his motion for a new sentencing hearing in July 2000.
I assure you I am not a salivating ogre. Granted... time's past; the dark era of long ago -- Dr. Jeckle & Mr. Hyde did strike up & down the corridors of insanety.
- What he wrote in a letter to The Associated Press in 2002.
"You know I thought about it and I'm sure there's quite a few people out there that could care less what kind of childhood I had, could care less what kind of childhood Danny Rolling had and I can relate to that, I really can, but they didn't have to live in that house, they didn't have to go through what I went through." - What he said about his childhood.
"Nothing we ever did pleased him. No matter how far we bent over backwards. In the Rolling home you was walking around on egg shells, just so afraid, what are we going to do to set him off. My father could be extremely violent, I mean to the point where you were afraid of him." - What he said about his father.
"One of 'em went right through his solar plexus and one of 'em shot him right between the eyes. Naturally I thought I'd killed him, he fell right down at my feet." - Talking about when he had shot his father (who survived).
"I'm not asking for sympathy, but if this can help somebody out there, some parent who is stripping their child of their own identity, their own character at an early age then they're going to replace that character with something else and that something else might not be a good thing." - What he said in a prison interview, referring to his father's abuse.
"I didn't just up one day decide to go out and kill a bunch of people." - What he said in a prison interview.
"Lucifer told me eight souls for every year I've been in prison. When I got out of Parchmen prison, that was eight years I'd spent in prison, different prisons in the south. I've been convicted of five murders here in Florida and then well then there's been talk there were three others in Shreveport and I'm sure you're aware of that. That adds up to how many?" - What he said in a prison interview.
"I've been preparing myself for years. That's up to the state, well it's up to God and the state of Florida." - What he said in a prison interview, referring to his readiness for the death penalty.
"I could have been a contender... the good Lord gave me some very good talent, I could have used in a positive way that could have brought joy to people, and somehow I just fell through the cracks." - What he said in a prison interview.
"Human life is the most precious thing on earth and when that's gone, if you have belief there's a hereafter then you know that's not the end, but still it's the end of us in this form." - What he said in a prison interview.
"I do deserve to die, but do I want to die? No. I want to live. Life is difficult to give up." - What he said in a prison interview.
I, and I alone am guilty. It was my hand that took those precious lights out of this ole dark world. With all my heart & soul would I could bring them back.
- What he wrote as his confession of murdering the Grissom family members, before being executed in prison.
"None greater than thee, O Lord, none greater than thee." - What he sang before being executed in prison.
 The Making of a Serial Killer The Real Story of the Gainesville Murders in the Killer's Own Words Authors: Danny Rolling / Sondra London Pub. Year: 1996 |
 Killer on Campus The Terrifying True Story of the Gainesville Ripper Authors: James Fox / Jack Levin Pub. Year: 1996 |
 The Gainesville Ripper Author: Mary Ryzuk Pub. Year: 1995 |
 Beyond Murder The Inside Account of the Gainesville Student Murders Authors: John Philpin / John Donnelly Pub. Year: 1994 |
 A&E - American Justice Murder in a College Town Genre: Documentary Release Year: 2000 |
 Court TV - Body of Evidence From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman Rolling Case Genre: Documentary Release Year: Unknown |
 Court TV - Crime Stories The Campus Serial Killer Florida vs. Danny Rolling Genre: Documentary Release Year: 1999 |
Court TV - Mugshots Terror on Campus Danny Rolling Genre: Documentary Release Year: Unknown |
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