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Bobby Joe Long | |
|---|---|
 Long's mugshot in 1984 | |
| Born | Bobby Joe Long[1] (1953-10-14)October 14, 1953 Kenova, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 2019(2019-05-23) (aged 65) Florida State Prison, Florida, U.S. |
| Other names | The Classified Ad Rapist The Adman Rapist |
| Criminal status | Executed by lethal injection |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Convictions |
|
| Criminal penalty | Death (July 25, 1986) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 10 |
Span of crimes | March 27 – November 11, 1984 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
Date apprehended | November 16, 1984 |
| Imprisoned at | Florida State Prison |
Bobby Joe Long[a] (October 14, 1953 – May 23, 2019) was an Americanserial killer andrapist. During an eight-month period in 1984 Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least ten women in theTampa Bay area in Florida. At trial Long was sentenced to death for one of the murders and life for seven others. He was sentenced to death in 1986 by the state ofFlorida for the murder of Michelle Denise Simms. He was executed bylethal injection on May 23, 2019.
Bobby Joe Long was born on October 14, 1953, inKenova, West Virginia, to Joe and Louetta Long.[3] Long was born with an extraX chromosome, also known as47,XXY, a specific variant ofKlinefelter syndrome. This condition results in excessiveestrogen production, resulting in development of female traits such asbreasts. Long was teased as a child for his large breasts and underwentbreast reduction surgery in adolescence.[4] He sustained multiplehead injuries in various childhood accidents.[5]
Long had adysfunctional relationship with his mother, sleeping in her bed until he was a teenager, and reportedly resented the multiple short-term boyfriends she brought with her when returning home late at night from her job.[3] Long married hishigh-school girlfriend in 1974, with whom he had two children before she filed fordivorce in 1980, citing domestic and sexual abuse.[6]
Long moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1983. In 1984, while onprobation forassault, Long raped and strangled 20-year-old Artiss "Ann" Wick in March;[7] her body was discovered in a rural area on November 22, 1984. She had reportedly hitch-hiked fromGas City, Indiana, to Tampa, and was engaged to be married.[citation needed]
Long also attacked 33-year-old Linda Nuttall in her home.[8]
In the early hours of November 3, 1984, Long abducted 17-year-oldLisa McVey as she rode her bike home from work. She was blindfolded and taken to Long's home, where he repeatedly raped her. Aware of the danger she was in, the blindfolded McVey reported leaving as many fingerprints in Long's home as she could to aid any future police investigation. After 26 hours, Long released McVey and she provided investigators with information on his home, car and a time period in which she heard him use an ATM. This led to police identifying Long and he was arrested on November 16, 1984. He was linked to the murders through red carpet fibers found on the bodies of several victims.[9]
At the time of his capture, Long was wanted in three Tampa Bay area jurisdictions where investigators had collected multiple forms offorensic evidence, including clothing, carpet fibers,semen,ligature marks, and rope knots.[10]
Long was arrested outside a movie theater on November 16, 1984, and charged with thesexual battery and kidnapping of Lisa McVey. Long signed a formalMiranda waiver, and consented to questioning. After the detectives procured a confession for the McVey case, their questioning focused on a series of unsolved sexual battery homicides in the Tampa Bay area. As the detectives questioned Long about the murders, he replied, "I'd rather not answer that."[11]
The detectives continued the interrogation, and handed Long photographs of the various murder victims. At this point, Long stated, "The complexion of things sure have [sic] changed since you came back into the room. I think I need an attorney." No attorney was provided, and Long eventually confessed to eight murders in Hillsborough County, and one murder in Pasco County.
Fiber evidence analysis by the FBI linked Long's vehicle to most of his victims.[10]
The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office and the Public Defender's Office of Hillsborough County reached aplea bargain deal. Long pleaded guilty on September 24, 1985,[12] to eight homicides and the abduction and rape of Lisa McVey, receiving 26life sentences without the possibility ofparole (24 concurrent and two to run consecutively to the first 24) and seven life sentences with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The State retained the option to seek thedeath penalty for the murder of Michelle Simms. In July 1986, Long was found guilty and was sentenced to die in Florida bylethal injection.[13]
Although Long confessed to raping and killing women, his confession was thrown out. His trial proceeded straight to the penalty phase, which was possible in the 1980s. In early 1985, he received the death penalty.
Long was convicted andappealed his first degree murder conviction and death sentence for crimes committed in Hillsborough County. Long appealed his first degree murder conviction and sentence of death in the death of Virginia Johnson.[14]
On appeal, Long's death sentence was vacated, his conviction reversed, and his caseremanded back to the trial court with directions to enter an order ofacquittal for the murder of Virginia Johnson.[14]
Long was linked to the murders of 10 women, who were killed from March to November, 1984. The victims were
[b][15][16] He was convicted of killing all of them with the exception of Johnson and Wick.[17]
On April 23, 2019,Florida GovernorRon DeSantis signed Long'sdeath warrant, the first death warrant he had signed since taking office in January 2019.[18][19] His subsequent appeals denied, he was executed bylethal injection onMay 23, 2019, more than thirty years after his conviction.[20] He ate hisfinal meal at 9:30 a.m. local time; he requestedroast beef, bacon, French fries, and soda.[21] He was pronounced dead at 7:00 p.m., having made nolast statement.[22]
| Executions carried out in Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jose Antonio Jimenez December 13, 2018 | Bobby Joe Long May 23, 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Executions carried out in the United States | ||
| Preceded by | Bobby Joe Long –Florida May 23, 2019 | Succeeded by |