Posted by  Anny Rozelle, La Crosse, WI on 04/06  at  09:34 PM

Karen please contact me when you can regarding the Gainesville murders. We must have been neighbors.
Kind regards,’
Anny ptrainer@charter.net

Posted by  Anny Rozelle, La Crosse, WI on 04/06  at  08:55 PM

Hi Karen,
I just received a notice that you respnded to my comment on the Gainesville murders.  It still seems like yesterday to me.  I think we lived in the same neighborhood.

Please feel free to contact me anytime.
Kind regards,
Anny
ptrainer@charter.net

Posted by  Karen Holdridge, benton county tennessee on 04/04  at  02:43 PM

I lived in a little trailer on sw 23 ave between Archer & Williston Rd, whic is now an apt. complex. (Next to Sunrise).  Help me.

Posted by  Karen Holdridge, Benton County, TN on 04/04  at  02:17 PM

I lived in Gainesville, Fl until 2006. In the early 90’s, a girl from Texas, Consuela (Connie) something or other, from Texas, was kept by Tony Rivera, with barred windows andhandcuffs and locked double loked doors. Ultimately she was tortured, murdered, and toted from room to room by Rivera. He had a good defense attorney, Bernstein, I think and he went to a nut house. I am trying to recall the entire story and would like to help. Karen

Posted by  Kurt Predmore, WPB on 02/17  at  07:43 PM

I lived in Gatorwood Apts in 14-103. Thats the same apt only 2 buildings down from where Tracy and Manny were. I remember going to my car early in the morning and noticed news vans lined up the road. I realized what was going on and was told to stay in my apt until I was spoken to by a detective. Yes that was as scared as I’ve been realizing how close I was.

Posted by  Stephanie Lew, Gainesville, Florida on 09/15  at  03:52 AM

I was only ten when this horrible time happended. Ive lived in Gville my whole life and I remenber how scared my mother and father were. I’m one of three girls the oldest was 14 when this was going on. The town was so quiet and empty for a long time. I pass by the wall on 34th street almost everyday, and see the names of the victems painted on the wall, it still makes me sad. I hope there familes can now find peace. We love and miss all who were taken.

Posted by  G.H. Ross, Bradenton, FL on 10/27  at  06:16 AM

Danny Rolling’s crime was so terrible that they. should have promptly marched him to his just rewards!

Posted by  Leticia Buzby, Atlanta, GA on 10/26  at  08:56 PM

I remember it like it was yesterday.  Some my friends who had left to go to Gainesville had returned home and enrolled in local Tampa Colleges.  I was excited to see them but saddened to learn the reason why.  Every time I would see them around campus it would remind me of the horror that was going on up north and those poor people who lived it first hand.

Posted by  Jennifer White, Gainesville, Fl on 10/26  at  04:27 AM

I was 16 and a junior in high school living in South Florida and I remember just like it was yesterday.It seemed every day I woke up there was news of more murders. My birthday is August 29th so every year when school started it made me think of what happened.I moved to Gainesville in August 1994 and my first apartment was about a mile from where the murders took place.I have felt safe here since it happened but I always thought about it in the back of my mind and remembered the victims and the horror they went through.Over the years I never forgot what happened and I just wish the families peace and know that we all share your pain.I hope you see your loved ones again and you will be together for eternity.

Posted by  Shena Wilson, Brunswick, GA on 10/25  at  06:45 PM

I was only 11 at the time of the murders but I swore I would never attend UF. 9 years later I was there finishing my junior and senior years of college.  The murders were still in the back of my mind the first day of school. The first time I saw the memorial wall, I was moved to tears.  My mom knew Crista Hoyt’s uncle and seeing her name was a grim reminder that nobody’s as safe as they think they are.  During my last semester, they planted palm trees in the median across from the wall on 34th St with each victim’s name on them.  Today, justice has finally been served. I hope that the families can finally rest easier knowing he’s gone. You’re all in my prayers.

Posted by  CJ Rose, Tampa on 10/25  at  06:16 PM

My husband and I had been living in G’ville while he went to school and we were still living there expecting our first baby.  She was due on the day the first victims were found and I had her 6 days later.  Being in Gainesville at that time was SO tragic and scary.  I will never forget those feelings as long as I live.

Posted by  Brian Cunningham, Lancaster, Ohio on 10/25  at  04:20 PM

The whole town just stopped.  Very few cars on the streets.  No one would order pizzas because a rumor went around that it was a pizza driver.  We could not figure out how he kept getting into the victims’ apartments.

An experience I’ll never forget and one I pray I’ll never see again.

Posted by  Richard from Springfield, Springfield, MA, USA on 10/25  at  02:11 PM

It’s a damn shame this fiend took so long to put down his victims didn’t have that option.  This murderer will take the fast track to HELL.

Posted by  Jenny Davis, Pittsburgh PA on 10/25  at  01:59 PM

I had just moved to Gainesville in May for summer classes.  I remember not even knowing about the first murders (Sonja and Christi) until my sister called me the next day and begged me to come home.  I remember living with 7 people in a 2 bedroom apt with baseball bats and anything else we could use to attack an intruder.  I remember even after he was arrested, no matter where I lived (even today) I made sure there was/is extra security.  16 years have passed and I still have fears.  I understand those opposed to the death penalty, but for the victims in Gainesville and beyond, there is an element of justice.

Posted by  Scott T Coleman, Phoenix Arizona on 10/25  at  01:04 PM

I just wonder why his execution should have taken this long. He plead guilty on Febuary 15 1994, to these horrific crimes, and now 12 years and some months later he hopefully will be put down like the animal he is. After having having been a juror and seeing what this individual did to Sonya, Christina, Christa, Manny, and Tracey, he gave up his right to life a long time ago. My thoughts and prayers are with the families, and that some day they may be able to find some peace.

Posted by  Suzanne Guillet, Tampa, FL on 10/25  at  10:31 AM

I find the execution as shameful and barbaric as the crimes themselves.

Posted by  John Mannone, Lutz, FL on 10/25  at  09:23 AM

Rolling is every parents nightmare.
The fact is he did not only kill the students, he also killed a part of each of their family members, unfortunately he can only be killed once.

Posted by  Carrie Keesecker, Oldsmar, FL on 10/25  at  07:21 AM

I lived in Gainesville with my husband and one-year-old son at the time of the student murders.  It was an awful time and a scary time for everyone. My husband traveled for work and during this time, I started sleeping in my room with my son in his playpen and my dog locked in.  I also put bottles on my windowsill and had a bat with nails in it next to my bed.  The fear was everywhere and no one went anywhere they didn’t need to go.  All these years later, my son is set to graduate from high school and wants to go to UF.  It still scares me to this day!I’m glad the families will finally have some closure if that is possible.

Sincerely,
Carrie Keesecker

Posted by  Leah Wooten, Tampa, FL on 10/24  at  09:37 PM

I also attended UF during this time and remember the fear and uncertainty this killing spree created. While there may not be a formal memorial tomorrow night I, for one, will be remembering the victims and praying for their families. The perpetrator of these crimes warrants no mention.

Posted by  Todd Wilhelmi, Tampa, Florida on 10/24  at  08:02 PM

I remember those frightening days and the fear that Danny Rolling inflicted upon the people in and around the Gainsville area. I can’t imagine the horror the families of the victims had to go through or the pain that they still must endure. Justice will finally be served on wednesday, October 25th at 6:00 pm. God bless the families of Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt, Tracy Paules and Manny Taboada and may their memories forever live on.

Posted by  ted church, memphis, tn on 10/24  at  09:25 AM

danny r will be dead and so will the people he murdered. killing him wont bring them back to life. so, the death penatly didnt accomplish anything save for the state spending millions to kill him instead of simply locking him up for life for a whole lot less.  as far as deterence, i believe there actually have been murders in florida since he was convicted, right?

Posted by  Anny Rozelle, La Crosse, WI on 10/23  at  07:45 PM

I moved to Gainesvilee on the first day of the student murders.  I did not know anyone in Gainesville at the time.  I was there to finish my junior and senior years at the Univ of FL.
I remember getting home from classes and going through the bedrooms and closets to make sure no one was there.
I slept in the living room because I was afraid of getting caught down the hallway (in a bedroom) with no way out.
My landlord who was a troubleshooter with the electric company.  He would come over after having breakfast with his cop friends and tell me details of the crime scenes that had not been made public yet.
I will never forget those kids and their families and unfortunately, Danny Rolling

Posted by  dick rivett, lutz on 10/22  at  03:53 PM

this guy needs to go, he is a grissly killer, it has been too long this is what is no deterrent to murder, this guy needs to say bye bye

Posted by  Paul LaBarbera, Plant City on 10/19  at  09:20 AM

I was 20 years old and had decided to attend my last two years of college in the University of Florida school of business.  Looking forward to living on my own for the first time, meeting new people, and preparing for my future I would have never imagined what was about to happen.  Only 1 week after moving to Gainesville I was shocked to hear about the first murders.  Over the next 48 hours it seemed like everytime you turned around another victim was discovered.  In only a couple of days a very lively town turned into what seemed like a ghost town. School was dismissed for the remainder of the week and many went home to worried parents.  I returned the following week a little frightened and a lot more cautious.

Posted by  Kim Perez, 15112 Contoy Place Tampa Florida 33618 on 10/16  at  10:30 PM

The fear of the Gainesville murders has never left me, it’s still very clear. I was in Pharmacy School.  A group of our friends lived in Summit House next door to Williamsburg.  We were excited to be back in Gainesville, we were visiting everyone without a care in the world. We had no idea, what was happening accross the alleyway. Nobody wanted to be alone. We felt that someone was watching us. I learned how to shoot a gun. We could not concentrate on school, the reason we were in Gainesville.  Many nights we stayed together, we felt there was safety in numbers.  My mother was nervous she had a freak accident and ran over herself with her own car. We all connected during this time. Each girl on campus thought she would be the next victim.