Williamsburg Village Apartments - Gainesville, FL
Posted by: 
GatoRx
N 29° 38.052 W 082° 20.607
17R E 369948 N 3279006
The site where Danny Rolling began his killing spree in 1990.
Waymark Code: WM31ZH
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2008
Views: 183
Before August 24, 1990, Gainesville, Florida was known as a sleepy college town, home to the University of Florida. The school's campus was the town's centerpiece, with homes and apartments occupied by students stretched out from the edge of campus. What happened that day marked the start of a period of panic throughout the area.
The Williamsburg Village Apartments lie at the end of a road connecting them with the campus and Shands Medical Center, and are particularly popular with medical students. The complex has been around since the 1960's, and features several three story apartment buildings.
Early on the morning of August 24, 1990, Danny Rolling, a drifter from Louisiana, walked up the back stairs to the second floor entrance of the apartment of two young women; he had followed the two students to the apartment the night before, then hid in the woods behind the building. The back door to the residence was unlocked, and after entering, he gagged then stabbed one of the women to death. He then bound and gagged, raped, then stabbed the second woman five times. Their bodies were found three days later by a maintenance worker and police officer.
Over the course of four days, Rolling raped, mutilated, and murdered three more people, leaving the entire town fearing for their safety. Students returned home, some never to come back to UF. Residents installed extra locks on their doors, and bought guns to protect themselves. Extra police officers were brought into town to try to control the hysteria, and investigate the killings. While all this was going on, Rolling had left town. He was arrested the following week in nearby Ocala after robbing a grocery store, but not suspected in the killings until several months later, eventually being indicted on the charges in November, 1991. He pleaded guilty to the charges on February 15, 1994, and the following month was sentenced to death for the five murders. Rolling died by lethal injection on October 25, 2006.
The Williamsburg Village Apartments are still standing today. Extra locks have been installed on all the apartment doors, alarm systems are in use in each apartment, and special panic button alarms are located in each bedroom. The apartment where the murders took place is now used as a model, for showing the layout of the apartment design to potential renters.
Date of crime: 08/24/1990
Web site: [Web Link]
Public access allowed: Not Listed
Fee required: Not Listed
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