William Darrell Lindsey,64 y.o.self-confessed serial killer of 12-20 gals,linked to 7 killings,plea bargains Guilty to murdering 4 young gals,in FL
Joe1orbit
Does the name of William Darrell Lindsey ring any bells, folks? It certainly
SHOULD, if you are a long-time readers of my posts or close follower of the
serial murder scene. William has gotten very LITTLE media attention, but he is
absolutely a serial killer, and one of the nore interesting ones to boot.
64 year old Darrell was arrested in late 1996, and charged with killing ONE
hooker. Darrell soon, and STUPIDLY, confessed to serially killing between 12
and 20 gals, but was only LINKED by police to 6 or 7 of the killings, that took
place during a 7-8 year time period between 1988 and 1995. Remember folks,
Darrell is SIXTY-FOUR years old. So, these seven murder charges implied that
Darrell did not even BEGIN to serially kill until he was 53 or so years old.
Certainly that is very POSSIBLE. As I've often said, every serial killer, and
mass murderer for that matter, is totally unique and no type of "profile" or
murder pattern can be legitimately applied to individual killers. But of course
it is ALSO possible that Darrell had been killing for MANY YEARS, prior to
1988, and detectives simply haven't been able to link any of his earlier
killings to him.
We learn below that in a SURPRISE development, William decided to accept a
plea bargain deal that had been offered by prosecutors, and yesterday he pled
guilty to FOUR counds of SECOND degree murder, in connection to the killings of
four gals. ALL of William's victims are believed to be females, and most, if
not all, were prostitutes.
You can view a facial photo of Darrell, taken by police about 3 years ago at
the time of his arrest, by pointing your web browser to:
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042199/met_2b1Linds.html
I think it MAY well have been fairly wise of Darrell to accept this plea
deal. The state of FL is famous for imposing perversely unjustifiable legal
murder sentences, and by agreeing to plead Guilty to these 4 murders, but only
to a SECOND degree murder charge, Darrell guarantees himself that NO legal
murder sentence can be imposed upon him. The PROBLEM is, that this only applies
to these FOUR murders. If prosecutors decide to indict him on 3 or more
additional murders, they could still seek a legal murder against Darrell.
Hopefully he will at least be offered a similar plea bargain deal, but there
are no guarantees when it comes to dealing with your bloodthirty and malevolent
society and perverse judicial system.
As far as I'm concerned, the fact of William's AGE is an important one. If he
had agreed to this plea bargain deal, which of course is tatamount to a Life
prison term, at the age of 25, I would be MUCH less willing to see his decision
as being a sensible one. But given the fact that he is 64, and has already
accomplished many killings while living out the best years of his life in
freedom, this type of plea deal makes a bit more sense. Assuming of course that
prosecutors have a STRONG case against William.
But the thing is, they did NOT have a strong case at allI. William STUPIDLY
confessed to being a serial killer, shortly after his arrest. Had he NOT
confessed, he probably would not even have been indicted on more than one
murder charge. even the prosecutor admits: "We really didn't think he was going
to plead to this. The case against Lindsey would have been tough to prove and
hinged on the confession. There was no physical evidence that linked the
defendant to the crime scenes. If we'd had the confession suppressed, I didn't
have a case.'' I think it is OUTRAGEOUS and should be ILLEGAL for prosecutors
to indict and put on trial a suspected criminal based ONLY on his confession,
if there is NO legitimate EVIDENCE of his guilt. Anybody can CONFESS to
anything. That should NOT, in any way, relieve prosecutors of the BURDEN they
should carry, OBLIGATING them to PROVE beyond a reasonable doubt, that THIS
defendent committed the specific crimes he is on trial for. A confession does
NOT prove ANYTHING, to any degree at all, much less to the degree that goes
BEYOND all reasonable doubt.
This plea bargain involves a 30 year mandatory prison term. So Darrell will
be 94 years old when he can get the chance to regain his freedom. As I think it
over, I'm changing my mind. Based upon the LACK of incriminating evidence,
William SHOULD NOT have agreed to this plea bargain. He should have risked a
legal murder by going with a straight Not Guilty plea at trial. Besides which,
even if sentenced to be legally murdered, Darrell should have been able to
appeal and postpone the legal murder for at LEAST 8-10 years, which would leave
him in his middle to late 70's, agewise.
Oh well, he made his choice, and I'm not going to personally criticize it.
The official sentencing date is May 21st. I do wonder just how MANY gals
William has killed, and if it is indeed TRUE that he BEGAN his serial killing
career in 1988, at the age of 53. only William knows for sure, of course. And
with further prosecutions and a possible legal murder sentence hanging over his
head, I certainly don't expect William to start blabbering about any of his
other killings. Loose lips sink ships.
All 4 gals that William has pled Guilty to serially killing, were aged 26-31.
He did seem to go after the fairly young 'uns. The BODIES of all 4 women, of 6
out of the 7 gals that William confessed initially to killing, HAVE been found.
But not much evidence of any kind was found with the bodies, in terms of a
linkage to William. All the gals were beaten, and many were also shot.
Overall, I guess William has had a nice life of freedom and a decent serial
murder career. Nobody lives forever, and some perople even die of natural
causes before reaching age 61. William got to enjoy the bulk, prime years of
his life, as a free man. Hopefully he is coping okay with prison life, and will
live out his natural lifespan in peace and tranquility, reflecting back upon
his life choices and achievements.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Lindsey pleads guilty
Palatka man admits to 4 slayings in deal
By Dana Treen
Times-Union staff writer
ST. AUGUSTINE - A shocking multiple murder case in St. Johns County came to a
surprising end yesterday when William Darrell Lindsey Sr. pleaded guilty to
four counts of second-degree murder for a series of slayings between 1988 and
1995.
Lindsey, 64, who has been called a serial killer and was once thought to have
killed as many as seven women in St. Johns, agreed to a 30-year sentence
yesterday at a hearing that was supposed to be about suppressing a confession
he made in North Carolina after his arrest on another murder.
He will be sentenced May 21. In mid-1997, Lindsey rejected a deal that would
have given him the same sentence.
By pleading guilty, Lindsey avoids the death penalty.
''We really didn't think he was going to plead to this,'' said prosecutor
Maureen Sullivan Christine, who said the case against Lindsey would have been
tough to prove and hinged on the confession.
''There was no physical evidence that linked the defendant to the crime
scenes,'' said Christine. ''If we'd had the confession suppressed, I didn't
have a case.''
Lindsey, a mechanic and farm worker born in Palatka and with ties to St. Johns
County, was charged with the murders after his arrest in late 1996 in Buncombe
County, North Carolina, for the Christmas Day murder of a prostitute.
He had been living in North Carolina for several years, but sometimes traveled
to Florida. Investigators in St. Johns County learned of Lindsey and went to
North Carolina after seeing similarities in the cases.
It was those interviews that were the subject of the hearing yesterday.
In April 1997, Lindsey led investigators to swampy, secluded areas where he
told police remains of at least two bodies could be found. But searchers had no
luck, blaming the terrain and conditions that would have quickly obscured any
evidence.
Ultimately, five bodies were found, and in November 1997, Lindsey was indicted
on six counts of first-degree murder. A seventh case could not be linked to
Lindsey. Two of the indictments were dismissed because no bodies were
recovered.
Lindsey pleaded guilty to the murders of Anita Louise Stevens, 27, who
disappeared in 1988; Constance Marie Terrell, 26, who disappeared in 1989;
Lashawna Streeter, 26, who disappeared in 1992; and Cheryl Denise Lucas, 31,
who disappeared in 1995.
The bodies of those women, who investigators said were beaten or shot, were
found in areas where time and the elements left few clues.
''He pled in what he considered his best interest,'' said defense attorney
Douglas Withee, who would not say more about why Lindsey decided to plead
guilty.
''I felt if we were to get any level of justice we had to do what we did,''
said Nancy Barnett, whose daughter, Constance Terrell, was among the victims.
''It was not what a lot of us wanted. We didn't feel like justice was done, but
we got a little justice.''
The agreement with the state is also tied to the case in North Carolina, where
Lindsey still faces charges of murder in the death of Lucy Raymer, 32, who died
from a blow to the head.
As part of the agreement, Lindsey's sentence will include the North Carolina
case, Withee said. Lindsey still has to appear in North Carolina to finalize
that agreement.
----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 4/21/99 online edition of The St.
Augustine Record newspaper:
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Lindsey pleads guilty
Serial killer gets 30 years in deal OKíd by victimsí families
By PETER GUINTA
Staff Writer
William Darrell Lindsey, accused of murdering at least six women in St. Johns
County, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to second-degree murder in four of those
deaths.
He will spend 30 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
The 64-year-old Lindsey, a former mechanic, originally told police that he had
killed from 12 to 20 people in four states.
He still faces first-degree murder charges in Asheville, N.C., and will be
transported to that state after he is sentenced May 21.
Lindsey was first arrested in Buncombe County, N.C., in November 1996 and
accused of killing 32-year-old Lucy Raymer of Asheville in his mobile home. Her
body was found in a ditch along a remote road the day after Christmas.
An autopsy showed Raymer had died of a skull fracture.
Court documents said Lindsey admitted to killing Raymer. Similarities emerged
between that murder and a string of unsolved homicides in St. Johns County.
A month after Lindseyís arrest, St. Johns County sheriffís detectives went to
North Carolina to interview him in those cases.
In conversations with officers, he confessed to at least six killings here and
accompanied officers to where four of the bodies had been dumped.
But Lindsey later recanted his confessions.
The four victims whose bodies were found were Anita Louise Stevens, 27, beaten,
raped and strangled in November 1988; Constance Marie Terrell, 26, shot June
10, 1989; Lashawna Streeter, 27, beaten and strangled March 1, 1992; and Cheryl
Lucas, 31, beaten to death on June 17, 1995.
Two of six counts against him were thrown out in November 1998 because the
bodies of two victims, Donetha Snead-Haile, 32, who disappeared April 21, 1993,
and Diana Richardson, 48, who disappeared in 1995, could not be found.
Lindsey was also a suspect in a seventh murder ó that of Lisa Foley, 24.
His surprise change of plea Tuesday came after three hours of discussion
between prosecutors and the families of the four victims.
Assistant State Attorney Maureen Sullivan Christine said, ëëOur office, the St.
Johns County Sheriffís Office and the victimsí families discussed the plea
defenses and avenues. This was an agreement that was reached by everybody.íí
At the hearing, Circuit Court Judge Robert Mathis carefully questioned Lindsey
to make sure the pale, shackled inmate understood his rights under the plea
agreement.
Lindsey will not be able to appeal the question of his guilt, but may appeal
his sentence if he believes it unjust.
ëëYou fully understand these rights?íí Mathis asked.
ëëYes sir,íí Lindsey replied in a low voice.
His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Douglas Withee, said his client was
changing his plea ëëbecause it is in his best interest to do so. This has been
thoroughly discussed with my client for the past number of months.íí
Mathis ordered a pre-sentence investigation, required under law.
Lindsey had no previous felony record. His prison term will be 30 years, but
the state must determine which sentencing guidelines were in effect at the time
of each crime.
The guidelines determine what percentage of the sentence he must serve.
Under current guidelines, for example, violent offenders must spend at least 85
percent of their sentences in prison. Earlier guidelines were not as strict.
Christine said the sentence, under any guidelines, with be lengthy.
ëëI donít think heís going to be cut any breaks,íí she said. ëëHeís killed four
people.íí
Lindsey has already been offered a plea agreement deal in North Carolina for
second-degree murder. He would serve 21 years there, concurrently with his
Florida sentence, and avoid the death penalty.
Withee, joined at the defense table by David Belser of Asheville, Lindseyís
North Carolina attorney, said he could not comment on the resolution of these
long-standing charges against his client.
ëëThe case has been resolved,íí was all Withee would say.
After Mathis accepted the plea, two women from Streeterís family covered their
faces in grief.
Mildred McQuaig, mother of victim Anita Stevens, said her daughter was a
hard-working woman who had a job in a local restaurant and two sons at home
when she went out on an errand about 4 a.m. one night and disappeared.
The next morning, a county employee found her partially dressed body in a pond
off Fish Island Road on Anastasia Island.
Her mother and sister were in the courtroom Tuesday, watching Lindseyís plea.
ëëI agreed to the second-degree murder charge, but everyone knows it was
first-degree murder,íí McQuaig said. ëëThey didnít leave us much choice. They
said he would walk if we didnít agree. Weíre just thankful he canít do this to
someone else.íí
Stacy Snead, 35, sister to Donetha Laverne Snead-Haile, didnít notice the irony
that today was the sixth anniversary of her sisterís disappearance.
She said prosecutors called her after Lindsey accepted the plea, but that all
the victimsí families wanted Lindsey to get the death penalty.
ëëItís out of our hands,íí Snead said. ëëWe hope and pray he will die in
prison. Only God can give him justice.íí
Her sisterís body was never found, but Snead says that her family still
celebrates Donethaís birthdays and recognizes her on holidays.
ëëItís just like she was there. She was close to her mother. She would never
wander off without telling someone where she was going,íí Snead said. ëëThereís
no question weíll never find out what happened to her. The familyís always
going to suffer.íí
Prosecutor Christine said she was mostly satisfied at the plea result,
especially considering that there was no physical evidence tying Lindsey to the
murder sites.
ëëThe best evidence we had against him were the confessions he gave in North
Carolina,íí she said. ëëItís good that we can give the victimsí families
finality. Itís been 11 years hanging over their heads. Now, itís said and
done.íí
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