Murder.com (23 page)

I
n 2001, something extremely strange started happening at the Super-Max Correctional Facility at Broward, where the state of Florida also houses its female Death Row population. Indeed, the events unfolding at the Florida Department of Corrections’ (FDC) headquarters led to worn-out soles and bald patches in the plush carpet of the director’s office, after one its most unattractive inmates started to receive a lot of mail.

At first, the letters arrived in a trickle, which then became a flood, before growing, to the consternation and alarm of officials, into a daily tidal wave of packages of all sizes and from all around the world.

At first, the prison’s censors – already overworked and underpaid at the best of times – vetted the contents but soon a collective ‘Fuck this!’ went around the mail room. People started scratching their heads because
every single letter
professed undying love for inmate FDC # 160885 Robin J Lunceford. Moreover, most of the registered mail contained cheques, money orders and cash in amounts ranging from $50 to several thousand.

Diners in the prison officers’ canteen screamed in unison, ‘Beeeeee Jeeeeezus’ after one donation of $8,000 dropped on the mat for Robin Lunceford.

With no fewer than three aliases, and more tattoos than a fairground worker, this ungodly-looking felon had committed more robberies using a firearm than Bonnie and Clyde, and has drawn a staggering 260 years’ punishment for her crimes. So why all the fan mail?

By the time Ms Lunceford’s prison bank account reached $1.8 million, the combined intelligence of the Florida Department of Corrections was at its wit’s end, yet the money continued to roll in. She agreed to receive only a few female visitors and a shrewd little attorney; she wasn’t replying to much of the mail and, as far as the prison authorities could see, she wasn’t running an illegal business from jail.

It is a popular misconception that scamming originated in Eastern Europe. As we mentioned in our first chapter, it started in America with Peters and Takers, and maybe this had now returned to haunt them. However, Lunceford’s fiddle put her predecessors in the shade. She became, and still is, the Einstein of Scam.

Early in 2002, a colleague of one of the authors at the Criminology Research Institute rushed into work clasping a note on which was written: ‘Women Behind Bars’. It referred to an internet-run dating agency dedicated solely to American prisoners seeking love. We checked out WBB’s website and on
one of the pages saw a photo of one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

Clad in French red underwear, black stockings and stiletto shoes, this creature was as hot as chilli peppers.

Robin’s profile gave few other details – notably absent was her rich criminal CV – but she alluded to her search for an older, financially stable man, and possible suitors were invited to write to the dating agency and pay around $17 for her address.

Smelling a rat, we wired the money, and after it had cleared – it was refunded later – we received an email with Robin’s address at Broward, Pembroke Pines, Florida. And at that time the lady’s next-door neighbour was the serial killer Aileen Wuornos!

But then we carried out a very simple exercise. Within seconds we had logged on to the FDC’s Inmate Search, typed in Robin’s name and ID number, and bingo, up popped a photograph of the real Robin Lunceford that bore no resemblance at all to the sexy shot of supermodel Laetitia Casta that appeared on WBB’s website.

Try doing a search for yourself and check out the FDC site, along with anything you can find on Laetitia. We’re sure you’ll notice the difference. Unfortunately, the Florida state government and its entire prison system had not.

But the $1.8 million was by no means the end of it.

We drew this discrepancy to the attention of Women Behind Bars, who politely explained that ‘We do not check out photographic details’ but assured us that they would do so in the future. Of course, WBB must have earned a tidy sum from this caper, and obviously they could not have noticed the striking likeness between one of the world’s most famous models and the photo they had posted on their site.

We also contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, based in Tallahassee. It soon became clear that Robin Lunceford really had polished up her scheme. She had handed all of her mail to her few visitors – all quite legal – and they had replied to the potential suitors with a duplicated series of correspondence – all carefully worded and sending a message to this effect: ‘I don’t have much time to write because I study a lot. I am working for university degrees in economics and teaching. You are so handsome and kind. I could fall for you. Here are some more of my pictures. I hope you like them because they are just for you, etc. I have my own website, which will show I am innocent. Please write to my mother on the physical address there.’

Now short-circuiting the prison system, the excited suitors logged on to a porn site containing carefully doctored photos. ‘I used to be a model,’ it was claimed on the first page. ‘I trusted a man and he got me in trouble with the Law.’

Writing to the ‘mother’ drew the standard response: ‘…not many men write me because they are afraid of my beauty. My heart is warm and I would love to walk and dine with you by a fire… etc… if you can help me with a little money, I know you are sincerely in love with me… etc.’

Thousands of mugs from around the world did exactly that. They sent more money… serious money. Of course, when any punter asked if he could visit Robin, he received another standard reply, one that rounded things off nicely: ‘Darling, I would adore seeing you – perhaps for a few minutes alone. I ache for you, darling. I am so happy. When I passed your letter to the prison governor, she said no. It was against the rules. If you write to them, they will punish me. It has broken my heart.’

The fact of the matter is, Robin Lunceford is not able to receive general visitors, period, because of her security status, and the FDC does not, as a matter of policy, enter into correspondence with people who wish to do so – not least thousands of them all gagging to see the woman.

It is true to say that many of the women featured on WBB’s site have a genuine intention of finding a soul mate and hope to get married and settle down once they have paid their debt to society. However, a percentage of these women not only want to fleece you of every dollar you have saved or are likely to ever earn, but are also
extremely dangerous
. Here are just a few of them:

Ms Forrester, who has two aliases, is serving 50 years for offences including forgery, theft by receiving, probation violation, possession of firearms and criminal conspiracy. She used a photograph of an international model to sell herself, and Kim is no shrinking violet, for she was vociferous when it came to asking for money. When we brought this delicate matter to the attention of the Arkansas Department of Corrections and the internet agency itself, it was discovered that this evil woman had been getting away with this type of fraud for ages.

You will be pleased to learn, however, that her parole expectations have since been drastically reduced after the authors contacted the prison.

But there are good stories to be had, so it is not all bad news. Dick, 69, from the USA, first saw convicted murderess 62-year-old Rebecca ‘Becky’ Kincer on the WBB website in February
1999. He wrote to her on St Valentine’s Day ‘as a lark’, he said in an email to the authors.

‘She just hit me as a fun person and I wrote back,’ he told us. ‘I received an answer much quicker than I expected and we started writing daily. It wasn’t long before we started fighting via mail because I thought she wanted money, but it was because something I had written was misinterpreted.’

However, ever pleased to bring you some good and exciting news, we are delighted to report that the couple are now blissfully married and the white-haired lady in question will be released in 2040.

Dick said, ‘She will either come home to me or I will die here waiting for her! She is my life and I will never leave her.’

Philip A Robinson hit a three-cherry jackpot after contacting a woman who advertised on the WBB site. After a rollercoaster ride of a relationship, including the shredding of one of her letters after she threatened to break with him, they were married on 26 June 2001, in the Visitors Room of the Scotts Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Michigan.

However, unknown to Phillip, he had been kept in the dark.

Born on 5 September 1961, Carmel has several aliases: Carmel Allen, Cynthia Moss, Cynthia Reed, Sharon Green and Shirley Hall. Her crimes are: assault to commit murder (30 years); manslaughter (ten years); carrying concealed weapons (six months); escape from prison (six months); uttering and publishing (two and a half years).

The couple’s present marital status is unknown.

Mr Lenny Madrid, however, had a less than loving relationship
when he met a lady through WBB’s site. He wrote to complain to the agency on 13 August 2001:

But, not one to be thwarted, Lenny has since met another female prisoner, who said she wanted to marry him when she is released. Careful, Lenny, you should have learned a lesson or two by now!

Tommy, from the USA, rather sums it all up in his email:

Actually, Women Behind Bars is run by two pretty decent Christian people. They have been more than fair when dealing with the authors and we are sure they will endorse the following.

The bottom line is enjoying the search for your bride-to-be, even on the sites which advertise female criminals. But remember this: they are in prison for offences ranging from fraud, through drugs and armed robbery, to murder. One of America’s most vicious female killers advertised on WBB’s site. And did she have some nerve!

Lora Lee Zaiontz was a co-defendant with TDC # 999784 Troy Albert Kunkle. For any girls who may have a compulsion to write to the handsome Troy, bear in mind that he was executed by lethal injection on 1 April 2005.

But, if you look up Troy’s rap sheet under ‘Texas Executed Offenders’ before you write to Lora, at least you’ll know what you are letting yourself in for.

There are hundreds of websites set up for convicted inmates who either want pen friends or are cunningly protesting their innocence in money-making schemes. Here we expose a few of them. Don’t get sucked in.

‘I’m positive, a good listener. I am outgoing, generous, respectful, friendly, caring and humorous.’

This is how necrophiliac Rodgers ludicrously describes himself on the internet. And this killer awaits his fate in Florida’s electric chair for shooting a man in what only can be described as a ‘thrill killing’, in Santa Rosa County, Florida. Weighing 146 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair, Rodgers has his birth sign, the Ram’s horns, tattooed on his head.

Of the events that put him on Death Row, there isn’t an enormous amount of detail on record. However, the basic facts are that Rodgers loosed off a volley of shots at a person’s home and missed his intended target. He later returned, shot a man dead and committed some pretty awful sexual acts on the corpse.

The repugnant Rodgers, who advertises for pen friends on the internet, describes his eye colour as blue – they are brown – and says he enjoys reading, crosswords, playing volleyball, chess and ‘learning new things’.

Nineteen-year-old Larry Osborne was sentenced to death on 27 January 1999 in Whitley County. The charges proved were: two counts of intentional murder; first degree burglary; first degree robbery, and first degree arson.

Well done, Larry!

On 14 December 1997, the Whitley County 911 dispatch received a telephone call reporting that the breaking of glass had been heard at a residence and that someone should check out the incident. This message was relayed to the Kentucky State Police and, on arriving at the scene, officers found the place on fire.

The blaze was soon extinguished, and the bodies of Sam and Lillian Davenport were found lying near the front door. A single-barrel shotgun was located about two feet to the right of Sam.

It soon became obvious that the couple had been burgled and a .380-calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol had been stolen. Osborne was arrested while trying to sell this gun.

This killer advertises on the internet for penpals, saying:

It is notable that nowhere among his richly impressive and varied list of talents and interests does Larry mention killing people and burning houses down. But then he wouldn’t, would he?