The Evil Within - A Top Murder Squad Detective Reveals The Chilling True Stories of The World's Most Notorious Killers (18 page)

As a result, the police started to investigate Jesperson more closely. They found that he was a truck driver who travelled the length and breadth of North America. Knowing his connection with Julie Ann Winningham, they traced him to New Mexico, where he was detained and spoken to in relation to Winningham’s murder; however, the police had to release him as they had no evidence to hold him on.

Jesperson now believed it was only a matter of time before he was caught and so he wrote letters to his brother and one to his children confessing to murdering a woman in his truck, and adding that he had killed eight more. He then telephoned the police and made a confession over the phone. He was arrested and charged with the murder of Julie Ann Winningham.

Victim number seven was found following his arrest after he had boasted about killing a female he picked up in Wyoming in September 1995. He described a specific tattoo of Tweety Pie that she had on her ankle. Based on this information, Nebraska highway patrolmen found the remains of Angela Subrize, where she had been lying in tall grass for several months, probably since early January. Badly decomposed, most of her skin had decayed and investigators were able to identify her only after examining pelvic X-rays and finding the tattoo of Tweety Pie that was still visible on one of her ankles, one of only a few identifying marks that remained on her body. Jesperson was then charged with her murder. This time, if convicted, he would face the death penalty. In an effort to avoid this, he offered to provide information in relation to other murders. This offer was rejected.

Police had now also been able to connect Jesperson to the other murders by comparing his handwriting on the letters he
had sent to the newspapers. While awaiting trial, he indicated he might well have killed up to 160 people, but he would later retract all of these confessions.

In October 1995, Jesperson was brought to trial for the murder of Julie Ann Winningham. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Following this, he was extradited back to Oregon. On Thursday, 2 November 1995, after waiving all of his rights, he pleaded guilty to the murder of Taunja Bennett. This sentence gave Jesperson the chance to avoid the death penalty in Wyoming. The Oregon sentence made potential death penalties in other states less likely and Jesperson knew it.

However, there was another Oregon case involving Jesperson that had yet to come to court. This was the murder of 23-
year-old
Laurie Ann Pentland. Jesperson had now been forensically linked to her murder through DNA and also by the letters. Jesperson was again sentenced to life in prison in Oregon, with a 30-year minimum term before parole eligibility. Following his sentencing in Washington, he was transferred to the Oregon State Penitentiary to begin serving consecutive sentences. If he remains alive to complete his sentences in Oregon, he will be transferred to the Washington State Penitentiary to begin serving his life sentence there.

However, in 1997, more than two years later, the State of Wyoming finally succeeded in extraditing Jesperson for trial for the murder of Angela Subrize. For the next few months, there were many legal arguments. Jesperson stated that he would change his story regarding the jurisdiction in which he had killed Angela. At one point, he said that he had killed her in Wyoming and at another point he claimed that he had killed her in Nebraska. Eventually a deal was struck. Jesperson agreed to plead guilty to murdering Angela Subrize in Wyoming if prosecutors would agree not to seek the death penalty against him.

As a result, on 3 June 1998, Jesperson was sentenced to life in prison and it was ordered that the sentence would run consecutive
to the two life sentences in Oregon and the life sentence in Washington, leaving little doubt that he would die in prison. It remains to be seen whether any other jurisdictions, such as the states of Florida or California, will prosecute Jesperson for murders that he confessed to in those states, both of which still have the death penalty.

Monday, 29 July 1996 was destined not to be an ordinary day for the Streyle family of Canistota, South Dakota. It was their son Nathan’s second birthday and they looked forward to celebrating later that evening. Piper Streyle, 28, was preparing to take Nathan and her daughter, Shaina, three, to their babysitter before going to work. Her husband Vance, 29, had left earlier to go to work.

Around 9.30am a man forced his way into the Streyles’ mobile home while Piper, Shaina and Nathan were still there. A violent struggle occurred between Piper and the man, which the children witnessed. The intruder then abducted Piper, leaving Shaina and Nathan alone, utterly traumatised by what they had seen. Friends later found them after frantic phone calls. As a result of what the children said, the police were called. Three days after Piper’s abduction, her husband remembered an important piece of information, which he told to the police. It would prove to be the break they were looking for and would lead to the identification of one of South Dakota’s most sadistic sexual murderers.

Streyle told the police about a man he remembered visiting their home several days prior to his wife’s disappearance. He recalled that a balding man in his twenties named Rob Anderson had come to their trailer at around 7.30am on 26 July to enquire about enrolling his kids into the Streyles’ Bible camp for children, which they operated every July. He claimed that Anderson seemed startled to see him, as if he didn’t expect him to be home. Once Anderson overcame his initial surprise, he briefly asked about the camp. Vance referred him to Piper, who explained that
the camp was over for the summer but suggested he sign his kids up for the next year. Anderson agreed and wrote down his name and telephone number before leaving.

The police immediately began investigating the information Vance gave them. Their new suspect was 26-year-old Robert Leroy Anderson, a maintenance man at the John Morrell & Co. meat-packing plant.

A number of witnesses told police that they had seen a black Bronco truck in the vicinity of the Streyles’ mobile home on the day Piper went missing. One of the witnesses was a highway worker who told investigators that he saw a black Bronco approximately three times that day, once at around 9.45am, a second time approximately one hour later and a final time at about 12.30pm. A neighbouring couple told police that at around 11.45am on the day in question they saw a black Bronco close to the Streyles’ home. The neighbours saw the truck again about one hour later. It was stationary in the front of the driveway and they saw a man wearing a baseball cap and jeans coming out of the Streyles’ home.

On 30 July, police contacted Anderson and asked him to go voluntarily to the police station to be interviewed, which he did. During approximately eight hours of videotaped questioning, Anderson calmly admitted to going to the Streyles’ trailer four days earlier. Even though he hadn’t established an alibi for 29 July, he did tell police that he had returned to the Streyles’ house that day to ask permission to use the archery range on their property, but no one answered the door so he left. Anderson denied knowing anything about the abduction of Piper or her whereabouts.

While the police were interrogating Anderson, they examined his blue Bronco and his home. During the search, they would find what would prove to be some of the most crucial incriminating evidence against Anderson in respect of other crimes. Sadly, it would not lead to Piper’s whereabouts. In fact, she was never found. The police discovered several receipts for
duct tape, black water-based tempera paint, paintbrushes and a bucket, most of which had been purchased a few days prior to and on the day Piper went missing.

Police suspected that the paint was used to disguise Anderson’s Bronco, and these suspicions would prove to be correct. They called in experts to analyse the paint on the truck more closely. Samples were taken and chemically tested. They found that the Bronco had been painted with the same material bought by Anderson around 29 July. The paint used was a kind that could be easily applied and washed off.

Inside the vehicle, even more incriminating evidence was discovered. The police found a wooden platform that had holes drilled into it. It was believed that it had been made as a restraining device – a person’s ankles and hands could be tied to metal hoops that were strategically inserted into the board. The platform had been sized to fit perfectly into the back of the truck. The forensic team also found hairs attached to the wooden platform, and these were identified as Piper’s. Moreover, a dirty shovel, furniture-moving straps, weeds, a toolbox and dog hairs similar to those of the Streyles’ dog were also discovered in the truck. It was becoming increasingly clear that there was more to Anderson than met the eye.

At Anderson’s home, police found a pair of jeans in his laundry basket, stained with what appeared to be blood. The jeans were taken away for analysis. It was found that the DNA structure of the blood did not match that of Anderson or his family. It was believed to be Piper’s blood. They also found semen stains on the jeans but they were not able to match them genetically to Anderson because they had such a limited specimen to test. During the search, a set of handcuff keys was found, but Anderson emphatically denied that he owned a pair of handcuffs. After lengthy questioning, and due to the lack of evidence at that time, he was released.

In the interim period, police carried out photo identification parades in which a photo of Anderson was included among
others of similar description. One of Piper’s children identified him as the man who had abducted their mother; Piper’s husband identified him as being the man who had come to discuss the Bible classes. These positive identifications gave police the evidence they needed to press charges against Anderson.

On 2 August 1996, Anderson was arrested on two counts of kidnapping. The police were unable to charge him with murder because they lacked the evidence of a body. In September of that year, the police launched a massive search for Piper and any other evidence that might convict Anderson of murder. They wanted to ensure that he would serve the maximum sentence for his crime, and employed the help of hundreds of volunteers who searched the wooded area around the Big Sioux River. During the hunt for evidence, several significant items were discovered. Half of a shirt torn down the middle with the logo ‘Code Zero’ was found. It was the same shirt Piper had been wearing on the day she disappeared. A man picked up the other half of the black-
and-white
striped shirt on 29 July on a road near Baltic. He initially thought it was a referee shirt, yet when he discovered it wasn’t he threw it in the back of his car and forgot about it. He later gave it to the police when he realised the shirt’s significance. Near the Big Sioux River, where part of the shirt had been found, was a roll of duct tape with human hairs attached to it. The hair was later analysed and found to be consistent with samples taken from Piper’s hairbrush. Moreover, the duct tape taken from the scene matched the roll recovered from Anderson’s truck two months earlier. More gruesome physical evidence was discovered around the river, which included several lengths of rope and chains, eyebolts, a vibrator and a half-burnt candle. It was believed that the items had been used to torture Piper. They also presented clear evidence that Anderson was a sexual sadist.

In May 1997, Anderson was tried and found guilty of kidnapping Piper. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment in South Dakota State Penitentiary. However, it would not be the only charge for which he would be convicted.
One of Anderson’s friends, Jamie Hammer, came forward and spoke to the police and gave them new information regarding Anderson’s sexually sadistic and predatory behaviour. They learnt that Piper was not his only victim. Hammer said that as far back as high school he was aware of Anderson’s obsession with torturing and murdering women. Hammer was intrigued by the idea and the two often discussed ways in which to commit the perfect crime. As their conversations progressed and grew more detailed over time, so did their fantasies. It wasn’t long before the two men decided to act them out. Hammer and Anderson actually planned abducting a woman together. They placed sharp objects on the road and then waited for a victim to drive by, run over the sharp objects and get a flat tyre. It was then that they planned to attack the unsuspecting female. Hammer didn’t know it, but Anderson had already pre-selected a victim named Amy Anderson, 26 (no relation to Anderson himself).

In November 1994, Amy was on her way home from a friend’s house near Tea, South Dakota. As Anderson had planned, her car tyre was punctured. She pulled off the road to change it. As she reached into her boot to get the spare tyre, Anderson grabbed her and carried her off the road towards a wooded area. Luckily, Amy managed to break free and flag down a passing car that stopped to pick her up.

The attempted kidnapping of Amy remained unsolved until the arrest of Anderson, when it was brought once again to the fore. Amy was able to identify Anderson in a police line-up, but he would never stand trial for the crime. Instead, another friend of Anderson named Glen Marcus Walker would take the blame. He had also been involved with Anderson and Hammer in Amy’s unsuccessful abduction. Several years later, during his trial, Walker pleaded guilty to the offence. However, it would not be the only crime he would admit that he committed with Anderson. Police discovered that even before Amy was attacked, Anderson and Walker had committed another, more gruesome, crime. In 1991, while working together, they devised a plan to abduct and
kill a female worker from where they worked, Larisa Dumansky. On 26 August, Anderson approached Larisa in the car park at their place of work. He abducted her at knifepoint and ordered her into his vehicle. Then Anderson and Walker drove Larisa to Lake Vermillion. When they arrived at the lake, Walker watched as Anderson dragged Larisa out of the car and raped her several times. Larisa pleaded desperately for her life but Anderson ignored her. Anderson suffocated her with duct tape and then buried her remains under a bush. At the time of Larisa’s death she was six weeks pregnant. Walker later told police he was not involved in the murder and led them to where her body had been buried. When they dug up her remains, they were puzzled as to why there were only half of her remains in the grave – but would only find the answer several months later.