The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 115

i 1 yauBW BRO THURSDAY MARCH 24 1994 THE HERALD 11A Amid the relief some frustration death goes unpunished Rolling jury ends session with no action I October 1992 after another man had been wrongly convicted: obviously 1 me been 17 months since it he said been a long time I started working on this Oct 1 1992 like take that date and stop Go to today and restart my think the jury had a real tough time with the child Especially with Paul if you believed he murdered his Bronson said' think what took so From Emma Jo Bartlett whose son John Purvis served nine years in prison before he was released last yean knew convict Hamwi and Serio I just pray God will have mercy on their souls for what she said know that precious little girl died My mind even conceive of Bartlett said an old dog will fight for his little babies not a human From Professor Steve Wisot-sky the Nova University appellate specialist instrumental in reopening the Purvis case: I think an important closure because now an official convic- By TRISH POWER And AMY ALEXANDER Herald Staff Writers Those who knew Susan Hamwi in life and those who came to know her in death expressed mixed feelings following the long awaited verdict They were pleased with the first-degree murder conviction in the death of Susan but could not comprehend how 1 the Broward jury could return an acquittal in baby Shane death The verdict means Paul Hamwi and Paul Serio are not responsible for the death caused by dehydration From Karen Conner Susan sister are very happy with the She said she had prepared herself long ago to cope with whatever verdict the jury returned She attended much of the trial but was at home in Central Florida when the verdict was announced Wednesday But Conner said she has difficulty understanding how the jury could decide that no one would be responsible for her 18-month-old death still just trying to deal with said Conner From Sgt Tim Bronson who reopened the investigation in From Herald files MOTHER AND CHILD: Susan Hamwi and her baby Shane tion of the he said In Aspen longtime friends of Paul Hamwi who wrote letters beseeching judges to release him on bail declined comment Wednesday after learning of the verdict pleased the system finally wound its way through It took a lot of pain and suffering to get said Gary White an Aspen investigator who uncovered information in 1985 linking hitman Robert Beckett to Susan mur IMANmWISJSINIHrURN: By JOHN DONNELLY And PHIL LONG Herald Staff Writers GAINESVILLE After a dozen days of testimony on the most heinous murders in modem Florida history a jury deliberated late into Wednesday night to decide the fate of onetime drifter Danny Harold Rolling At 10:20 pm they adjourned without a decision The sentencing of Rolling killer of five Gainesville students called by the prosecutor a who stalked at night went to the jury 1304 days after his butchery ended The delay in the verdict surprised many courthouse observers who had predicted a quick recommendation for death A frustrated State Attorney Rod Smith threw up his hands and muttered in the hallway know going is said Alison Emery a close friend of one of the victims Christi Powell Judge Stan Morris received two notes at 9 pm one saying that a juror wanted to call it quits for the night and another asking for a pot of coffee Morris sent the haggard jurors back gave them the coffee One juror had tears in her eyes as she walked out of the courtroom After the jury reaches a recommendation Morris has the final say And when Morris decides Rolling is prepared to deliver a 102-word statement his says fiance Sondra London Rolling has never in his 21 -felony criminal career shown remorse toward his victims He has a history of thinking only for himself expressing sadness at being caught blaming his problems on his abusive father and above all wanting to stay in control He lost control Wednesday It swung to the 12-member jury to the nearly 200 investigators who worked on the most intense and expensive manhunt in Florida history to the prosecutors who argued the case and especially to the families and the friends of the victims Sonja Larson 18 of Deerfield Beach Christi Powell 17 of Jacksonville Christa Hoyt 18 of Gainesville Manny Taboada 23 of Miami and Developer convicted of murder of wife Herald File January 1993 FREE: John Purvis smiles just before his release after serving nine years in prison for a crime he commit Here is a chronology of events leading up to and after the death Susan Hamwi and her 18-month-old daughter Shane Tracy Paules 23 of Miami Nearly all principals in the in the $5-million ordeal heard the arguments and waited for the jury Behind the six-member prosecutor team in the 1 1 7-seat chamber sat the somber key detectives Gainesville Police Chief Way-land Clifton and former state attorney Len Register more than 40 friends and relatives of the victims relatives of the three Grissom family members who were murdered in November 1 989 and for which Rolling is the chief suspect and one person who narrowly escaped military-issue Ka-bar knife the third roommate in the Lar-son-Powell apartment Amy Garcia Garcia who hopes to earn a degree in agricultural economics next year planned to move into Williamsburg Villages Apt 1 1 3 on Aug 23 1990 the same day that Larson moved in But she severely sprained her right ankle and postponed going to college until Aug 26 only hours after the bodies of her friends were discovered been avoiding this for 3 'A she said outside the courtroom avoid it for another 60 years I have to face it hard but I had to face Even with all that is known about the case prosecutor 90-minute closing Wednesday brought new insight into the depths of horror wanted to be the superstar of crime These were legendary Smith said are murders never forget Danny has got his wish: the superstar of In the courtroom Smith waved tools for murder black ski mask screwdriver and gray duct tape and a 7-inch Ka-Bar knife similar to the murder weapon And he held close to the faces aftermath: pictures showing the display of the four female victims and the cut-up bloated face of Manny Taboada As he held up the pictures Rolling pale and appearing ill was overhead saying to one of his lawyers: got to get out of make sure I on fire or anything It was the same with other people was very very horrible You really explain it I believe it actually Said Sgt 1st Class Skip Richey: unit on Fort Bragg had someone in that area at that The names of the dead solders were withheld until family members could be notified In Washington President Clinton expressed his sorrowr tragedy is a reminder that all those who serve in the military at home and abroad put their lives at risk in the service of their nation and deserve the thanks of all Americans for doing the president said in a statement It was not clear what caused the collision which was one of the worst military air accidents in recent years The Air Force said it was convening a special board to investigate The F-16D and the C-130 were both practicing landing when they collided Floyd said The C-130 had completed its training exercise with paratroopers and was returning to Pope nearly empty some unknown reason they both appeared at the same time at the same Floyd said der thought Paul was involved all From Karen Graser a friend of Susan Hamwi since both women were teens: know how they could not have convicted them of that death especially parents and brother John owner of the popular Aspen watering hole were in Fort Lauderdale but talk to reporters police investigate unsuccessfully for a few months it is dropped for lack of evidence Oct 1 1992 A new lawyer for John Purvis Nova Law School professor Steve Wisotsky files a public records request for Fort Lauderdale police files Fort Lauderdale detective Tim Bronson reopens the investigation Dec 14 Fort Lauderdale detectives fly out to Las Vegas to meet with an ailing Beckett who says terminally ill with a heart condition and wants to talk They get a full confession from Beckett He admits to killing Susan Hamwi and in exchange for immunity he agrees to testify against an accomplice and the man whom he says paid $14000 for the hit Jan 13 1993 Police arrest accomplice Paul Michael Serio at his home in White Settlement Texas on first-degree murder charges Serio living with his fiancee and his two children breaks down sobbing after hearing the baby had died He begs his accusers to let him kill himself Jan 14 1993 In Aspen police invite Paul Hamwi to come to the police station to identify items taken in a recent burglary They ask him about his death He denies involvement They arrest him on first-degree murder charges Jan 14 1993 John Purvis is released from prison after serving nine years Jan 10 1994 Murder trials of Paul Hamwi and Paul Serio begin before Broward Circuit Judge Howard Zeidwig March 15 1994 Paul Hamwi asks for an all-or-nothing verdict That means the jury must find him guilty of first-degree murder rather than any lesser charges or acquit him March 23 A Broward jury convicts Hamwi and Serio on first-degree murder charges in the death of Susan Hamwi Both are found not guilty in the death of Shane Hamwi whose death the jury reason is accidental POWER the law on the issue of death They also asked to hear taped confession in which he describes the scene of the crime Bogenschutz said he was surprised the jury focused on that issue either believe the stories or you he said you buy their stories a double murder verdict If you buy the stories no verdict at 61 witnesses For two months details of the horrific crime unfolded in a win-dowless lOth-floor courtroom Both sides called a total of 61 witnesses and presented nearly 225 items of evidence When police first investigated the crime they focused on Purvis a child-like man who was viewed as a neighborhood oddity After detectives interrogated him several times Purvis gave a rambling confession But his statement match key facts about the murder and police later said he seemed easily led' confession was barred from trial but prosecutor Robert Carney now a Broward circuit judge presented enough evidence to convince a jury that Purvis was guilty Purvis was sentenced to life in prison in 1985 and the case faded from public view But his last attorney Steven Wisotsky got a television show Unsolved Mysteries interested When TV researchers started asking questions Fort Lauderdale police detectives reopened the case in 1992 and it quickly snowballed culminating in and arrests The key to the case was sickbed confession Key confession Convinced he would soon die from a rapidly failing heart Beckett told detectives that Hamwi his former boss paid him $14000 to his ex-wife The couple divorced after a stormy 1 1 -month marriage and a Colorado judge had just ordered Hamwi to pay $180000 in alimony and child support Beckett convinced Serio his partner in a strong-arm collections scheme to fly with him from California to carry out the contract The murder was clumsy and amateurish: Beckett pistol- whipped Susan Hamwi then strangled her with the phone cord and plunged a kitchen steak knife through her heart after Serio tried to stand on her throat The force of the stabbing snapped the knife in two i Prosecutor Ray keyed his evidence on statement to police wiretapped phone calls Beckett made to Serio and Hamwi Ray also presented own inch-thick divorce file which included a prenuptial agreement he forced Susan Hamwi to sign just minutes before their ill-fated marriage To counter damaging testimony both Bogenschutz and Lewis portrayed him as the sole killer who lied to spare himself the electric chair Beckett who claimed underworld connections is currently awaiting trial on charges of murdering a young woman in California Critical witness But the Fort Lauderdale case seemed to turn on the testimony of Thomas Parry an Aspen electrical inspector and former Chicago numbers runner Parry told the jury that Hamwi asked if he still had any underworld contacts who would kill his ex-wife After turning him down Parry said Hamwi me if I was sure that I remember MURDER FROM 1A die in the electric chair Hamwi 48 stood perfectly straight as the verdict was read and consoled defense lawyer David Bogenschutz who was visibly shaken Serio clasped his cuffed hands and sobbed as the jury filed out of the packed courtroom hope he gets the death said Margaret Berner Susan mother took my daughter and my granddaughter He knew the baby was in The decision represents a dramatic reversal of fortune for Hamwi a former Aspen playboy who authorities say nearly got away with murder It also formally clears John Gordon Purvis a mentally impaired man who was wrongly convicted of the crime The jury believed Hamwt facing expensive court-ordered payments stemming from a bitter divorce hired Serio and another man Robert Beckett to kill Susan Hamwi 38 in her Fort Lauderdale home on Nov 1 1983 Her attackers strangled her with a telephone cord stabbed her with a steak knife then arranged her body to look as though she had been raped The body found for nearly a week Shane was found in her crib next to two empty baby bottles She died from dehydration Purvis 52 did not attend the trial His brother Mike Bartlett said the jury vindicates their faith in the system least some justice has been he said caused my brother to sit in prison for 10 years He get them Chief Assistant State Attorney Ralph Ray who prosecuted the case also said he was satisfied that justice was done even though Shane death will go unpunished 1 would have liked to see a guilty verdict for the death but I put myself in! the Ray said their job to tell us what the facts1 showed and what Defense strategy The verdict also dealt a crushing blow to all-or-nothing defense strategy Convinced that the case against him was weak Hamwi decided against allowing the jury the option of convicting him on lesser murder charges 'The move required the jury to find him guilty of first-degree murder and expose him to the electric chair or set him free thought that this verdict would be one that would be across the board one way or the Bogenschutz said Acquittal came on Shane death he said because think it was difficult for this jury to conceive of a situation where a father would let his child die Jim Lewis defense attorney said his client obviously very disappointed The consequences are immensely Whether he gets the death penalty or a life sentence Lewis added Serio it as a death penalty in prison one way or the Associated Press 15 KILLED: Firefighters pump water onto C-141 transport plane engulfed when two Armyu planes collided overhead At Carolina air base death rains from sky Oct 28 1981 Susan Bol-ender a Fort Lauderdale beautician and Paul Hamwi an Aspen Colo developer are married in Zephyr Cove Nevada A pregnant Bolender is presented with a prenuptial agreement hours before her wedding Sept 23 1982 After a stormy on-again off-again marriage Paul Hamwi files for divorce Susan and baby daughter Shane move back to Fort Lauderdale July 1983 A Colorado judge rules that the prenuptial agreement valid because it was signed under duress and orders Paul Hamwi to pay $180000 in alimony and child support Nov 8 1983 Susan partially clad decomposing body is found strangled and stabbed with a kitchen knife in her Fort Lauderdale home She appears to have been raped (It was later determined that she was not raped) Her 18-month-old daughter is found dead of dehydration in her crib The home appears to have been robbed Nov 9 1983 Police question John Gordon Purvis neighbor a diagnosed schizophrenic who is deeply attached to his widowed mother Purvis under his watchful eye tells police he kill Susan Hamwi Jan 3 1984 Purvis is picked up by police while buying his weekly TV Guide Police take him to the station where he is questioned by Hollywood psychiatrist Joel Klass He confesses on tape to killing Susan Hamwi March 14 A Broward jury convicts Purvis of first-degree murder and sexual assault (which was never committed) It also convicts him of second-degree murder in death He receives a sentence of life in prison plus two 20-year terms May 1985 The Broward state office receives information about a possible hired killer in the case Robert Wayne Beckett of Las Vegas Fort Lauderdale and Aspen anybody He laughing he joking I was sure that he was Although the jury found Hamwi and Serio are responsible for Susan murder they apparently believed that someone else perhaps Purvis may have been in the house after Hamwi was murdered and that person could have rescued the baby During the third day of deliberations the jury asked Judge Howard Zeidwig to explain From Herald Wire Services FAYETTEVILLE NC Fifteen Army soldiers were confirmed dead and 82 were injured Wednesday after a collision between two planes practicing landing set a giant transport plane on fire on the ground officials at Fort Bragg Army Post said The accident occurred when a US Air Force F-16D collided with a C-130 aircraft at Pope Air Force Base dropping chunks of flaming debris onto a parked C-141 transport plane and setting it on fire All of the dead and injured were Army paratroopers at Fort Bragg which shares a military installation with Pope Air Force Base They had been preparing tc board the parked plane for a routine military exercise Major Jim Hinnant chief of media relations at Fort Bragg said of the 82 injured 20 had been treated and released The two pilots aboard the F-16D ejected successfully and the other plane a C-130 transport landed safely with five crew members aboard said Air Force Brig Gen Bobby Floyd All seven crew members were in good condition wasn't sure how badly I was an unidentified soldier told WTVD-TV rolled to.