Leonard serial killer

He was subsequently charged with four murders. Police found many trophies of his victims in his flat and ponytails from three different women, which could not be traced to any of his known victims.

One alleged victim, however, Natasha Ryan, was eventually found to be alive and living secretly with her boyfriend after being missing for five years. In , he was sentenced to three indefinite prison terms for the murders of Beverley Leggo and Sylvia Benedetti, and the manslaughter of Julie Turner in the Rockhampton area in and At his trial, the judge described him as a sexual predator who was a danger to the community and his fellow inmates.

Fraser was being held at the Wolston Correctional Centre and, after complaining of chest pains, he was taken to a secure section of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba, on December 26, , where he subsequently died of a heart attack on January 1, Serial killer death investigated.

January 11, THE Queensland Coroner has conducted a routine investigation into the death of serial killer Leonard John Fraser, but the results have not been released. Fraser, who was serving three indefinite jail terms, died on January 1 after suffering a heart attack in a secure unit at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The year-old murderer had been transferred there on Boxing Day after complaining of chest pains while in his jail cell. A spokeswoman for the state coroner said that as Fraser had died in custody, it was defined under the Coroner's Act as a reportable death, and as such it had been subject to a routine investigation.

It is unknown whether Fraser's family has now formally requested the coroner to release Fraser's body for burial. Fraser had already been given an indefinite sentence for the rape and murder of nine-year-old schoolgirl Keyra Steinhardt in April The killings took place in the central Queensland city of Rockhampton between December and April Crime experts say more murders were likely to be linked to Fraser, including the death of hitchhiker Sandy Lawrence in an abandoned crocodile zoo in north Queensland.

Fraser also allegedly spoke of the murder of a year-old girl whose throat he had cut in a Kings Cross street in the early s and of murdering two women hitchhikers in separate incidents in NSW also in the s. He was charged with murdering teenager Natasha Ryan, who later made headlines when she was found alive during his murder trial.

Fraser 'likely to have killed more'. Brutal Queensland serial killer Leonard John Fraser probably took the secrets of several unsolved murders to his grave, says a leading criminologist.

The year-old Fraser, who was serving three indefinite jail terms, died early on Monday after suffering a heart attack in a secure unit at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital. He had been transferred there on Boxing Day after complaining of chest pains while in his cell at the Wolston Correctional Centre on the city's outskirts.

Fraser was already serving an indefinite sentence for the rape and murder of nine-year-old schoolgirl Keyra Steinhardt in April All the killings took place at Rockhampton, in central Queensland, between December and April But Bond University professor of criminology and forensic psychology Paul Wilson says more murders were likely to be linked to Fraser.

Asked if Fraser was Queensland's worst killer, he said: "I can't think of a worse one. It's been an emotional roller-coaster ride for the last seven years and I think it's finally time to get off. Detectives spent days digging up the grounds but found no remains. Fraser also allegedly spoke of the murder of a year-old girl whose throat he had cut in a Kings Cross Street in the early s and of murdering two women hitchhikers in separate incidents in NSW in the s.

Some Rockhampton detectives also believe he had a hand in the murder of year-old Rockhampton woman Michelle Coral Lewis who disappeared on January 14, But Fraser's lawyer Peter Shields said his client maintained his innocence until the end. He said the system failed his client, who was initially jailed in the s for rape and then released without psychiatric support. Fraser was also charged with murdering teenager Natasha Ryan who later made headlines when she was found alive during his murder trial.

Serial killer's death lets victim's dad move on. January 2, The father of a murdered central Queensland schoolgirl says the death of her killer will help give him some closure. Leonard John Fraser died in a Brisbane hospital yesterday after suffering a heart attack on Boxing Day.

He was serving indefinite prison terms over the deaths of Rockhampton's Keyra Steinhardt, 9, and three local women in the late s. Dental records confirmed it was the body of Vickie Eddington. The medical examiner listed her cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. I knew that we could put her to rest and that we could move on from that point. After she went to rest for a few hours before her night shift at the hospital, he beat her to death as she slept in bed.

Their children were asleep in adjacent rooms. The case of the mysterious woman who entered the convenience store and reported a flat tire turned out to be nothing but a coincidence. In , a jury found Leonard Eddington guilty of murder. Prosecutors claimed he killed her to avoid a messy divorce.

Leonard was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Crime Time is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries.

Sign up for Oxygen Insider for all the best true crime content. Sign Up for Free to View. Vickie Eddington. Full Episode. Wood's alleges that Sweeny wanted all his information, and also said he had to pay him.

Wood's alleges that he found out Sweeny had contacted a DA in Dallas about another inmates case he was working on. He alleges that Sweeny tried to get help on his own prison sentence but the DA didn't want to be bothered.

He states the warden then called the detectives. Wood's claims that after Sweeny talked to detectives, they started looking up all the "cellies" he had, and that is when they found Randy Lee Wells. Wood's claims Wells was a habitual offender with a long record. Wood's stated that he feels the last promise was laughable but that it can be verified in trial transcripts. Woods claims that Sweeny and Wells were moved into a protective cell together for 5 days.

Wood's claims they were both taken to the crime scene, both visited detectives together, and all before they went before the Grand jury. Wood's said "They were practically handed a script to read from. He was found guilty and is now residing on Texas 's death row, Polunsky Unit. David has an enormous amount of paper work concerning his case, and documents to prove what he has said. He proclaims his innocence. The following is my interview with David.

Some of his answers have already been answered in the above summary of his case, but I wanted to show the complete interview. I was convicted for 6 six murders in El Paso Texas and I was given the death penalty.

I have two prior prison sentences both for sexual offenses. The bio included with this letter will explain the circumstances involved with this case and no one knows what actually happened to the victimes including the police. There was only one that they suspected was stabbed. In one of the cases the body 'and all her cloths were destroyed 'before' evidence could be taken from them. Am I innocent? Damn right! But let my case speak for itself!

If people will only listen to what is actually involved they'll see the case for what it really is. A 'built" case from nothing! As for proof there is NO proof in a 'circumstantial case. Either against the defendant or the defendant trying to clear himself. That is 'why' it is so easy to get a conviction and given the death penalty.

Again if ALL of the facts are included and listened too then 'that' should be enough to 'presume' innocence. Do you have any thoughts on who might have done this crime and why? I was tried convicted and sentenced to death on the testimony of 3 informants working for the state prosecutors for favoritism in their own legal situations. Also my case was moved to Dallas Texas highly against my wishes because at the time Dallas was the leading city in the country for handing out the death penalty.

I even refused to participate in my trial because of this move. I've been told that I had aged twenty years in eight years and there are many here who have become the same way.

I have been on death row since early but we have been here on the Polunsky lock down segregation unit going on nine years now. MY appeals are at the Supreme court level, and this is my last shot at hope before they execute me.

Every court before them have all turned me down NOT on evidence but false testimony given by criminals. Also the courts have stated"That even though they agree that inmate testimony tainted it is still evidence in the court of law, and it is the burden of the defendant to 'prove that said testimony is false.

Wow this is the question isn't it? They say that once you get to the supreme court on your case thats pretty much it if they don't want to help you. I would like to think and hope that is not the case. Before I am executed for this crime I would at least like to have to chance to have all the facts an issues heard.

About how it got started how it progressed how I was arrested. The rules of Police conduct and rules of law did not come into effect in this case. This is a border town that is used to doing things their own way without any outside help. In fact in this case they 'refused outside help from other agencies including the FBI.

I would like enough attention on my case that it would bring enough pressure to my lawyers to do their job the way their suppose too also enough attention needs to be brought against El Paso in this case and have it investigated for the police corruption and corrupted coercion tactics they used to get statements, and people involved. They should at least be investigated for their illegal and lack of use of proper police procedures.

I might not be liked because of my past crimes but 'if' I did not commit these murders then the state should not be allowed to so easily pass out the death penalty. This is the final punishment if later it was found out that someone was innocent theres no correcting it. David ended his letter with these words "Thats about all I can give you for now if you have any questions and I mean anything don't hesitate to ask. I do have police reports supplements, DNA reports at least everything 'they' wanted us to have.

Again thank you, and take care. David can produce documents, newspaper clippings, paperwork, etc. Letters from David Wood, Documents and legal paperwork, with written permission from Wood to use. David Leonard Wood El Paso, like so many other cities in America, has seen its share of runaways in recent years.

With drugs and broken homes, the promise of excitement to be found in other cities, other states, uncounted teens have fled their homes and schools to search for fame and fortune on the road. A few make good, some wander back in time, but nearly all leave tokens of themselves behind, some indication of their motive for departure. During , though, a rash of disappearances around El Paso baffled parents and police as normal, well-adjusted girls and women dropped from sight, without a trace.

Fourteen-year-old Marjorie Knox was the first to go, reported missing from nearby Chaparral, New Mexico, on February 14, Three weeks later, on March 7, year-old Melissa Alaniz vanished from El Paso, police noting that both girls had parents working at the Rockwell plant, outside of town.

Desiree Wheatly, 15, disappeared in El Paso on June 7, last seen in the company of a man with heavily-tattooed arms. Three days later, Karen Baker's disappearance seemed to break the pattern. At 20, she was a legal adult, but police learned that her mother worked in the same Rockwell plant, with a nodding acquaintance to Marjorie Knox. Was there some hidden link between the missing girls, thus far unknown to the police?

Maria Casio, age 24, was staying with friends when she failed to come home on the night of August They reported her missing next day, and her car was found on August 21, without a trace of the missing woman. On August 28, year-old Dawn Smith left her El Paso home, promising to "keep in touch," and abruptly dropped out of sight. Police were summoned to the scene, and they soon found Karen Baker buried in a shallow grave yards away. With no obvious wounds on either body, the cause of death for both victims was listed as "apparent strangulation.

Two weeks later, desert prospectors found Angela Frausto in a nearby shallow grave. Marjorie Knox, Melissa Alaniz and Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes are still missing, but all are now presumed dead by authorities.

Police, meanwhile, have focused their attention on a suspect in the case. On September 19, , an El Paso prostitute complained to police that one of her "tricks" had driven her into the desert, near the grave sites, where he pulled a knife and threatened her before she fled on foot. Another hooker, raped some weeks before, came forward after the report was published, both women remarking on their assailant's numerous tattoos. A search of police tattoo files led to the October 22 arrest of David Leonard Wood, an ex-convict with a history of violence against females.

Born in , Wood logged his first arrest at age 19, for the attempted rape of a year-old girl. In court, he pled guilty to a reduced charge of indecency with a minor and spent three years in prison, paroled in January Four months later, he raped a year-old stranger and a year-old acquaintance, the latter mistake earning him concurrent prison terms of 20 years on each charge.

He was paroled again in January , days before El Paso's string of deaths and disappearances began. Wood denies any involvement in the spate of murders, and he has never been charged in the case.

Conviction of kidnapping and rape, in March , has returned him to prison with a new year sentence. In the absence of an indictment, authorities note that Woods - and his tattoos - perfectly match descriptions of the man last seen with Desiree Wheatly in June He was also seen riding a motorcycle with Karen Baker, several months before she died, and witnesses have placed Woods at a local convenience store where Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes was last seen alive on June Wood admits hearing "rumors" that Cheryl's family suspected him of her murder, and claims he "went searching" for her, all in vain.

Finally, friends of Wood have identified photos of Maria Casio and Dawn Smith as friends of the suspect, a claim Wood dismisses as simple "mistaken identity. Avoiding the question of guilt or innocence, he harped on the killer's apparent carelessness in disposing of victims. Haughton, Denton, TX, for Wood. Woodson Erich Dryden, Asst. Because we conclude that Petitioner has failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, we deny his application for a COA.

This case stems from the disappearances of six women from the El Paso, Texas area between May 13, and August 27, Between September 4, and March 14, , the bodies of these women were found buried in shallow graves in the same desert area northeast of El Paso.

All of the bodies were approximately 30 to 40 yards from one of the dirt roadways in the desert. Five of the victims were seen by witnesses on the day of their disappearance accepting a ride from a man with either a red Harley-Davidson motorcycle or a beige pickup truck, matching the two vehicles owned by Petitioner. Petitioner's girlfriend testified that he owned a burnt orange blanket and some shovels, all of which he kept in the back of his pickup truck.

A forensic chemist later testified at trial that orange fibers found on the clothing of one of the victims matched orange fibers taken from a vacuum cleaner bag which Petitioner and his girlfriend had left in their old apartment. Petitioner's cell mate, Randy Wells, testified that Petitioner told him about the murders, describing his victims as topless dancers or prostitutes. Petitioner told him that he would lure each girl into his pickup truck with an offer of drugs, drive out to the desert, tie her to his truck, and dig a grave.

Kelly, a prostitute and heroin addict, testified that in July she had been walking outside of a convenience store in the northeast part of El Paso when a man identified as Wood, and matching his description, asked if she needed a ride. She accepted his offer but Wood did not take her home as directed. Petitioner drove northeast of town toward the desert, and after driving around the area for a period of time, stopped the truck, got out, and ordered Kelly out as well.

After tying her to the front of his truck with the rope, Petitioner proceeded to dig a hole behind some bushes. Ten or fifteen minutes later he returned with the blanket and began ripping her clothes and forcing her to the ground.

Upon hearing voices, Petitioner ordered Kelly to get back in the truck. Wood drove to a different location in the desert where he stopped his truck again, ordered Kelly out, spread the blanket on the ground, and forced the victim to remove her clothes. Immediately afterwards, Petitioner stated that he heard voices, and hastily threw his belongings back into the truck and drove away, leaving Kelly naked in the desert.

On November 30, , Petitioner was convicted by a jury of capital murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection. See Wood v. State, No. He then filed a state application for writ of habeas corpus on December 19,