Robert Joseph "Bobby Joe" Long (October 14, 1953 – May 23, 2019) was an American serial killer and

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, Abusive power and control, ...

who was executed by the state of Florida for the murder of Michelle Denise Simms. Long abducted,

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed at least ten women in the Tampa Bay area in Florida during an eight-month period in 1984. He released 17-year-old

Lisa McVey Lisa McVey Noland (born March 1967) is an American police officer, school resource officer, and motivational speaker from Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida. At age 17, she was abducted by Bobby Joe Long, a serial killer and rapist who sexually assaul ...

after 26 hours. McVey provided critical information to the police that enabled them to arrest Long. Long was also a serial rapist. Long was sentenced to death for two of the ten murders he was suspected of committing. He was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

on May 23, 2019.

Early life

Robert Joseph Long was born on October 14, 1953 in Kenova, West Virginia, to Joe and Louetta Long. Long was born with an extra X chromosome, also known as 47,XXY, a specific variant of Klinefelter syndrome. This condition results in excessive estrogen production yielding some female traits such as breast development. Long was teased as a child for his large breasts and underwent breast reduction surgery in adolescence. He had also suffered multiple head injuries as a child resulting from diverse accidents. Long had a dysfunctional relationship with his mother; he slept in her bed until he was a teenager and reportedly resented her multiple short-term boyfriends she brought with her when returning home late at night from her job. Long married his high school girlfriend in 1974, with whom he had two children before she filed for divorce in 1980.

Crimes

Long committed at least 50 rapes as the "Classified Ad Rapist" in Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Miami, and Dade County. Starting around 1981, Long began contacting women through the ''

Penny Saver A pennysaver (or free ads paper, Friday Ad or shopper) is a free community periodical available in North America (typically weekly or monthly publications) that advertises items for sale. Frequently pennysavers are actually called ''The Pennysave ...

'' and other classified ads. When Long found a woman alone, he asked to use the bathroom, took out his "rape kit" and raped and robbed the woman. Long was tried and convicted for rape in 1981 but requested a new trial, which was granted. The charges were later dropped. Long moved to the Tampa Bay area in 1983. In 1984, while on probation for

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

, Long raped and strangled 20-year-old Artiss "Ann" Wick in March; her body was discovered in a rural area on November 22, 1984. She had reportedly hitch-hiked from

Gas City, Indiana Gas City is a city in Grant County, Indiana, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 5,965 at the 2010 census. History Gas City was first known as Harrisburg when settled on May 25, 1867, by Noah Harris. It became something of a boom tow ...

to Tampa, and was engaged to be married. Over the next eight months, Long abducted, raped, and murdered at least 10 women in three counties in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough, Pasco, and

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

). The investigation involved personnel from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ( HCSO), the FBI, the Tampa Police Department ( TPD), the Pasco County Sheriff's Office ( PCSO), and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ( FDLE). The bodies of the victims were typically found in a state of decomposition long after the murders, having been dumped near a rural roadside or dragged into the woods. Long appears to have targeted vulnerable women, including abducting women walking alone and those working as sex workers, persuading women to enter his car where he would rape and torture them. Of Long's 10 known victims, five of the women were identified as known sex workers, two as exotic dancers. The remaining three victims were a factory worker, a student, and one with an unknown occupation. During this period, Long also continued his classified-ad rapes, attacking 33-year-old Linda Nuttall in her home. In the early hours of November 3, 1984, Long abducted 17-year-old

as she rode her bike home from work. She was blindfolded and taken to Long's home, where he repeatedly raped her. Aware of the danger she was in, the blindfolded McVey reported leaving as many fingerprints in Long's home as she could to aid any future police investigation. After 26 hours, Long released McVey and she provided investigators with information on his home, car and a time period in which she heard him use an ATM. This led to police identifying Long and he was arrested on November 16, 1984. He was linked to the murders through red carpet fibers found on the bodies of several victims.

Known victims

* Artiss "Ann" Wick, 20 – killed on March 27, 1984 * Ngeun Thi Long, 19 – killed on May 13, 1984 * Michelle Denise Simms, 22 – killed on May 27, 1984 * Linda Nuttall, 33 – assaulted in May 1984; survived * Elizabeth Loudenback, 22 – killed on June 8, 1984 * Vicky Marie Elliott, 21 – killed on September 7, 1984 * Chanel Devoun Williams, 18 – killed on October 7, 1984 * Karen Beth Dinsfriend, 28 – killed on October 14, 1984 * Kimberly Kyle Hopps, 22 – killed on October 31, 1984 * Lisa McVey, 17 – assaulted on November 3, 1984; survived * Virginia Lee Johnson, 18 – killed on November 6, 1984 * Kim Marie Swann, 21 – killed on November 11, 1984

Capture

At the time of his capture, Long was wanted in three Tampa Bay area jurisdictions where investigators had collected multiple forms of forensic evidence, including clothing, carpet fibers, semen, ligature marks, and rope knots. Long was arrested outside a movie theater on November 16, 1984, and charged with the

sexual battery Battery is a criminal Offence (law), offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more general ...

and kidnapping of Lisa McVey. Long signed a formal Miranda waiver, and consented to questioning. After the detectives procured a confession for the McVey case, their questioning focused on a series of unsolved sexual battery homicides in the Tampa Bay area. As the detectives questioned Long about the murders, he replied, "I'd rather not answer that." The detectives continued the interrogation, and handed Long photographs of the various murder victims. At this point, Long stated, "The complexion of things sure have icchanged since you came back into the room. I think I might need an attorney." No attorney was provided, and Long eventually confessed to eight murders in Hillsborough County, and one murder in Pasco County. Fiber evidence analysis by the FBI linked Long's vehicle to most of his victims.

Trial

The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office and the Public Defender's Office of Hillsborough County reached a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

deal. Long pled guilty on September 24, 1985, to eight of the homicides and the abduction and rape of Lisa McVey, receiving 26 life sentences without the possibility of parole (24 concurrent and two to run consecutively to the first 24) and seven life sentences with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The State retained the option to seek the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for the murder of Michelle Simms. In July 1986, Long was found guilty and was sentenced to die in Florida's electric chair. Although Long confessed to raping and killing women, his confession was thrown out. His trial proceeded straight to the penalty phase, which was possible in the 1980s. In early 1985, he received the death penalty. Long was convicted and

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

ed his first degree murder conviction and death sentence for crimes committed in Hillsborough County. Long appealed his first degree murder conviction and sentence of death in the death of Virginia Johnson. On appeal, Long's death sentence was vacated, his conviction reversed, and his case remanded back to the trial court with directions to enter an order of

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

for the murder of Virginia Johnson. On February 24, 1999, Long accused the Capital Collateral Regional Council (the state office defending death row inmates in their appeals) of revealing his private letters to a book author, thus violating attorney–client privilege. He also accused the agency of running a "death pool," betting on the dates on which inmates would be executed, and asked that the agency be removed from his case. An investigation concluded that these allegations were unfounded. Long's petition for a writ of mandamus to require Bob Dillinger, the public defender for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, to relinquish possession and control of his file in ''State v. Long,'' was denied. According to the

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...

, Long was ultimately serving one five-year sentence, four 99-year sentences, 28 life sentences, and one death sentence.

Execution

On April 23, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Long's death warrant, the first death warrant he had signed since taking office in January 2019. Long's subsequent appeals were denied and he was executed by lethal injection on May 23, 2019, more than 30 years after his conviction. He ate his

final meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

at 9:30a.m. local time; he requested roast beef, bacon, french fries and soda. He was pronounced dead at 7:00p.m. and had made no last statement.

Some documentaries relating to Long's crimes

* '' The FBI Files'', Season 1, episode 7: "Killing Spree" * '' Forensic Files'', Season 2, episode 1: "The Common Thread" * '' I Survived...'', Season 2, episode 7 * ''I Escaped My Killer'', Season 1, episode 1 (

Crime & Investigation Network Crime & Investigation (stylized as Crime + Investigation) is an American pay television channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Hearst Communications and the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. The cha ...

) * ''Killer Doctors on Death Row'' ( CBS Reality) * '' Evil Lives Here'', Season 3, episode 2: "The Monster I Married" ( Investigation Discovery) * ''World's Most Evil Killers'', "The Classified Ad Rapist: Bobby Joe Long" (Reelz) * ''

On the Case with Paula Zahn ''On the Case with Paula Zahn'' is an American documentary and news program broadcast on Investigation Discovery since October 18, 2009. The program explores in-depth stories of crime mysteries and interviews with involved individuals, closest to ...

'', Season 6, episode 5: “Hanging By A Thread” ( Investigation Discovery) * ''

Monster in My Family ''Monster in My Family'' is a TV series produced by the Lifetime Movie Network that focuses on relatives of serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place ove ...

'', Season 1, episode 5: "Classified Ad Rapist: Bobby Joe Long" * '' Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey'' (2018) * '' Mark of a Killer'', Season 2, episode 7: “Collar and Leash” ( Oxygen)

TV movies

* Bobby Joe Long's story has been depicted in the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

TV movie '' Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey'' which aired in 2018.Lloyd Sowers
"'Believe Me': Hillsborough deputy's survival story now a Lifetime movie"
. WTVT, September 27, 2018. The film stars Katie Douglas as Lisa McVey,

Rossif Sutherland Rossif Sutherland (born September 25, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He, along with his brothers Angus and Roeg and half-brother Kiefer, are the sons of Donald Sutherland. Early life and education Sutherland was born in Vancouver, but lived in P ...

as Bobby Joe Long, and David James Elliott as Larry Pinkerton.

References

External links

Appeal in and for Hillsborough County, State of Florida
*

* The FBI Files, Season 1 – Ep 7: * Forensic Files, Season 2 – Ep 1: {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Bobby Joe 1953 births 1984 murders in the United States 2019 deaths 20th-century American criminals 21st-century executions by Florida 21st-century executions of American people American kidnappers American male criminals American people convicted of assault American people convicted of burglary American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death American rapists American robbers Broward College alumni Crime in Florida Crimes against sex workers in the United States Executed American serial killers Executed people from West Virginia History of Tampa, Florida Intersex men Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Florida People from Kenova, West Virginia People executed by Florida by lethal injection People executed for murder Prisoners sentenced to death by Florida Violence against women in the United States