Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. (born May 11, 1954) is a

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...

American

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 ...

er,

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, ...

, and suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. Conahan was convicted of one murder, but has been linked to a dozen murders, mostly of transients seeking employment and

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

in the

Charlotte County, Florida Charlotte County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 186,847. Its county seat is Punta Gorda. Charlotte County comprises the Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

area in what came to be known as the Hog Trail Murders.

Early life and career

Conahan was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, and moved with his family to

Punta Gorda, Florida , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = Punta Gorda City Hall.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Punta Gorda City Hall , image_fla ...

, shortly after birth. When he was a teenager, he discovered he was

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

; this displeased his parents, who sent him to several

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

s. He graduated

Miami Norland High School Miami Norland Senior High School is a public high school located in the Norland neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. History Miami Norland Senior High School opened its doors to students in 1958 as an all-white school, accepting fifty student ...

in 1973 and joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1977, stationed at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In 1978, he was nearly

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed for taking fellow Naval officers off base for sex, and was

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

a few months later after getting into a fight with a man upon whom he had attempted to force oral sex. After his Navy discharge, Conahan stayed in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for 13 years before moving back to Punta Gorda to live with his elderly parents in 1993. In 1995, he became a

licensed practical nurse A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who cares for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physicians, mid-level practitio ...

, graduating at the top of his class from Charlotte Vocational-Technical Center. He was employed by

Charlotte Regional Medical Center ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda, is a for-profit hospital in Punta Gorda, Florida, owned by Community Health Systems. History On August 17, 1947, Charlotte Hospital opened in Charlotte County becoming the first hospital in the county. It had 12 h ...

in Punta Gorda.

Murders

On February 1, 1994, the mutilated corpse of a man was discovered in Punta Gorda. The body had been outside for about a month and had rope burns on the skin and the

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

had been removed and discarded. The man was not identifiedDavid Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 2''
by

David Lohr David Lohr (born 1974) is an American journalist who has written about and interviewed many of the world's most notorious criminals. Lohr gained national prominence in 2003 when Wichita, Kansas serial killer Dennis Rader (then known only as BT ...

for the

Crime Library Crime Library was a website documenting major crimes, criminals, trials, forensics, and criminal profiling from books. It was founded in 1998 and was most recently owned by truTV, a cable TV network that is part of Time Warner's Turner Broadcastin ...

. until 2021, when the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office announced that new DNA testing confirmed the victim as Gerald (Jerry) Lombard, of

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. On January 1, 1996, a North Port family's dog brought home a male human skull. Police eventually pieced together much of a skeleton and determined that the genitalia had been cut out, similar to the 1994 victim (Lombard). The North Port skeleton has not been identified.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 3''
by

for the

. A third man's mutilated body was discovered in North Port on March 7, 1996. He had been killed only 10 days earlier.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 4''
by

for the

. He also remained unidentified until June 1999, when he was identified as John William Melaragno.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 12''
by

for the

. Another man's skull was found in Charlotte County on April 17, 1996. Police searched the surrounding woods and found the rest of the man as well as a second body. The second was a man who had been raped, murdered, and mutilated only the day before, and was identified as Richard Allen Montgomery.Conahan, Daniel
from Commission on Capital Cases.
by

for the

.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 5''
by

for the

. The first body was later identified as Kenneth Lee Smith.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 6''
by

for the

.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 7''
by

for the

. Speculation became rampant about a serial killer, and the media dubbed the murders "The Hog Trail Killings", named for the wooded areas in which the bodies of the victims were found. UP1132 A Krick.jpg, Facial reconstruction of (previously) unidentified victim, known as ''John Doe #1''; DNA tests in 2021 confirm identity as Gerald (Jerry) Lombard.

Arrest

In May 1996, a few witnesses directed police to Daniel Conahan, including one who had escaped him when Conahan's car became stuck while driving him down a dirt road.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 8''
by

for the

. Later, police linked Conahan to a 1994

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

police report where Stanley Burden had been propositioned, tied to a tree, and nearly strangled. Burden survived and had rope scars on his body two years later.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 9''
by

for the

. Conahan's credit cards were

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

ed and his house was searched, turning up evidence linking him to both Burden and Montgomery. On July 3, 1996, Conahan was arrested and brought to Lee County for the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

of Burden. The following February, he was charged with the murder of Montgomery, while the attempted murder charges in the Burden case were dropped. While Conahan awaited trial, another skeleton was found in Charlotte County on May 22, 1997. Ten months later, DNA identified the remains as William Charles Patten, who had disappeared in 1993.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 11''
by

for the

Trial and imprisonment

Conahan was tried for the 1996 kidnapping and murder of victim Richard Allen Montgomery. In Punta Gorda, Conahan waived his right to a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a Trial, legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or Question of law, findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or Judicial panel, panel of judges makes all decisions. ...

on August 9, 1999, thereby electing a

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

. The star witness was Stanley Burden, who authorities alleged had been nearly killed by Conahan in 1994. Conahan's attorney rebutted that Burden was an imprisoned

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

, serving a 10-to-25-year sentence in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 13''
by

for the

. On August 17, 1999, Judge William Blackwell deliberated for 25 minutes and found Conahan guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and kidnapping.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 14''
by

for the

. Conahan succeeded in moving the

penalty phase ''Penalty Phase'' is a 1986 American made-for-television thriller drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Peter Strauss. Plot Supreme court judge, Kenneth Hoffman (Peter Strauss) oversees a high-profile murder trial which appears ...

of his trial to

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...

but, in November, a jury recommended a sentence of death and Judge Blackwell agreed on December 10.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 15''
by

for the

. Conahan is currently housed at

Union Correctional Institution The Union Correctional Institution, formerly referred to as Florida State Prison, Raiford Prison and State Prison Farm is a Florida Department of Corrections state prison located in unincorporated Union County, Florida, near Raiford. First op ...

Raiford, Florida Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida Union County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida, the smallest in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,147. The county seat is Lake Bu ...

Discovery of additional skeletons

Several more bodies were discovered in the Charlotte County area with similarities to the Hog Trail Killings: one in 2000, two in 2001, and one in 2002.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 16''
by

for the

.David Conahan Jr, the Hog Trail Murderer, ''Chapter 17''
by

for the

. On March 23, 2007, eight skulls and skeletal remains were found in a wooded area in Fort Myers, the largest such discovery in Florida history.Eight skulls, skeletal remains found in Fort Myers
from NBC-2, March 24, 2007.New clues revealed in Ft. Myers bones case
from NBC-2, July 5, 2007. These came to be known as the "Fort Myers Eight". Although a connection to a closed funeral home was considered possible, speculation soon turned to Conahan. Stanley Burden, the star witness at Conahan's trial, had been attacked within a mile of the site where the eight skeletons were found.Location of bones hints at serial killer link
from NBC-2, June 8, 2007. Two were later identified as men who had disappeared in 1995.Two of eight skeletons found in Fort Myers identified
from NBC-2, November 20, 2007. A victim who formerly known as "Victim H" was identified in September 2022 as Robert Ronald “Bobbie” Soden.

Facial reconstructions of five of the victims

Body A.jpg, Facial reconstruction of victim "A". Unidentified Body B.jpg, Facial reconstruction of victim "B". Unidentified Body F.jpg, Facial reconstruction of victim "F". Unidentified Body G.jpg, Facial reconstruction of victim "G". Unidentified Body H.jpg, Facial reconstruction of victim "H". Positively identified in September 2022, as 30-year-old Robert Ronald "Bobbie" Soden of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, who disappeared in 1996

In media

The case was covered by many

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

television shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, such as: ''

The New Detectives ''The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science'' (or simply ''The New Detectives'', formally "Forensic Detectives") is a documentary true crime television show that aired two to three different cases in forensic science per episode from ...

'', ''

Most Evil ''Most Evil'' is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery, first aired in 2006, presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during the program's first three seasons, and by forensic ...

'', '' Forensic Factor'' and ''Buried in the Backyard''.

References

External links

''Daniel O. CONAHAN, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee''
Supreme Court of Florida, January 16, 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Conahan, Daniel 1954 births 1994 murders in the United States 1995 murders in the United States 1996 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people American kidnappers American LGBT military personnel American male criminals American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death Gay men Living people Male nurses Miami Norland Senior High School alumni Nurses from Florida People convicted of murder by Florida People from Charlotte, North Carolina People from Chicago People from Punta Gorda, Florida Prisoners sentenced to death by Florida Suspected serial killers Torture in the United States United States Navy sailors Violence against gay men Violence against men in North America

Early life and career

Murders

Arrest

Trial and imprisonment

Discovery of additional skeletons

Facial reconstructions of five of the victims

In media

See also

References

External links