Posted on 04/30/2004 9:55:57 AM PDT by danneskjold
Sources tell 9 News that 41-year-old Sean Vincent Gillis has confessed to eight murders, including the murder of Ann Bryan. The elderly woman was stabbed more than 50 times inside her residence at St. James Place on Lee Drive back in March of 1994. Gillis now has additional charges of first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and stalking in the Schmidt case and first degree murder in the Bryan case. Investigations into the possibility of Gillis's involvement in other unsolved murders in the BR Metro and surrounding areas is continuing. The Serial Killer Task Force and the Homicide Task Force are working the investigation.
It was early Thursday morning, when Gillis was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. He is now charged with three counts of first degree murder and three counts of ritualistic acts in the murders of 29-year-old Katherine Hall, 45-year-old Johnnie Mae Williams and 43-year-old Donna Bennett Johnston.
Gillis was arrested at his home on Burgin Road around 1:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Authorities say he did not resist arrest and agreed to a DNA swabbing. At around 7:00 a.m., authorities say Gillis confessed to the murders.
The arrest affidavit says a unique kind of tire led officers to Gillis. They say they found the tracks of those tires in the area near Ben Hur where the body of Donna Bennett Johnston was found. The State Police Crime Lab was able to take that tire track and determine the brand, model and type of tire. Then, investigators learned that this type of tire was only manufactured for a three-year period ending in 2003. They say that particular type of tire had only been purchased 90 times in the Baton Rouge area.
"When you split a piece of firewood, the first few blows might make a tiny little crack and it begins to break wide open. That tire track was the first little crack. The work of the State Police Crime Lab laid it open. Investigators swabbed Sean Gillis and the State Police Crime Lab matched his DNA," said Lieutenant Colonel Greg Phares, with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.
On that same date, detectives came into contact with Gillis and found that he normally operates a vehicle equipped with the matching tires. Detectives questioned Gillis and say he admitted that his vehicle was at the scene where Johnston's body was found. He says he was there six days before authorities recovered her body. The affidavit also says Gillis had an eight year relationship with Johnnie Mae Williams and that she was inside his vehicle about 30 days before authorities found her body.
The affidavit says Gillis told authorities they would probably find a lot of evidence of blood in his car and blamed that on a health-related condition of his common-law wife, Terri. 9 News spoke with Terri, who said Gillis confessed to her at 7 a.m. She told WAFB's Avery Davidson that detectives kicked in their door around 1 a.m. and sent a concussion grenade inside. She says they were both taken into custody and questioned and calls Gillis "a teddy bear" and a "normal person."
"The door got kicked in and they threw the little bomb in here and got us up and took us downtown," says Terri, "And I saw a ton of sheriff's deputies assaulting the house across the street."
Late Thursday afternoon investigators began taking pictures and collecting evidence from Gillis' home, including a small white car and grey minivan from the scene. Investigators say Terri does not ever remember bleeding in Gillis' vehicle.
Gillis Confesses To Several Murders, Investigators Still Probing For More
Sources tell 9 News, Gillis has confessed to investigators about other murders. According to our sources, since detectives arrested the accused serial killer, Sean Gillis has made seven taped confessions to detectives concerning women's murders. When asked about other murders, sources tell us Gillis told investigators, quote -- "If you show me photos, I may be able to remember more."
At 9:12 a.m., Gillis agreed to a DNA test. Joanie Wilson, with the State Police Crime Lab tested the sample and reported that Gillis' DNA matched the suspect in the cases of Katherine Hall and Donna Bennett Johnson. Then, the FBI Crime Lab compared the sample to one taken in the murder of Johnnie Mae Williams. They say it matched the suspect in that murder as well.
Hall was slain in January 1999, and Williams was killed in October, 2003. Johnston's body was found February 27th. All three women were strangled. Authorities also say Gillis is a suspect in the unsolved murders of other women in south Louisiana. They confirmed he is a suspect in the murder of Hardee Schmidt and possibly, Mary Ann Fowler.
Schmidt disappeared while jogging. A witness had said a light-colored minivan had been seen in Schmidt's neighborhood at the time of her disappearance. Investigators are now combing Gillis' grey Mazda MPV minivan to see if there is a connection. WAFB's Paul Gates asked Lt. Col. Greg Phares if the Hardee Schmidt case would be one with a high level of evidence and high priority. Phares said that would be -- quote -- "A fair statement."
Victims' Family and Friends Grateful
Family and friends of at least two of the women Sean Gillis is accused of killing were on hand for Thursday's news conference. Throughout this investigation they felt as though these murders would be lost at the bottom of the priority list -- getting little or no attention because of the "high-risk" lifestyles their loved ones chose to live. They no longer feel that way.
The cousin of Johnnie Mae Williams, Kamilla Fair, says she figured no one would ever be arrested for her murder. She says, "They never gave up and they continued to keep looking even when we thought nobody was doing anything, but I really appreciate their efforts and their hard work and their time."
The victim's daughter, Lauren Williams, also expressed gratitude that her mother's case was not lost in the wake kicked up by the Derrick Todd Lee case. She also talked about something done to her mother that might connect other area murders to suspect Sean Vincent Gillis and the charge of ritualistic acts filed againt him.
"He had cut her in certain spots, behind her legs, under her chest," explained Williams. "Who would want to cut a dead body? She suffered enough. I did not appreciate that at all."
Elaina Branzaru, a friend of Donna Bennet Johnston, has championed her cause and wanted to thank the Task Force for giving Johnston's case the same attention as anyone elses, no matter what her lifestyle had been.
"I just wanted people to know that she was a mom and I came out here to represent her family and to tell the Task Force and anybody who gave me any information for the family's sake, thank you very much. It really means a lot to them," said Branzaru.
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