PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — It has been 35 years since Gainesville was terrorized by a string of murders that left a permanent scar on the University of Florida community. In August 1990, just as students were moving in for the fall semester, five young lives were taken in a series of crimes so brutal that they shocked the nation and sent a small college town into panic.
The victims were freshmen Christina Powell, 17, and Sonja Larson, 18; Santa Fe Community College student Christa Hoyt, 18; and University of Florida roommates Tracy Paules and Manuel Taboada, both 23. Each was murdered in their own home over the span of just four days. The crime scenes were not only violent, but in some cases staged, creating a level of fear that gripped the city in a way few had ever experienced.
At the time, Local 10 News Investigator Jeff Weinsier had just graduated from UF and was working as a reporter for WCJB-TV20 in Gainesville. He lived only blocks from some of the crime scenes.
“Hard to believe it’s been 35 years. I was there for it all,” Weinsier recalled. “It was mayhem. It was emotional. Our small town, the university—it felt like we were under attack.”
The uncertainty of the moment forced residents, including Weinsier, then 23, to take steps they never imagined. “No one knew when the killing would end,” he said. “I bought my first gun at Sapp’s Pawn Shop on Main Street. That’s how scared everyone was.”
“The worst part was the anxiety of who might be next. They were so random at the time,” Weinsier said. “We didn’t just cover this story, we lived it.”
As police searched for the killer, fear spread. Students slept in groups, armed themselves with baseball bats, and avoided going out alone at night. Parents rushed to withdraw their children from classes. The quiet college town of Gainesville suddenly became the center of worldwide attention as media crews from across the globe descended on the city.
Eventually, investigators identified Danny Rolling, a drifter with a violent past, as the man responsible. He was arrested on burglary charges but was later linked to the Gainesville murders through DNA evidence. Rolling eventually confessed not only to the five Gainesville killings but also to a triple homicide in Shreveport, Louisiana, committed the year before.
Rolling was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in 2006.
Weinsier covered both the trial and the execution, memories that remain vivid to this day.
“I will never forget it,” he said. “Rolling sang a song as his last words. The chorus was, ‘None greater than thee, Lord, none greater than thee.’ It was chilling.”
For the families of the victims, the spotlight was sudden, unrelenting, and painful. They were thrust into a place no one would ever want to be. Over the years, they found different ways to cope with the grief and to keep the memories of their loved ones alive.
Ada Larson, the mother of Sonja Larson, described the bond among the families as a reluctant kinship. “We’re like a large family that have all gone through the same trauma,” she said in 2005.
Ricky and George Paules, the parents of Tracy Paules, were among the most visible in the years that followed. Ricky spoke to the media after Rolling’s execution, while George helped create and later received permission to maintain the section of Gainesville’s 34th Street wall memorial dedicated to the victims.
Memorial wall:
Ann Garren, the mother of Christa Hoyt, traveled with Larson to California to support another victim of Rolling’s violence, Janet Frake, who survived an attack just days before the Gainesville murders.
Another family member, Dianna Hoyt, has publicly expressed appreciation for the 34th Street wall memorial, where strangers and loved ones alike continue to honor the victims.
Mario Taboada, the brother of Manuel Taboada, was outspoken during Rolling’s trial, shouting after the death sentence was handed down, “Five years — you’re going down in five years!”
In 2005, he reflected on the importance of talking about his brother’s life.
“In a way, talking about (Manny), as I do sometimes with those who knew him, they’re kind of alive for that moment, and so, it’s comforting,” he said.
The family of Christina Powell, the first victim, has largely chosen to keep their grief private and away from the media spotlight.
For Weinsier, the memories of that time remain as sharp today as they were three decades ago.
“It was one of the most difficult stories to tell,” he said. “It seemed like it never ended. We’d wake up in the morning and wonder if there was going to be another one. Even 35 years later, the vivid memories still exist.”
The Gainesville murders forced colleges across Florida to reevaluate campus security and left families navigating unimaginable grief, capturing national attention and prompting reflection on safety and community.
But beyond the headlines and history, the tragedy endures as the story of five young lives cut short, families forever changed and a community that will never forget.
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