[chris]

Bobby Joe Long # 494041
U.C.I.
7819 NW 228th St.
Raiford, FL 32083

[chris]

Bobby Joe Long, a distant cousin of Henry Lee Lucas, viciously raped and murdered at least nine women from May 1984 to November 1984 in Tampa, Florida. He was sentenced to death for raping fifty women and killing nine. Bobby Joe Long was born October 14, 1953, in Kenova, West Virginia. While he was quite young his mother left his father and took Bobby Joe to Tampa, Florida. They moved around Tampa frequently, staying with relatives or in rented rooms. He and his mother slept in the same bed until he was 13. His mother tended to be overly protective and dramatic, but still Bobby Joe Long managed to suffer a series of severe head injuries beginning at age five, when he was knocked unconscious in a fall from a swing and had one eyelid skewered by a stick. At 6 he was thrown from his bicycle, crashing headfirst into a parked car, with injuries including loss of several teeth and a severe concussion. At age 7, he fell from a pony onto his head and remained dizzy and nauseous for several weeks. He also seemed to have gotten into countless fist fights with relatives and classmates.

Bobby Joe Long was born with a truly unusual condition known as Klinefelter's syndrome which meant he had an extra X (female) chromosome causing higher amounts of the female hormone estrogen in his system. His breasts grew during puberty, which caused him great embarrassment. At 13 Bobby Joe Long met Cindy and finally began sleeping in a separate bed from his mother. They dated for 6 years before marrying in 1974. He was in the army then, stationed at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. Things went well until a serious motorcycle accident in which he suffered another serious head injury and came close to losing a leg. He claimed that after this accident he became hypersexual. His growing and desperate sexual needs seemed to consume him. Shortly after his release from hospital Long devised the idea of using the classified ads in the newspaper to locate women, arrive at their houses and rape them. He had lots of time now that he was unemployed and discharged from the army. Cindy never even suspected what he was up to but they did end up divorced.

Between 1980 and 1983, Long terrorized the Florida communities of Miami, Ocala and Fort Lauderdale as the "Classified Ad Rapist," preying on housewives in mid-day attacks. Dropping by while their husbands were working, Bobby Joe Long typically produced a knife, bound his victims, raped them violently, and robbed their homes before he fled.

In October 1981, Sharon Richards, who shared a house with Bobby Joe Long, accused him of rape, but the police did not have enough evidence to make a charge. Just two weeks later, Bobby Joe hit Sharon during an argument. He then took a leave of absence from Tampa and went to stay with his parents in West Virginia, returning to Tampa in June 1983.

In July 1983, Bobby Joe met Emma at the Humana Hospital where he worked as an X-ray technologist and she as a nurse. They soon became a couple. Emma encouraged him to attend church. He in turn gave her jewelry that, unbeknownst to Emma, were stolen from his rape victims. She never questioned him about how he was able to afford these expensive gifts. Then in September 1983, he was found guilty on the assault charges stemming from the 1981 incident. This enraged Bobby Joe and he wrote numerous letters to the judge, demanding a new trial. He claimed he had done nothing criminal and that the whole incident had been Richards' fault.

In November 1983, Bobby Joe Long was charged with sending an obscene letter and photographs to a twelve year old girl in Tampa. Officials had traced phone calls Long had made to the 12 year old and Long received a sentence of two days in jail and six months' probation.

In early 1984, Bobby Joe Long got his retrial in the Sharon Richards case and was acquitted of the assault charges, despite the testimony of a number of witnesses against him. As he left the courtroom he turned and laughed at her.

n March 27, 1984, Bobby Joe Long raped 20 year-old Artis Wick in Tampa. Unsatisfied, with just rape, he strangled her to death. The serial rapist escalated to serial killer.

Between May and November 1984, Bobby Joe Long strangled, stabbed and shot at least nine victims, with a tenth suspected but never charged against him. In early November, he abducted a 17-year-old girl off the street and raped her, then her life when she described acts of incest performed by her father. Two days later he raped and killed one last victim, before being arrested and charged. The girl who had been spared was able to describe him and his car to police.