G-17 REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD. (651)

· . Winona authorities.: '.'.'. ,'.'" W1.W9 :,@t;ness sJqrrat,P?i 6n/'all l a yrmge, .sayIllgheWant -' . '. .' iinitlallyllelieved they'" '(,::ed·to et:Sfuith;. 'offriif:Ra k,",.I. '.'. ' ,'. .' . -according ·: to the: complamt., ., , : , ' . " : . , ' ."'::::r,;:;Witnesses .told inve'stiga- .''!light risk: ad g rtoppp :; ;thatSmitl1 ha been demand-·. \,''. . " , ;tors thathethteatened to burnlic safety., ;,, :;·,t':J· . ;'\ .: ::, .Y-",:mgmoneyJrom'·(jordon. She . t' ,., .,:, f'- .' 't'h····· -··S.··'··,. . ,. . ,the houses of-anyone whoeoop" , Judge Margar t Shaw Jolui- also··,had;thteatened .\to telL . ragIc Ire In ,e uga.r:erated withlaw'enfotcemenL: .:"son set.cw'rdon's bail at 20 'rhil ' '; prosecutors ,about his ,alleged . 'L' ' "f A"t . '. ·.· t ··'b··· "t,: spea.Idng:io,:investigators 'Jlon'orith rinfrder harges'GDr-" :farugde g, cco din.gto the,oa par m, ll "u. hfterhisarrest,Gordonsaid hedohappJied fora Pl1blicqef :q.d r, ; ;·coD!plaint': (:\Infqtman s''toldautopsies f6uIldthaf ' 'feltUke Jle. 'had '?-o ;,'w y ,·?ut" .IputJibW: 1J. y tbeen !lIPe,d· ::«:;'J,iny stig tors.:tb:atqordon had .,, "i. · · . a n d w a s "angrY:'Wlth ev ry-:F After,hisarrest,Gordon told: ,: ?een an'}actIve:'crackdealer·'s·t ." ·ml·th·· 29 ',. d' . thing going on ,in (my/life""invesdgators.'tha(:hi "bQ)dngic·f?il1cem6ving, to' Winonal st " .,acy.,'.' an' shortly.befory·theJir 'was:wbrkouts'\ilidud dtrammg.' on . iyear,selling ilpt 9 15,000 worthhd.ht. 'T" 1 .reported;' He first .' danneq .he ' ;how.;to·j,disable '.someoneby·!,ofcQCaine inonth., . " . ' .'. . er. aug., .,ay or . had lost hiscell'-phQiledays qh()kilig.fhe'p'e soliilit():fufCQh:: ;::;f;i,fW t1J s es':laJs(j,' @dSmith ''S. 10 h. ib·· ., 'pefore the fire, then admitted,Sciousnes§,according toacrim-,:,:;li lplannedtohave an abor- . 'WClnSon, . ,. Jl, . , e:t1 ' " he hadtost it in the early·niorn-.,fual c0nlPI::ijnt fiiedMonday ,?!';'i:,' ;.tiQIF andJ.wasaskilig· Will for' , ' . .' .,': . i ' ; ' . '.inghoiir' th da:Y'ofthe.l'iI'e . . \':.' Winona'\authoriti s'initiallY" 3,000, or, l,OQOJor each month . strangled. he ,glrl"'Wh n:··-the·i;:'41vestigatorsbeli yedthey'Wereinv stigatirig .,' . sl18 hadpatP qtJ.1eil;' child. :.' '1' "', '/h' .d"b' . . ·b···' 't" . told 'P9rdQ :;;iheretl)ey,:had .a tragief.ire.iri·the·BugarLpaf',·:A .s ,r:i, ·;·9f·iJlcreasingly. ia s9 ;:" '" en. f eIlfo1r4d(,tordoJ1:s]ostgell:phone'Apaytments,"': but:;"' utopsies . ,: sty C'c ll-phon(r.c lls;and text . -" ·d1'1' s' u' '1't' "d' i ., ·in}raylor,:·SWanspn's 'bed .'.dete.f1n!ned that StacySinith,29, . niess'ag s ',: ritermgon the an ,se :"lla .Y a s . '. e. \:: ;room,rfghf'n rto,heJ;'ped ,;,andllerdaughter,"Taylor" Wan-' ." ,3,000, ,d man , took place.(jord0Il;dropped:his. head, intoson,i,?,had be n'killed ':- stran- . 'het;w' en the. tWo' in ,'the days . train 'a' feW hours . 'after 'the ,his hands f9f'anexi;endedperi':gled/":thecomplaintrevealed. :b for{:th(:f 1QIlliigs'and fire, idllings,usillgtickets he had, bd, rtibbedthetop·qf.hi head :The}girl so .was beaten and .' accordirigtoth .complaint.reserved the :dllybefore.·Once sighed,·an:d{Jerm.piated the '.,sehtWIyassa11lted.Investigators . ' .i 'lJ.9P't,Clo. othiIlg .stupid," . iIi CaIifornia;he told 'a fourth inter 'W,''o':YVi1li s: ote in'found Gordon's' cell phOne)lext.- Gotdotr'\VI'0te':once , g i r r i e n d he was ieaving for thee6mpIail).t':' : '. '" ,:.1,.'.,'tolierbed, where e apparently '. . ·"NO 'ONE':'. IS" HAPPY: Mexico because of charge ' he.' dord9nls,qP.arg (l»dt foW'ha i";nllstake!1ly,':CIropped ' it' . UNLESS:ol\1AlVIA' .IS!" Smith was facni'g in other states.,' 'counts 6ffirst ,degreemurder;befo!,eleaVlng town, first for" later 'repge :' , :: Guess what?In Win.ona County, Gordon four.coU:hts' or second degree.6Detroit,th nQalifoi'nia" ,SHE AIN'r.r!",:,·;:,· '",facesIirlfelated assault cp,arges t' ,murder; first-dygree'crinlimilj ;;; 'rrllisis'qriite an electroIlic ""\Go:rqQrr'bE;cap1e, "n,otably 'forallegedlypistol-whipping'a sexualconduct;' an "first-' ::tease ll'manY,ways," MacLe:;m.a.brupt,;pr sur,ed and. angrY" an :'pQ sessin . oca.rne· nd: :d gre(t·;': sdn'c·'.Tlie .mlirdyl'". a,i ;":; "T4 te aJ;e lots' of ell- . after,' 'a · call he,rec lved .at . ·brandishing a repUcamachil1e j chargesmcludet ee:epunts:!:pb,o:q.e record ;yoice mails ,and '1:30 a m::\))y : 16,;: a Witness told:', 'gun' at officers,'accordmg to the, relatjng . othe death ofSmith's textmessages ·that ':are very investigators. Gordop, then vis-·. compla.int. ' .'. .' imborn child.; . '. .:valuable for -the ··case.· There's "',itin, an:()ther\villop: arel:lgirl- ' .'Micbig9fi,', Gordpp: J;1 1 11.', Winona ;MaY6 :'Jegy Miller .E1. 11o/i;9r ('other:: "\' y}4erice;' "friend le that 'woman's apart- juvenile'record, for .carrYing ,a. s d the slaying'shfive :had ."a' 30a.m., concealed· weapon; afelony", sour hnpact": mi' the/historic' dence is terrific;" ,.re riirig '" betW,'e p: .'3,:i?O . and which w s origina.ll;Y ,, fged , ity; . which. :boastsc soaring L ['1'hc·compiailit· . :recounts .4a.m;' He.soori',announced he as assaultWithintent·to'mur.:·, bluffs; steamboatroots, vintage'.:what .fu.vestigators.terpled 'the could ·n6tflndhis'cell.phone, 'der steIIlIllipg,:frol1.la,dJ:'iye by . homes. and Wiriona State l!ni': ."often acriinoili01.is";,r hiti6p . : ,ci3Jli.ng it twic tQtfY to find it.shooting,M cLeai1 said,". ,versity.' , ' . ,-.ship, betWeen ordon.and , ·jj:" ThewiJJ.dowofwne when. Gordon was convicted last'''Whensomething like thatSmith. He' was angry'thal 'she Gordon:absertf.:, lines up year OfSeA'llal,· assattlting a' . happens in a eO nunity like·c wollId lnot leave :him alone; precisely Withthe.tim,e the vic-. 12-year oid girl ,in Arkansas, . this there is.a lot ofapprehen describing herasaHillosquito." . timswere killed and the fires . where he 'also faces a 'felony:: sion,'! Miller said. .' t ·.w s gry:t4a ny.'woN,d ' et/' .,T()l , WilliaI#s: )Vinona .·charge ', of rap:mg . a:W0 ll1all 'not spend more time with her .' deputy'police chief, writes ,in while choking her. . ToddNeZsofL cim bereached,.q,t .aI.1rt· also. was u t i.about, his t e, Pll1:Plajnt:;.: . ' . '.In the eeks leading up to'. ',ta,nkZson@pzoneeriftkss.coritor,-i : res11lted ilitwo pregnancies.a .WereS··e.r,rri··.'.:I'.cIc.j.Inwast':"Ll:"- . :.', :"'J.! -,·:.:[r .:: . .;.: 1 ':",1-' ( "·. ·::n . ,:t,1--. I'";:J,,;1 . .,A i--nnlr-1-1--.,. "{7\].h. .h:.,.:{O . etl Cl'tH-n rret(!O"f1'flri'Yl'. 1.9QQ r:;7t:.,. .:.-'.:'.

The Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women monitors information about women anrchildren murdered in our state to educate the public about the lethality of violenceagainst women and child abuse. We pledge to remember the women, children, andfamily me-mbers and/or friends who die each year from domestic violence and thewomen and children who die while being used in prostitution and sex traffickingsystems of violence against women and children. Women and children used in prostitution and sex trafficking are battered women in need of protection from abuse. We alsoremember the women and children who were murdered by friends, acquaintances,strangers, or unknown perpetrators.We challenge communities to respond to battered women and theirchildren by providing adequate funding for safe shelter and advocacyservices, prevention education for all elementary and secondarystudents, laws to protect women and children, effective enforcement ofthose laws, and aggressive prosecution of all domestic assault crimesand all prostitution crimes targeting perpetrators, pimps, and "johns".--------- t6tdli1Ufi"fber 'ofdEfcfths, it is inTpC5rtantto note that at least thrs many--- women and children have been murdered. We cannot be certain we have not missedsome deaths since we must use a method of data collection that relies upon news accounts. No state or federal agency collects comprehensive data on domestic homicides. In addition, the murders of women and children of color, women and childrenliving in poverty, rural women and children, lesbians, and women and children used inprostitution and sex trafficking may be underreported in our listing as they may go unreported in mainstream media. -rry-re-p6rfln rllieThe Special Femicide Report: Strangulation and Women and Children Murdered in Minnesota 1989-2005 is compiled from news accounts. Please contact us if we havemissed a death or if you have updated or more complete information on any femicide.We ask that the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women be credited when information from this report is used.2

At least 35 women were strangled to death in cases where thesuspected, alleged, or convicted perpetrator was a current or formerhusband, boyfriend, intimate partner, or household member/ familymember of the deceased woman.Atleast 19 children under the age of 18 were strangled to death in caseswhere the suspected, alleged, or convicted perpetrator was the father,mother, guardian, babysitter, childcare provider or household/familymember of the child, or the perpetrator was the parent's spouse orintimate partner.)At least 11 women or children were strangled to death in cases where thesuspected, alleged, or convicted perpetrator was a friend oracquaintance of the deceased woman or child, or was a stranger or anunknown assailant.Atleast 33 children have been left motherless due to the strangulationmurders of their mothers.More than 3 times as many women were strangled to death from 19892005 by an intimate partner or family member than by a friend, acquaintance, stranger or an unknown perpetrator.Nine percent of all women murderedb')L an intimate Qartner from 19892005 were strangled to death.Twelve percent of all children murdered by a family member from 19892005 were strangled to death.3

1. Francine Hill, 39MinneapolisFebruary 14, 1989Francine was found strangled to death in a Minneapolis motel room. Police werecalled when there was a complaint from a motel guest about shouts coming from theroom. Her boyfriend, Dennis Wade, 48, was charged with her murder. He pleadedguilty in September to first-degree manslaughter and was likely sentenced to 3 lh yearsin prison. Francine was the mother of 8 children.2. Anita Ross, 24MinneapolisJune 7, 1989Anita died of strangulation and was left in a burning apartment, which was set on fire.Anita was planning to end her relationship with Ernest. Her boyfriend, Ernest Hardimon,was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson.3. Lori Ann Behr, 30MinneapolisNovember 21, 1989Lori was strangled to death. Her boyfriend, Jonathan Mudge, 31, was charged withtwo counts of first-degree murder in her death. Lori was found dead at the couple'shouse after police responded to a call from Mudge's brother-in-law who told authorities(that Mudge made hysterical statements on the telephone about killing his girlfriend.Mudge was arrested at the scene. Lori was 8 months pregnant at the time of her murder.4. Colleen Buckley, 23RichfieldApril 21, 1990Colleen was found beaten and strangled to death in her home. Her boyfriend, LionelWashingtE)n, 29, was arrested and charged with third-degree assault on a friend of Colleen's, Mary Kay Ekmark. While walking together, Washington began striking Ekmarkwith a sharp object. ,She was treated for puncture wounds to the head and a fracturedhand. Police were called and Washington fled. After talking with Ekmark, police wentto check on Colleen and found her dead. Washington remains a suspect in Colleen'sdeath. Washington was found guilty of third-degree assault against Mary Kay and wassentenced to five years in prison.5. Magdaline George, 32st. PaulNovember 10, 1990Magdaline's teenage daughter found her strangled to death in a closet of her apartment. Neighbors said there were frequent sounds of fighting coming from her apartment. One evening, a neighbor identified "sounds of someone choking and beingthumped around." Four days prior to her death, another neighbor stated he heard awoman screaming for someone to call police. Police records do not show any calls toMagdaline's apartment. A former boyfriend, Ray Vaughns, 38, was taken into custody.Charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence. She is survived by her 3 children.4

6. Leslie Perkins, 30MinneapolisAugust 6, 1992Leslie was found dead in her bedroom. She had been strangled. Her boyfriend, VerdellShannon, 30, apparently strangled her, then called a friend in tears and asked her tocome over. The friend notified police, who found Shannon hiding in a nearby garage.He admitted to police that he strangled Leslie. Earlier in the summer, Leslie had movedinto a battered women's shelter to escape abuse by her boyfriend. She left on June25th to move into transitional housing. Two young children were asleep in another bedroom when she was killed. Shannon was charged with second-degree murder. Leslie issurvived by four children.7. May Young, 34MinneapolisDecember 23, 1992A police dog that was being exercised by its handler discovered May's body in theparking lot of Theodore Wirth Park. She had been strangled and was partly clothed. Herboyfriend, Bemand McAllister, 30, was charged with second-degree murder. Acquaintances of the couple told police that after an argument between May and McAllister,he was overhead to say he was going to kill May. McAllister is alleged to have said, "Idid it I did it . 1 can't believe I killed her, I did it. I can't believe she made me that mad."An acquaintance stated that McAllister said he dumped May's body at the park sosomeone could find it and that he wanted to dig a grave, but the ground was frozentoo hard.8. Francis WilsonMinneapolisJanuary 13, 1993Francis was found strangled in her apartment. Her great-nephew, Cedar MountainMonahan, 19, told police that he strangled her and punched and stomped on herhead in a fit of anger. He was charged with second-degree murder.9. Cynthia Grube, 26AppletonOctober 26, 1993Cynthia's body was found dumped at an abandoned farm. She had been strangled todeath. The farm belonged to the grandmother of Cynthia's husband, Keith Grube. Authorities believe he strangled Cynthia in their home and then dumped her body at thefarm. Grube was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in Cynthia'sdeath and was sentenced to life in prison.10. Sandra Jackson, 41MinneapolisNovember 21, 1994Sandra was found dead in her apartment. She had been strangled to death by her former boyfriend, Curtis Osborne, 37, with whom she had previously lived. Osborne reported the murder at a medical center nearby. Osborne pled guilty to second-degreemurder charges in November and was sentenced to 13-16 years in prison. The sentence was 35 months longer than sentencing guidelines call for. It was sought becauseSandra was killed in her own apartment, she was vulnerable because she was intoxicated, and Osborne had stolen a ring from her after her death.5

11. Roxanne Woo, 30MoorheadMarch 5, 1995Roxanne was found strangled in her apartment after authorities responded to a firethere. A neighbor reported hearing Roxanne and. a man arguing outside th/Iapartment about 30 minutes before the fire alarm sounded. Roxanne's car was alsereported missing. Allen Davis, 44, with whom she had a relationship, was arrested andcharged. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 26 years inprison. Roxanne is survived by 3 small children.12. Diane Buntrock, 51New BrightonMay 4, 1995Diane was first reported missing, along with her car. Her l8-year-old son, Michael, wasdetained in Fargo, North Dakota a day later on charges of auto theft when found withhis mother's car and his 15-year-old girlfriend. The following day Diane's body wasfound buried in a shallow grave in a Ham Lake wildemess area. A grand jury indictedMichael Buntrock on a charge of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of hismother. He reportedly admitted to strangling his mother and burying her because hebecame angry when his mother told him she was going to kick him out of her homeand that he wasn't going to be able to see his girlfriend anymore. Diane Buntrock knewthe girl's parents were filing an order for protection against him. He said he strangled hismother in her bedroom with the power cord of his radio, then put her body in the trun of the car and drove to the site where he buried her. The complaint against Buntroctincluded information about previous domestic violence. Diane had reportedly confided to a friend that, "I don't know what he will do to me." The mother of Buntrock'steenage girlfriend told police that he had beaten and threatened to kill his mother inthe past. Diane reportedly told the girlfriend's mother she was reluctant to report theviolence to the police saying, ''I'm so afraid. You know, he is my son. Nothing will getdone." The mother also reportedly told police she thought Buntrock was beating herdaughter, that he had boasted of killing a man in a fit of jealousy, and that he wasplotting to kidnap an infant he had fathered by another girl. In August, a jury foundBuntrock guilty of premeditated first-degree murder for strangling his mother and thejudge sentenced him to life in prison. He will serve at least 30 years.13. Kim Ballandby, 34StillwaterJune 23, 1995The bodies of Kim and her husband, Randee Ballandby, 40, were found in their carparked on a gravel country road about two miles from their home. Ballandby had apparently. strangled Kim and then committed suicide by plunging a knife into his chest. A.note believed written by Ballandby was found in the car, but the contents were not disclosed. Investigators said it appeared the couple had been having marital difficulties.Both were ,employed as software engineers at Control Data. Three surviving childrennow live with relatives.6

14. Marietta Kulah-Reed, 38MinneapolisAugust 5, 1995Fourteen days after her death, Marietta's boyfriend, Leo Johnson, 40, turned himself into police and admitted murdering- her during an argument over drugs. He reportedthat he strangled her, placed her in her bed, and then went to work. He returned laterin the day with Marietta's son and called police to report finding her body. Johnsonwas charged with three counts of manslaughter.15. Cindy Larson Sandlin-Smith, 25CaledoniaNovember 26, 1995Cynthia was reportedly strangled by her husband after an argument during which shehad asked him to have their 13-month-old marriage annulled. He then put her body inthe trunk of his car, drove to st Louis, Missouri, weighted her body and dropped it off abridge into the Missouri River. Smith then drove west and was arrested in Wyoming fiveweeks later. He confessed to the killing and was charged with second-degree murder.16. Margaret Bohn, 42ShoreviewApril 7, 1996Margaret was killed by her son on Easter Sunday. David "DJ" Bohn, 20, told authoritiesthat he had gone to his mother's home with the intention of strangling her. He said hefirst tried to strangle her and that it was not working, so he grabbed a shovel and began hitting her. When she went down, DJ continued to hit her, then went to the kitchenfor knives and stabbed her until he thought she was dead. He went to the phone andcalled 911 to report what he had done. He also asked that his younger brother beplaced in another home. Margaret died soon after a sheriff's deputy arrived. DavidBohn pled guilty to intentional second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 yearsin prison.17. Heidi Haines, 20MinneapolisJune 28, 1996Heidi tried to hide her bruises from her family and didn't often come to family gatherings. On June 12th, when Heidi was five months pregnant, she delivered a prematurebaby boy and named him Darius. He died an hour and a half after bith. Family members noticed bruising on Heidi's back and a fresh black eye, and suspected the premature delivery of Darius was due to battering on the part of Heidi's boyfriend, DavidCross. On June 28th police received a call from witnesses that a woman was being hitby a man in a car at 22nd and Washington Avenue North. As the witnesses drove backto the scene they saw the David Cross outside of the car on the passenger side, strangling Heidi. When police arrived, Heidi was lying outside of the car, facedown on theground. She was pronounced dead at 12:02 a.m. after police made a prolonged attempt to resuscitate her. David Cros was arrested at the scene and later charged withmanslaughter. He was sentenced on December 11, 1996 to life in prison.7

18. Shauntai Johnson, 27WadenaJuly 20, 1996Shauntai's body was found in the crawl space of her basement a day after her childrenreported her missing. Jerry Johnson, 37, Shauntai's husband, was charged with her mu\der. After three days of deliberation a jury found him guilty of the strangulation deathof his wife. Jerry Johnson was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degreema nslaughter.19. Marilyn Ford, 45st. PaulMarch 27, 1998Police discovered Marilyn's bloodied and barefoot body outside the duplex she sharedwith her brother. They followed a trail of blood, beginning at the front door and leadingto a bedroom, where more evidence of bleeding was found. It was determined thatMarilyn had been strangled. American Morris had been living with Marilyn and herbrother for two months. Several months before she died, Marilyn had told her sister thatif anything happened to her, Morris would be the culprit. In July, Morris was found guiltyof first-degree murder in the strangulation death and was sentenced to life in prison.20. Germaine Chatkana, 20Sf. CloudFebruary 2, 1999Germaine's body was found in a basement furnace room of an apartment building,after her boyfriend, Ole Dean Maxwell, called Germaine's sister from the Hennepi'lCounty jail and told the sister that Germaine was dead. Maxwell had turned himself irlto police on another warrant. Germaine had been dead for two or three days whenfound and police believe Maxwell killed her while he was on home detention. He hadbeen released from prison January 20 on electronic home monitoring. Germaine hadbeen strangled and the apartment where she was found belonged to Maxwell'smother. Her boyfriend had a violent past that included domestic assault charges aswell as death threats against his mother and brother. Germaine was the mother of a10-month-old son.21. Heidi Ray John

Mar 10, 2005 · Senate Counsel, Research, andFiscalAnalysis G-17STATE CAPITOL 75 REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD. ST. PAUL, MN 55155·1606 (651) 296·4791 FAX: (651) 296·7747 Jo ANNE ZOFF SELLNER DIRECTOR enate State ofMinnesota S.F. No. 934 .Crime ofDomestic Assault byStrangulation Author: Senator Jane Ranum