Edwin Kaprat

Edwin Bernard Kaprat III (September 21, 1964 – April 19, 1995), known as The Granny Killer, was an American serial killer, rapist, and arsonist who committed six murders in Tampa and Hernando County, Florida from 1991 to 1993, with a majority of his victims being elderly women. Convicted for two of the killings and sentenced to death, he and another inmate were stabbed to death during a dispute in prison.

Early life Edwin Bernard Kaprat III was born on September 21, 1964, in New York City, New York, one of two children born to refrigeration mechanic Edwin "Skip" Kaprat Jr. and his wife Ruth, a real estate agent. The family moved to the Great Meadows section of Independence Township, New Jersey when he was still young, and according to neighbors, they were considered to be upstanding citizens. Although described as intelligent and obsessed with reading books, Kaprat, who was nicknamed "Mike" by family members, was also known to be a very violent and easily angered bully who would attack those weaker and smaller than him. Due to this, his teachers resorted to giving him plush toys so he could redirect his anger to them, punching and kicking them. Even after the birth of his two sons, Kaprat continued to drink and smoke marijuana. By that time, the Kaprat family were facing some strife, as the elder Kaprats divorced and their daughter, Ruthie, experienced marital problems with her husband threatening to torch her car. In October 1990, he and his wife moved to his parents' home in Spring Hill, Florida, where they planned to start a new life with their children. Bugay had been reported missing the previous morning, and injuries on his head indicated that he had been beaten to death with either a tire iron or a pipe. His vehicle was later found at a nearby boat ramp, and investigators took plaster casts of footprints and tire tracks found near the crime scene in the hopes of finding clues that would let them catch the killer. In early March, after learning that an arrest warrant had been issued for him, Kaprat called a detective in the Hackettstown Police Department and expressed his desire to turn himself in. On March 9, Kaprat surrendered himself to authorities, and soon after extradited back to Florida to charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and forgery.

Hernando County murders On August 7, 1993, a fire broke out at the Spring Hill home of 80-year-old Sophia Francis Garrity, a retired public relations employee from New Jersey who lived by herself. By the time the firemen had arrived to extinguish the flames, she had perished in the blaze. The incident came as a shock to the community, as Garrity, affectionately called "The Cookie Lady", was well-liked and respected by everyone.

Ten days later, 84-year-old William "Bill" Whitney and his 83-year-old spouse Alice were found beaten up at their home in Spring Hil after a neighbor heard Bill screaming and the couple's smoke detector going off. Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters took care of the fire, which had been set in the home but had failed to spread before it was put out. Both Whitneys were transported to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, but because Bill had been severely injured, and Alice suffered from Alzheimer's disease, they were unable to provide any useful testimony that could identify their assailant. This was further complicated by the apparent lack of a weapon or motive, which left the authorities at a standstill.

The day after, another fire was reported in the nearby community of Brookridge, which resulted in the death of 70-year-old Ruth Goldsmith, a retiree who had moved to the area from Havertown, Pennsylvania just two years prior. The fire caused an estimated $65,000 in damage, completely destroying the mobile home in the process. An investigation into the matter determined that the cause was likely an electrical short in the master bedroom, and the case was subsequently dismissed as accidental. Upon investigating the home, police found her charred body inside, which had been bound with duct tape and showed signs of sexual assault. Riddell's death was labeled a homicide, and due to the suspicious frequency of violent crimes in the area, authorities announced that they would be reviewing the Goldsmith case to see whether it was related to this incident or not.

The final incident occurred on September 26, when 87-year-old Lorraine "Alice" Burnham Dawe, a retired athlete, was found beaten to death at her mobile home in Spring Hill. Authorities determined that she had been sexually assaulted and killed after her assailant had repeatedly stomped on her neck.

Arrest and investigation A few days after Dawe's death, an anonymous tipster phoned the police and suggested that they investigate Kaprat, a previously convicted felon who had been charged with a murder two years prior. To the investigators' surprise, his fingerprints matched those found on a garage window at Dawe's house, which was close to his sister's house.

On November 19, William Whitney, who had been left in a vegetative state following the attack, died at his son's home in Hancock County, Mississippi from a bout of pneumonia. As his death was thought to be directly linked to the attack committed by Kaprat, prosecutors considered charging him with first-degree murder in the case.

Trial In January 1995, Kaprat's trial for the murder of Riddell began. From the very beginning, it was closely monitored by residents of Hernando County due to its high-profile nature and the viciousness of the crimes, which were described as the worst in the county's history. After being ruled sober and sane at the time of the crimes, Kaprat was charged with first-degree murder. During the proceedings, a tape-recorded interview between Kaprat and a detective was played which showed that Kaprat had repeatedly asked for the interview to be stopped so he could smoke a cigarette. In it, the detective repeatedly shouted at him and called him a liar, which Kaprat's attorney argued was tantamount to coercion; on the other hand, excused it by pointing out that the detective was simply calling him out on his lies.

After a ten-day trial, Kaprat was found guilty of the murder after the jury deliberated for eight hours. His family members unsuccessfully pleaded with jurors to spare him the second death sentence, saying that Kaprat had told detectives that he would like them to shoot him, and that he had slashed one of his wrists on the eve of his first trial.

Death On April 19, 1995, Kaprat and another inmate, Charles Street, were both stabbed to death by two fellow inmates at the Florida State Prison's death row. The murders were the first ever to occur on death row. Kaprat's death was met with relief from the victims' family members, most of whom said that he deserved what he got. At the same time, they expressed their condolences to his own family members. As a result of his death, the charges in the remaining cases were dropped and they were officially closed. Street had been on death row for the 1988 murders of Metro-Dade Police Officers Richard Boles and David Strzalkowski.

The two inmates responsible for the murders, Mario Lara and Rigoberto Sanchez-Velasco, were convicted of two counts of third degree murder. After waiving his appeals, Sanchez-Velasco was executed for his respective crime in 2002, while Lara's sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment and he remains in prison. The crime in which Sanchez-Velasco was originally sentenced to death for was the 1986 murder of 11-year-old Katixa "Kathy" Ecanarro. As for Lara, his original death sentence was for the 1981 murders of Grisel Fumero and Olga Elviro.