Welcome back to The Raven! As you can guess from the title, I have a cult story for you today, and it is one of my favorites. That sounds wrong- that I have a favorite cult crime. I do have a disclaimer for this one; I am by no means saying that this wasn't horrible, and the people involved weren't in the wrong. However, I think a lot was going on behind the scenes, and childhood trauma plays a significant role in this story. I'll explain as I go along so bear with me.
This is the infamous vampire cult killings from 1996 that struck fear into the hearts of Americans.
Let's start with some background information.
(Source: Oxygen)
The primary individual in this story is Roderrick Justin Ferrell from the little bitty town of Murry, Kentucky, where nothing ever happened. This town was like any small town in the Bible Belt of the United States, one church to every three hundred people and dry, meaning no booze. It is no wonder that Rod and his friends would stick out in a setting like this and that people would feel negatively towards them. Being an individual who dresses alternative- very goth when I was younger, living in the Midwest, people act a little strange around those who are different. I think that the segregation that Rod felt from the rest of his community pushed him to embrace the darker side of life. I mean, he wasn't accepted by them, so it is logical that he would create a community that would allow him. Then again, I also struggled with a conservative society, and I didn't go on a murdering spree- just saying.
Rod was born March 28, 1980, to single mother, Sondra Gibson, who had him at 16-years-old. The two relied financially on Sondra's parents, and this is the start of Rod's downward spiral. Rod reported that his grandfather's friends gang-raped him when he was 5. He described it as a Black Mast ceremony. His grandfather had also molested Sondra and her sister when they were children, and the occult ran deep in this family. One could argue that this caused Rod to act out in the manner he did. His mother was also obsessed with vampires, exposing Rod to movies, books, games, you name it- but I am also vampire obsessed. I remember falling in love with Dracula when I was little, and the fascination has only grown. Sondra took her obsession to a different level, the level which you think molesting a 14-year-old boy is okay. Oh, and you have been drinking the kid's blood, and people say that you act like Rod is your boyfriend instead of your son. That's not okay.
(Source: Lifedaily)
Rod, heavily obsessed with vampires, begins to play this game called Vampire: The Masquerade. It was popular in the 1990s and is like Dungeons and Dragons but with vampires. Anyway, Rod believes that he is a 500-year-old vampire named Vesago. He didn't just play this character with his friends, Scott Anderson, Charity Keesee, and Dana Cooper; he believed he was that person. The four called themselves the Vampire Clan and acted like a family. They would drink each other's blood, practice the dark arts, and hang out- seems chill. They also experimented with a bunch of different drugs, and the night of the murders, they were under the influences of acid. I have never known anyone who went on a murdering spree with tripping, which leads me to think this was premeditative.
Eventually, Rod snapped. One of Rod's friends recalled a time when they were hanging out, and a random cat approached them. Rod was petting it, and everything was great until the cat, being a cat, scratched him. Rod then picked up the cat by its throat, asked his friend, "Do you see that tree?" and slammed it into the tree, shattering its spinal column.
He also broke into a kennel and let all the animals loose. When people arrived in the morning, they found mutilated puppies scattered in the woods. Police believe Rod came there with his friends because it looked like there had been heavy foot traffic leading to the woods. Some of the puppies looked like they had been trampled on. Others had had their limbs torn off while still alive. Holy shit and, it doesn't get any better.
Authorities were starting to crack down on Rod and his friends, so the 15-ear-old decided to take a road trip to Eustis, Florida, to visit Rod's ex-girlfriend, Heather Wendorf, also 15. Heather claimed to have an abusive father who molested her. Being molested in his childhood, Rod was enraged to hear this and planned to do something about it. Heather would later admit to lying about her father during the trials, which hit Rod hard. He mentioned feeling betrayed that she would lie about that- perhaps he wouldn't have murdered Heather's parents. Did Heather spark this in Rod, triggering a dark time in his childhood, but now he can do something about it? Did Rod see this as redemption for those who raped him? Or did Heather just throw this out there to get attention? Or possibly lie about saying it was all a lie- afraid to go to jail and attempting to salvage what is left of her family? The possibilities are endless, and I just want to know why.
(Source: Huffington Post)
Anyway, everyone goes to Florida to rescue Heather. Before they can do this, Heather must become a vampire, and this involves a "cross-over" ceremony. The teens went to the local cemetery, cut themselves, and drank each other's blood. Then the boys tripped on 10-strips of Golden Dragon Acid, and the girls popped some pills and headed back to Heather's.
The girls waited outside, and Rod and Scott, armed with crowbars, snuck around the Wendorf home before entering through the garage. Rod's car had broken down, and they planned on stealing the family's blue Ford Explorer; the keys were in the parent's bedroom.
If your goal is to steal the car, why not have Heather get the keys? She lives there? Why send in two strangers with crowbars? Oh yeah, the crowbars were for protection. This seems a little strange to me, yes they were tripping but still.
Heather's dad, Richard Wendorf, was asleep at the time. When Rod saw him, he became enraged and bludgeoned him the death. At one point, Rod says he stabbed Richard with the crowbar because he was still breathing. The boys became gitty after the murder and were dancing around the body when Naoma Queen walked into the room. She has just gotten out of the shower and threw her cup of coffee on Rod when she saw him. Rod reported that she attacked him, leaving him no other option but to beat her to death. The overkill was appalling; she was hit in the head until her skull caved in.
The boys later found the keys, switched the plates on the Explorer and headed to New Orleans, Louisiana. There was/ is a large population of vampires in New Orleans, and it was only logical that they go there.
Heather's older sister, Jennifer, would later come home to her parent's bodies and would call the police. After this, the four teens would be pulled over five times before getting arrested. Their escaped were all thanks to Rod's smooth-talking. Charity called her grandmother for money while they fled police, and they were tracked that way. Perhaps if she never made that phone call, the four could have gotten away with it- it's possible. Charity was Rod's current girlfriend, was she jealous of Heather, Rod's ex-girlfriend? Jealous that he would kill for her?
They were caught in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Rod, 16, confessed to the murders on February 12, 1998. Rod and Scott received life in prison without parole, and Rod also got the death penalty. Rod had an appointment with the electric chair, but at 16, Kentucky state law stated that juveniles couldn't receive the death penalty.
Charity was convicted of two counts of 3rd-degree murder, burglary, and a weapons charge (crowbar), and received 10.5 years. Dana had the same charges but got 17.5 years. I was unable to find out why.
Heather walked away without serving any time. I think she was involved and that she should have been punished as well.
(Source: Lifedaily)
In January of 2013, Rod and Scott tried to appeal their sentencing but denied in December 2018. Scott got a reduction of 40-year-sentence, including the 22 he had already served. Rod's appeal was pushed to July 2019 and again November 18, 2019. Rod's lawyer finds it unjust that he is still serving for a crime in his childhood. They argue that at 16, the brain is not developed, which is true. The human brain continues to grow until the age of 25. Rod was also diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder and Asperger syndrome. He often spoke about seeing angels and demons. Having those mental illnesses and then taking acid is pretty much the worst thing. I am not condoning his actions, but it doesn't help me to understand them more.
Though no further information has been released regarding Rod's sentencing, it seems he will be okay if he gets released. Rod is in a relationship with Lezlie Bullard, who says that she will give him a place to live and a job if he gets released. Lezlie is a retired honor English teacher for high school and an advocate for juvenile justice reform, and that's that on the vampire cult killer.
I definitely think these individuals were wrong in what they did, but I also believe that the state was very much so against them. I am just saying that a lot of average-looking people so some fucked up stuff and get away from it about four goths from the Bible Belt get life in prison. In the interviews I watched, the majority of people noted how weird this group was, merely because of their attire. It's just something to think about.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story and don't forget to subscribe.
-Tye
Always Cite Those Sources:
Cossuto, Jenna. “Two Decades Later, Leader Of ‘Vampire Cult’ Opens Up About His Twisted Crimes.” LifeDaily, LifeDaily, 6 Feb. 2018, www.lifedaily.com/story/two-decades-later-leader-of-vampire-cult-opens-up-about-his-wrongdoing/.
Lohr, David. “Florida 'Vampire Cult' Killer Faces Hope Of Freedom Again After Resentencing Ends Life Term.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 8 Dec. 2018, www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-vampire-cult-killer-sentence-40-years_n_5c0ae460e4b0ab8cf6933c17.
“Rod Ferrell.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Ferrell.
Stanfield, Frank. “Ferrell Apologizes to Victims' Families.” Daily Commercial, Daily Commercial, 20 Nov. 2019, www.dailycommercial.com/news/20191120/ferrell-apologizes-to-victimsrsquo-families.
“Kentucky Teenage Vampires.” Https://Www.youtube.com/Watch?v=AWclRSulGFQ&t=7s.
Comments