Roger Kibbe
Kibbe in a 2004 prison photograph
Born
Roger Reece Kibbe

(1939-05-21)May 21, 1939
San Diego County, California, U.S.[1]
DiedFebruary 28, 2021(2021-02-28) (aged 81)
Mule Creek State Prison, Ione, California, U.S.
Cause of deathHomicide by strangulation
Other namesI-5 Strangler
OccupationFurniture salesman
Criminal statusDeceased
Conviction(s)First degree murder with special circumstances (6 counts)
First degree murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without parole
Details
Victims8+ (7 convicted)
Span of crimes
1977–1987
State(s)California

Roger Reece Kibbe (May 21, 1939 – February 28, 2021) was an American serial killer and rapist known as the "I-5 Strangler".[2][3] Kibbe found all but one of his victims on freeways around Sacramento, California. In 1991 he was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment for the death of Darcie Frackenpohl.[2][4]

Criminal investigation and incarceration

Kibbe was first arrested for assault and battery in 1987 after attempting to handcuff prostitute Debra Ann Guffie. Guffie fought back and a police officer heard her screaming. With Guffie's testimony, Kibbe was convicted and sentenced to 8 months in jail, during which time police put together the murder case against him.[5]

Kibbe was arrested in 1988 for murdering Darcie Frackenpohl the previous year. He was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. In 2003, he accompanied prosecutors and detectives to a dry creek he remembered to try to find the body of Lou Ellen Burleigh, whom he had killed in 1977. In 2007 a detective searched the area again. In 2009, Kibbe again returned to the site with detectives. Burleigh's body was not found, and a grand jury was convened.[3]

After a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, on November 5, 2009, Kibbe pleaded guilty to the murder of six other women and was sentenced to six additional life sentences.[6][3]

In 2011, a detective returned to the Burleigh dump site on his own and found a bone in the creek. DNA testing proved it to be Burleigh's.[7][8][9] Burleigh had left her Walnut Creek, California, home in 1977 for a job interview, but never returned.[3]

Kibbe kidnapped his victims, tied them up with parachute rigging cord and silenced them with duct tape. He then proceeded to cut open their clothes in irregular shapes with scissors that had belonged to his mother. Sometimes he garroted his victims with the parachute cord with which he skydived.[10] Then, he raped them and strangled them to death.[11] Kibbe also cut off most of the hair of his victims to remove the duct tape before leaving the scene of the crime.[12]

Death

Kibbe died at approximately 12:40 a.m. on February 28, 2021, in Mule Creek State Prison.[13][14]

An officer made the discovery; Jason Budrow (cellmate), 40, was present at the scene. Budrow, a self-avowed Satanist who was serving a life sentence for the 2010 strangling death of 48-year-old Margaret Dalton, claimed he had murdered Kibbe to avenge his victims. He has been charged with first degree murder with special circumstances for killing Kibbe, albeit prosecutors said they will not seek a death sentence against him.[15][16] Budrow was given a second life sentence for Kibbe's murder and is currently charged with the August 2023 attack on Paul Flores, who was the murderer of Kristin Smart.[17]

On March 3, the Amador County Sheriff's Office released the results of Kibbe's autopsy report, showing that he had died from manual strangulation.[18]

Known victims

  • Lou Ellen Burleigh, 21, met Kibbe for an interview on September 10, 1977. She met him again the next morning and never returned home. Kibbe eventually confessed to raping and murdering her, and after 34 years her body was found.[19][20]
  • Lora Rena Heedick, 21, was last seen getting into a car with a white, middle-aged man on April 20, 1986.[21] Her body was found near Sacramento on September 6, 1986.[22]
  • Barbara Ann Scott, 29, was found strangled beneath a tree on a golf course in Antioch on July 3, 1986.[23]
  • Stephanie Brown, 19, was found sexually assaulted and strangled to death in a drainage ditch in San Joaquin County on July 15, 1986. A pair of unusual scissors were found near her body.[24][25]
  • Charmaine Sabrah, 26, was found strangled on November 9, 1986 in Ione. She was last seen on August 17, 1986, accepting a ride from a stranger after the car she and her mother were in broke down on I-5.[26][25]
  • Katherine Kelly Quinones, 25, was found strangled near the Pope Creek Bridge at Lake Berryessa on December 21, 1986. Her body was identified through fingerprints as Traci Lynn Gobel; one of the 17 aliases used by Quinones.[27][28]
  • Karen Louise Finch, 25, vanished on June 14, 1987. Seven days later, her body was found in a Sloughhouse ditch. She had been sexually assaulted and her throat was slashed; duct tape was found in her hair.[29][25][30] Kibbe was not charged with Finch's death.[31]
  • Darcie Renée Frackenpohl, 17, a runaway from Seattle, living in Sacramento was found strangled on September 19, 1987 in South Lake Tahoe. She was last seen around August 23, 1987.[32][25]

In media

Kibbe's forensic evidence used in his conviction is reported on an episode of the series Forensic Files, "Knot for Everyone" (aired: October 1998).[33]

Discovery channel tv show The New Detectives covered the murder of Darcie Frackenpohl in the episode titled Scattered Clues (aired on October 19, 1999)

In 2002 the television show I, Detective aired an episode focusing on the murder of Stephanie Brown.[34]

MSNBC released the documentary "Profiling Evil" where forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz interviews Kibbe in prison (aired: November 18, 2012). The interview was part of Kibbe's plea deal to avoid a death penalty.[35][36]

The series On the Case with Paula Zahn dedicated an episode on Kibbe's crimes titled "Deadly Offer". The episode aired on May 8, 2016. Series host Paula Zahn interviewed family members of the victims, detectives, criminalist, the prosecutor, and a forensic pathologist.[37][38]

Australian tv program 35 Serial Killers the World Wants to Forget also look into the case of Kibbe by the perspective of lead detective Ray Biondi (aired on March 6, 2020)[39]

Oxygen Network aired The Mark of a Killer: Pattern of Murder about the Kibbe case on February 17, 2019.[40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Roger Reece Kibbe". California Birth Index. State of California Vital Records and Statistics. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Ramsland, Katherine (May 10, 1991). "Roger Reece Kibbe: The I-5 Strangler — The Strangler and the Court". truTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Admitted Serial Killer Helps Police Search for His 1st Victim". Daily Press. Virginia. Associated Press. October 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "California IN BRIEF : SOUTH LAKE TAHOE : Man Sentenced in 'I-5 Strangler' Case". Los Angeles Times. May 12, 1991. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ Strand, Ginger (2012). Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-292-72637-6.
  6. ↑ Smith, Scott. "Anger unloaded on Kibbe". The Stockton Record.
  7. ↑ "'I-5 Strangler': Deputy tracks down remains of Lou Ellen Burleigh, slain by serial killer in 1977". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 2011. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ "WCPD: Lou Ellen Burleigh's body found after 34-years". Claycord.com. June 27, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine. "Roger Reece Kibbe: The I-5 Strangler — New Developments". truTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  10. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine (May 10, 1991). "Roger Reece Kibbe: The I-5 Strangler — A Witness". truTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  11. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine (May 10, 1991). "Roger Reece Kibbe: The I-5 Strangler — Drug Money". truTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012.
  12. ↑ Sabalow, Ryan (March 1, 2021). "'I-5 Strangler' Roger Kibbe, Sacramento-area serial killer and rapist, killed in prison". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  13. ↑ "'I-5 Strangler' killed in prison; victims included Walnut Creek and Pittsburg women". The Mercury News. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  14. ↑ "'I-5 Strangler' Roger Reece Kibbe Killed In State Prison Attack". KPIX. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Exclusive: California prisoner admits to murdering serial killer known as the I-5 Strangler, calls it 'a mission for avenging' his victims". The Mercury News. March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Man accused of strangling "I-5 Strangler" won't face death". AP NEWS. April 20, 2021. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Inmate suspected in prison attack on Kristin Smart's killer previously murdered 'I-5 Strangler'". Associated Press. KTVU. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  18. ↑ Sabalow, Ryan. "California's 'I-5 Strangler' Roger Kibbe, found dead in his cell, coroner says". Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Mother Calmly Searches for Missing Daughter". Contra Costa Times. November 11, 1977. p. 64. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "After 34 years, body of Walnut Creek woman found". Oakland Tribune. June 28, 2011. p. 11. Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Third I-5 murder victim identified". Sentinel. December 10, 1986. p. 8. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "I-5 Strangler suspect faces Stanislaus County lineup". The Modesto Bee. August 12, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Strangled woman found on golf course". Oakland Tribune. July 4, 1986. p. 14. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Scissors could be link to killer". The Sacramento Bee. July 16, 1987. p. 28. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Suspect charged with I-5 Killer slaying (2/2)". The Sacramento Bee. April 29, 1988. p. 32. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Third victim in I-5 serial killings named". The Sacramento Bee. December 10, 1986. p. 14. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Local officials kept busy on homicide investigations". Napa Valley Register. January 14, 1987. p. 3. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "For the record (Katherine Quinones)". Napa Valley Register. January 15, 1987. p. 2. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Suspect charged with I-5 Killer slaying (1/2)". The Sacramento Bee. April 29, 1988. p. 1. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "1987's unsolved killings". The Sacramento Bee. January 3, 1988. p. 29. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ Bohm, Layla. "Serial killer makes a deal". Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  32. ↑ "I-5 suspect faces trial in killing". The Sacramento Bee. October 27, 1988. p. 36. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Forensic Files: Knot For Everyone". TVmaze. October 1998. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. In 1996 a woman named Stephanie Brown was driving some friends home to a foreign part of town. She took a wrong turn on Interstate 5 to get home and was later found dead in a flooded irrigation ditch.
  34. ↑ "I, Detective" Last Exit (TV Episode 2002) - IMDb, retrieved July 5, 2022
  35. ↑ "Profiling Evil | Dr. Park Dietz Interviews the I-5 Strangler". Park Dietz & Associates. 2012. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. Under the terms of a plea agreement in which he was spared the death penalty, Kibbe agreed to speak to detectives and forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz and to show them where he had hidden the remains of one of his victims.
  36. ↑ "Profiling Evil". MSNBC. November 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Deadly Offer | On the Case with Paula Zahn". investigationdiscovery.com. Discovery Communications, LLC. May 8, 2016. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  38. ↑ "On the Case With Paula Zahn – Season 7 Episode 8: "Deadly Offer"". TWC Central. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. After coming to the aid of a stranded roommate, Stephanie Brown's car is found abandoned on the interstate and her body is later discovered floating in an irrigation ditch, the victim of sexual assault and murder.
  39. ↑ "Watch 35 Serial Killers the World Wants to Forget, Season 1 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Mark of a Killer: Pattern of Murder (Season 1, Episode 4)". Oxygen Official Site. February 7, 2019. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.

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