THE PEDOPHILE OF FLORIDA: ELMER LEON CARROLL (AUGUST 19, 1965 TO MAY 29, 2013)

On this date, May 29, 2013, a Pedophile from Florida, Elmer Leon Carroll, was executed by lethal injection in that state. He was convicted of the October 28, 1990 of 10-year-old Christian McGowan. I will post information about him from several internet sources.

Elmer Leon Carroll

INTERNET SOURCE: http://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/carroll-elmer-leon.htm

Elmer Leon Carroll

DC #835908
DOB: 08/19/56

Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Case #90-12464
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Trial Attorney: James E. Taylor, Esq. – Private
Attorneys, Direct Appeal: J. Wulchak & C. Quarles – Assistant Public Defenders
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Michael P. Reiter, Esq. – Registry

Date of Offense: 10/30/90

Date of Sentence: 04/16/92

Circumstances of Offense:

 

Elmer Carroll was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 10-year-old Christine McGowan on 10/30/90.

Robert Rank attempted to wake his stepdaughter, Christine McGowan, on the morning of 10/30/90 and, when she did not answer his calls, Rank went to McGowan’s room.  He noticed her door, which was open the night before, was closed.  Upon entering the room, Rank discovered McGowan face down on the bed.  

She had blood between her legs and her body was cold to the touch.  Rank then noticed that the front door was slightly open and his construction truck was missing.  Police investigators at the scene determined that McGowan had been raped and strangled to death, and issued a bulletin regarding the stolen construction truck.

Upon hearing a radio bulletin regarding the stolen construction truck, Debbie Hyatt notified police that she remembered seeing the abandoned truck and a man, later identified as Elmer Carroll, walking easterly away from the truck.  As a result of Hyatt’s tip, Carroll was arrested.  When law enforcement officers searched Carroll for weapons, they found a box cutter and the keys to the stolen construction truck.

Information presented at trial revealed that Carroll was a resident of the halfway house located next door to the victim’s home and that Carroll had remarked to other residents about the “cute” girl next door.  DNA evidence recovered from the scene matched Carroll’s saliva, semen and pubic hair, and after his arrest, blood was found on Carroll’s sweatshirt and penis.

Trial Summary:

10/30/90          Defendant arrested.

11/26/90          Defendant indicted on:

Count I:           First-Degree Murder

Count II:          Sexual Battery W/ Victim Under 12

04/13/92          The jury found the defendant guilty on both counts.

04/13/92          Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death penalty.

04/16/92          The defendant was sentenced as followed:

Count I:           First-Degree Murder – Death

Count II:          Sexual Battery W/ Victim Under 12 – Life

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC #79,829

636 So. 2d 1316

05/07/92          Appeal filed.

04/14/94          FSC affirmed the convictions and sentence of death.

06/09/94          Rehearing denied.

07/11/94          Mandate issued.

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC #94-6014

513 U.S. 973

09/07/94          Petition filed.

10/31/94          Petition denied.

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC #90-12464

02/01/96          Motion filed.

10/20/98          Motion denied.

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC #94,611

815 So.2d 601

12/31/98          Appeal filed.

03/07/02          Decision affirmed.

04/19/02          Rehearing denied.

05/20/02          Mandate issued.

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

FSC #SC00-46

815 So.2d 601

01/10/00          Petition filed.

03/07/02          Petition denied.

04/19/02          Rehearing denied.

05/20/02          Mandate issued.

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC #90-12464

04/22/03          Motion filed.

01/12/04          Motion denied.

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC #SC04-192

904 So. 2d 430

02/09/04          Appeal filed.

05/12/05          FSC affirmed the denial of the Motion.

United States District Court, Middle District – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 05-857

06/08/05          Petition filed.

06/20/08          Petition denied.

United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Habeas Appeal

USDC# 08-14317

12/04/08          Appeal filed.

07/17/09          USCA affirmed the denial of the Petition.

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 09-6134

130 S.Ct. 500

08/24/09          Petition filed.

11/02/09          Petition denied.

Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of the Sentence:

In December 1994, Carroll was granted a time extension in filing a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) until February 1, 1996.  Statutorily, a defendant has one year from the rehearing denial date in which to file a 3.850 Motion.  With his motion for rehearing denied on 06/09/94, the time lapse between filing was approximately one year and seven months.  Other than the filing extension, there have been no unreasonable delays at this time.

Case Information:

Carroll filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 05/07/92.  In that appeal, Carroll alleged that the keys that linked him to Rank’s construction truck should have been suppressed as evidence because they were found as a result of an illegal arrest.  Next, Carroll contended that testimony of one of the deputies unfairly and prejudicially commented on his refusal to testify, and he also argued several improper questions asked of a psychiatrist on cross-examination by the prosecutor.  In reference to the penalty phase of the trial, Carroll argued the application of the heinous, atrocious, and cruel (HAC) aggravating factor and that the trial court erred in failing to consider certain statutory mitigating evidence.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on 04/14/94.

Subsequently, Carroll filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/31/94.

On 02/01/96, Carroll filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit Court.  That motion was denied on 10/20/98, after which Carroll filed an appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 12/31/98, which was denied on 03/07/02.

Carroll also filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court on 01/10/00, which was denied on 03/07/02.

On 4/22/03, Carroll filed another 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court that was denied on 01/12/04.  Carroll filed an appeal of that decision in the Florida Supreme Court on 02/09/04.  On 05/12/05, the FSC affirmed the denial of the Motion.

Carroll filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court, Middle District, on 06/08/05 that was denied on 06/20/08.

On 12/04/08, Carroll filed a Habeas Appeal with the United States Court of Appeals. The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts disposition and denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.

On 08/24/09, Carroll filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court that was denied on 11/02/09.

Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/carroll1333.htm

On October 30, 1990, at about 6 a.m., Robert Rank went to awaken his ten-year-old stepdaughter, Christine McGowan, at their home in Apopka. When she did not respond to his calls, Robert went to her bedroom and found the door closed when it had been open the night before. She was face-down, under the covers. After shaking the bed, Robert removed the blankets and turned Christine over, then realized she wasn't breathing and was cold to the touch. Shortly thereafter, Robert noticed that his front door was slightly ajar and that his pickup truck he had parked in the yard with the keys in it the night before was missing. When the police arrived, they determined that Christine had been raped and strangled.

Robert Rank said he had locked the door after Christine's mother Julie had left for work around 9:00 pm. He went to bed around 11:00 pm. A BOLO was issued for the missing truck, which was a white construction truck bearing the logo ATC on the side. Shortly thereafter, the truck was seen parked on the side of a highway and 34-year-old Elmer Carroll was observed walking about one mile down the road from the truck. Carroll, who had been released from prison just a few months earlier, was subsequently stopped and searched, and the keys to the truck were found on Carroll.

Two witnesses had also observed Carroll driving the truck earlier that morning. Blood was found on Carroll's sweatshirt and genitalia, and semen, saliva, and pubic hair recovered from the victim were consistent with that of Carroll. The keys to Robert's truck were found in Carroll's possession. Carroll had been living in a travel trailer at the Lighthouse Mission since his release from prison. Christine's house was adjacent to the mission. Carroll had remarked to other residents of the mission about the "cute" girl next door.

The jury convicted Carroll of both charges and recommended death for the first-degree murder conviction by a vote of twelve to zero. The trial court followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Carroll to death. In so doing, the trial court found the following three aggravating factors: (1) Carroll was previously convicted of two felonies involving the use or threat of violence to the person; (2) the capital felony was committed while Carroll was engaged in the commission of a sexual battery; and (3) the capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The trial court found no statutory mitigating circumstances, but found as a non-statutory mitigating circumstance that Carroll suffered from "some possible mental abnormalities and has an antisocial personality." Christine's teachers, friends and family described her as a helpful, big-hearted girl who was eager to please. She picked up pine needles for a neighbor who sometimes gave her $1 or $2 for spending money. At Lockhart Elementary School, teachers said Christine invariably was the child who offered to help. ''Her face would just beam up. 'Can I wash the board for you today?' she would ask,'' said her third-grade teacher. Christine had a love of writing stories, and several days before her death, she wrote a poem for school liaison Deputy Gill McDaniel. She was crazy about Ninetendo, even if her stepfather did have to give her a few pointers, and she was a carefree soul on family outings. The week prior to her murder, the family went to Busch Gardens. ''It wasn't enough for her to get wet on her favorite ride, the Tidal Wave. She had to stand on a bridge and get nailed a couple more times by the water,'' Robert Rank said.