They arrived at Eva LaRue’s Southern California home, sometimes handwritten, sometimes typed, from an unknown sender who identified himself as “Freddy Krueger” and vowed to rape and kill her and her infant daughter. I was.
More than 30 letters have been received for more than 12 years, and the CSI: Miami actress and her family have been subjected to such relentless psychological attacks that they were afraid to leave their homes.
Early on, there were some letters that mentioned LaRue’s daughter, then five years old. Stoker also begins calling Larue’s daughter’s school, saying that he is her father and is outside her to pick her up.
But in 2019, the FBI, with the help of genetic genealogy, the science first used in California to arrest the Golden State Killer, took the DNA out of the envelope, ran it through a database, and put the list together. I was able to create it. Suspect’s relatives. This eventually led them to a small town in Ohio, where a 58-year-old man was arrested after extracting DNA from a discarded Arby straw.
“I forgive you, but I cannot forget you,” LaRue told him at the Los Angeles County Court Sentence. “The fear will be with me forever.”
12 years of terror
LaRue is a former beauty queen and longtime actress who appeared for many years as a doctor on the soap opera All My Children. She is probably best known for her 7 her seasons on the crime drama CSI: Miami, which ended in 2012.
Her role was a DNA analyst for the Miami-Dade Police Department, which became ironic when authorities found DNA from an envelope containing a ransom note but were unable to identify a suspect.
LaRue was in the middle of her second full season on CSI: Miami when the first letter showed up at her house. Others soon followed.
According to a 2019 federal indictment, Rogers said, “I’m going to stalk you until the day you die.”
“There is no place on this earth where I can find you. I am going to rape you,” in another letter, where Stoker threatened to rape and impregnate Larue’s daughter.
The letter was signed by Freddy Krueger, the fictional killer from the horror film series A Nightmare on Elm Street. Many were postmarked from Youngstown, Ohio.
LaRue told CNN that she sold her house out of fear and moved with her family to Italy where she lived with friends for several months. She then moved back to California, where she bought a new home under an LLC (a business entity that provides limited liability protection) to hide her identity, but letters began arriving at that address as well, she said. said.
LaRue and her daughter “detoured home, slept with weapons nearby, and discussed how to get help quickly if something happened. [Rogers] We found them and tried to harm them,” federal prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
“They tried to anonymize the address as much as possible by preventing them from receiving mail or packages at their physical address,” prosecutors said. [the] The letters, and the fear of the victims, will always follow.”
In 2015, the family began receiving letters addressed to LaRue’s daughter.
“I’m the man I’ve been stalking for the last seven years. Now I have eyes for you too,” the indictment said. You look so beautiful in this photo.Are you ready to be the mother of my child?”
How the FBI Caught a Stalker
The FBI collected DNA from many of the envelopes, but didn’t know who it belonged to until 2019 when they turned to the new field of genetic genealogy.
Thanks in part to companies like 23andMe, Ancestry, and GEDmatch, genetic genealogy has become a valuable tool for law enforcement officers trying to solve past crimes. Authorities upload DNA data files to public databases to identify relatives of people who may have submitted their DNA for testing. Then, build a family tree and narrow down the potential suspects with old-fashioned detective work until a strong suspect emerges.
Investigators still need to obtain and match samples of a suspect’s DNA before arresting the suspect.
Once evidence pointed to Rogers, FBI agents began watching him. FBI agents visited Ohio in the fall of 2019, former FBI Special Agent Stephen Bush and former FBI attorney Steve Kramer told CNN.
When Rogers quit his job as a nursing assistant at a nursing home and went to Arby’s on his way home, the FBI tracked him down and saw him eat his meal and dump his bag in the trash, Bush and Kramer said. .
Agents searched the dumpster and extracted Rogers’ DNA from the soda straw in the bag, Bush and Kramer said. They said it matched her DNA in an envelope sent to LaRue and her daughter.
The FBI arrested Rogers at his home early one morning in November 2019.
Rogers’ conviction marks the first time genetic genealogy has solved a case at the federal level, Bush and Kramer told CNN.
their fear still remains
At his sentencing Thursday, Rogers told a judge via video link from Ohio that he grew up in an abusive home and was bullied at school.
“I sincerely apologize for what I did that drove you and your family into hellish behavior over the past 12 years,” he told LaRue. “I take full responsibility. Forget this.” , please don’t think of me again someday.”
LaRue then addressed Rogers in a statement on victim impact, thanking him for his apology but telling the judge, “I’m so worried about what will happen if he walks out.”
She became emotional as she told the court how the repeated threats had taken a toll on her and her family and deprived them of basic freedoms.
“We’ve been through this for years,” she said. “This goes beyond deviant behavior.”
LaRue’s daughter Kaya Callahan, now 20, also became emotional when she told the court how she was traumatized by Rogers’ threats.
After Rogers contacted the school, she said she was very “paranoid” about her safety and was escorted between the school building and the parking lot every day.
“I was afraid for my life,” she said. Callahan said her fear still lingers.
“I want to feel OK again,” she said.
Source: www.cnn.com
