Robert Joe Long, who was also known as Bobby, was an American serial killer and rapist who was place on death row after kidnapping and killing at least 10 women and raping many others. He has gone down in history as The Ad Man Rapist.
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Born 14th October 1953, Long suffered badly at the hands of bullies growing up due to his appearance. Long had been born with a variant Klinefelter syndrome. The 46, XXY variant gave Long breasts as a boy, something he was bullied for. He lived in West Virginia with his parents Joe and Louella before to they divorced in 1955. He then moved between West Virginia and Florida, where his mother had relocated.
In 1974, Long married his high school girlfriend, Cindy Brown. After having two children together, they divorced in 1980 as Long became increasingly violent during their relationship.
In 1981, Long began using classified ads in Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Miami, and Dade County areas to hunt for victims. He would contact women selling small appliances in the papers. He would then make an appointment to go and view the item they were selling. If he found a woman home alone, he would brutally rape her. It is believed that he raped over 50 women this way. This is how he got the name the “Classified Ad Rapist” or The Ad Man Rapist. Linda Nuttal had placed an ad to sell some furniture, and when Long responded to the posting, he raped her while her young children were inside the home.
In 1983, Long move to the Tampa Bay area and began his murder spree. In May 1984, the body of his first victim was discovered when the Sheriff’s department responded to a crime scene that had the body of a naked woman.
The known victims of The Ad Man Rapist are-
Artiss Ann Wick, 20 – believed to have been killed on 27th March 1984 but her death date is really unknown. Police found her skeletal remains on November 22, 1984, in rural southern Hillsborough County FL.
Ngeun Thi Long, 19 – killed on 13th May 1984, had immigrated to California from Laos. She followed her boyfriend to Tampa, and was enrolled to attend art classes at USF.
Michelle Denise Simms, 22 – killed on 27th May 1984, was once a beauty contestant in her hometown of Culver, California.
Linda Nuttall – assaulted in May 1984; survived
Elizabeth Loudenback, 22 – killed on 8th June 1984, she was known as a shy girl who worked on an electronics assembly line.
Vicky Marie Elliott, 21 – killed on 7th September 1984. She had bought plane tickets to go back home to Muskegon, Michigan. She had dreams of being a paramedic.
Chanel Devoun Williams, 18 – killed on 7th October 1984, she had just received her GED.
Karen Beth Dinsfriend, 28 – killed on 14th October 1984. She had a daughter named Alexa.
Kimberly Kyle Hopps, 22 – killed on 31st October 1984. She had dreams of moving out west to Texas.
Lisa McVey, 17 – assaulted on 3rd November 1984; survived
Virginia Lee Johnson, 18 – killed on 6th November 1984. She had lost a sister in a car accident a year before her murder.
Kim Marie Swann, 21 – killed on 11th November 1984. Kim had a son named Robbie, and was enrolled in a vocational school.
Long later confessed that he derived sadistic pleasure from the abduction, rape, and brutal murder of his victims, some of whom he strangled to death. Some of the others he killed by slitting their throats or bludgeoning them.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office confronted Long with the evidence. The State Attorney and the Public Defender’s Office of Hillsborough County reached a plea bargain for eight of the homicides and the abduction and rape of Lisa McVey. Long pled guilty on September 24, 1985, to all of these crimes, receiving 26 life sentences without the possibility of parole (24 concurrent and two to run consecutively to the first 24) and seven life sentences with the possibility of parole after 25 years. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Long had one five-year sentence, four 99-year sentences, 28 life sentences, and one death sentence.
In addition, the State retained the option to seek the death penalty for the murder of Michelle Simms. In July 1986, the penalty phase of the Michelle Simms trial was held in Tampa. It lasted one week and received extensive media attention. Long was found guilty and was sentenced to die in Florida’s electric chair.
Long’s death warrant was one of the first duties carried out by newly elected Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On 23rd May 2019, he died after receiving the lethal injection. He gave no final statement. His final meal was roast beef, bacon, french fries, and soda, which he received at 9:30am local time.
