Serial Killer Daniel Blank Documentary - Mechanic Held in Series of Killings
Darkest Mysteries Online — The Strange and Unusual Podcast 202531 Aug 2023

Serial Killer Daniel Blank Documentary - Mechanic Held in Series of Killings

Serial Killer Daniel Blank Documentary - Mechanic Held in Series of Killings


Mechanic Held in Series of Killings

Police in Louisiana Say Gambling Habit Motivated Suspect

By Christopher Cooper - The New York Times

November 17, 1997

LaPLACE, La.— At the Airline Motors lunch counter in sugar-cane country, a rifle-shot away from the muddy churn of the Mississippi River, the talk about Daniel J. Blank is as straightforward as the food served here: he was a gifted mechanic, a quiet customer with deep blue eyes, a family man who drank his coffee black.

But last week Mr. Blank was jailed, arrested on three charges of first-degree murder. The local authorities said he had confessed to six murders, including a double bludgeoning of an elderly couple just across the street from the diner.

His arrest, a big event in a town that often goes a year without a killing, stirred the memory of a waitress, Gloria Vicknair. Only a few months ago, Mr. Blank, the son of a sugar-refinery worker, emerged from the video poker stall in the back of the restaurant and asked her to change two crisp $100 bills, a lot of money for a man who usually ordered only black coffee.

Ms. Vicknair said she made the change but thought nothing of it. ''They say it's always the quiet ones that'll surprise you -- he was extra quiet,'' she said after the arrest was announced. ''Of course, I was lucky. He went after wealthy people. I work for a living, thank God.''

A quest for the big win and lust for a piece of the American dream, the police said, was what drove Mr. Blank to kill six elderly residents within 20 miles of his family's home in the River Parishes, a water-bound stretch of chemical plants and sugar cane between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Most of the dead were elderly; most were found in their homes with their pockets turned inside out. Nearly all had at least a nodding acquaintance with Mr. Blank. One couple survived being beaten and shot, Leonce Millet Jr. and his wife, Joyce, both 66, of Gonzales.

The authorities said Mr. Blank had killed to feed a gambling habit. He favored slot machines and video poker, acquaintances said, and visited many different gambling parlors.

Toward the end of his suspected string of killings, Sheriff Wayne Jones of St. John the Baptist Parish said, it became apparent that Mr. Blank was either on an extraordinarily lucky streak or was up to no good. The authorities estimate that he had stolen as much as $200,000, much of which he was believed to have squandered at the casinos.

''He was without question a gambling addict,'' Sheriff Jones said. ''I guess you could say his income didn't quite correspond with his life style.''

He has confessed to these murders, the authorities said, which occurred between October 1996 and June 1997: Victor Rossi, 41, of St. Amant; Barbara Bourgeois, 58, of Paulina; Lillian Philippe, 71, of Gonzales; Sam Arcuri, 76, and his wife, Louella, 69, of LaPlace, and Joan Brock, 55, of LaPlace. Mr. Blank is to be arraigned in LaPlace on Monday.

The police have given little information about the case, saying only that a tip had led to the arrest. But their relief is obvious.

''It was the first homicide we had experienced since 1986,'' Chief Bill Landry of Gonzales said. ''We weren't prepared. We had to retrain ourselves.'' His office handled three of the cases -- one murder in April and a double murder attempt in July.

Acquaintances and family members said that since the killings began late last year, Mr. Blank had lived at a notch or two above transient status, making three moves in the River Parishes and then moving in the summer to a small resort town in eastern Texas. Mr. Blank was taken into custody in Onalaska, Tex., on Friday, about four months after he reportedly tried to buy a four-bay automobile repair shop there for $65,000 in cash.

During this time, Mr. Blank periodically appeared at his boyhood home, a jumble of trailers and frame structures in Paulina, west of LaPlace, to report on his new fortune.

Once, Mr. Blank, known as Bone to his family, wheeled into the dusty yard on a shiny red Suzuki motorcycle.

On two other occasions, he arrived with huge cardboard copies of checks from casinos in nearby Kenner and Baton Rouge. The checks, payable to Daniel Blank, totaled $33,000. ''Daniel went to casinos pretty often,'' said Mr. Blank's sister, Sally Blank, a 34-year-old cosmetology student and one of eight siblings. ''He said he won big, and he showed us the papers to prove it. He told us they took his picture at the casino.''

Sally Blank said the family had taken her brother at his word and had been shocked by his arrest. Her brother had been in trouble before, Ms. Blank said, but not since he was a teen-ager.

''He burned down a building when he was a teen-ager and had to go to reform school,'' Ms. Blank said. 'But a lot of teen-agers get in trouble. I don't think he did it. At least not all alone, not all by himself.''

Mr. Blank had apparently been living quietly in Onalaska, a small town a few hours from Houston, in a double-wide trailer with his wife, Cindy, and their four children. He was working as a mechanic out of a former muffler shop he leased from Don Evans, a retiree in Onalaska.

''What happened was the mayor referred him to me, said he was looking to buy a piece of property,'' Mr. Evans said. ''I leased him the shop, although he did offer to buy it. Said he'd pay me $65,000 in cash.

''That kind of scared me,'' Mr. Evans said. ''I refused.''

Mr. Evans said he was later told by his 12-year-old daughter, a friend of Mr. Blank's 12-year-old daughter, that Mr. Blank had made a fortune playing video poker machines.

To Mr. Evans, Mr. Blank was an expert mechanic. ''I've been at this for 35 years,'' Mr. Evans said, ''and just from talking to him I knew he must have been born and raised a mechanic. That boy knew transmissions inside and out.

''I don't know about all that gambling nonsense. It seemed to me he was interested in being successful in business and living in a way he'd never been able to as a kid.''

The problem was, Mr. Evans said, Mr. Blank was nearly broke when the Louisiana and Texas authorities surrounded his trailer on Friday.

Among the items recovered, according to news accounts from Texas, was a cane-cutting knife, apparently smeared with blood and hair.

Mr. Evans locked the repair shop after Mr. Blank's arrest. As he went through the jumbled contents of the office, he said, he came across the latest bank statement for Daniel's Automotive.

''He had $123 in it, and 11 cars in the lot waiting to be repaired,'' Mr. Evans said.

''Thank God they arrested him,'' Mr. Evans said. ''I'll tell you what, I think he was just about ready to do it again.''

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.

Darkest Mysteries Online

Avsnitt(1000)

SOUL CRUSHING Full audio of 911 call from flash flood drowning victim

SOUL CRUSHING Full audio of 911 call from flash flood drowning victim

SOUL CRUSHING Full audio of 911 call from flash flood drowning victim Horrifying 911 Audio, Body Cam Footage Released After Fort Smith Woman Drowns During Flash FloodingGraphic Warning: This story and the accompanying audio and video are graphic in nature, and the content may be disturbing. Though it was a difficult decision,Graphic Warning: This story and the accompanying audio and video are graphic in nature, and the content may be disturbing. Though it was a difficult decision, we have decided to broadcast and post the 911 call for help after concerns were raised as to how dispatchers and first responders handled the situation.FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) — 911 audio recordings and body camera footage from Fort Smith police officers during their efforts to try and save a Fort Smith woman from last weekend's flash flooding have been released. The audio files released are those of a woman's last dying moments. On Monday (August 26) between dispatchers and first responders were released during their efforts to locate the woman.You can listen to the 911 call in the audio file below. We warn you, some may find it difficult to listen to.Update: The 911 audio has been edited to remove the final moments of the call.Debra Stevens died around 6 a.m. Saturday (August 24) on Kinkead Avenue while delivering papers.According to the Fort Smith Police Department, the 911 call came in at 4:38 a.m. First responders were dispatched at 4:40 a.m. The first crews on the scene arrived at 4:53 a.m., but were not close enough to reach Stevens' because of high water. According to Aric Mitchell with the Fort Smith Police Department Stevens’ first call was to a family member. However, as floodwaters continued to rise around her, she dialed 911 from her cell phone.Due to high waters, it took more than an hour from Stevens' 911 call for first responders to make direct contact with her. Mitchell says that Stevens was having trouble describing her exact location and flooding limited the ability for first responders to locate her. By the time they got to where her vehicle was, it was too late.Emergency crews tried to rescue Stevens but the water was too high and too fast. When first responders were finally able to pinpoint the location of Mrs. Stevens’ vehicle, the swift, rising water made immediate rescue impossible.In the recording, you can hear first responders trying to take multiple routes to rescue her.After Stevens vehicle became trapped in floodwaters, it floated into a creek at the end of the road. She was unable to escape and died as water filled her car.The Fort Smith Police Department is attempting to remain as transparent as possible in this tragedy and has released a timeline of events:The 911 dispatcher, Donna Reneau, can be heard telling Stevens "this will teach you next time don't drive in the water...how you didn't see it, you had to go right over it."Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker released the following statement about the events from Saturday (August 24) morning:“I am heartbroken for this tragic loss of life and my prayers are with Debra’s family and friends. All of our first responders who attempted to save Mrs. Stevens are distraught over the outcome. For every one of us, saving lives is at the very core of who we are and why we do what we do. When we are unsuccessful, it hurts.”Baker also addressed Reneau's actions, saying "the manner that she spoke during this conversation would have probably been addressed, but it would have been more a rudeness quality type service complaint. I don't think it would have risen to the level of terminating someone."Reneau, who is a certified dispatch trainer for new employees, put in her two weeks notice before this and that call came on her last day and final shift. She was named fire dispatcher of the year in February."We can't investigate someone who no longer works here. However, an investigation into our policies, our responses, our dispatch center, I've talked to the fire chief, we are looking at what we can do to increase training for our dispatchers, swift water rescues and other things," Baker said.A memorial has been set up in remembrance for Stevens.The dispatcher that handled Stevens' call resigned two weeks ago and Saturday was her last shift, according to Fort Smith Interim Police Chief Danny Baker.A previous draft of this story stated the dispatcher was fired. This was corrected by Fort Smith Interim Police Chief Danny Baker.True Crime Podcast 2022 Police Interrogations, 911 Calls and True Police Stories PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202222min

When the Missing Employee Is Actually Dead

When the Missing Employee Is Actually Dead

When the Missing Employee Is Actually DeadBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202225min

1 Hour Strangest Glitch in the Matrix Stories - Reddit Glitch in Matrix

1 Hour Strangest Glitch in the Matrix Stories - Reddit Glitch in Matrix

1 Hour Strangest Glitch in the Matrix Stories - Reddit Glitch in MatrixBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 20221h 8min

People Shared their first hand experiences with Unexplained Phenomena

People Shared their first hand experiences with Unexplained Phenomena

People Shared their first hand experiences with Unexplained Phenomena - #paranomal #ghoststories #glitchinthematrixThis Unexplained Phenomena Stories 2022 Compilation contains some of the best Unexplained Phenomena, Creepy, Mystery, and scary experiences. If you enjoy these Unexplained Phenomena stories 2022#paranomal #ghoststories #glitchinthematrixRSLASH: Best Of Reddit Stories 2022Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202238min

What Is Your Strangest Glitch In The Matrix Moment That Cannot Be Explained? (r/AskReddit)

What Is Your Strangest Glitch In The Matrix Moment That Cannot Be Explained? (r/AskReddit)

What Is Your Strangest Glitch In The Matrix Moment That Cannot Be Explained? (r/AskReddit)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202226min

Creepiest Missing Person Stories that you won't be able to stop listening to

Creepiest Missing Person Stories that you won't be able to stop listening to

Creepiest Missing Person Stories that you won't be able to stop listening toDarkest Mysteries from Reddit 2022 - Best Reddit Stories Podcast 2022Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202245min

"tHaT's oFfenSive" (2 Hour Reddit Compilation) | Wake Up Calls, Unpopular Opinions

"tHaT's oFfenSive" (2 Hour Reddit Compilation) | Wake Up Calls, Unpopular Opinions

"tHaT's oFfenSive" 2 Hour Reddit Compilation - Wake Up Calls, Unpopular OpinionsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 20222h 7min

My Ex Hired Someone To Kill Me, He Didn't Get Away With It - (Reddit Ask Me Anything)

My Ex Hired Someone To Kill Me, He Didn't Get Away With It - (Reddit Ask Me Anything)

My Ex Hired Someone To Kill Me, He Didn't Get Away With It - (Reddit Ask Me Anything)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/darkest-mysteries-online-the-strange-and-unusual-podcast-2025--5684156/support.Darkest Mysteries Online

14 Nov 202216min

Populärt inom Fiction

pratkoma
konspirationsteorier
midnattstaget-creepypastor-fran-internet
sexnoveller-deluxe
rss-konspirationsteorier
storytime
skrackstunden
erotiska-berattelser
thrillerpodden
rss-nattskiftet
p3-serie
kusligt-rysligt-mysigt
rss-creepypastaradion
rss-skuggornas-hemlighet
rss-hemligt
rss-rysningar
monsterboxen
pojkmottagningen
tolkienpodden
radiovasen