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Daniel “Danny” Harold Rolling
The Gainsville Ripper
I learned a little about this man. From what I learned, I see why he was who he was. I am not condoning what he did, but I see why he was the type of person he was. Let’s learn why Daniel turned into the Gainesville Ripper.
Daniel was born May 26, 1954, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Claudia and James Rolling. James never wanted children to begin with. This makes things difficult. James was a cop. He also consistently abused his wife and his children. Danny first started getting abused when he was 1. Danny was first beaten because he wasn’t crawling properly. When Kevin, Danny’s little brother, was born, the abuse only got worse. Claudia did try to escape the marriage a few times. She always returned to the marriage.
Danny failed the third grade for too many absences due to illness. This caused his mother to have a nervous breakdown. The school counselors described him as “ suffering from inferiority complex, with aggressive tendencies and poor impulse control.” These aggressive tendencies and poor impulse control would foreshadow his murderous rage later. At the age of 11, Danny picked up music to cope with the abuse of his dad. He learned to play guitar and sang hymn-like songs. His mom, sadly, was committed to a hospital after she slit her wrists. After his mom was committed, he picked up drugs and…
