On Monster: DC Sniper, the October 2002 spree of sniper shootings in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia are meticulously documented by journalist Tony Harris, through detailed interviews with multiple people involved, from witnesses to investigators to fellow reporters. On this episode, eight people have died, and the cops are getting nowhere fast – until they finally get a crucial lead. On October 19th, Jeffrey Hopper and his wife Stephanie were in the parking lot of a Ponderosa Steakhouse in Ashland, Virginia when Jeffrey was shot in the stomach. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of first responder Tim Meacham, he lived through his ordeal. And ATF canine handler Ray Neely (and his dog, of course) uncovered the vital clue: a spent shell casing, and a letter, tacked to a tree, from the killers themselves. They finally wanted to talk.
The note had five red star stickers, like the kind grade school teachers use, pasted to it, and opened with: “Call me God.” The snipers claimed to have contacted five different people to make demands, but were dismissed as a hoax; “your failure to respond has cost you five lives.” They demanded that $10 million be put into a bank account that belonged to Jill Lynn Farrell, with the ability to make unlimited ATM withdrawals worldwide, and that they would contact the police by calling the Ponderosa Steakhouse at 6 a.m. If they did this, the killing would stop. If the police opted to try catching them instead? “Then prepare your body bags.” Finally, they threatened: “P.S. Your children are not safe anywhere at any time.”
The letter provided some major leads, Tony points out, “like the list of people the sniper had called. Law enforcement would need to interview those people, and investigators needed to find the credit card owner, Jill Lynn Farrell. How was she connected to the snipers?” But more importantly, the snipers were finally trying to contact the police. Unfortunately, authorities had already missed the deadline for the phone call, so Chief of Police Charles Moose held a press conference, asking the snipers to call again. When they did, the call was traced to a pay phone outside of an Exxon station in West Richmond, Virginia. It was time to spring a trap.
Find out more about the first break in the case, who was arrested outside the Exxon, and Jill’s connection to the killers, on this episode of Monster: DC Sniper.
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