Paul Durousseau

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Paul Durousseau

2003 Florida mug shot
Background information
Birth name: Paul Durousseau
Born: August 10, 1970(1970-08-10)
Beaumont, Texas
Penalty: Death
Killings
Number of victims: 9+
Span of killings: January 6, 1997 through January 20, 2003
Country: U.S., possibly Germany
State(s): Georgia, Florida
Date apprehended: February 11, 2003

Paul Durousseau is an American serial killer. Durousseau murdered seven young woman (including two who were pregnant) in the southeast United States between 1997 and 2003. German authorities suspect he may have killed several local women when the Army stationed him there in the early 1990’s. Typically, Durousseau would gain the victim’s trust, enter the victim’s home, tie their hands, rape, then strangle them to death.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

Paul Durousseau was born August 10, 1970 in Beaumont, Texas to unwed parents. The following year, Durousseau and his older half brother, Joseph, were moved to Los Angeles to be raised by their mother and her family. Paul saw his biological father twice between birth and his arrest for murder. Durousseau graduated from Reseda High School in the Los Angeles area in 1989, then became a security guard.

[edit] Criminal history

[edit] First arrests

In December, 1991 he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, and received three years probation. The following month, he was arrested again in California on the same charge. Ten months later, he enlisted in the Army rather than marry a woman that he got pregnant. After basic training, he was stationed in Germany, where he met Natoca Spann, a 21-year old service woman. After returning to the US after their deployment ended in 1995, they got married in Las Vegas and were stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.

A few days after New Year's, a woman was kidnapped and raped in Columbus, Georgia. Durousseau was arrested on March 13, 1997 and charged with the crime, but five months later he was acquitted of the charges.

[edit] First (known) victim

Less than a month later, Tracy Habersham of Fort Benning went missing after dancing with Durousseau at a night club. Her body was found two days later, but for some reason, Durousseau was not a suspect in the crime. He was not charged in Habersham’s slaying until after he was indicted in Jacksonville in 2003, six years later.

The following week, Durousseau’s wife, Natoca, gave birth to a daughter. Two months later, due to continued domestic violence, Natoca took her daughter and returned to her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Durousseau followed them to Florida. In January, 1999, Durousseau accepted a dishonorable discharge rather than face a court-martial for buying computer equipment stolen from the Army base. Three months later, he was arrested for molesting a 15-year-old girl in Jacksonville, but for some reason, charges were not filed. The next month, he was arrested in Jacksonville for trespassing and spent two days in jail.

[edit] Second victim

On January 1, 2000, Tyresa Mack was found dead in her apartment, the victim of rape and robbery. Her two boys, ages 2 and 11 months, were left in the home with their mother’s body for two days before Mack's family came to check on them. Her murder would eventually be tied to Durousseau.

[edit] Marriage problems

A few weeks later, Notoca Durousseau asked police how to get a domestic violence restraining order, but she did not follow up. Nineteen months later, she did seek a restraining order after being assaulted by Durousseau, but the injunction was never granted because the couple came to an agreement to drop the petition.

Three months later, a Jacksonville woman was raped in her home. Durousseau was arrested and spent 30 days in jail. He received two years' probation in a plea deal that also kept his DNA out of the police database. Despite a dishonorable discharge and being a convicted felon, Durousseau had no trouble finding temporary jobs. He worked as an animal control officer, then was hired as a Duval County school bus driver and worked most of August until he was arrested August 31st, 2001 for domestic battery. He spent 48 days in jail until his wife dropped the charges and he was released. Eight months later, he was arrested for burglary and spent five months in jail awaiting trial. On October 4th, 2002 Durousseau was acquitted of the burglary charge by jury verdict, but the Judge extended Durousseau’s probation by two years. Once again, Durousseau escaped justice.

[edit] Murder spree begins

Two months later, on December 17, 2002, Nicole Williams, 18, was reported missing by her family. Her body was found two days later on Soutel Drive in Jacksonville. Less than two weeks later, Nikia Kilpatrick, 19, was last heard from by her family. Her body was found in her apartment on January 1st, 2003. During January, Durousseau worked as a cab driver; he and his wife legally separated. Less than two weeks after Kilpatrick was murdered, Shawanda McCalister, 20, was found slain in her apartment. Ten days later, on January 20, 2003, Jovanna Jefferson was reported missing by her family, and after another ten days, Surita Cohen, 19, was reported missing by her family. One week later, Jefferson and Cohen's bodies were found dumped in a ditch in the 2700 block of New Kings Road.

[edit] Arrest

By now, JSO investigators suspected Durousseau for the murders, but did not have enough evidence to charge him with homicide. The decision was made to take him off the streets, so on February 6, 2003, Durousseau was arrested for dealing in stolen property and violation of probation from a prior rape charge. During the four months he was in custody, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office built a strong case. On June 19, 2003, a Jacksonville grand jury indicted him on five counts of murder and two counts of child abuse.

[edit] Psychological findings

In July 2004, Judge John Skinner ordered a psychological evaluation for Durousseau. The examination of Durousseau’s early life revealed almost none of the indicators that normally suggest a future problem. He experienced no abuse growing up, there were no traumatic events in his family life, and he graduated from high school without incident.

All of his victims were black women, 18-20 years old who were attacked in their own homes, tied up, raped, then strangled with electric cord. His motivation was classified as disorganized lust.[1]

[edit] Trial

Durousseau’s trial in Jacksonville began on May 23, 2007 and lasted just over two weeks. A jury deliberated for 8½ hours before finding Durousseau guilty on June 8, 2007. In the penalty phase, that same jury took 2½ hours before recommending death.

Judge Jack Schemer sentenced Durousseau to die by lethal injection on December 13, 2007 for the pre-meditated murder of 24-year-old Tyresa Mack. Prosecutors dropped all of the other pending cases against Durousseau to put the convicted killer on a fast track to execution. He is presently on death row at Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ferguson, George, Emily Downing, Kaylor Eutsler, & David Disque. Paul Durousseau: The Jacksonville Serial Killer. Radford University Dept of Psychology.]

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Durousseau, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Durousseau, Paul
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH Beaumont, Texas
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH