Willowbrook State School New York Public Library Digital Collections. Andre Rand was long suspected to be involved in the case of missing woman Ethel Atwell, however, he would also be suspected in several other cases. Contents Andre Rand Cropsey Legend Biography Willowbrook State School Early crime record Staten Islands Serial Killer School Custodian Andre Rand. Prosecutors said Redmond-Mercereau, a former high school English teacher, shot her husband with his stainless steel Smith & Wesson 9 mm service pistol from a distance of 2 to 4 inches. Fields, now 31, of Mariners Harbor, attacked the victim around 2 a.m. behind a church at the corner of Brabant Street and Harbor Road. Although other people have come forward saying they are even older than Calment, their claims are difficult to verify because of limited record-keeping in much of the world even in the early 20th century. He is also ranked in the richest person list from United States. There is a 2009 documentary about this case called "Cropsey" if you would like to use it as a source! Johnson was 15 then. Her body was never found. Before the girls death was found, Rand had already been detained in connection with Schweigers kidnapping. This man, who emerged seemingly from myth, outraged a close-knit community with his crimes and will forever merge with legend as a cautionary tale. Rand was charged with attempted rape but eventually plead guilty to sexual abuse in 1970 in order to receive a lighter sentence. The operation seemed to be running nicely until officials noticed dubious conditions and strange medical procedures. Rand took them to get burgers at White Castle before heading to the Newark Airport to watch planes land and depart. When it shut down, he began kidnapping kids, killing them, and leaving them in the dirt. Sister Andre, Lucile Randon in the registry of birth, the eldest French and European citizen, prays in a wheelchair, on the eve of her 117th birthday in 2021. Gonzalez, now 49, drove the getaway car used by the killer, his half-brother, Steven Morales, in the Mothers Day murder. Bundy's thing was women. The other gang members, Charles and Timothy Brennan and Robert Geiger, cut plea deals with prosecutors. Sister Andr will have roasted capon with mushrooms and sweet potatoes as a main course, followed by a two-cheese platter Roquefort, and goat cheese and maybe a few glasses of red wine. Andre Rand Is Suspected In Other Disappearances. Although the story was considered an urban legend meant to keep children from misbehaving, some consider Rand to be the "real" Cropsey. The charges were expanded to include the disappearance of little Holly Ann Hughes.He made an ideal suspect. Some say it might have been a former patient or group of patients who lived in the tunnels. 1. ", Rand's defense attorney, Duane Felton, later described these statements as nothing more than"pretentious prison boasting. In March 2001, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, convicted Mario Mannino, now 39, of murder and burglary in the grisly Sept. 2, 1998, slayings of builder Rocco Mercurio, 54, and his companion, Linda Torrone, 53. It surrounds this footage with the sparse available video of Rand, and uses many letters Rand wrote to the filmmakers claiming his innocence and suggested unanswered questions. Rand had a makeshift campsite nearby. Somespeculatehe may have been involved in the disappearance of another young girl shortly after his release. Husband-slayer Elena Kiejliches is serving 22 years to life. In 1983, while working for a Staten Island school bus company, he kidnapped 11 children, bought them lunch, and drove them to New Jerseys Newark International Airport for no apparent reason. All rights reserved (About Us). Andre Rand wasn't an escaped mental patient, but he did once work at Willowbrook State School, the Staten Island facility that the Cropseylegend centered around. Here are 10 quick life facts about Randon that you should know. [12] When she turned 115 in 2019, Pope Francis sent her a personal letter and blessed rosary. Staten Island man, Andre Rand, was found guilty of the kidnapping of innocent children. John Rispoli, stretch-pants strangler, is serving 25 years to life. Long Shadows of a Borough's Boogeyman. She is calm, very radiant and she is quite looking forward to celebrating her 117th birthday, he said, adding that the homes most famous resident was resting on Wednesday and needed a break from interviews. There were also claims that experiments with hepatitis were conducted on site, resulting in infecting the patients who somehow escaped contacting the disease naturally. Read this: Creepy History: 5 Insane Asylums And The Horrors That Happened There, Read this: This Is The Brutal Murder That Inspired 9-1-1, Read this: 50 Grisly, True Stories That Will Scare The Crap Out Of You, Reaching For Connection: How Instagram Changed My Life As I Faced My Crohns Diagnosis, 10 Urban Legends That Turned Out To Be True, 25 Twisted Urban Legends That Will Cause You To Lose Sleep Tonight (And Tomorrow Too). Although she is now blind and gets around in a wheelchair, she used to care for other elderly people much younger than herself. Where the legend of Cropsey and real life diverge is in the details. Legal Statement. In 1983, he took an unsuspecting group of children from a local YMCA on a bus trip to the Newark Airport. In the court of public opinion, the case was open and shut. [4] In 2021, she said she was happy at her home, although she wished to join her grandparents and brother Andr in heaven. Catherine Labour nursing home in Toulon, a city in southeastern France, where Sister Andr resides. They were snatched from their homes where they lived with loved ones, who desperately searched for them. He received a second sentence of 25 years to life in addition to the one he was already serving. Once more, there was no concrete evidence to support an arrest. Andre Rand left Willowbrook long before it closed. She has famously received a letter from Pope Francis, and the newly reelected President Emmanuel Macron, who becomes the 18th president to be in power during her lifetime. In this. In a new documentary, "Cropsey,". 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. We are interested in telling the stories of New Yorkers. In 1969, he was jailed for the attempted rape of a young girl. Rand was charged with unlawful imprisonment but only spent 10 months in prison, since none of the children were harmed. Later Rand was tied to at least three other disappearances, In 1972, 5-year-old Alice Pereira, in 1981, a 7-year-old named Holly Ann Hughes (Rand was later convicted of her kidnapping, but not her murder) , an 11-year-diabetic young girl named Tiahease Jackson, and In 1984, 21- year-old Hank Gafforio, a well known, friendly neighborhood man who had mental challenges. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole). Naming Gotham: Who Does New York City Honor, and Why? Yet there was very little concrete evidence that linked Rand to the actual murder of Jennifer Schweiger. Prosecutors said Fields, seen in this 2008 photo, was previously convicted in an unrelated case in 2001 of two prior rapes committed when he was 15 years old. Andre Rand was born as Frank Rushan, but his murderous lifestyle has left him immortalized as "Cropsey." Lucile Randon lives in a retirement home in Toulon, a port city on southern Frances Mediterranean coast, which is home to more than 167,000 people. Sanitary facilities were pitiful, filth was everywhere, abuse was common. Double-murderer Mario Mannino is serving 80 years to life. Thomas Camerlengo was convicted in 1999 of murdering his parents in their Graniteville home nine years earlier. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Andre Rand was convicted of kidnapping Jennifer, but due to lack of physical evidence at the time, he could not be pinned to the murder. Rand was an ex-con with a record of crimes against children. (iStock). Andre Rand (born Frank Rushan; March 11, 1944) is an American convicted kidnapper of two children and suspected serial killer, currently serving 25 years to life in prison. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-ca69-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99. Born Lucile Randon in 1904 in Ales, also in southern France, Sister Andre's days are punctuated by prayer, mealtimes and visits from other residents and hospice workers as well as a steady flow of letters, almost all of which she responds to. She lived in a nursing home in Toulon, France, from 2009 until her death. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. By . The first youth to go missing in the string of disappearances was 5-year-old Alice Pereira, who vanished in 1972 after playing with her brother. Hell be 93. A town was terrified as a result of these unsettling happenings, which was made worse by the fact that no one was found guilty or identified as the culprit. Gonzalez, seen in this 2015 photo, is incarcerated in Washington Correctional Facility and is eligible for parole in April 2018. Police discovered Rand and the girl in his car, which was parked in a vacant lot. That's 10 years, five months and 17 days . Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Happy Halloween! But Sister Andre is indeed the oldest "by a long way" of the confirmed super-centenarians, according to French longevity tracker Laurent Toussaint the next contender being a Polish woman aged 115. The victims also deviate from the Cropsey urban legend narrative and even the Willowbrook child abuse story, as these children were never patients, nor were they scouts on a camping trip. In "Cropsey" Barbara Brancaccio and Josh Zeman explore the disappearances of five Staten Island children in the '70s and '80s. According to Rand's sister, who remained anonymous until she agreed to be interviewed for the documentary Cropsey, their mother had emotional problems, causing her to spend time at Pilgrim State Hospital in Brentwood, NY. only to refuse to see the visitors when they arrive. He was eventually apprehended and served ten months in jail. The man fit the legend. As a young adult, Radon converted to Roman Catholicism and worked as a governess, teacher, nun and missionary before retiring at the age of 75 in 1979. Hes updated for the timesas the escaped guy story no longer holds credibility. The Guinness World Records statement said she tested positive for the virus at the . This maniac also apparently had a thing for killing gas station attendants and donning their uniforms. Almost all of these cases took place within the greater Staten Island area around the 1970s and 1980s. The whispered stories of Cropsey and the documentary of the same name, raise as many questions as they answer. Carter, a Housing cop and onetime Advance Police Officer of the Month, was sitting in a police van on patrol outside the West Brighton Houses. "Cropsey" is a creepy documentary with all the elements of a horror film about a demented serial killer, and an extra ingredient: This one is real, and you see him handcuffed in the film, not merely empty-eyed, shabby and stooped, but actually drooling. Municipal employers did not conduct the stringent backgrounds checks and screenings that they do today. John Rispoli, now 56, was convicted in February 1994 of strangling Linda Demers to death with her stretch pants on Oct. 11, 1992 in their Rosebank neighborhood. Hell be 57 then. Sister Andre, Lucile Randon in the registry of birth, the eldest French and European citizen, prays in a wheelchair, on the eve of her 117th birthday in 2021. She also dedicated 28 years of service to orphans and elderly patients at a hospital in the Vichy, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, the record reference source reports. But Staten Island's terrifying reality. Mr. Tavella said Sister Andr remained patient during weeks of isolation although the talkative nun inquired a few times about when she could see people again. How Staten Island got that particular name for their maniac is unknown. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Its something youll remember for the rest of your life. Which Animated Disney Movie Should Get A Horror Adaptation Next? [1] She was also the oldest known survivor of the COVID-19 pandemic, having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 a month before her 117th birthday.[2][3]. He was spotted by other inmates using the bedding for sicko sex, lead prosecutor Mario Mattei said in Staten Island Supreme Court. Market data provided by Factset. TCNS is sponsored by Pod Decks. Such is the story of Cropsey an urban legend that sprung to life in the form of Andre Rand. On Depthbio.com, Andre is listed as a successful Criminal who was born in the year of 1944. Photo: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. Many people who experience the suffering of loved ones go into the helping professions. Was he framed? France began vaccinating health care workers this week, but the authorities have faced criticism for a sluggish rollout that has so far kept France struggling with a rising number of infections, and no end to restrictions in sight. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. That will come with a glass of Champagne. Before the advent of Creepypastas (the name derived from cut and paste online scary stories) urban legends were told in the old-fashioned oral tradition. By this time Rand was homeless and living in a series of makeshift campsites. First published on April 26, 2022 / 1:05 PM. But she also has a record to beat: that of Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 in Arles, southern France, at age 122 the oldest confirmed age reached by any human being so far. Prosecutors contended Kiejliches snuffed out her 48-year-old spouse, a jet-fuel magnate whose net worth was estimated at $3 million, because he had threatened financial ruin after they argued over money, divorcing and her affair with Messiah Justice, a smooth-talking, streetwise felon. History Of The Christmas Tree At Rockefeller Center, The British Raid At Pound Ridge, New York, A Bronx Way Of Life On Bainbridge Ave And 204 Street, History And Attractions Of Met Cloisters Museum In NYC, History Of The Shubert Brothers And Shubert Organization, David Dinkins: History Of New York City Mayors, Abraham D. Beame: History Of New York City Mayors. In the seventies and eighties, they had a string of mysterious child murders. In the 1960s, Andre Rand worked as a custodian at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island. At the end I was prepared to agree that Rand seemed like an awfully convincing suspect if he happened to be innocent. Previously, in 1988, Rand, seen in this 2001 file photo, was convicted of abducting Westerleigh resident Jennifer Schweiger, 12, in July 1987. Naturally, the police thought he was the main suspect in her disappearance. Two months later, the state Court of Appeals refused to hear the case. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Her mission lasted 18 years until she was sent to another hospital at La Baume-d'Hostun, Drme, for night duty in 1963. While Rand was granted freedom, Pereira vanished. But as the doc points out, Cropsey turned frighteningly real in the 1970s, when a local drifter named Andre Rand allegedly began attacking the children of Staten Island. Sister Andr, who is Europes oldest known person, became infected with the coronavirus last month as it swept through her nursing home in Toulon, in southeastern France. New York state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. One of his outposts was built in the woods behind his old stomping grounds Willowbrook State School. Although Rand has been in prison for 12 years, he still casts a large and . While she is "proud" to be the world's oldest person, Sister Andre repeated on Tuesday that "it's not nice being old, because I used to like taking care of others, making children dance, and now I can't do that any more.". The facility was for children with mental disabilities and sat on the 385-acre Willowbrook campus, where a former tuberculosis sanitarium was also located. Holly Ann Hughes, at 7 years old, vanished on July 15, 1981. Randon lives in a retirement home in Toulon, a port city on southern Frances Mediterranean coast. Driving down Route 22 through Wingdale at night, you would fear that you would check your rear view mirror and he would be therehiding in your backseat. Real places in the physical world that you should avoid at all costs, lest you never come back (alive). Some say his experience working at Willowbrook launched him on a bizarre, twisted, crusade to stop the suffering of little children, particularly those with handicaps. They ask, would you feel safe knowing that man was roaming free? In 2002, a jury convicted Elena Kiejliches of murder for the March 24, 2000, execution-style killing of her husband Borys Kiejliches in their Todt Hill home. Andre Rand, perhaps the most notorious suspected serial killer, is serving consecutive 25-years-to-life sentences for two kidnapping convictions. He will be eligible for parole in 2037, when. Founded in 2010, Thought Catalog is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. For over a decade, we've been at the bleeding edge of media, pioneering an infrastructure for creatives to flourish both artistically and financially. While playing in her neighborhood, just a few miles southeast of Willowbrook, the toddler appeared to vanish into thin air. There were only a few problems. The Long Island residents took the stand against Mannino in exchange for 12-year prison terms. After the school's closure in 1987, Rand reportedly began camping out in the woods surrounding Willowbrook. "People say that work kills, for me work kept me alive, I kept working until I was 108," the Catholic nun told reporters Tuesday in the tea-room of the hospice where she lives in the Mediterranean city Toulon. Andre Rand, a janitor at the school, was homeless and living in a homemade tent on the grounds of the institution. Andre Rand (born Frank Rostum Rushan; March 11, 1944, also referred to in the media as "Cropsey") is an American convicted kidnapper of two children and suspected serial killer, currently serving two twenty-five years to life sentences in prison. But she rejects requests for locks of hair or DNA samples. That Rand was employed to help children and then deliberately set out to hurt them is the scariest piece of the puzzle. Unnamed and unlocated Satanic cult members are also thought to be suspects. Andre Rands mother had struggled with mental illness and had lived, like poet Allen Ginsbergs mom, at the Pilgrim State Asylum. The New York Farm Colony, as a home where the indigent could earn their keep, and Sea View hospital, a place for tuberculosis patients, were located right near Willowbrook. Cropsey is Staten Islands personal boogeyman, and it gained national attention in 2009 with the documentary, Cropsey. Mr. Tavella said that until last month no case had been detected in the nursing home since the beginning of the pandemic. Kidnapper Andre Rand is serving 50 years to life In October 2004, Andre Rand, now 72, was found guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, of abducting Holly Ann Hughes, 7, as she walked on. Rapist Qiydaar Reddick is serving up to 23 years. 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