Gerald Stano

For the American serial killers with similar sounding names, see Gerald Stanley and, see Cary Stayner.

Gerald Stano
Born	Paul Zeininger (1951-09-12)September 12, 1951 Schenectady, New York, U.S.
Died	March 23, 1998(1998-03-23) (aged 46) Florida State Prison, Raiford, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Conviction(s)	First degree murder (9 counts)
Criminal penalty	Death sentence
Details
Victims	22 confirmed, 41 claimed
Span of crimes	1969–February 1980
Country	United States
State(s)	Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Date apprehended	April 1, 1980
Imprisoned at	Florida State Prison

Gerald Eugene Stano (born Paul Zeininger; September 12, 1951 – March 23, 1998) was an American convicted serial killer. He killed at least 22 women, and confessed to killing 41.

Early life

Stano was born as Paul Zeininger in Schenectady, New York. His biological mother neglected him to such an extent that when she gave him up for adoption at six months old, county doctors declared that he could not be adopted. They said Zeininger was functioning at "an animalistic level", even eating his own faeces to survive. Zeininger had four biological siblings who were given up for adoption. A nurse named Norma Stano eventually adopted Zeininger, giving him her last name.

Despite his foster parents being described as loving, Stano continued to have behavioral problems. He was a bed wetter until the age of 10. In school, he earned Cs and Ds in all subjects except music (at which he excelled). He lied compulsively, and was once caught stealing money from his father's wallet to pay members of the track and field team to finish behind him, so he would not be viewed as a complete failure. During his youth, Stano was often bullied. At the age of 14 or 15, he was arrested for a false fire alarm and later for throwing rocks at cars from a highway bridge.

Stano did not graduate high school until he was 21. After receiving his diploma, he enrolled in a computer school, graduated and began working in a local hospital. Soon after, he was fired for stealing from co-workers. After moving with his parents to Ormond Beach, Florida, he was fired from one job after another, mostly for theft or tardiness.

Murders

Officially, Stano admitted that he began killing in the early 1970s, when he was in his 20s; however, he also claimed to have begun killing in the late 1960s, at the age of 18. Several girls had gone missing in Stano's area of residence at that time, but insufficient physical evidence was found when these claims were investigated almost 20 years later and Stano was never charged. He was most active in Florida and New Jersey. He was arrested after a woman named Donna Hensley came to the police station bleeding and accused Stano of having "sliced" her.

Stano admitted to committing his first murder in New Jersey in 1969. He also confessed to having killed six other women in Pennsylvania. After his moving to Florida he may have murdered 30 or more women. Most of Stano's victims were women in vulnerable circumstances (prostitutes, hitchhikers, runaways), all except two were Caucasian and most of his known victims were between the ages of 16 and 25.

He also confessed to killing a young woman in 1978 or 1979, claiming she was a prostitute. Her remains were located in Daytona Beach in 1980. The confession was confirmed by his memory of her clothing.

By his 29th birthday, Stano was in prison for allegedly murdering 41 women. His victims were killed by different methods, such as gunshots, strangulation, and stabbing, but none of them were ever raped. He was also housed with fellow serial killer Ted Bundy until the latter's execution in 1989.

Execution

Stano was found guilty of nine murders and received eight life sentences and one death sentence, the latter of which was carried out by electric chair on March 23, 1998 in Florida State Prison. For his final meal, Stano requested Delmonico steak, a baked potato with sour cream and bacon bits, salad with blue cheese dressing, lima beans, a half gallon of mint chocolate-chip ice cream, and 2 litres of Pepsi. Stano's final statement proclaimed innocence and directed blame for his false confessions at the lead investigator, Paul Crow. He stated: “I am innocent. I am frightened. I was threatened and I was held month after month without any real legal representation. I confessed to crimes I did not commit.”

Victims

These are Stano's discovered victims.

Name	Age	Time of murder	State	Method
Victim 1		1969	New Jersey	Unknown
Victim 2		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Victim 3		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Victim 4		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Victim 5		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Victim 6		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Victim 7		1969-1973	Pennsylvania	Unknown
Janine Ligotino	19	March 1973	Florida	Stabbing
Ann Arcendaux	17	March 1973	Florida	Stabbing
Barbara Anne Bauer	16	September 1973	Florida	Strangulation
Cathy Lee Scharf	17	January 1974	Florida	Strangulation
Victim 12 (unidentified)		1974	Florida	Unknown
Nancy Jean Heard	24	January 1975	Florida	Strangulation
Diana Lynn Valleck	18	May 1975	Florida	Shooting
Susan Basille	12	June 1975	Florida	Strangulation
Linda Hamilton	16	July 1975	Florida	Drowning
Emily Branch	21	December 1975	Florida	Unknown
Susan Bickrest	24	December 1975	Florida	Strangulation
Bonnie Jean Hughes	34	February 1976	Florida	Blunt force
Cheryl Ramona Neal	18	May 1976	Florida	Unknown
Joan Gail Foster	18	September 1977	Florida	Shooting
Emily Grieve	38	October 1977	Florida	Shooting
Mary Kathleen Muldoon	23	November 1977	Florida	Shooting
Sandra Dubose	34	August 1978	Florida	Shooting
Phoebe Winston	25	March 1979	Florida	Shooting
Christine Goodson	17	April 1979	Florida	Unknown
Dorothy Williams	17	December 1979	Florida	Stabbing
Victim 28 (unidentified)		1980	Florida	Unknown
Toni Van Haddocks	26	February 1980	Florida	Stabbing
Mary Carol Maher	20	April 1980	Florida	Stabbing

See also

• List of people executed in Florida
• List of serial killers by number of victims
• List of serial killers in the United States

Books

• Flowers, Anna (1993). Blind Fury. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 978-1558177192.
• Kelly, Kathy; Montane, Diana (2011). I Would Find a Girl Walking. Berkley. ISBN 978-0425231869.