Sondra London - The Making of a Serial Killer: Second Edition

The Making of

A Serial Killer

Second Edition

By Danny Rolling

As Told to

Sondra London

This is the Second Edition of

The Making of a Serial Killer

Copyright 2020

Independently Published by Sondra London

ISBN: 9798692764683

All rights are reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of Sondra London,

except for the fair use of brief quotations

in a book review or scholarly journal.

Portions of The Making of a Serial Killer were originally published in four volumes of The Rolling Papers 1992, 1993, 1994 by Sondra London. Excerpts appeared in Knockin on Joe: Voices from Death Row , Nemesis Books (London, England, 1993), The Globe, and The National Examiner.

The First Edition of The Making of a Serial Killer was published in 1996 by Feral House Books by Sondra London.

SONDRALONDON.COM

http://sondralondon.com/tales/TMOSK2/

Criminologist Anthony Meoli, author of Diary of the D.C. Sniper, was the first to review The Making of a Serial Killer: Second Edition.

Ground-Breaking work: Amazing new slants to one of the rawest, most realistic, true crime accounts

London broke ground two decades ago when this book was first released. She had been ridiculed by the press and even treated unfairly (dare I say illegally) because what she faced has not been seen before or since the first edition.

London, unapologetically, and rightfully so, brought to us a true crime book that is indeed not for everyone. If you do not like a well-researched book this is not for you. If you do not like a first person account from the killer himself this is not for you. If you do not like truly new information, a retrospective and thoughts about the case as she reflects on her intimate and revealed look into Dannys mind this is not for you. If you do not want what I consider to be the rawest, most uniquely-styled, utterly comprehensive look into the Gainesville murders (and Louisiana as well) this is not for you.

For those who are still reading this review, the newest version is the best. You get a different look, a more compact version, different original drawings are now included (while retaining some of Dannys more disturbing ones) and you get the explanation of what happened to Ms. London.

Finally, we get a reveal to what I deem as the first Making of a Serial Killer because it truly is novel; its not a novel, but it is novel in its concept, how close she was to Danny Rolling mentally, physically, psychologically, and how all of this was needed to get the information contained herein.

This is a bargain given all the work that went into it never mind the legal battles over the first one. I thoroughly recommend this book, if over eighteen (as this is not for children) and for those who appreciate true crime and what it leaves behind.

London explains in thoughtful detail the loss of the five students and Grissom family, but in many ways she lost as well becoming yet another victim. While in no way do I compare Londons loss to the families of the victims, Sondra London should be applauded for this raw, uncut version because these are Dannys words and they are brutal but they are real.

If you want a real look into Dannys mind, the most engaging, this is the only book for the true story behind the five University of Florida student murders in 1990. Their memory lives on at 34th street, their names often repainted but never forgotten. London reminds us of this as well.

God Bless the souls of the five victims and the three members of the Grissom family.

When a Killer Speaks

by Kevin M. Sullivan, Author of The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History

On August 20, 1990, triple murderer Danny Rolling got off a bus in Gainesville, Florida, and while he had no enemies here, and did not hold a grudge against anyone in this small college town, he would, after four days, unleash his madness on five unsuspecting college kids preparing for their futures. And what he would do here was nothing short of diabolical.

And now, in The Making of a Serial Killer, Second Edition, youll read the chilling words of Danny Rolling himself, as told to journalist Sondra London.

Make no mistake about it, this is not an easy book to read. But at the same time, its a must-read for those attempting to understand what makes these monsters tick.

And even if youve read the first edition, theres so much more in this corrected and expanded volume, including more illustrations drawn by the killer himself; and these too are a window into the mind of the murderer.

If you want a more in-depth look at Danny Rolling, this is the book for you.

Table of Contents

Prologue to the Second Edition

By Sondra London (2020)

A biographer has no place on the stage, as we learn from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Douglas Southall Freeman. When he has made his bow to his audience and has spoken his prologue, telling what he will try to exhibit, it is his duty to retire to the wings, to raise the curtain and to leave the play to the actors.

After writing the definitive history of George Washington, Freeman explained his philosophy that the biographer should provide no information beyond what his subject possessed at a particular moment, so as to take the reader into the past as it was when the life was lived, rather than to distort the historical record to conform to newly-formed standards and customs. And such is my purpose here.

Though I hesitate to say too much about my role in creating this work, there are some points I feel obligated to make, as the twenty-five years that have elapsed since the First Edition have wrought such significant developments in the sensibilities of our audience that I feel obligated to offer an apologia for republishing this work today, just as it was written in the nineteen-nineties, before the chilling effect of political correctness had became so prevalent.

Trigger warning: This book is not appropriate for the immature or tender-hearted reader. It will be most useful to one who is authentically prepared to step into the mind of this dangerous and disturbed man.

It was the first week of July in 1992 when I received the introductory letter from the high-profile prisoner who had been charged with five murders that were committed in 1990 in Gainesville, Florida.

Danny Rolling was housed at Florida State Prison next to a murderer called Bobby Lewis, and Bobby had shown him a script I had written about the time he had escaped from Death Row. Rolling wanted someone to help him tell the story of his life and crimes, and once he read the script I wrote about Bobby, he wanted that writer to be me:

Madam Sondra... Media Queen,

Let me introduce myself... I am Danny Rolling. Im sure by now youve heard of me. Well... lets get the ball Rolling. So to speak. Im an artist and songwriter. How would you like to hear some of my songs? When I play guitar, guaranteed to please!

I have a cassette tape with my songs on one side. On the other is a taped farewell to my family. This tape has brought about quite a stir in the media. CBS News has tried all they can do to get their hands on it. How would you like to be the first?

Sondra... many people in the media have tried desperately to get an interview with me. I have refused all. Until now... I extend my hand... to you.

By now you should have already received the first chapter of a novel Ive begun. If not, I wonder why? It was mailed to you weeks ago. I havent heard a word from you. Perhaps... you have had a hard time trying to see me? I dont know?

My lawyer is Richard Parker. I dont know if he will speak to you or not. Ive only spoken to him twice myself. But when I do... Im gonna give him the OK concerning you.