Thirty years ago, the brutal slayings of five college students shattered the peacefulness of the Gainesville community and ushered in months of fear and chaos on the University of Florida campus.

Over four days in late August 1990, at the start of the fall semester, the bodies of five students – four from UF and one from then-Santa Fe Community College – were found in apartments along Archer Road.

It took nine months before the killer – a drifter and career criminal from Louisiana named Daniel Rolling – was named as a suspect, and five more before he was charged with the killings. Not until October 2006 would he receive his final punishment: death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison.

While the murders happened three decades ago, the memories of those tragic times linger. A 25-foot-long mural memorializing the victims – Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Tracy Paules, Christa Hoyt and Manuel Taboada – still claims pride of place on the 34^th Street graffiti wall, and it is continually repainted by members of UF Interfraternity Council. It is a touchstone for returning alumni, especially those from that era.

Two leaders during the crisis, President John Lombardi and Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, offer their remembrances.

— Barbara Drake

Dear Gators,

It is always a challenge to relive difficult and painful experiences, and for all of us at the university, the memories, while perhaps less detailed a generation later, remain vivid.

The news of the first and subsequent murders came to us as existential shocks, for we all saw the university as a charmed space, open to a wide range of positive experiences and home to exceptional people. When confronted with the deaths, the university and community mobilized to support the students as the first priority, sustained by the recognition that law enforcement was investigating these crimes.

Exceptional leaders set aside whatever concerns were on their agendas to come together. In that vein, the university recognized it was important to support student decisions about whether to stay in residence, on or off campus, or return home.

Likewise, we adjusted schedules and requirements to let students make whatever decisions seemed best for them – to return to campus or to stay out for the semester — free of any concern about academic challenges. In the end, most students chose to return to campus after the [Labor Day] break and resume their lives, albeit with extra care and attention to security issues.

The university convened its senior administrative staff frequently to ensure that everyone had good information from all areas of campus life – from Student Affairs, to security, to Physical Plant, to academic operations – and to gather the best advices on how to manage through the continuing crisis. That allowed coordination and a cohesive approach that reflected the University of Florida’s clear sense of its responsibilities to its students.

Clear and frequent communication with students, faculty, staff and the public were also significant as we all worked through a crisis the dimensions of which we could not fully know at the time.

Many people showed exceptional leadership, but perhaps two can stand for the work of many. Dr. Art Sandeen, Vice President for Student Affairs, met with students and parents not only on campus but in all the major off-campus residence areas, helping them navigate through this difficult time. Mike Browne, Student Body President, also provided a critical perspective and strong leadership as events unfolded. He appeared frequently in meetings with students, often alongside Dr. Sandeen and others, and served as a powerful and effective student voice as we all worked through the process.

During the nine months of the police investigation, the campus and community operated as best it could with much heightened safety consciousness. Students learned to never walk alone, and those off campus paid much more attention to security issues. The campus police patrolled widely.

But for the most part, we operated as close to normal as possible, always fearing news of another murder.

Young people may not, in general, be particularly safety conscious, but during the crisis, most students paid close attention to recommendations about safe behaviors. Afterward, we reviewed off-campus housing for security issues related to locks and doors, and this greatly improved the safety conditions of off-campus student residences.

In retrospect, the most enduring impression is, of course, the unbelievably painful loss of life. While these losses triggered much campus and community support, and mobilized statewide assistance, no one who was there at the time can erase the sorrow of losing those students. And while some of the details of the response may fade from memory, the pain of their deaths remains with us forever.

Yours,
Dr. John Lombardi