Danny Rolling didn’t have a normal life growing up. It was far from that.
He was born on May 26, 1954, to parents James and Claudia Rolling in Shreveport, Louisiana. James was abusive. According to Alligator archives, James beat Claudia while she was pregnant with Danny and "his brutality pushed her to leave with her newborn child, but she returned not long after in an attempt to save her marriage."
The beatings to both Claudia and her two sons — Danny and Kevin Rolling, who was born one year later — were merciful, according to archives.
Danny found refuge from the abuse in his guitar and alcohol, psychologist Harry Krop said to the Alligator in 2006.
Rolling ran away when he was 17 and joined the Air Force before being discharged for drug problems and stealing a bicycle.
From there, he wandered around the southeast United States, stopping in places such as Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana — committing robberies in each state.
He reportedly killed for the first time on Nov. 4, 1989, when he stabbed William Tom Grissom, 55; Grissom’s daughter, Julie, 24; and grandson, Sean, 8; to death in William Grissom’s home.
Six months later — May 1990 — he tried to shoot his father when they got into a verbal argument.
He traveled to Florida less than three months after that argument, a killer about to take his spree to another level.
Contact Jordan McPherson at jmcpherson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
