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Bobby Joe Long’s Background

Bobby Joe Long’s path to infamy started when he was born on October 14th, 1953, in Kenova, West Virginia. His life started rough as he was born with an additional X chromosome, which caused his body to produce excessive estrogen.

He developed breasts, which led to teasing in school. He later underwent a reduction procedure.

If that wasn’t enough, he had an odd relationship with his mother and reportedly slept in the same bed with her until he was a teen. As he grew into his adolescence, he saw his mother engage in several casual flings with men she barely knew.

Despite those issues, he met a girl when he was 13, and in 1974, when he was 21, they married. They went on to have a couple of kids, but the marriage didn’t last as she filed for divorce in 1980, claiming she was being physically and sexually abused.

Long packed up and headed to Florida in 1983, where he got in trouble for sending inappropriate letters and photos to a minor.

He starts killing

A year later, at 31 years old, his crimes escalated as he violated and strangled 20-year-old Artiss “Ann” Wick in March 1984.

His thirst for blood was insatiable, and he couldn’t stop killing.

He struck again in May when he picked up 19-year-old Lana Long. When the opportunity arose, he pulled over and whipped out a knife. He tied the frightened teen up and took her to a remote area where he violated her, killed her, then posed her with her legs open.

22-year-old Michelle Simms was next. He lured her into his vehicle and beat her, violated her, then finished her off by slashing her throat.

He went on to violate and kill an additional five women, Elizabeth Loudenback, Vicky Elliot, Kimberly Hopps, Chanel Williams, and Karen Dinsfriend.

Abduction of Lisa McVey

On November 4th, 1984, he zeroed in on 17-year-old Lisa McVey as his next victim.

She had just left work and was on her bike heading home. A typical day turned into a nightmare as Long kidnapped her, blindfolded her, and took her to his home, where he violated her.

McVey left fingerprints in his home and remembered everything she could.

Somehow, she convinced the maniac to release her after 26 hours. This would ultimately be his downfall.

Even though she was blindfolded during her time with Long, she was able to provide information about the type of car he drove, his home, and how she heard him use an ATM during a specific time period.

Her telling police he drove a red Dodge Magnum was their biggest tip in the case, but police didn’t identify Long fast enough, and that gave him time to strike twice more as he killed Virginia Johnson and Kim Swann.

Thirteen days after he snatched McVey off the street, he was taken into custody outside a movie theater, ending his reign of terror. He was initially charged with kidnapping and sexual battery of McVey.

Long Confesses

They showed him pictures of dead women and questioned him about his involvement. At first, he played dumb, then he said, “I might need an attorney”; however, he wasn’t provided with one.

He went on to confess to 9 murders, 8 in Hillsborough County and one in Pasco County. He also admitted to violating more than 50 women he would usually meet via classified ads.

Legal Proceedings

He was prosecuted for the Pasco County murder of Virginia Johnson in April 1985. He was convicted, and on May 10th, 1985, he was sentenced to death.

He was supposed to go to trial for the Hillsborough County offenses in September 1985, but, he agreed to plead guilty to the eight counts of first-degree murder, eight counts of kidnapping, and seven counts of sexual battery, and he received multiple life sentences. He was never charged with the murder of his first victim, Wick, because her body was found 6 days after he was arrested.

Under the plea, he agreed that a jury would decide his punishment for the murder of Michelle Simms.

The July 1986 penalty hearing ended with the jury recommending Long be sentenced to death in an 11 to 1 vote.

The judge agreed with the jury, and he sentenced Long to death.

As the years passed, Long and his attorneys did everything they could to get him off death row.

They were successful regarding Johnson’s murder, as the sentence was reversed after the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors crossed the line by mentioning the Hillsborough cases. Long was later ordered to be acquitted of the murder of Johnson.

However, his lawyers were not successful in getting his death sentence for the murder of Simms tossed out.

The Execution of Bobby Joe Long

Ron DeSantis became Florida’s governor on January 8th, 2019. Three and a half months later, on April 23rd, 2019, he signed his first death warrant ordering Bobby Joe Long to be executed via lethal injection on May 23rd, 2019.

With a 30-day countdown to his last day, his lawyers worked tirelessly to save his life, but nothing worked, and on Thursday, May 23rd, 2019, Long woke up at 7:45 am, knowing he was about to die.

He ate his final meal of roast beef, bacon, French fries, and soda at 9:30 am.

Unlike most people on death row, he did not have any visitors in his final hours and did not meet with a spiritual adviser.

Even though his end was near, he was described as “calm, quiet.”

The execution was scheduled for 6 pm, but it was delayed as his attorney requested a last-minute stay.

It was denied, and Long was marched to the death chamber and strapped onto the gurney.

On the other side of the wall, people waited. McVey, along with another surviving victim, Linda Nuttall, was in attendance. Several members of the victims’ families were in there, as were several members of the media, an attorney, and a spiritual advisor, a total of 26 people.

When the curtain opened, Long’s eyes were closed.

When asked if he had any last words, he replied, “No.”

At 6:43 pm, he was injected with a lethal combination of drugs. He had a slight tremor in his hand and his lips. Within moments, his breath had slowed down, and soon he was motionless.

At 6:47, someone shook him, but he did not respond. Soon, he started turning white.

A woman proceeded to examine him at 6:54 pm, and after a short conversation between people in the room, he was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm.

His death brought relief to the families, with the mother of Long’s victim, Chanel Williams, saying, “Now, after 35 years, we can say we had some peace of mind knowing that justice has been served.”