Arson, mental hospitals, and murder...oh my!

What happens when a mother destroys her child in all ways possible, doctors don't properly treat a person and the person roams free living their life? They may end up taking many lives because no one stopped them when they had the chance. A prime example of this would be the life of Carroll Edward Cole.

Carroll Cole was born in 1938 in Sioux City, Iowa. He was the second of three children and shortly after the birth of his younger sister, the family moved to California. His father, LaVerne, found work in a shipyard and later went to fight in World War II. While LaVerne was fighting in the war, it's said that Carroll's mother, Vesta, had affair after affair - sometimes taking Carroll with her when she had sex with other men and threatened to beat Carroll if he told his father. OK...first off...maybe don't have an affair/multiple affairs. But...if you really can't help yourself for whatever reason you try to make sound plausible...have someone babysit your child while you "go to the movie" or whatever excuse you come up with. Why put your child through your bad behavior bullshit and then threaten to hurt them if they say anything? Freaking nuts! I will also mention here that Vesta would dress Carroll up as a girl and he continued to get teased by schoolmates for his "girly" name. Vesta definitely doesn't get a Mother of the Year award from me.

When Carroll was 8, he had a conflict with a classmate named Duane and drowned him in a lake in Richmond, California. The investigation into Duane's death was ruled an accident, but Carroll later admitted to killing Duane years later in an autobiography he wrote while he was in prison.

Carroll committed a lot of petty crimes in his teen years, having been frequently arrested for drunkenness and minor thefts. During this time, he grew a huge resentment for his mother which led basically to a resentment for women in general.

After high school, Carroll joined the U.S. Army (some sources state the Navy), but was dishonorably discharged in 1958 for stealing pistols.

On June 1, 1960, Carroll attacked two people in a car that was parked at a "lover's lane" with a hammer, The couple survived the attack and Carroll was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 30 days on the county work farm. Carroll was 22-years-old at that time. I will freely admit how much about the law I don't know...but 30 days on a work farm for attacking people with a hammer? Seriously???

Over the next three years, Carroll spent time in different mental hospitals. In January 1961, Carroll flagged down a Richmond police car and told the patrolman of his urges to rape and strangle woman. The officer suggested voluntary self-committal to a mental hospital.

Carroll was taken to the Napa State Hospital on February 2, 1961 for 90 days observation and treatment. While there, Carroll admitted to a happy childhood and refused to discuss the bad aspects of his life. On March 21, 1961, the hospital staff made a diagnosis of Antisocial Sociopath Personality Disturbance and recommended Carroll be discharged, but then apply for outside psychiatric treatment or voluntary admission to Atascadero State Hospital due to his sadistic, abnormal sexual tendencies. Make sure you read that part again...they diagnosed him with sadistic, abnormal sexual tendencies but recommended outpatient treatment. WTF??? Carroll was released from the Napa State Hospital on March 25, 1961.

By July 1961, while serving a six month sentence for auto related charges, he requested psychiatric help. Not until October 6, 1961, did a judge sign a commital order, one finally being signed by Judge Raymond Coughlin. Ten days later, Carroll was admitted to Atascadero State Hospital. Dr. Irwin Hart diagnosed Carroll as a passive dependent person with a façade of independence and confusion concerning sexual identification.

On September 12, 1964, Carroll was transferred to the Stockton State Hospital for further testing and treatment. Carroll was seen by a Dr. Weiss. In his notes, Dr. Weiss stated, "He seems to be afraid of the female figure and cannot have intercourse with her first but must kill her before he can do it." Dr. Weiss diagnosed Carroll'ss condition as a schizophrenic reaction of the chronic undifferentiated type. Of course, once Dr. Weiss realized what a threat Carroll could be to others, he quickly locked him up and Carroll spent the rest of his life getting the proper treatment he needed to received...100% NOT! Dr. Weiss actually approved Carroll's release in April 1963. Yes...you read that correctly...Carroll Cole was released...again...even after Dr. Weiss made multiple diagnoses and knowing that Carroll could be/would be a danger to women.

Side Note:

According to mayoclinic.org:

Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lack remorse or do not regret their behavior.

People with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. They have difficulty consistently meeting responsibilities related to family, work or school.

After Carroll's release from the Stockton State Hospital, his mother, Vesta, bought him a bus ticket and sent him to Dallas, Texas, to stay with his brother, Richard. Awwww...bless Vesta's cold, little heart! Carroll met a lady named Billie Whitworth and they got married. It's said that she was an alcoholic and worked as a stripper. After two years, the marriage was over. You may be thinking that Carroll and Billie split ways because of alcohol problems, maybe lots of drunken fights, but you would be wrong. Sounds like the marriage dissolved only when Carroll burned down a motel that he believed Billie would go to have sex with other men. He was arrested for arson, convicted, and sentenced to two years in prison.

After his release from prison, it sounds like Carroll did a bit of traveling as he eventually ended up in Oklahoma. In April 1967, Carroll was fined $20 by the Oklahoma City Court for vagrancy and pimping.

By May 1967, Carroll ended up in Lake Ozark, Missouri, where he decided for some god-awful reason to break into the bedroom and an 11-year-old and tried to strangle her in her sleep. He was caught, arrested, and plead guilty to a reduced charge and got a five year prison sentence. In May 1970, Carroll was paroled and head back to California, ending up drifting from San Diego and on to Reno, Nevada. In Reno, Carroll, on two different occasions, tried to strangle women in bars, but both victims escaped. On September 19, 1970, Carroll surrendered himself to police and told them about his urges to murder women. He was detained and charged with disorderly conduct.

Again, I truly don't know much about the law, but how is attempting to strangle two different women to death considered disorderly conduct?

On September 23, 2970, Carroll was committed to a state hospital in Sparks, Nevada. A Dr. Felix Peebles diagnosed Carroll with antisocial personality, alcoholism, and compulsion to strangle and rape attractive women. I love how Dr. Peebles had to specify "attractive" women. Thank the goddess for toxic masculinity!!!

A little bit later, Dr. Pebbles recanted his diagnosis and said Carroll was a highly manipulative man who was utilizing his difficulties with the law and his threats of violence in order to acquire shelter when he was out of funds. Dr. Peebles discharged Carroll from the hospital and placed him on a bus for Los Angeles where he was to switch buses and go home to San Diego. I wonder if Dr. Peebles knew Carroll's mother, Vesta???

So...Carroll gets back to San Diego, California, and eventually meets a lady at a local tavern; her name was Essie Louise Buck. Carroll strangled Essie to death in his car and kept her body in the trunk overnight. Carroll would then dump Essie's body the next day, May 9, 1971, which also happened to be Carroll's birthday. I have a very errie feeling that he actually enjoyed the fact that that fell on his birthday.

By May 23, 1971, Carroll met a women named Wilma (no other info found on her) and strangled her. Carroll said that he buried her corpse somewhere outside of San Ysidro. Her remains have never been found. On May 30, 1971, Carroll strangled to death a third victim, identity unknown. Carroll later claimed that these women proved themselves unfaithful to their husbands which triggered the damage his cheating mother had done to him.

In June 1971, Carroll ended up serving some time, but not for murder...not yet. He once again went to jail for theft and drunk driving. He was released in March 1972.

Later on, dates unknown, Carroll ended back up in San Ysidro. Carroll said that picked up two unknown women and killed one with a hammer and the other was strangled. Carroll said they were both buried in the desert; their remains have never been found.

In the summer of 1972, Carroll met and moved in with a barmaid named Diana Pashal and they married in July 1973. With both Carroll and Diana being alcoholics and not being faithful to each other, they got into arguments and fights more often than getting along with each other. A marriage made in heaven...

In August 1975, Carroll and Diana moved from San Diego to Las Vegas. Sounds like they thought their marriage would improve with the move...because there's no infidelity temptations in Vegas, right? Carroll found a job transporting coins from a local airport to the nearby casinos. Carroll gave into the temptation of being around all that money and ended up stealing an entire shipment of coins. Hoping to not get caught, Carroll left Diana in Las Vegas and took off for Wyoming on his own.

In August 1975, Carroll met Myrlene "Teepee" Hamer. After spending a night out with "Teepee", she said they should have sex. Carroll decided to strangle her to death and left her body on a hillside, covered by an old sleeping bag. On August 9, her body was found and Carroll decided to flee Wyoming the next day.

Some time later, Carroll ended up going to a detoxification center. Not sure if he sobered up or not, but he did steal a fellow patient's $1500 check and cashed it.

In June 1976, Carroll was charged with mail theft and jumped bail. He was found and captured a short time later and charged with unlawful flight. In February 1977, he was sentenced to one year in prison.

In May 1977, the body of Kathleen Blum was found. She is said to have been a sex worker that had unfortunately met Carroll who strangled her to death and left her body in a stranger's back yard.

In July 1977, Carroll was jailed for car theft in Las Vegas...so now he's back in Vegas. This man seemed to be all over the place. Carroll made bail in Las Vegas and fled to Oklahoma City.

The night before Thanksgiving 1977, Carroll met a woman at a topless bar and agreed to spend the night with her. Carroll later claimed that he awoke to find the woman dead in his bathtub and remnants of her feet and arm in his refrigerator. Her buttock was found in a skillet on the stove. He then collected the body (and parts) and dumped everything into the city dump.

From March 1978 to August 1979, Carroll went through more petty crime stuff, got back together with Diana, served 6 months in jail for stupid stuff, arrested for being drunk and a probation violation. Overall...living the dream, is my assumption.

In August 1979, Carroll met a lady named Bonnie Sue O’Neil. After a night of sex, Carroll strangled Bonnie when she mentioned that she had to call her husband. Carroll then dumped her body into a garbage can.

On September 19, 1979, Carroll strangled and killed Diana; she was 25 years old at the time. He wrapped her body in blankets and stuffed her in a closet. After eight days, a neighbor saw Carroll digging a large hole in his crawlspace under his house and the neighbor called the police. For some reason I will never understand, the police ruled Diana's death as alcohol poisoning. HUH???

Some time after Diana's death, Carroll returned to Las Vegas and started working as a truck driver for a religious charity. That seems like an odd choice, but a guy's gotta pay the bills..I guess.

You would think that working for a religious charity may have helped Carroll see the errors of his ways, but you would be 100% wrong. Instead, he decided to kill again. On November 3, 1979, he killed Marie Cushman in the Casbah Hotel and left her body in the room for the maid to find. I hope that maid got tons of therapy after that!

By December 1979, Carroll married again. Yes...you read that correctly! He kills women, but yet decided to get married again!!! He married a female coworker. But...karma was about to catch up with Carroll...finally! While Carroll and his new bride were on their honeymoon, they were pulled over and Carroll was found to not have a valid drivers license. The cop did a name on hime and a warrant was pulled up for parole violations. Carroll ended up in the Medical Canter for Federal prisoners.

On October 4, 1980, Carroll was released and sent to Dallas. On April 9, 1981, Carroll was convicted of three murders in Texas and sentenced to life and sent to the Huntsville Prison. In January 1984, Carroll was informed of mother’s death and it's said that his attitude had changed. Not sure exactly what that means, but overall he ended up wanted to face further murder charges in Nevada. In February 1984, Nevada formally announced the intent to extradite Carroll and have him stand trial capital murder charges. Carroll waived extradition in March and he was sent to Las Vegas in April.

On August 16 1984, Carroll appeared before Judge Myron Leavitt and plead guilty to two counts of first degree murder. In October 1984, Carroll was found guilty and given the death penalty. When the judge announced his sentence, Carroll said "Thanks, Judge".

On November 6, 1984, Carroll was transferred to Nevada's State Prison. Carroll Cole was executed on December 6, 1985 by lethal injection. Buh-bye!!!

A life filled with a bad mother, petty theft, arson, murder...but also some serious mental health issues that were not taken care of appropriately - makes me wonder if the guy was just an epic failure or did the system fail him as well??? I will let you form your own opinion on that.

-- Audre

Sources:

wikipedia.org

siouxlandproud.com

murderpedia.org