What all of the Staten Island victims had in common was their innocence. In 1969, he was arrested in the South Bronx after attempting to rape a young girl. Andre Rand, a 58-year-old drifter and sex offender, is serving 25 years to life for kidnapping 12-year-old Jennifer Schweiger, whose nude body was found in 1987 in a shallow grave near Rand's campsite on the abandoned grounds of the Willowbrook state mental facility. While Rand was granted freedom, Pereira vanished. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Two years later, when 11-year-old Tiahease Jackson vanished, Rand was once more the main suspect. The teen was walking home. He sets up interviews where hes serving time at Ossining Correctional (Sing Sing). Andre Rand, a former Willowbrook ward attendant from 1966 to 1968, was found guilty of kidnapping five separate children, with the body of 12-year-old Jennifer Schweiger found in Willowbrook. Andre Rand, who was born on March 11, 1944, in Manhattan, New York, is regarded as the most renowned criminal to have ever lived on Staten Island. Naming Gotham: Who Does New York City Honor, and Why? Andre Rand quickly took on as he tormented the residents of Staten Island by engaging in eerily identical behavior. Many still believe that there are hidden human remains lying underneath the weeds, trash, and bramble on the Willowbrook grounds. Reddick, seen in this 2010 photo, raped her there, the woman testified. It was able to accuse and convict Rand of the crime because first-degree kidnapping in New York has no statute of limitations. Hes out there waiting to get ya. As most of the facilities that housed the mentally ill and developmentally challenged were built on remote rural acres, you could just insert the name of any local collection of rambling buildings run by the New York Department of Mental Hygiene into the story. Rispoli, seen in this 2015 photo, was sentenced to 25 years to life. Once these institutions closed, former patients along with other members of the homeless population moved into the underground tunnels that connected the buildings and made camp on the grounds outside. As of Wednesday, 2.2 million people had been vaccinated, less than 3 percent of the population. In 1972, journalist Geraldo Rivera revealed the deplorable conditions at Willowbrook, which had a history of overcrowding, disease, and abuse. Before she became a nun, Randon worked as a teacher, a governess and a child care provider during World War II (Sept. 1, 1939, to Sept. 2, 1945), according to Guinness World Records. Age : 79 years old Birth Sign : Pisces. His estranged younger sister would later disclose that, to her knowledge, she and her brother were never physically or sexually abused. Somespeculatehe may have been involved in the disappearance of another young girl shortly after his release. This man, who emerged seemingly from myth, outraged a close-knit community with his crimes and will forever merge with legend as a cautionary tale. Birthday: March 11, 1944. Its the shadowy figure that prowls the edge of the playground. Read this: Creepy History: 5 Insane Asylums And The Horrors That Happened There, Read this: This Is The Brutal Murder That Inspired 9-1-1, Read this: 50 Grisly, True Stories That Will Scare The Crap Out Of You, Reaching For Connection: How Instagram Changed My Life As I Faced My Crohns Diagnosis, 10 Urban Legends That Turned Out To Be True, 25 Twisted Urban Legends That Will Cause You To Lose Sleep Tonight (And Tomorrow Too). However, in 1997, a state Supreme Court justice determined he was able to assist in his own defense and understood the charges against him and the case ultimately went before a jury. Sister Andr will have roasted capon with mushrooms and sweet potatoes as a main course, followed by a two-cheese platter Roquefort, and goat cheese and maybe a few glasses of red wine. While she is "proud" to be the world's oldest person, Sister Andre repeated on Tuesday that "it's not nice being old, because I used to like taking care of others, making children dance, and now I can't do that any more.". Here are 10 quick life facts about Randon that you should know. The young Mr. Gafforio had helped search for Holly Ann Hughes and he was caught on film during a newscast about her disappearance. Born Lucile Randon in 1904 in Ales, also in southern France, Sister Andre's days are punctuated by prayer, mealtimes and visits from other residents and hospice workers as well as a steady flow of letters, almost all of which she responds to. Later Rand was tied to at least three other disappearances, In 1972, 5-year-old Alice Pereira, in 1981, a 7-year-old named Holly Ann Hughes (Rand was later convicted of her kidnapping, but not her murder) , an 11-year-diabetic young girl named Tiahease Jackson, and In 1984, 21- year-old Hank Gafforio, a well known, friendly neighborhood man who had mental challenges. Still, the outbreak was a stark reminder that the virus has been devastating in places where the most vulnerable reside, even with stringent restrictions that have turned many nursing homes in the country and elsewhere in Europe into fortresses. Here are 10 quick life facts about Randon that you should know. Rands first conviction for sexually molesting a nine-year-old girl, happened after he left employment at Willowbrook; however, one look at the drooling, bug-eyed Andre Rand outside the courthouse at his trials lets you know something wasnt right with him. Where the legend of Cropsey and real life diverge is in the details. France began vaccinating health care workers this week, but the authorities have faced criticism for a sluggish rollout that has so far kept France struggling with a rising number of infections, and no end to restrictions in sight. The only body found in a shallow grave on the Willowbrook grounds was little 12 year old Jennifer Schweiger, a child with Downs Syndrome, whose remains were found after an exhausting 35 day search after her disappearance in 1987. There were also claims that experiments with hepatitis were conducted on site, resulting in infecting the patients who somehow escaped contacting the disease naturally. [4][5] After World War II ended, Randon went on a mission to a hospital in Vichy, where she served orphans and elders. She had previously been the oldest woman in Europe when she turned 117 but now has the title after the death of Kane Tanaka, a Japanese womanthe Guinness World Records confirmed her title as the worlds oldest person on record on Monday. Photo:New York Public Library Digital Collection. On May 25, 1969, then-25-year-old Andre Rand was arrested for the kidnapping and attempted rape of a 9-year-old girl in the South Bronx. [13] On 19 April 2022, she became the world's oldest verified living person after the death of Kane Tanaka. Thomas Camerlengo was convicted in 1999 of murdering his parents in their Graniteville home nine years earlier. At least one of them, Andre Rand, is known as a notorious serial killer who has actually never been convicted of murder. Bundy's thing was women. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Cropsey was a living, breathing monster who went by the name Andre Rand. Morales half-brother Roberto Gonzalez, was also convicted of murder for being Morales getaway driver. In September 2010, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, convicted Qiydaar Reddick of rape and burglary stemming from a May 18, 2009 attack of his ex-girlfriend in her New Brighton home. France's Sister Andre, believed to have become the oldest person alive this week at the age of 118, said Tuesday she would now like to beat the record of oldest person ever and that work and caring for others had long kept her spry. This maniac also apparently had a thing for killing gas station attendants and donning their uniforms. In 1983, while working for a Staten Island school bus company, he kidnapped 11 children, bought them lunch, and drove them to New Jerseys Newark International Airport for no apparent reason. Everyone knew something about Willowbrook State School. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Today we're telling the story of Andre Rand, who is now known as the real life Cropsey from the Cropsey Legend, The pied piper of Staten Is. Lucile Randon, whos also the worlds oldest living nun, has recently moved up a place as the worlds oldest living person after the recent death of 119-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan. In 2004, just four years shy of becoming eligible for parole, Rand was put on trial once more this time for the 23-year-old case of Holly Ann Hughes. Did he act alone? About Biography. It was 1988. That will come with a glass of Champagne. "Only the good Lord knows" the secret of her longevity, she says with a smile. As for Rand, hes not talkingat least not about anything that makes sense. Despite being New Yorks smallest borough, Staten Island had more than its share of such institutions. On May 25, 1969, then-25-year-old Andre Rand was arrested for the kidnapping and attempted rape of a 9-year-old girl in the South Bronx. In October 2004, a state appellate court upheld Mario Mannino's murder convictions. TCNS is sponsored by Pod Decks. In this version of the urban legend, Cropsey is a disfigured camp counselor, out for revenge. The first youth to go missing in the string of disappearances was 5-year-old Alice Pereira, who vanished in 1972 after playing with her brother. Photo: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. Catherine Labour retirement home in Toulon on 25 October 2009, at the age of 105. Morales, now 54, fatally shot DeMarco, 46, in the chest during an exchange of gunfire during a botched robbery bid in the Forest Avenue store. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Long Island residents took the stand against Mannino in exchange for 12-year prison terms. "I've never seen a perp walk like that," says a TV newsman. The killer's name is Andre Rand, and he's currently doing time in a New York penitentiary. One of Rand's makeshift campsites was just 150 feet away. Sister Andre, Lucile Randon in the registry of birth, the eldest French and European citizen, prays in a wheelchair, on the eve of her 117th birthday in 2021. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The mystery surrounding the missing residents of Staten Island didnt invent the story of Cropsey, it just added fuel to the horrible legend. Almost all of these cases took place within the greater Staten Island area around the 1970s and 1980s. But many who believe in his guilt also believe his tenure at a facility notorious for abuse later influenced his crimes against children. Lucile Randon lives in a retirement home in Toulon, a port city on southern Frances Mediterranean coast, which is home to more than 167,000 people. Stories of other aging figures going through the pandemic have also provided tales of resilience, despair and hope. The West Brighton resident is eligible for parole in October 2017, when hell be 55. Carter, a Housing cop and onetime Advance Police Officer of the Month, was sitting in a police van on patrol outside the West Brighton Houses. Mr. Tavella said that until last month no case had been detected in the nursing home since the beginning of the pandemic. All rights reserved. Rand was forced to locate employment after it closed. This article originally appeared on The Lineup. Still, some abandoned buildings still stand decrepit witness, a constant reminder of the former use of the facility. Looking For The Best Rooftop Bar When You Travel? [5] She converted to Catholicism in 1923 at the age of 19. Neighbors combed the empty lots and wooded parks of Staten Island. I can say this because I was born there. 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