John Jamelske

Jamelske's mug shot

John T. Jamelske, born 1936, is a serial rapist who, from 1988 to his apprehension in 2003, kidnapped a series of women and held them captive in a concrete bunker beneath the yard of his home in De Witt, a suburb of Syracuse, New York.

Biography

Born to John and Wanda Jamelske, John was an only son that they raised in the DeWitt area. He graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1953. Classmates did not recall him for much other than severe acne and the unfortunate nickname of "Germs".

In September 1959, marriage plans were announced with Dorothy Richmond. The exact date of the wedding is unknown. They had three sons together. Dorothy worked as a school teacher, while John worked in Acme Markets and other grocery stores. Later he started working in a series of side jobs such as handyman and carpenter. Well known for his frugality, John amassed over one million dollars, which he invested in real estate.

Dorothy became bedridden in 1998, and died in 1999.

The dungeon

Reports of the dungeon's dimensions vary. The dungeon was eight feet high, 24 long and twelve wide. It was set up with a drain, lighting and an air-vent, with a foam pad for the victim to use as a mattress. Jamelske would tie his victims up with a chain that connected to an ankle bracelet. One reached the dungeon by first moving a storage shelf he used in his basement, then move a steel door behind that, then crawl on one's knees a few feet until they reached another steel door, which opened up into the hidden room. The entry was a small box located just under the top of the room, so the person entering had to turn around and step down into the room via a small three rung ladder.

There was a lock on outside of the door to the room, as well as a lock on the first door behind the shelving unit in the basement. This made it impossible for the victim to break free due his constant locking of locks. If the victim had killed her captor, she would not have been able to escape due to the victim unaware of the combination to the lock.

The dungeon had many things written on the wall, most notably religious phrases as well as numerous peace symbols. When the police had found the dungeon they had contacted one of the known victims to link Jamelske to her testimony by asking what three words were written on the wall. She correctly responded "Wall of Thugs". A crucifix hung by the door, next to "PEACE TO ALL WHO ENTER HERE", as well as the words "HATE", "READY TO RUCUSS, SO BRING ON THE PAIN" in deep crimson.

In the center of the room was a stained bathtub sat on top of a raised wooden deck. It was here that the victims were forced to bathe using a garden hose. There was a drain plug but no plumbing. When the tub was drained, the water had nowhere to go but on the cement floor of the dungeon where it remained until it evaporated, making the room damp and moldy. An aluminum frame chair with no seat was positioned over a pail; a crude toilet that was used to further degrade the captives. A clock radio sat on top of a filthy portable refrigerator. Next to a yellow extension cord which ran out from a hole in the top of the walls was an eight inch aluminum hose that pumped warm air from the house furnace.

There was also a calendar in which the victims had to mark each day. Noted was the letters "B", "S", and "T" written on the dates. Investigators later discovered these letters were made by the victims who were made to record each date they had sex (S), bathed (B) or brushed their teeth (T).

The existence of Jamelske's dungeon was held as no secret. During the mid-1980's, he was actually assisted by his son Brian in constructing the inexpensive wooden framework used for it. The room was constructed under the concept of a novelty addition to the house. Sandra Badgley, Brian's girlfriend during the 90's, even let her two daughters hold a sleepover in there during 1996. When interviewed about the scandal, one of the daughters stated that it had been referred to as a bomb shelter.

This same son Brian later drove Jamelske and one of his victims to an airport. Jamelske allegedly told his son that the blindfolded girl had a weight problem and that her parents had asked Jamelske to keep her at his home until she lost weight.

All victims are of different ethnic origins: Native American, Latino, Vietnamese, black, and white.

Abductions

In October 1988, Jamelske abducted his first victim, a 14-year-old girl Kirsten Howard, who is Native American. She was held captive for over two years, and had turned 17 by the time of her release. Jamelske compelled her to his will by threatening violence against her younger brother. She made no attempt to report to authorities after Jamelske released her.

In either 1995 or 1996, Jamelske abducted another 14 year-old. She was a runaway whom Jamelske abducted under the premise of paying her to deliver a secret package. Believing the ruse, the girl willingly walked into the dungeon and Jamelske closed the door behind her. Eventually Jamelske put a blindfold on her and drove her to somewhere in Syracuse and dropped her off.

On August 31, 1997, Jamelske kidnapped a 53-year-old woman off the street. She was a foreign refugee who spoke only limited English. He forced her into his car and took her to an abandoned house where he raped her. Then he tied her to a stack of flattened cardboard boxes and drove her to his house. During her captivity she was raped daily and was also forced to fulfill various menial tasks for Jamelske. She was released on May 23, 1998 at a Greyhound bus station with $50. She reported to the police that day, but nothing came of it. She claimed that the police didn't believe her, but Syracuse Police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Connellan stated that although they investigated all leads, they couldn't find anything out.

On May 11, 2001, a 26-year-old mother was walking home while on Acid. Jamelske offered her a ride home in his car, which the woman accepted due to the poor weather conditions. Jamelske took her back to the dungeon where he raped her daily. When she resisted, Jamelske gave her cigar burns, from which she developed an abcess on her lower back. Jamelske also manipulated her with claims that he was actually part of an underground slavery syndicate, of which the police were a part. The victim wanted to write home to her parents letting them know she was alive, and while Jamelske did agree she could only do so in stating that she was in a drug rehabilitation clinic. After her release, police investigations were complicated by this evidence. The victim also told police that he drove a tan 1974 Mercury Comet. Police searched unsuccessfully for registered Comets of this year and simply closed the case. It is noted that police failed to search any other year, as the car the John Jamelske drove was a 1975 Mercury Comet of the same color. Amazingly, the Syracuse police appeared on Dateline and blamed the victim for providing insufficient information.

Discovery

In October 2002, Jamelske picked up his final abductee. She was a 16-year-old runaway from Syracuse.

On April 3, 2003, Jamelske felt confident enough to take the girl out to karaoke at a local bar. Emboldened by this success, he then took her with him to a bottle and can redemption center, FM RETURNABLES, where she slipped away from Jamelske long enough to phone her sister. Although she only had a brief amount of time on the phone before the two had to leave, the girl's sister dialed *69 and called back the bottle return center and persuaded the worker to call 9-1-1. Police arrived after Jamelske had left, but were able to quickly track him down given descriptions from local businesses.

Jamelske would plead guilty to five counts of first degree kidnapping.

After the discovery of the dungeon, police also found several video recorded entries with at least one woman on the tape. In the tapes, the viewer can see Jamelske dancing, singing, and also exercising with said woman. While the woman does seem happy and animated in her video entries, jumping around and rapping with John, it is important to keep in mind she is being locked in a dungeon three feet underground and she is doing everything possible to appease her captor. Jamelske often told his captors that he was a part of New York police and had shown a fake badge he had found on the street years earlier, as well as telling them that he was under certain bosses that were making him do this. He told his victims under this story that the easier the daily rapes could occur the faster his bosses might let the girls out. In the video tape police found, the viewer can see the victim pleading with the potential "bosses" that it would be better if she were home and then she could do more fun stuff than what the viewer is seeing on the tape. She is noted to say "Be fast" (in reviewing her case and letting her out into freedom). While both are dancing, John Jamelske seconds this after a couple of beats, simply saying "Be fast".

Jamelske prefaced each rape with a Torah study, in which after a review of a certain passage and discussion he would then begin to rape the victim.

After Discovery

Jamelske is currently serving a term of 18 years to life. Part of his guilty plea agreement was that his assets would be sold off and divided among his victims. In a prison interview to MSNBC John Jamelske held the belief that what he did to the victims should not be punished, if at the most he believes for cheating on his wife he should receive a modest punishment. Once arrested he believed he would at the most spend a couple of days in jail, a fine, or community service because his mind did not register that what he did to his victims was in fact criminal. His lawyers had to spend many days after his arrest to make it clear to him that taking women and holding them in a dungeon is kidnapping.

Trivia

• Jamelske's underground imprisonment of his victims is reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs. Although that movie took many inspirations from actual crimes, Jamelske's is not one of them as it occurred after the novel and movie.
• Jamelske's case was the inspiration for the Law and Order: SVU episode "Control", which aired on November 18, 2003.
• Jamelske's underground bunker was referenced on the Criminal Minds episode "North Mammon", originally aired on November 1st, 2006

External links

• Syracuse.com's gateway to Jamelske coverage
• Oprah.com's index page for her episode on Jamelsky
• Larry King interview with victims and Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh
• 2003 CNN article
• 2003 USA Today article
• Court TV: Slavemaster Detailed account as well as pictures of dungeon, house, and neighborhood.