In Gainesville (Florida), five college students were shot and killed over four days in August 1990.
Christina Powell, You can also find a roommate, Sonya Larson. Some first-year students didn’t make it to the University of Florida their first week of classes. Christa Hoyt attended Santa Fe Community College and worked nights as a records clerk for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, hoping to go into law enforcement herself one day. Manuel Taboada was transferring from SFCC to UF, wanting to study architecture. And Tracy Paules, His friend from high school, was a senior pre-law student at UF.
The crime scene was horrific. All the victims were stabbed to death in the privacy of their homes, and the women were mutilated. Three of the victims were sexually assaulted.
Despite assurances from authorities and university officials that they were taking every precaution to keep them safe, many students took off for the comforts, company, and dead-bolted doors of the home, living with their parents an appealing prospect once again. Hundreds didn’t return to campus until the spring semester, when the terror had slightly decreased.
