Russell Ellwood

Background

Russell Ellwood was a former taxi driver. Authorities suspected him of killing as many as 15 women. At the time of his arrest in 1997, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee claimed authorities were searching for at least four other suspects, but no other arrests or charges were made.

Most of the victims were women with histories of drug abuse and prostitution, and some were transsexuals. Some victims were strangled, while others apparently died of drug overdoses. An inmate who had served time with Ellwood told deputies that Ellwood had bragged about killing people and that he “enjoyed the fun of having sex with people who were not in control of their bodies.”

A prostitute testified that she sold drugs to Ellwood and got in his car. The prostitute said Ellwood suddenly became very angry and said to her: “You know what I do to bitches like you? I kill them.”

The offence

Russell Ellwood was convicted of murdering Cheryl Lewis, 30, who was one of 26 women found dead in swampy areas around New Orleans from 1991 through 1996.

Lewis drowned in the canal while under the influence of cocaine and amphetamines.

Delores Mack, 40, of Metairie, was murdered. Mack was found strangled and suffocated one-fifth of a mile away, and cocaine was found in her blood.

Ellwood was also connected with a 1993 murder where a woman’s body was dumped in a canal in Hahnville.

Prosecutors admitted they had no physical evidence to place Ellwood at the crime scenes for Cheryl Lewis and Delores Mack.

Investigation

A task force made up of the FBI, New Orleans police and four sheriff’s departments worked for four years. At one point, the FBI cut its ties to the task force and began investigating its former leader, Lt. Sue Rushing of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department. Rushing was accused of hiding or destroying evidence that helped convict Ellwood.

The probe was described as being over, and the FBI would not disclose details. The task force was dissolved, and the sheriff’s departments involved said they would re-examine the case only if new information was presented.

Investigators now said Ellwood could not have committed the crime connected to one of two murder charges. A continuing investigation revealed that Ellwood was in Ohio when Dolores Mack was murdered.

At the time of Ellwood’s arrest in 1997, authorities suspected him in as many as 15 killings and believed more than one suspect was responsible for the string of slayings. “We never thought, from the beginning, that this was the work of one person.”

Arrest

On March 2, 1998, Russell Ellwood was arrested in connection with to two of the 24+ killings.

Ellwood, a former cab driver, was suspected in fifteen more murders. Authorities believed more than one suspect was responsible for the string of slayings.

Trial

Ellwood was sentenced for the only murder authorities could pin on him.

A second murder charge against Ellwood was dismissed when prosecutors learned he had an alibi that put him in Ohio at the time of a woman’s death.

Ellwood filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against task force investigators. He asserted that police lied when they said he confessed under relentless interrogation.

Maria Chaisson, one of Ellwood’s lawyers, said: “It’s clear they have deprived him of his right to a fair trial.”

Ellwood also gave a telephone interview from jail. He predicted that the second murder charge would be dismissed and said: “It’s obvious that these charges are fraudulent.” He also said: “This is the biggest railroad case ever in the state of Louisiana.”

Sentencing

On August 17, 1999, Russell Ellwood was sentenced to life in prison.

Once accused serial killer sentenced for murder was published as “Once Accused Serial Killer Sentenced for Murder August 18, 1999.”

Appeals

No appeal details were stated beyond the dismissal of a second murder charge after prosecutors learned of an alibi placing Ellwood in Ohio at the time of a woman’s death.

Outcome

Russell Ellwood was convicted of murdering Cheryl Lewis, 30.

At the time of his arrest in 1997, authorities suspected him in as many as 15 killings, but the later dismissal of a second murder charge occurred after prosecutors learned he had an alibi placing him in Ohio at the time of a woman’s death.

Prosecutors dropped one of two murder charges against Ellwood on February 24, 1999, and investigators later said he could not have committed the crime.

Aftermath

Investigators said they would drop one of two murder charges against Ellwood, and Ellwood predicted the second charge would also be dismissed.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said a continuing investigation revealed Ellwood was in Ohio when Dolores Mack was murdered.

The FBI probe into Lt. Sue Rushing was described as over, and sheriff’s departments involved said they would re-examine the case only if new information was presented.

Chaisson contended that a key prosecution witness, Ellwood’s former girlfriend Sharon Jones, could not be put on the stand now that the Mack charge had been dropped.

Chaisson said: “It would be illegal to put perjurious testimony on the stand.” Chaisson said: “Our allegation for months has said she was coached and given gifts in order to give that testimony.” Chaisson said: “The bottom line is that their entire case is based on the testimony of jailhouse snitches.” Chaisson said this about two of Ellwood’s fellow inmates who had testified that he confessed to them about killing people whose bodies were found across south Louisiana between 1991 and 1996.

Chaisson said: “But they need to face the fact that the evidence they have is insufficient to get a conviction.”

Sam Dalton, former head of the Jefferson Parish Indigent Defender Board, said: “Any honest prosecutor would face the facts and drop this thing now unless he has some positive evidence.” Dalton said: “Unless the attorney general has the definitive DNA that would connect him definitively to the murder, the state cannot go forward.” Dalton said: “They cannot do it by testimony.”

Timeline

• 1991 through 1996 — Cheryl Lewis, 30, was one of 26 women found dead in swampy areas around New Orleans; authorities said the victims’ bodies were found across south Louisiana.
• 1993 — Cheryl Lewis was drowned in a canal while under the influence of cocaine and amphetamines.
• 1993 — Delores Mack, 40, was found strangled and suffocated one-fifth of a mile away; cocaine was found in her blood.
• 1993 — A woman’s body was dumped in a canal in Hahnville in the case authorities later said would be the one murder charge Ellwood would face.
• 1991 through 1996 — Bodies of women were found across south Louisiana.
• 1997 — Authorities arrested Russell Ellwood; authorities said they suspected him in as many as 15 killings.
• 1997 — Ellwood became a suspect after detectives approached him.
• 1998 — On March 2, 1998, Ellwood was arrested in connection with to two of the 24+ killings.
• February 21, 1993 — Prosecutors said they had no physical evidence to place Ellwood where Cheryl Lewis was found.
• February 22, 1993 — Prosecutors said they had no physical evidence to place Ellwood where Delores Mack was found.
• November 1998 — Sheriff’s Lt. Sue Rushing failed a lie detector test about whether she destroyed or lost receipts and whether she denied coaching a witness.
• February 24, 1999 — Authorities announced they dropped one of two murder charges against Ellwood.
• August 17, 1999 — Ellwood was sentenced to life in prison.

Other details

Ellwood’s long-distance movements and statements were described in relation to police questioning. He went to Ohio to stay with relatives and was questioned by police for days.

Ellwood’s longtime lawyer was Ross Scaccia. Scaccia first represented Ellwood in a marijuana possession case three decades ago.

Ellwood grew up in Massillon, Ohio, and moved to New Orleans 30 years after high school.

Scaccia said Ellwood worked as a free-lance photographer, then turned to driving a cab. Scaccia said Ellwood had few friends, never had a girlfriend, and constantly thought of get-rich-quick schemes that didn’t work.

Scaccia said Ellwood inherited $15,000 from his mother but lost it all investing in penny stocks. Scaccia said Ellwood slept in his cab when he could not afford a boarding house.

Scaccia said Ellwood helped police at first because he craved the attention of detectives who told him he could help them solve the case. Scaccia said: “He's just an unswift, lonely man who's always trying to be a success and has never succeeded at anything,”

Chaisson said Rushing persuaded a key witness, Sharon Jones, to make up the story that Ellwood took her to the canal to smoke crack and see a “surprise.”

According to a police affidavit, Ellwood showed Jones one body in the canal with an arm and hand showing and another body that was almost submerged.

Ellwood and his lawyers maintained he was in Ohio at the time and said that receipts which could prove it were destroyed or concealed by Rushing. Chaisson said Ellwood had been a meticulous record keeper and that authorities tracked his activities for years through receipts, but that 1993 receipts seized by police had a mysterious two-week gap in February.

Chaisson theorized that police were desperate to prove they had captured the serial killer and said: “They wanted to get a conviction,” and “But whoever did this is certainly still out there.”

Ellwood was described as hanging out in his taxi cab alongside the deserted state highway next to the canal at night near a remote crime scene a year later. When questioned by two off-duty sheriff’s deputies, Ellwood said he wanted to change the oil in his cab in a place where he wouldn’t be caught dumping the dirty oil outside.

Ellwood predicted in his telephone interview from jail that the second murder charge would be dismissed and said: “It’s obvious that these charges are fraudulent,” and “This is the biggest railroad case ever in the state of Louisiana.”

Ellwood’s statements to police were described as including an admission related to dumping a body in water off a rural road. At first he denied his admission, then he said anything he may have told police came only after he was badgered and promised a flight to New Orleans so he could meet with his longtime lawyer, Ross Scaccia. Ellwood said: “My only thought was that if I can get to Mr. Scaccia, everything would be all right,” and “I told the task force anything, almost anything, to get to Scaccia.”

In a separate description, prosecutors said Ellwood’s own statements and other evidence they would not describe pointed to him as the killer.

People

• Russell Ellwood — defendant; former taxi driver; convicted of murdering Cheryl Lewis, 30.
• Cheryl Lewis (30) — murder victim found dead in swampy areas around New Orleans.
• Delores Mack (40) — murder victim from Metairie; found strangled and suffocated.
• Harry Lee — Jefferson Parish Sheriff; commented on the investigation and continuing probe.
• Lt. Sue Rushing — former leader of the serial killer task force; accused of hiding or destroying evidence; failed a lie detector test in November 1998.
• Maria Chaisson — Ellwood’s lawyer; commented on deprivation of right to a fair trial and witness coaching allegations.
• Ross Scaccia — Ellwood’s longtime lawyer; represented him previously in a marijuana possession case.
• Sam Dalton — former head of the Jefferson Parish Indigent Defender Board; commented that evidence was insufficient to go forward.
• Sharon Jones — prosecution witness described as Ellwood’s former girlfriend; alleged by Ellwood’s lawyers to have been coached.
• FBI — investigators involved in the task force and later investigation regarding Lt. Sue Rushing.
• New Orleans police — involved in the task force.