Kendall François

Case record: Kendall François

Background

Kendall François was born July 26, 1971. He lived in Poughkeepsie, New York. He shared a house with his parents. His neighbors remembered him as a large boy, and local children taunted him about his size.

During high school at Arlington High School, he kept himself to himself and played football and wrestling. After graduating in 1989, he enrolled in the army and was based at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, later transferring to Honolulu. While he was away, a serial killer was at large strangling women, and the case was not solved.

In 1994, François was discharged from the army and returned to Poughkeepsie. He moved back into the family home and worked as a substitute custodial worker for the Arlington School District until April 1996. He later gained promotion to hall and detention monitor for Arlington middle school. Complaints were made about his appearance and his body odour, and some children called him “stinky” behind his back. Teachers at the middle school complained about his behavior toward female students, including inappropriate touching and sexual jokes.

During the investigation, the City of Poughkeepsie Police placed Francois' home at 99 Fulton Avenue under surveillance.

The offence

François killed multiple victims who had been reported missing in Poughkeepsie and nearby areas. Police later discovered that François hid the bodies in the house he shared with his parents. During a search of the residence, police recovered eight bodies from the property, including bodies in the attic, bodies in the basement, and bodies in a crawl space.

Victims described as missing and later recovered from the house:

• Wendy Meyers, age 30, who was reported missing to the Town of Lloyd Police in Ulster County, New York in October 1996 and last seen at the Valley Rest Motel in Highland.
• Gina Barone, age 29, reported missing by her mother, Patricia Barone, in December 1996; last seen November 29, 1996 in Poughkeepsie on a street corner; she had an eagle tattooed on her back and another tattoo on her right arm that read “POP.”
• Kathleen Hurley, age 47, disappeared in January 1997; last seen walking along Main Street in downtown Poughkeepsie; she had “CJ” tattooed on her left biceps.
• Catherine Marsh, reported missing by her mother in March 1997; last observed November 11, 1996 in Poughkeepsie.
• Mary Healey Giaccone, reported missing in November 1997; the police initiated the report; her mother died the previous month; police discovered she was last seen alive in February 1997 on Poughkeepsie streets.
• Sandra Jean French, age 51, disappeared on June 12, 1998; her daughters discovered her car three blocks from François' home.
• Catina Newmaster, age 25, disappeared in August 1998; she was last seen in downtown Poughkeepsie streets.
• Diane Franco, who was assaulted and later identified François as the man who attacked her; her assault was connected to François’ admissions about the disappearances and murders.

An additional body was discovered during the search: Audrey Pugliese. The body was identified as Audrey Pugliese, 34, from the City of New Rochelle, New York, who had not been reported missing.

Investigation

Police became concerned about a rash of recent missing persons involving prostitutes in Poughkeepsie during 1996 to 1998. In response to the disappearances, detectives took multiple steps, including searches and investigative efforts.

Police and the FBI became involved at different stages. The FBI investigators were limited because they needed a crime scene in order to establish a profile, while no crime scene had been established and it had not been established that a crime had even occurred.

Police conducted helicopter searches, searched the Hudson River regularly, pressed informants for information, and interviewed hundreds of people. Cadaver dogs from the Ramapo Rescue Squad were utilized to search areas in and around the city.

A Missing Women’s Task Force was formed in July 1998, consisting of City of Poughkeepsie, Town of Poughkeepsie and New York State Police personnel. The task force included two investigators from the City, one detective from the Town, and two investigators from the New York State Police, under the command of City of Poughkeepsie Sgt. Michael Horkan. The unit took up residence at Market and Main Street in the city, and its existence was not announced or publicized. The task force processed tips and scraps of information and did not discuss case details.

A statement attributed to State Police Investigator Monte Martin said: “It’s a possibility that they are linked” and “but we can’t say anything at this point”.

The investigation included concerns about suspects drifting in and out of the case, including a man mentioned as a convicted rapist from the South, and other men who were arrested or identified through other incidents. François remained on the list of suspects.

Police increased surveillance, including a routine François followed involving taking the family car, driving his mother to work at a nearby psychiatric center where she was a nurse, and then returning to downtown Poughkeepsie where he cruised the streets.

Police also interviewed François about the missing women, accompanied him to his home, and briefly let a detective enter his room. The detective reported the interior was in horrendous condition, including garbage everywhere, and that the area smelled awful.

François was arrested later for assaulting a prostitute in his parents’ home, which was connected to the later investigation.

Arrest and search

On September 1, 1998, Kendall François was strangling an abducted prostitute when she became free and fled his home at 99 Fulton Avenue, a short walk from Vassar College. City of Poughkeepsie Police Detective Skip Mannain and Town of Poughkeepsie Police Detective Bob McCready were preparing to hand out flyers asking for help in the Catina Newmaster disappearance. As the detectives pulled into a gas station, Deborah Lownsdale told them a woman who was walking away said she had just been assaulted.

The detectives quickly located the woman, who confirmed the attack. She was brought into the police station and filed a complaint against François. That same afternoon, police returned to 99 Fulton Avenue and asked François to come into the police department to discuss the report. He agreed and was taken to headquarters.

Over the next several hours, François made many admissions regarding the disappearance of the women. He was arrested and charged with a single count of murder in the death of Newmaster. A search warrant was drawn up.

On September 2, 1998, shortly after midnight, detectives, the district attorney, EMS crews, crime scene processors, and police officers searched François’ home at 99 Fulton Avenue and discovered multiple bodies of his victims.

McKinley François, François’ father, opened the door during the search. McKinley, his wife Paulette, and their daughter Kierstyn were requested to leave the house so the search could begin. Forensic specialists located a crawl space and found evidence in plastic bags. Investigators described seeing a knee joint with skin and tendons not yet fully decomposed, and a second bag appearing to contain a collection of bones.

Investigators also found a clear plastic bag containing the skeleton of at least one person in the attic. During the next three days, police removed eight bodies from the crawl space and the attic of the house.

During the search, investigators described the house as filled with garbage strewn everywhere, including floors, furniture, sinks and closets, with clothes piled and sheets pulled over windows. The stench was described as overpowering.

Trial

François was indicted in Dutchess County Court for murder in the death of Catina Newmaster. Two days after his arrest, he was indicted for the murder of Catina Newmaster.

On September 9, he appeared in court, and a plea of “not guilty” was entered on his behalf.

On October 13, he was charged with eight counts of first degree murder, eight counts of second degree murder, and attempted assault.

François’ attorneys chose to plead guilty on December 23, 1998 before the district attorney decided whether to seek the death penalty.

On February 11, 1999, the Dutchess County Court ruled that the guilty plea could not be accepted.

The defense team took the case to the State Court of Appeals, which upheld his guilty plea in a ruling in March 2000.

At some earlier proceedings, François pleaded not guilty on all counts of murder. He was represented by an attorney identified as Rudolf Treece, and he pleaded not guilty in front of relatives of the victims.

A quote attributed to the sentencing phase included: “He has been no problem, he gets along with other inmates and does go outside into the yard on occasion”.

In the assault-related narrative connected to police questioning, François made admissions to police. During recorded statements described in the account, François said:

• “I killed them”
• “I’m not sure about those” and he requested to see photos of missing prostitutes.

Sentencing

On August 11, 2000, Judge Thomas Dolan formally sentenced Kendall François to life in prison without parole. The case record also stated that he was sentenced to 8 consecutive life sentences on August 11, 2000.

François was incarcerated in Attica Correctional Facility.

In an additional sentencing narrative that described plea bargaining, François received 25 years to life against each murder charge to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 200 years, with between 1.5 and 3 years for the assault of Diane Franco. It stated that no appeal would be allowed due to plea bargaining. It also stated that the sentence would be served at Attica prison, New York.

Appeals

The State Court of Appeals upheld François’ guilty plea in March 2000. The Dutchess County Court had previously ruled on February 11, 1999 that the guilty plea could not be accepted.

Other details

François’ family denied any knowledge of his deeds. A comment attributed to Patricia Barone included: “If they find one of them, they'll find all of them, I'm sure of that”.

A quote attributed to Lt. Siegrist stated: “These girls don't have set schedules. It took time for the families to realize something was wrong, and then they even thought for a while they might turn up”.

A quote attributed to Lt. Siegrist also stated: “Although I believed that she was a part of this in the beginning, I don't believe it anymore”.

A quote attributed to Lt. Siegrist regarding missing victims included: “All the girls involved in the Francois case were white and were found inside Francois' home.”

Michelle Eason was mentioned as the only African American among the missing women. Her disappearance remained unsolved, and as of May 2000 she was still missing.

The house search was described as continuing for almost four weeks of searching for evidence, and forensic experts used special x-ray devices to locate bones and other body pieces that may have been hidden inside walls or buried on the property.

The indictment and plea narrative included that prosecutors had agreed not to seek the death penalty after François pleaded guilty, and that relatives of victims criticized the decision.

A court appearance narrative stated that Francois affirmed his plea as guilty in all eight murder cases and guilty in the assault of Diane Franco, and it stated that he said no other person helped him. It also stated that François’ attorney said François was HIV positive.

François was charged with murder in the death of Newmaster and later faced charges including eight counts of first degree murder and eight counts of second degree murder, and attempted assault, connected to the Diane Franco assault.