rant · moment 7 of 21
Detective Kevin Gannon's Smiley Face Killer Theory
from The Smiley Face Killers · #132
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minTim lays out detective Kevin Gannon's 2008 press conference theory of coordinated 'cells' drugging victims with GHB and dumping bodies in rivers, and mentions author Steph Young's book on the cases.
- 14:56Detective Gannon emerges in 2008 with a theory: organized crews in different cities are killing men and dumping them in rivers.
- 15:25None of the bodies show signs of trauma or struggle, suggesting the victims were drugged before being killed.
- 15:45Many bodies tested positive for GHB, a date rape drug, according to medical examiners and reporting in the Daily Beast.
- 16:10The suspected operation: crews stake out bars, drug targets, lure them away, kill them either on-site or elsewhere, and dump bodies in rivers.
- 16:42Tim notes a timing problem—rivers are searched immediately after disappearances, yet bodies sometimes show up a month later in the same spot.
- 17:07This creates two possibilities: either searchers missed the body initially, or the victim was killed elsewhere and deposited later.
- 17:18Tim has been emailing detectives for information but getting no response, so he's reading a book on the subject by Steph Young, who published under the pen name Stephen Young.
smiley face killersSteph YoungThe Daily BeastUniversity of St. Cloud, MinnesotaGannon