John Jamelske

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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.

1 Biography
2 Trivia
3 External links

[edit] 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 died in 1999.

[edit] 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

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.

All victims are of different ethnic origins, Native American, Latino, Vietnamese, Black, and White.

[edit] 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 drunk from a party. 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. He also forced her to fabricate a letter to her family, stating that she was in a drug rehabilitation clinic. After her release, police investigations were complicated by this evidence.

[edit] 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 returning center, 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.

[edit] 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