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Serial Killer Hunted in Florida's "Hog Trail Murders"
30 Jan
Summary
- Serial killer targeted transients, promising money for bondage photos.
- Victims were sexually assaulted, mutilated, and left in woods.
- A nurse, Daniel O. Conahan Jr., was sentenced to death for one murder.
In the mid-1990s, Florida authorities investigated a series of brutal killings dubbed the "Hog Trail Murders." Discovered between February 1994 and April 1996, the decomposed remains of multiple individuals, including John Doe #1, John Melaragno, Kenneth Smith, and Richard Montgomery, were found in Charlotte and Sarasota counties.
Investigators, including retired Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator Jim Myers, realized a serial killer was likely involved due to similar methods. The killer preyed on transients and drifters, luring them with promises of money for bondage photos before committing sexual assault and murder, sometimes involving mutilation and victims tied to trees.
A significant lead emerged in May 1996 when inmate David Payton identified Daniel O. Conahan Jr. as the man who offered him money for photos before his car became stuck. Another victim, Stanley Burden, recounted being tied to a tree and nearly strangled by Conahan during a photo shoot. Conahan, a 42-year-old nurse, was later indicted for Richard Montgomery's murder and sentenced to death on December 10, 1999.
