Frank Jarvis Atwood

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Frank Jarvis Atwood (born January 29, 1956 ) is an American child murderer .

Course of events and arrest

Eight-year-old Vicky Lynn Hoskinson of Tucson bicycled back home on September 17, 1984 after delivering a letter to the Post Office in Flowing Wells . On the way she was hit by Frank Jarvis Atwood and kidnapped. Atwood drove Vicky into the desert west of Tucson, raped her, and killed her with a knife. He left her corpse at the scene and fled from here to Texas .

It wasn't long before the police got the first clues. Vicky's gym instructor Sam Hall said that not far from where Vicky's bike was found, he saw a vehicle with a California license number and the driver acting strangely. Hall wrote down the number of the car. A review found the vehicle owner to be Frank Jarvis Atwood, convicted of fornication and kidnapping of an eight-year-old boy in California , but acquitted and released from prison in May 1984. In 1974 he was charged with sexual harassment ( lewd and lascivious conduct ) of a 14-year-old and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Atwood was arrested days later in Texas. After a car broke down, he was in Kerrville and called his parents. These informed federal agents about the whereabouts of their son. Pink paint from Vicky's bicycle was found on the front bumper of his car. Because of this burden of proof, charges were brought against him.

Vicky's remains were not found until seven months later, in April 1985, at the western end of Ina Road . Only a third of their bones were still present at the scene, the remaining parts were abducted by wild animals.

Trial and detention

Frank Jarvis Atwood was sentenced to life imprisonment and death on May 8, 1987 , with no possibility of pardon . The University of Arizona College of Journalism was allowed to film the process.

While in custody, Atwood married in 1991 in the presence of his mother. In 2002, a guest column that Atwood wrote for the Arizona Daily Star and in which he spoke out against the death penalty caused public outrage.

In 2007, Atwood's attorney appealed the conviction again. According to the defense, evidence against their client had been falsified by the judicial authorities. The paint adhering to the bumper of the car had been placed there afterwards, the FBI had helped to cover up this manipulation.

Others

The murder of Vicky Lynn Hoskinson was treated in the 66th episode (" On the trail of the perpetrator ") of the American crime documentary Medical Detectives .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Chris Limbers: Justice Delayed Almost 20 years ago, the murder of an 8-year-old girl enraged Tucson. In: Tucson Weekly . March 4, 2004. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ Frank Jarvis Atwood (azCentral)
  3. ↑ Application of the University of Arizona College of Journalism to Film the Proceedings in State vs. Frank Jarvis Atwood, Pima County CR-14065 (PDF; 39 kB). Arizona Supreme Court decision.
  4. ^ Killer Turned Columnist Outrages Readers . Fox News, Nov. 1, 2002.
  5. ^ Judge agrees to hear claims that alleged child killer was framed. In: Tucson Citizen. May 22, 2007.
personal data
SURNAME Atwood, Frank Jarvis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American child killer
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1956