Serial killer Ronald Lee White terrorized the Pueblo, Colorado, region during the late 1980s, committing brutal crimes and leaving behind a grisly trail of evidence and body parts for cops and others to discover. His killing spree began in the fall of 1987, when he shot and dismembered his roommate Paul Vosika. Months later, his decomposing body parts were discovered scattered across Pueblo.
At the beginning of 1988, White committed two more murders and was arrested right after. He pleaded guilty to the murders of Victor Lee Woods, a Colorado Springs bicycle repairman, and Raymond Gracia, a clerk at the Hampton Inn in Pueblo. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison.
While serving time in prison, he admitted to killing Vosika and requested the death penalty, which was later set aside. His chilling confessions over the years have led authorities to believe that he may have committed more murders, and he is widely regarded as the region's deadliest killer in decades.
Ronald Lee White: Five things to know about the serial killer who terrorized Pueblo in the late 80s
1) Ronald Lee White killed his first victim, who was also his roommate, over money and drugs
Robert White admitted that he and Paul Vosika were good friends and were involved in the drug business together. He claimed that the breakdown in their relationship was caused by Vosika's heavy drug use and his habit of stealing from his friends and family to support his drug abuse.
White claimed that Vosika stole around $1,500 from his wallet along with two ounces of cocaine. When he confronted Paul, he told him he would return the money but failed to stand by his promise. Robert then fatally shot him in the back of the head and dismembered his body, scattering the body parts all across Pueblo.
2) White dumped Vosika's body parts at multiple locations after dismembering them
On March 26, 1988, a farmer in Colorado City, Pueblo County, contacted 911 to report spotting a dead person or animal along Cedarwood Lane and Abbey Road. Officers later found a decomposing human torso at the scene, but there was no head or hand attached to it. Authorities then discovered the skull in a valley at Rye Mountain Park in Pueblo County on May 7.
3) He killed two other men in January 1988, and the killings were completely unrelated
Authorities discovered that in the months that followed Vosika's murder, Ronald Lee White fatally stabbed Victor Lee Woods inside the victim's home before setting him on fire on January 25. A few days later, on February 3, he shot Raymond Garcia, a night clerk at the Hampton Inn in Pueblo, during an unsuccessful robbery attempt. White murdered Gracia by shooting him in the back of the head.
4) Ronald Lee White confessed to his first murder while in prison for the latter two
White was arrested on February 3, shortly after the third murder he committed. He pleaded guilty in the Victor Lee Woods and Raymond Gracia murder cases and was spared the death penalty. He received two consecutive life sentences and was to be eligible for parole after 40 years. In December 1989, he confessed to killing Paul Vosika while serving time in prison for the two prior convictions.
5) White's death penalty was overturned in 1998, and he was subsequently sentenced to life
Ronald Lee White forfeited his right to a jury trial after confessing to murdering Vosika and asking for the death penalty instead. However, his defense proved that the prosecution had broken the law by withholding important sheriff's documents from them before the trial, which led to his execution being reversed in 1998. Three years later, he was again sentenced to life in prison.
Homicide Hunter: Devil in the Mountains airs on ID this Sunday, November 27, with Ronald Lee White's story at 9 pm ET.
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