Wednesday, December 21, 2016

SMILEY FACE KILLERS





My novel How to Date Dead Guys borrows heavily from the Smiley Face Killer Theory. In fact, learning about this theory provided the inspiration for the main story line. If you look closely at the book cover, you'll discover smiley face graffiti haunting a tree in the background. Just like the warning sign over the Chippewa River, the book cover is "beautiful but treacherous".

My first experience with the "Smiley Face Killers" occurred during a spooky late night drive from the Twin Cities, MN to Eau Claire, WI. NPR aired a program advancing the controversial idea that many of the "accidental drownings" of college-aged men in the Midwest were actually murders.

Two retired NYPD detectives, Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, were the driving force behind this theory. Investigating cases back to 1997, they found eerie similarities between at least 40 of these unexplained drowning deaths. Most victims fit the same profile:  white college-aged male, popular, athletic, with good grades. When their bodies were found, many were missing cross-shaped necklaces or St. Christopher medals, although their wallets and identification remained.

This string of cases occurred along the Interstate 94 corridor between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The victims were college students from Collegeville, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, Eau Claire, and LaCrosse.

Police knew where the bodies had been found. Gannon and Duarte were more interested in discovering the sites where the bodies had been dumped. Using GPS, river flow patterns, water levels, and police dogs to guide their investigation, they figured out where the bodies entered the water. At these sites of entry, the detectives repeatedly discovered trademark "Smiley Face" graffiti. They also found multiple symbols suggesting gang graffiti, but to protect their investigation the detectives refuse to discuss these findings.

Gannon and Duarte speculate that the victims were drugged, tortured, then disposed of into the water to make it appear as if they'd drowned. Autopsy reports from several cases didn't find any water in the lungs, which helps support this theory.




River disposal removes evidence from the victim's body, such as fingerprints and fibers. Instead of "homicide", these deaths are designated "accidental drownings", making this an almost perfect crime.

Although one Minnesota victim's death has been re-ruled a homicide, Duarte and Gannon's Smiley Face Killer Theory remains just that:  a theory, which has been mocked by the FBI and the local police. To date, it does not appear that any arrests or convictions have been made.

Yet the aura of mystery linked to the "Smiley Face Killers" continues to grow. The most recent coincidence is the disappearance of Andrew Fitzgerald, the director of The Smiley Face Killers. While filming this documentary, he went missing on May 8th, 2013. His whereabouts remain unknown. In his absence, his friend Andy finished the film. The creepy promotional blurb for the movie (released January 2014): 

80 young men dead
1 missing filmmaker
1 gang of serial killers

What if you were making a documentary
about a gang of serial killers
 and they found out?


The more people delve into this conspiracy theory, the more questions bubble up to the surface. Are the killings part of a gang member initiation rite? Are the missing items of religious jewelry kept as tokens by the killers? Has the director of the documentary really gone missing, or is this a hoax in the vein of The Blair Witch Project?

In How to Date Dead Guys, I propose my own (fictional) basis for the "Smiley Face Killers". The further the reader gets into the series, the harder Emma Roberts will work to bring the killers to justice.




13 comments:

  1. this is a fake documentary...

    While filming this documentary, he went missing on May 8th, 2013. His whereabouts remain unknown. In his absence, his friend Andy finished the film. The creepy promotional blurb for the movie (released January 2014):

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  2. So is he not really missing since it's fake?

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    1. I'm sure I don't know all the answers. The more I've looked into this topic, the creepier the results became.

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  3. While this documentary is fake, there is something definitely wrong out there in these cities.

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  4. Is Andrew Fitzgerald really missing or was this fiction? I'm so confused and looked everywhere for answers!

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    1. That's where the mystery lies -- which parts of the Smiley Face Killers are real and which aren't? The answer you receive will depend on the opinion of person you ask. There are no clear answers to be found, just a lot of scary details. For the purposes of my book series, I chose to present this as theory as reality. However, the local police forces have not agreed this is true.

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    2. If he's really missing, he's still posting to Facebook. Search Andrew Fitzgerald New Dawn Films, he posted as late as Feb 2018.

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  5. Help I'm very confused, is Andrew Fitzgerald missing? Is this all fake and he's hiding away somewhere to intensify it all? Is the detective an the film markers the killers and are hiding now? Or is he in hiding for his own safety? Did they kill him as seen in the footage (assume it's real in this case) and they realised he had a camera and disposed of him in some way that he may never be found? It's been a year since the last post so I'm hoping there's more info

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    1. The more I look into the Smiley Face Killers theory, the more confused I become - so you are not alone.

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    2. Im in the same boat bout andrew

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  6. I'm not entirely sure either. His website http://www.andrewfitzg.com/about/ is never updated whenever I've been on there previously. As of this moment, I can't access it at all, supposed server issues.

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  7. He isn't missing. If this were the case, there would be much more news on this.

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  8. I think he is really missing.....And this is really real. For all the white college guys out there who fit that description. please be careful and don't accept any drinks when you go out to these bars and clubs and parties. Don't accept any drinks when you go out and don't leave your drink down unattended and come back and drink that drink, please let it go. Don't leave the bar,the party, the club with someone you do not know. Please, do not trust anyone that you meet in these places. This very advice could save your life, just follow those simple rules every time you go out and they won't be able to choose you as a victim.

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