The Gainesville Ripper, later identified as Danny Rolling, was a serial killer who committed a series of brutal murders in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990. Rolling, a 29-year-old drifter, had a history of mental illness and had been previously arrested for burglary and arson. On August 24, 1990, the bodies of two University of Florida students, Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, were discovered in their apartment, brutally murdered and mutilated. Over the next few days, three more bodies were found, all bearing the same signs of violence. The victims included Christa Hoyt, Manuel Taboada, and Tracy Paules. The investigation into the murders was led by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the FBI. After a thorough search, Rolling was arrested on September 7, 1990, at a campsite near the university. He was subsequently linked to the murders through DNA evidence and confessed to the crimes. Rolling was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on October 25, 2006. The Gainesville Ripper's killing spree had a profound impact on the city of Gainesville, leaving behind a community traumatized by the brutal violence.