The city of Longview, located in Cowlitz County, Washington, was frightened by the disappearances and killings of children as young as the 1980s and 90s. Police could not locate the bodies of several girls until forensic evidence found in the remains of one victim allowed the authorities to catch the man known as the “Longview Serial Killer.”
Investigation Discovery’s “On the Case of Paula Zahn: Broken Trust documentary traces the search for the notorious criminal in the course of moving between victims one after the next until he was finally caught in 1997. If you’re fascinated by this story and want to learn more about the story, be assured that we’ve got you covered. Let’s start, let’s get started, will we?
How Did Rima Traxler, Kara Rudd, and Chila Silvernails Die?
Rima Danette Traxler was born on November 9, 1976, located in Longview, Cowlitz County, Washington. In the third grade of St. Helen’s Elementary School, she especially loved attending and taking art classes. Her last sighting was by a neighbor who lived just within two blocks of her home on the afternoon of May 15, May 15, 1985. After showing her neighbor her artwork and then walking away, the eight-year-old walked toward her home but did not reach the house. Police, volunteers, and her family conducted an enormous search, but she was never found.
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Kara Patricia Rudd was born on March 26, 1984, at Longview in Longview, and she was a pupil at Longview’s Monticello Middle School. She was the 12th grader last seen with her friend in the early Monday morning, November 21, 1996, the morning when she was absent from school. After she failed to return home, police launched a second search party for her, but to nothing. Based on a hunch that Kara was missing, the police searched Mount Solo and found the remains of Kara on January 4, 1997, more than four months after she disappeared. Police found Kara’s black t-shirt in the rusted body of an old Volkswagen vehicle.
Only the lower half of Kara’s body was saved inside the old car. Chila M. Silvernails was born October 13, 1973, at Kalama, Cowlitz County, Washington. Chila was the second-grader, Don’s youngest child, a truck driver, and Blanche, a truck driver. Chila’s mother told her, “She’s a happy-go-lucky little girl. She’s just happy and full of life.” Chila saw her mom last on April 20, 1982. She was boarding her school bus.
Chila didn’t show up on the return trip, and her sister only found the lunch pail that she had bought at her bus stop. The family worried their son could not find Chila even at her playmate’s home. The police were notified. The police sent teams out to search. The next day the search dog discovered her body, partially dressed, at the bottom of the ravine, approximately three miles from her house. There there were no bullet or stab injuries to her body.
Who Killed Rima Traxler, Kara Rudd, and Chila Silvernails Die?
In the cases of Rima and Kara, the police found one common link between them – Joseph Robert Kondro. Joseph was a close family friend of Rima’s parents, and him and her stepfather as old schoolmates. Joseph had a drink with the stepfather on the morning of her disappearance. Joseph will later disclose that Rima’s mom had come to him to seek help after Rima disappeared. He even made use of his phone to make a missing person report.
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Joseph was also a childhood acquaintance of Kara’s mother and was often seen in Kara’s garage home. Joseph was eventually evicted because of his constant drinking addiction. In the eyes of Kara, along with her younger sister, they were the devoted “Uncle Joe.” Kara’s pal reported to authorities that they observed Kara taking off her golden Pontiac Firebird after skipping school. Joseph was the only one in her life before her death, and the police detained him.
The former Longview millworker had removed the evidence by showering, washing his clothes, and putting the shoes away. However, he suffered from cuts on his face that he couldn’t explain to the police. Although the police could not arrest him right away for killing Kara, Joseph was arrested within a couple of days in November 1996 on suspicion of witness altercation. Joseph was accused of asking his ex-wife to keep secret details about Kara’s disappearance.
After a quick assessment, police decided to conduct a search for evidence in the Mount Solo area, where they found the remains of Kara. The body’s upper portion was decomposing, but the lower half was retained somehow. When they examined the body, detectives discovered crucial evidence from the forensics, which was in line with Joseph’s samples of semen, and he was detained in 1997. During a trial for allegations of a capital crime in Cowlitz County jail, Joseph was sentenced to a felony in May on separate charges of molestation and rape to two females in the year 1991.
Joseph was serving time in the hope that the prosecutors would pursue the death penalty in the trial for the murder of Kara. But, Joseph escaped the death penalty after pleading guilty to the murder of Rima and Kara. Joseph confessed to stealing Rima in his vehicle on May 15 1985, when he uttered the word “safe, “unicorn,” which her mother and father had taught her. He drove her to a secluded swimming pool in Germany Creek west of town and assaulted her, then stabbing and bludgeoning the girl before placing her in an oak tree.
He also admitted to raping, beating, and strangling Kara on November 21, 1996, before taking Kara up to Mount Solo and hiding the body inside the rusty body of the vehicle that had been abandoned. The police also believed Joseph was the one who killed Chila because the method of operation was similar to what he had used to be with her mother before. He was unwilling to speak his mouth, and the police could not get confessions from Joseph. Serial killers are scared that his plea bargain could be suspended and he could be convicted of murder again. He was also implicated in over 70 other murders and disappearances, including of small girls.
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Is Joseph Robert Kondro Alive?
Joseph was sentenced to prison terms of 55 years at the end of 1999 by Superior Court Judge Jim Warme. He was detained in an inmate cell in the Washington State Penitentiary located in Walla Walla, Washington. In prison in prison, he was among the very first serial murderers identified by investigators from the FBI and had been the subject of many interviews. He did not show remorse for murdering and raping women and even implied that he may be more murderous if he were ever released.
In a prison interview from 1999, Joseph said, “If you connect the meter of my emotions and they’re flatline. I’m unsure what my feelings are. … It’s like I didn’t care about anyone else’s beliefs.” The man even expressed satisfaction that he managed to avoid death. Joseph admitted to taking the plea agreement because he didn’t wish for his six children to be tried and be a witness against the defendant. The serial killer was killed at the Washington State Penitentiary on May 3, 2012, due to liver diseases most likely caused by a Hepatitis C infection. He was 52 years old.
