Joseph C. Palczynski

Joseph C. Palczynski was a spree killer in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland who in March 2000 terrorized residents in the region by killing four people and taking a family of three as hostages in one of the longest one-man standoffs ever known. [ [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-palcyznskigallery,0,2404657.storygallery?coll=bal-local-utility The tale of Joseph Palczynski's victims - baltimoresun.com ] ] The saga ended with two of the hostages escaping and a third being rescued, Palczynski being shot to death by Baltimore County police, and a woman being sentenced to prison for purchasing his weapons.

Life before the rampage

In the years before his shooting rampage, Palczynski, an electrician and body builder, who was unemployed at the time of the shootings, had a lengthy record of domestic violence and related crimes. He had been with numerous girlfriends, all of whom reported severe abuse. Only one, Ramona Contrino, never reported abuse in spite of them living together periodically over several years. He had been in and out of prison, mental institutions, and on parole or probation on many occasions.

Palczynski was already wanted for violating his parole at the time of the shootings. Some of his earlier crimes included assault and battery, which one time caused one of his ex-girlfriends to miscarry a child the two had conceived, and a standoff in 1992 in Idaho that lasted 16 hours. [ [http://www.dartcenter.org/dartaward/2001/winner/03.html Dart Award ] ]

The killings

The story came to the public's attention on March 7, 2000, when a triple homicide occurred in the quiet community of Bowley's Quarters near Middle River, Maryland (a suburb to the east of Baltimore), an area not accustomed to violent crime. George and Gloria Shenk, ages 49 and 50, and their neighbor David Meyers, 42, were shot to death as Palczynski kidnapped his estranged girlfriend, Tracy Whitehead, and made off in his mother's car. [ [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-pal04,0,2419047.story Wet weather slows hunt for fugitive - baltimoresun.com ] ] The Shenks had been providing a haven for Whitehead, who had been accusing Palczynski of abusing her and had recently left him and planned to move into her own apartment from her parents house where she had been living.

Manhunt

For ten days following the triple shooting, Palczynski was the subject of an intense manhunt involving every available law enforcement unit. The officers, using the latest technology and all available equipment, formed a barrier with roadblocks and other borders, surrounding the area where they believed Palczynski had been. On two separate occasions, Palczynski was able to penetrate the barriers and evade capture. It was believed that he was trying to travel to ex-girlfriend Ramona Contrino or long time friend Kevin Massengill. Whether he was able to contact either of the two was never proven and neither one would comment if he had. It was later suspected he had sent Contrino flowers and a coded message card saying goodbye. She had later said live on WBAL News during the hostage negotiation "We talked about this before, I think I know what you are going to do. I don't want you to do that. Please!"

During the evening of Wednesday, March 8, Palczynski killed a fourth victim. Jenifer McDonel, 36, the mother of a 2-year-old boy, was fatally wounded from a ricochet bullet in front of her family during an unsuccessful carjacking attempt in Chase. While Palczynski was unable to steal a vehicle in this attempt (his target vehicle was not the McDonels' car), he later carjacked an 81-year-old woman, who was not injured.

Following the fourth murder, Palczynski, took Whitehead to a nearby motel, where during the night, she escaped unharmed. It is widely believed she was not held against her will and only fled after spotting a police car. The motel clerk did not notice the man checking in was Palczynski, but has stated that Whitehead had come out alone on several occasions to buy soda and food and stated she seemed "chipper" and "happy", not at all scared or frightened. Palczynski saw the story on the news in the motel room, and realized his guns were in the vehicle he had just stolen, which police were looking for, he went outside with Whitehead to retrieve them. As they stepped outside, Whitehead saw a police car, which she ran to, and Palczynski ran into the nearby woods and fled.

Palczynski later held Whitehead's family in the Eastpoint area hostage for several hours, having tied them up and terrorized them before setting them free. He was let into their home by their young son, who did not understand the danger Palczynski posed. Police, through local media and automated phone calls, warned area residents. Palczynski's mother Pat Long, his lawyer, and Ramona Contrino all pleaded in the media on multiple occasions for her son to surrender to police.

On Friday, March 10, Palczynski fled to Virginia, where he kidnapped William Louis Terrell and ordered him to transport him back to eastern Baltimore County. He was believed by investigators to have hitched a ride on a train, though he told Terrell he paid a woman to transport him there. During the kidnapping, he ordered Terrell to drive to a local shopping center that included a Best Buy and a Target and to purchase food and various survival equipment, as well as a battery operated television with a wad of cash Palczynski provided. He threatened Terrell that he would 'shoot whoever was around' if the Terrell did not comply. Police found Terrell in his pickup truck at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning after Palczynski released him. Terrell, who relied on his faith during his ordeal, had been keeping his promise not to call police. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/51086995.html?dids=51086995:51086995&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAR+16%2C+2000&author=Raja+Mishra%3B+Fredrick+Kunkle&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Fugitive+Visited+His+Old+Haunts%3B+Alleged+Kidnap+Victim+Tells+of+Cruising+Baltimore+Suburbs&pqatl=google Fugitive Visited His Old Haunts] ]

Terrell was one of several people Palczynski had encountered since the first incident who was not harmed.

Hostage situation

On Friday, March 17, Palczynski once again surprised investigators when he penetrated a barrier and fled to nearby Dundalk to the home of Tracy Whitehead's mother Lynn, her boyfriend Andrew McCord, and their 12-year old son, Bradley McCord. For the following 97 hours, Palczynski held the family hostage in their home, ignoring the requests of law enforcement and negotiators and occasionally firing shots.

During the standoff, no one was permitted to enter the neighborhood of the hostage situation, an area that police called a 'kill zone.' All area residents were asked to stay at a shelter that was set up at a local elementary school. Several people who violated the perimeter set up by police were arrested. [ [http://departments.bloomu.edu/crimjust/pages/articles/md_hostage2.htm Hostages safe; fugitive killed ] ]

Palczynski presented one demand to officers throughout the ordeal - to speak with Tracy. Police insisted upon denying him this request. Afterwards, they justified this denial by stating it was his only request, and had they granted it, he might have killed Whitehead's mother and other hostages while Tracy listened on the phone. Also it was later said that he also wanted to speak with Pat Long, his mother, and Contrino. During this time, Tracy was kept at an undisclosed location, revealed after the standoff to be a room at a Holiday Inn that was kept under 24-hour police guard.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 21, the adult hostages took matters into their own hands. Having laced a glass of iced tea with Xanax, they put Palczynski to sleep, enabling them to escape through a rear window. They left Bradley, who was sleeping on the kitchen floor, behind with the expectation that police would rescue him. Officers, fearing for the boy's life, burst into the home. There have been many discussions on why the parents would leave the child behind.

According to officers, Palczynski, who had last been seen lying on top of his weapons, had charged at them unarmed. This led officers to fire numerous rounds into Palczynski, killing him. While the events unfolded live on television, viewers did not see the actual killing of Palczynski.

Aftermath

Following the death of Palczynski, an investigation revealed that he was shot by officers 27 times. [ [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-pal17,0,2746731.story Palczynski hit 27 times, autopsy concludes - baltimoresun.com ] ] An autopsy found no traces of any drugs or alcohol other than the Xanax used to knock him out. While serious doubts lingered in the minds of the public on shooting an unarmed man, the shooting was determined by police to be justified. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-537247.html CRIME & JUSTICE - The Washington Post - HighBeam Research ] ]

Shortly after the shootings, Constance Ann Waugh, then 48, was charged with illegally purchasing firearms for a person she knew was a convicted felon. Waugh, who did not have a prior criminal record, had been paid by Palczynski a day before the triple shooting to purchase the weapons used in his rampage. She was later sentenced to 16 months in prison. [ [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F891EECD89DF386&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Woman who bought gun used in rampage gets 16 months in prison] ] She was also ordered in a civil lawsuit to pay $450,000 to the families of the victims. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/321515521.html?dids=321515521:321515521&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=APR+05%2C+2003&author=Jamie+Stockwell&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Woman+Partly+Liable+In+Slaying%3B+Md.+Gun+Buyer+Must+Pay+Family&pqatl=google Woman Partly Liable In Slaying] ] After she filed for bankruptcy protection, her homeowner's insurance policy paid $100,000, which was split between the three families.

After the siege, McCord attempted to collect a $10,000 reward offered in the apprehension of Palczynski, claiming he was the first to call 911, resulting in a capture of the suspect. He was turned down, however, because he did not call [http://www.metrocrimestoppers.net/ Metro Crime Stoppers] , the tipline that offers the rewards. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/03/27/hostage.reward/index.html CNN.com - US - Baltimore police: Former hostage not eligible for reward - March 27, 2000 ] ] Calling this hotline is required in order to collect any rewards being offered in the capture of a fugitive. Tracy Whitehead won $100,000 in a contest on the Howard Stern show. [ [http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=10181 Crappy Anniversary - Baltimore City Paper] .

The former hostages also filed a lawsuit against police, alleging that the department failed to protect them [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-535655.html] . Police stated they had offered various forms of protection to the family, which they all turned down. These included having an officer stay in their house, having a police unit parked in front of their house, and increasing patrols to their neighborhood during the crisis.

ee also

*List of hostage crises

References