Perpetrators of crimes don't usually call 911 on themselves. Calls to 911 are typically frantic and haunting, made by victims in the aft...
Perpetrators of crimes don't usually call 911 on themselves. Calls to 911 are typically frantic and haunting, made by victims in the aftermath of emergencies. The calls made by the Weepy-Voiced Killer, whose real name was Paul Michael Stephani, were different. The murderer's nickname came from the fact that he phoned 911 after attacking young women in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during the early '80s. He confessed his crimes to police and news stations, tearfully pleading that they make him stop. His displays of emotion add a level of creepiness to his already disturbing crimes.
During the strange murder investigation, police gathered evidence from Stephani's recorded calls, but for nearly two years, it wasn't enough to find him. The Weepy-Voiced Killer expressed panic in his calls. He screamed, cried, and begged for officers to catch him before he could commit more crimes. But the fact that he never turned himself in undermined his displays of remorse.
He Beat Karen Potack After She Left A Party
The first person that Stephani attacked was Karen Potack on New Year’s Eve 1980. Stephani beat her with a tire iron and assaulted her after she left a party, leaving her with multiple brain injuries. She survived the attack, and police discovered her after Stephani called authorities to inform them of the injured girl's location.
He Admitted To Murdering Kimberly Compton With An Ice Pick
Stephani's next victim was 18-year-old Kimberly Compton. He killed her in Wisconsin on June 3, 1981, stabbing her 61 times with an ice pick and strangling her with a shoelace. After the attack, Stephani once again contacted police to report the crime. During the phone call, he said, "God damn, will you find me? I just stabbed somebody with an ice pick. I can't stop myself. I keep killing somebody."
Before moving onto his next victim, he phoned the police to apologize for the murder, offering to turn himself in. He never did. Stephani later contacted local media to apologize a second time and to correct them on details of the murders.
He Allegedly Drowned Kathleen Greening, And It Was The Only Time He Didn't Call Authorities
Stephani’s next victim was Kathleen Greening. He drowned the 33-year-old in her bathtub on July 21, 1982. He didn't attempt to contact the police or local newspapers about the killing, making it an outlier.
He Killed Barbara Simons After Picking Her Up At A Bar
Barbara Simons was a 40-year-old nurse living in Minneapolis, MN. She met Stephani while on a night out at Hexagon Bar. Simons let Stephani give her a ride home in his car. She was dead by the next morning. Her autopsy showed he stabbed her more than 100 times.
Denise Williams Fought Back And Managed To Escape
Stephani's final attack occurred in Minneapolis, MN, on August 20, 1982. He picked up a sex worker named Denise Williams. The 19-year-old realized something was wrong when the killer drove through a dark, secluded area rather than heading back toward downtown Minneapolis. Stephani turned onto a dead-end road and attacked the teenager with a screwdriver. He stabbed her 15 times. She hit him over the head with a glass bottle, which caused bleeding. A nearby man heard screaming and came to the woman's rescue before calling authorities. Williams survived the attack.
Authorities Caught Stephani When He Sought Medical Help
Stephani suffered a serious head injury when Denise Williams hit him over the head with a glass bottle. After fleeing the scene, he returned to his apartment and found he was bleeding profusely. Knowing he needed medical attention, he contacted emergency services.
The phone call played a pivotal role in Stephani's arrest, as authorities recognized his voice from previous calls.
A Jury Sentenced Him To 40 Years In Prison
In 1982, Stephani went on trial for the attempted murder of Denise Williams. Authorities also charged him with the death of Barbara Simons after further investigation. A jury found Stephani guilty of both attacks and sentenced him to 40 years for Simons's murder and 18 for his attack on Williams. He spent the rest of his life in prison and died on June 12, 1998.
When Doctors Diagnosed Him With Cancer, He Confessed To The Other Murders
At his trial, Stephani was only charged with the attacks on Denise Williams and Barbara Simons. Police didn't have sufficient evidence to charge him with the other crimes. In fact, they didn’t even suspect him in Kathleen Greening's death, as he never made a crying phone call to the police.
However, while in prison he was diagnosed with skin cancer, and Stephani confessed to his other crimes. He claimed he wanted the families of his victims to have closure.
His Calls To Police Were Very Emotional
Stephani acquired the nickname "the Weepy-Voiced Killer" for the emotionally charged calls he made to police after committing violent crimes. He phoned news stations and the police to give tearful confessions. Caroline Lowe, a local reporter at the time of Stephani's atrocities, said police had trouble determining the sex of the killer based on the incoherent phone calls.
In one call, Stephani said, “I couldn’t help it. I don’t know why I had to stab her. I’m so upset about it.”
He Pleaded With Police And Asked Them To Stop Him
Stephani made numerous phone calls to the police while still at large. He frantically claimed he wasn't in control of himself. He also begged authorities to stop him.
In one call, he said, "Don’t talk, just listen. I’m sorry what I did to Compton. I couldn’t help it. Don’t know why I had to stab her. I am so upset about it. I keep getting drunk [every] night. I can’t believe I did it. Big dream."
No One Knows Why He Contacted The Police After Committing His Crimes
Although it is rare for a killer to call the police after committing a crime, it's not unheard of. When they do contact authorities, however, most killers do it for an ego boost. Few ever confess to police. Stephani's reason for contacting the police is unknown. The killer never handed himself in, suggesting he wasn’t really interested in allowing the police to stop him from committing more murders.
Psychiatrist Park Dietz theorizes:
It's an unusual thing for serial violent offenders to communicate with law enforcement during their offenses... Some of them are doing it to taunt police. Some of them do it so they can get more credit. What I don't take it to mean ever is a desire to be caught. I don't think people capable of serial homicides feel enough guilt.
All Of His Victims Were Wearing Red
Caroline Lowe, a local reporter who covered the Weepy-Voiced Killer's spree for WCCO-TV, interviewed Stephani in prison. Lowe said she was careful not to wear red during the interview because all of Stephani's victims were wearing red at the time of his attacks.
Lowe also said Stephani looked like an everyday person. She related, "Serial killers and rapists can look so ordinary. You think they're going to look like the bad guys from CSI, but you never know what you're going to face."
