This is by far the most confusing case to follow. It is in the Suicide File (because he committed suicide while in prison), -AND- the Murders File (because he murdered a former offender while in prison), -AND- the Other Deaths File (because he killed his father alleging he molested him while a youngster).
Lunz's father was accused of molesting Lunz when he was a child, Lunz's father was not a convicted sex offender. Lunz mentioned this at his trial, and said, that is why he killed him (the reason for being in other deaths blog). The deaths of FSOs will be recorded in a report of FSOs.
Be sure to see the video in the first story. To summerize this story: Lunz however, before he was imprisoned, claims he targeted other child molesters. One is Gerald Estes -from Georgia- who is missing to this date. Authorities have no proof of that claim but Lunz's word. Now, after being convicted of killing his father, while in prison he also killed his cellmate (Nathaniel Taylor) who was a convicted child molester.
12-9-2009 Florida:
Before he killed himself a convicted murderer claimed he targeted child molesters here in the mountains.
Christopher Lunz served time in prison for killing his own father.
Now Macon County investigators believe he killed Gerald Estes. Estes was accused of molesting young boys.
Chrisopher Lunz sent a letter to a Macon County detective going into graphic detail of how he and another man tortuted and killed Estes then burned his remains.
Lunz claims he targeted child molesters.
During his trial for murdering his father he said he'd been molested as a child.
This may explain why he targeted suspected pedophiles like Estes.
After getting the letter, admitting he killed Estes, the Macon County Sheriff's Office tried to reach Lunz at a Florida prison.
But he'd already killed himself after killing another prisoner who was also a convicted child molester. They believe there may be more victims out there.
..Source.. by News ABC13
IN LETTER, CONVICTED MURDERED SAYS HE KILLED A MACON COUNTY MAN
FRANKLIN-New details have surfaced in the case involving a convicted murderer who killed himself.
Christopher Lunz, a North Carolina resident made headlines a few years ago after being convicted for the murder of his own father, who he claimed sexually abused him during his childhood and was serving life in prison in a north Florida facility.
However, the case took another turn in September when the 41 year old Lunz allegedly took his own life while in prison. He had also allegedly killed a cell mate of his who was charged with child sex crimes.
But now the case becomes more startling as local authorities say they received a letter from Lunz in which he claims he killed a Macon County man awaiting trial on child sex crimes.
We spoke with Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland who has more details on this bizarre case, “When we received the letter we met with the District Attorney’s Office the same day and then we attempted to make contact with Lunz the following day. The problem was between the time he wrote the letter and it was delivered to us he had been involved in another homicide within the prison system and had also committed suicide.”
The letter stated that Lunz had picked up Gerald Estes from the Franklin motel then proceeded to torture and kill him.
Holland says Lunz actually confessed to the killing of Estes to the Sheriff’s Office before writing the letter, but after an investigation no hard evidence was uncovered, “We conducted searches and the SBI was involved as well.
We looked in various locations where he claimed to have burned and discarded the body. The problem was we were unable to find any kind of evidence related to Gerald Estes.”
Authorities say they did discover what was concluded to be human hair during the investigation, but it still wasn’t enough to prove Estes is dead.
Sheriff Holland goes on to say the letter states Lunz wanted to come back to North Carolina and lead investigators to the body if they would ensure he got the death penalty.
Holland said that wasn’t possible.
He adds another individual was involved in the alleged killing of Estes and that person did pass a polygraph test.
As for whether or not Estes was actually killed that is unknown but no one has reportedly seen him since he left the motel, “Mr. Estes did not check out of the hotel, but he did leave his belongings behind. Now we know that the reason he left them behind is because he was with Christopher Lunz,” Holland said.
Holland is hopeful that the investigation being conducted by the state of Florida will reveal more evidence on Gerald Estes. He says he will stay in the system until more evidence is produced, but they are not actively searching for a body.
..Source.. by WFSC Radio News/Keith Giles, November 23, 2009
Pinellas murderer commits suicide after fatally stabbing cellmate
9-22-2009 Florida:
NEW PORT RICHEY - If taken at his word, Christopher Lunz wanted to die.
After being convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of his father, Lunz begged a Pinellas County jury to sentence him to death in 2006. Instead, jurors recommended life in prison.
But Lunz, 41, made good on his death wish today, killing himself inside Florida State Prison in Raiford. His suicide came roughly 30 hours after he stabbed his cellmate to death and injured a second inmate while at Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, authorities say.
Lunz had been housed at Franklin since August 2006. He was only taken to the more secure Raiford facility after prison officials found convicted child molester Nathaniel Taylor dead Monday morning in the cell he shared with Lunz.
Taylor, 46, was serving time for violating parole on convictions out of Volusia County. He was scheduled to be released in 2016.
Prison officers opened cell doors at 4:55 a.m. Monday and immediately heard Lunz say he had a hostage and warn officers to stay back, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger. An officer talked Lunz into surrendering a shank and noticed Taylor's body.
Officials did not identify the injured inmate but said his injuries were not life-threatening.
Plessinger said she didn't know how Lunz made the shank or the manner of his suicide.
"The details are all pretty sketchy until the investigation gets a little further along," she said.
Lunz and co-defendant William Westerman were charged with first-degree murder in 2005. Authorities said the men drove from their home in North Carolina to Palm Harbor in March 2003 to kill 56-year-old David Lunz. Investigators said Christopher Lunz wanted his father dead so he could inherit his estate, which was valued at nearly $400,000.
The case made headlines when it went to trial in June 2006, partly because Lunz acted as his own attorney for most of the proceedings. Westerman made a deal with prosecutors and testified against his former mentor and roommate, admitting that he shot David Lunz but saying he did so on Christopher Lunz's orders.
Westerman, 29, is serving a 30-year sentence.
Lunz brimmed with confidence during his trial, even planning a press conference to announce what he thought would be a not guilty verdict. It wasn't to be. His dream of vindication shattered, Lunz pleaded for a death sentence during the trial's penalty phase.
"I don't mind," he testified. "I'm not too happy. I'm 38 years old, and I've never been in love, never been on a date."
He also testified that his father was killed for raping him as a child and beating his mother. Lunz called himself a serial killer and said he had killed more than 20 other men who had raped children.
The jury still refused to recommend death.
"I should have known better," Lunz said after he received the life sentence. "I should have known if you ask for death, they give you life."
..Source.. by TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune
Christopher Lunz Found Guilty In Dad's Killing
6-9-2006 Florida:
CLEARWATER - A man who orchestrated his father's slaying was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday, quashing his plans for a victory celebration.
Instead, jurors return to court today to hear evidence before recommending whether Christopher Lunz should be executed for the March 2003 murder of David Lunz in his Palm Harbor home.
Lunz, 38, represented himself and was so sure he convinced jurors of his innocence that he was planning a news conference to discuss his victory, said two defense attorneys appointed to assist him.
They acknowledged - as did many watching the case - that Lunz did a remarkable job representing himself, despite having demanded that his trial be staged quickly before the defense team had a chance to examine all the evidence and interview all the witnesses.
"From an attorney's standpoint, I don't think the case was fully developed. We never followed up on his [possible] alibi," defense lawyer Keith Hammond said. "As for all the evidence on the table, he did as well as any attorney could do. But I don't think we had all the evidence and the state had three years to prepare."
Lunz and the man who pulled the trigger were charged with his father's murder late last year after a gun stolen from David Lunz's home was found on the bank of a lake near where the killers lived in North Carolina.
William Westerman, 26, quickly confessed to the crime and said Lunz ordered him to shoot his father with a sawed-off shotgun after the son attacked his father during what Westerman thought was supposed to be a friendly visit, authorities said. He testified against his former roommate and mentor and will receive a 30-year prison term in exchange for his cooperation.
Assistant State Attorney Mark McGarry told jurors Lunz hoped to inherit an estate worth nearly $400,000 from his father, whom he had not seen or visited for decades. It turned out the elder Lunz did not include his son in his will.
In opening statements earlier this week, Lunz told jurors Westerman acted alone and that prosecutors had no evidence he ever visited Florida in March 2003. The lack of evidence tying him to the murder scene turned out to be true, but Lunz apologized to the jury during his closing arguments Thursday for failing to present any alibi witnesses.
Late Wednesday, Hammond told Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell the defense team was awaiting word from a North Carolina couple who might have testified Lunz was visiting their home the day his father was killed. But Lunz chose to rest his case without calling any witnesses, even though Farnell offered to give him time to contact the couple.
Instead, Lunz chose to focus on the lack of physical evidence tying him to the murder scene.
His father died after a violent struggle, and there was blood all though his house, Lunz told the jury in his closing argument.
Westerman testified Lunz attacked his father and struggled with him, yet there was no DNA, not a single hair or fingerprint left behind, he said.
"There was not one single piece of evidence to put me there, but there was of William Westerman," he said.
When Lunz returns to court today, it will be under extraordinary security. Nine bailiffs surrounded him as the verdict was read Thursday, and Lunz has been wearing a harness that can deliver an electrical shock, if needed, by a bailiff.
At a hearing last week, security officials told the judge they had evidence Lunz may have been planning an escape, said Dyril Flanagan, a second defense attorney assisting during the trial. Also, the judge was told Lunz is under investigation for five other murders, although no details were provided, Flanagan said. .
.Source.. by DAVID SOMMER
Murderer, now dead, said he ‘did in’ accused molester
11-25-2009 Georgia:
Estes awaiting trial when Lunz nabbed, killed him, Lunz wrote
Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland confirmed details surrounding some bizarre twists in the case of a convicted murderer who apparently killed himself a few weeks ago after allegedly committing additional murders in a Florida prison.
Christopher Lunz was living here when sheriff’s deputies arrested him in the murder of his father in Florida in 2003. He had claimed his father had sexually abused him when he was a child. Lunz was extradited to Florida and was convicted in 2006 and was serving a life term there when he allegedly killed one inmate, stabbed another and left him for dead, then killed himself the next day, Holland said. At least one of his latest alleged victims was a convicted sex molester.
Before the recent slayings and his own death, Lunz sent local authorities a letter in which he claimed also to have killed Gerald Estes, who was awaiting trial here on charges of sex crimes against a minor. Holland said he believed the Estes proceedings dated to 2006.
“He’s still listed as missing, we’re still trying to locate him,” Holland said, though, “We don’t have an investigator working on it full-time.
“There’s still an outstanding warrant for [Estes’] arrest and failure to appear,” Holland said. “Until we find definite evidence [of his demise], he’ll remain that way.”
Authorities have searched sites Lunz pointed them to in looking for Estes’ remains, but no evidence was found of his death.
Holland confirmed that an accomplice in the murder of Lunz’s father, who is also serving a life term in Florida, took and passed a polygraph test in which he claimed he assisted Lunz in Estes’ murder, which supposedly took place after they picked Estes up from the Franklin hotel where he’d been staying.
Reports said Lunz wrote his recent letter restating his claim to have killed Estes and offering to help locate the body in order to make a deal to be executed, but Holland said that wouldn’t have been possible.
Estes’ belongings were left behind at the hotel where he was last seen and were never claimed by him, the sheriff said.
..Source.. by David Tell , Staff Writer
