David Alan Gore was an American serial killer who confessed to, and was convicted of, six murders in Vero Beach and Indian River County, Florida in the 1980s. Gore was executed by lethal injection in 2012, having been on Florida's death row for 28 years. Gore had an accomplice, his cousin Fred Waterfield, and the pair were dubbed the "Killing Cousins". Waterfield was convicted of two murders, and is currently serving two consecutive life sentences. In 1976, police jailed and questioned both Gore and Waterfield after Angela Hommell Austin accused them of raping her at gunpoint. The cousins insisted the sex was consensual, and they were not charged in her case. Gore targeted at least four additional women who escaped with their lives.
Background
David Alan Gore was born on August 21, 1953 in Florida. In his youth he had two major obsessions: firearms and women. His obsession for women led him to lose his first job as a gas station attendant after his boss found a hole that allowed Gore to look into the women's bathroom. Gore was an auxiliary sheriff's deputy and used his badge to commit some of his crimes. Gore also worked as a caretaker of a citrus grove that provided a secluded area in which to rape and murder his victims. Fred Waterfield was born on September 29, 1952 in New Jersey. He is a former high school football player. Gore and Waterfield came to an arrangement, namely that Gore would spot, stalk, and secure potential victims for himself and Waterfield, in exchange for cash payments from Waterfield.
Victims
Their first rape victim was Fred's sister. David helped hold down the victim and watched as Fred raped his sister. In an episode of “Twisted” on Investigation Discovery, the narrator and professionals stated it was actually David’s sister that was raped.
Hsiang Huang Ling and Ying Hua Ling
Gore's and Waterfield's first two murder victims were Ying Hua Ling and her mother Hsiang Huang Ling. On February 19, 1981, Gore accosted Ying Ling and brandished his auxiliary police badge to lure the teenager into his truck, after which he drove her to her own home. Once there, he encountered Hsiang Ling and kidnapped both women. Gore later claimed that the mother, tied to a tree, slowly choked to death while he and Waterfield raped the daughter. The pair dismembered the two women and stuffed their body parts into oil drums, which they buried.
Judith Kay Daley
The pair's third victim was Judith Daley, a former Fort Pierce resident visiting from California. On July 15, 1981, Gore disabled Daley's car at the beach, and then offered her a ride to the nearest telephone. Gore drove Daley to a secluded area and met Waterfield, whereupon both men raped Daley. Gore claimed to have disposed of Daley's body in a swamp. One week after Daley's murder, Gore unsuccessfully attempted to abduct a teenage girl using his auxiliary badge. The girl's father filed a complaint, and Gore was stripped of his badge. Days later, police spotted Gore hiding in the back seat of a woman's car, carrying a police scanner, handcuffs, and a pistol. Gore was convicted of armed trespassing and sentenced to five years in prison, but was released on parole in March 1983.
Barbara Ann Byer and Angelica LaVallee
On May 20, 1983, Gore and Waterfield encountered Orlando hitchhikers Angelica LaVallee and Barbara Ann Byer and picked them up. Gore and Waterfield raped, killed and dismembered both girls. These are the only two crimes for which Waterfield was convicted; he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the two murders.
Lynn Elliott and Regan Martin
Lynn Elliott and Regan Martin, students at Vero Beach High School, were hitchhiking to Wabasso Beach when Gore and Waterfield picked them up on July 26, 1983. They took both girls to a house owned by Gore's parents. Waterfield soon left, spooked by having seen his sister during the drive. Gore later told police that he bound and placed the girls in different rooms prior to raping them. As he was assaulting Martin, Lynn Elliot—nude, with her hands tied behind her back—escaped to the driveway, until she lost her footing. According to Gore, "I kept running after her then she tripped and fell and then I caught up to her". Gore told police "I started dragging her back and she was trying, like, resisting, fighting me, so I threw her to the ground. That's when I shot her in the head". Gore shot her twice at point-blank range only to realize that a neighbor boy riding his bicycle had witnessed the entire incident. The neighbor boy alerted police, which led to a 90-minute standoff between Gore and law enforcement. Cops arrested Gore and rescued Martin, who was found in the attic naked, handcuffed, and with electrical cords tied around her legs. On December 7, 1983, Gore led police to the remains of three of his six murder victims. These victims were Barbara Ann Byer, Hsiang Huang Ling and her daughter, Ying Hua Ling. He also admitted to killing three girls and two women.
Case timeline
On August 10, 1983, a grand jury charges Gore with first-degree murder with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of sexual battery. On January 6, 1984, Gore's trial is moved from Vero Beach to St. Petersburg, Florida. Two months after on March 16, 1984 the jury convicts him of first-degree murder and after an 11-1 vote he receives the death sentence. On August 22, 1985, the Supreme Court affirms Gore's first-degree murder conviction and death penalty. On January 21, 1985, Waterfield was convicted of the murders of Byer and LaVellee, receiving two consecutive life sentences. On March 3, 1988, Governor Bob Martinez signs Gore's death warrant. On July 5, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court confirms Gore's death sentence.
Death
Gore was executed by lethal injection at 6:19 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, 2012, having exhausted all legal appeals. As Gore lay strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, he said: "I'm sorry. I've had remorse....I'm not the man I was back then. I don't fear death."
