| Daniel Siebert | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Lee Siebert |
| Born | June 17, 1954 |
| Died | April 22, 2008 |
| Cause of death | natural causes |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 4 confirmed; possibly more |
| Span of killings | 1979–1986 |
| Country | USA |
| State(s) | Alabama |
| Date apprehended | 1986 |
Daniel Lee Siebert (17 June 1954 - 22 April 2008) was an American serial killer on Alabama's death row. He was convicted of three murders and confessed to at least five. During questioning he indicated that he was responsible for at least 12 deaths. Siebert died on in Holman Prison near Atmore of complications from cancer.[1]
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Siebert was born in Mattoon, Illinois. He joined the Marines in 1972 under the name of Daniel Marlow, and early on left with a dishonorable discharge. Between 1973 and 1975 he fathered two children, a girl and a boy.
His crimes were first noticed in 1986, when he murdered a student at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega. Sherri Weathers had missed classes for over a week, and the school had worried that she had not contacted them with an explanation. A search of her apartment found her dead body, along with her two children. All three had in fact been murdered. Investigation also revealed another student who was missing from the institute. Linda Jarman was found dead in her apartment, also murdered.
An art teacher using the name "Daniel Spence" was questioned in connection with the crime after police were notified that he had an interest in Sherri Weathers. A check of Spence's fingerprints revealed that he was in fact Daniel Siebert, who had a previous conviction of manslaughter in 1979 and was wanted on assault charges in San Francisco, California. He was linked to Linda Odum, a waitress who he had been dating and was reported missing the previous February. Her remains were found the following month; it was later found that she had been murdered. Fingerprints linked Siebert to her stolen car.
Siebert spent the next six months on the run. He was apprehended in Nashville, Tennessee, after placing a phone call to a friend who reported him to the police. His next call was traced to a phone booth near a restaurant he was working at, and he was arrested the following day when he showed up for work.
Siebert had confessed to five murders in Alabama, and several others across the country. He confessed that his list of victims is at least a dozen, although this has not been confirmed. Certainly he did confess these crimes to those who knew him best. He was convicted of murdering Linda Jarman, and was sentenced to death in Alabama.
Seibert's execution date was set for October 25, 2007 for the murders of Weathers and her children. Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw said Siebert had exhausted all of his appeals for the killing of Weathers and her children. Siebert had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer. Siebert's execution was delayed hours before it was to occur.
He had the Alabama Institutional Serial #00Z475.[2]
In December 2007, Siebert was investigated in relation to a recent pornography case. While no action was taken against him or charges filed, a personal correspondent of Daniel's was charged for multiple sex crimes due to the investigation's findings.
Seibert died Tuesday, April 22, 2008, apparently of complications from cancer. Prison system spokesman Brian Corbett said Siebert was pronounced dead at 1:35 p.m. at Holman Correctional Facility near Atmore, where he had been awaiting execution for more than 21 years.