This week, we continue our deep dive into the suspected victims of serial predator Mike DeBardeleben. The women we’ve discussed so far were all real estate agents targeted while showing homes to male clients. But today’s case breaks that pattern entirely.

In this episode, we examine the murder of Joe Rapini, who was taken hostage alongside his roommate, David Starr. What followed was a calculated and terrifying bank robbery and extortion scheme. Under explicit threats, David, a bank manager, was forced to withdraw nearly $38,000 from his own vault to satisfy the masked gunman’s demands.

But even after the money was delivered, Joe Rapini was killed.

The extortion money was never recovered. And although Mike DeBardeleben emerged as a prime suspect, he was never formally charged in the case.

Join us as we unpack the timeline, the unanswered questions, and what links this case to one of the most methodical criminals we’ve ever covered.

Purchase Stephen Michaud’s book “Beyond Cruel” - https://books.apple.com/us/book/beyond-cruel/id6503722963

Sources: 

• Phillips, Kate & Mandelaro, Doug, Bank audit shows $37,000 ransom, April 20, 1983, The Times Union
• Phillips, Kate & Martelle, Scott, Extortion victim eulogized; ransom drop site revealed, April 19, 1983, The Times Union
• Meade, Laura, Trail is cold but search goes on for man’s killer, June 1, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Meade, Laura, Gunman wanted 3rd hostage, April 20, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Meade, LauraHostage slaying baffles police, April 16, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Redmond, Jim, Body found after Greece extortion try, April 15, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Search for leads in slaying, April 19, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Phillips, Kate, Witnesses sought in extortion and slaying, April 18, 1983, The Democrat and Chronicle
• Monroe slaying brings in FBI, April 16, 1983, Press and Sun Bulletin
• Police hunt clues in extortion murder, April 16, 1983, The Ithaca Journal
• Phillips, Kate & Mandelaro, Doug, $25,000 ransom drop, 1 dead in bank drama, April 15, 1983, The Times Union
• Michaud, Stephen, Beyond Cruel: The Chilling True Story of America’s Most Sadistic Killer, May 1994, St. Martin’s Paperbacks

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