The .22 Caliber Killer
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Joseph Christopher, a white Buffalo native who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, began his killing spree on September 22, 1980. Within a 36 hour period, using a sawed-off .22 caliber rifle, Christopher murdered four African American men. Two weeks earlier he had sought to be admitted to the Buffalo Psychiatric Center but was deemed not to be a danger to himself or others. Psychiatric counseling was recommended.
Catherine Pelonero, author of the book “Absolute Madness,” makes the case that “Christopher’s crimes might have been prevented if he had received the psychiatric help he was seeking.” Ms. Pelonero provides the on-camera introduction and conclusion to this compilation of WIVB-TV reports.
An intensive search for “The .22 Caliber Killer” ensued after the first four homicides.
Two more African American men were murdered on October 8th and 9th. They were taxi cab drivers who had their hearts cut out. Christopher would later confess to these two killings, although evidence pointed away from Christopher as the perpetrator. Both cases remain open and unsolved.
In November 1980, Christopher enlisted in the U.S. Army. While on Christmas furlough, he journeyed to Manhattan and, on December 22nd, allegedly stabbed four people to death. He then became known as “The Midtown Slasher.”
A week later, on December 29th, after returning to Buffalo, another black man was stabbed to death. The following day, on December 30th, an African American male in Rochester was slashed and died from his injuries.
In January, Christopher reported back to his Army base at Fort Benning, Georgia and attacked a black soldier with a knife. The soldier lived and Christopher was confined to the stockade, where he attempted to take his own life with a razor.
In a session with a psychiatrist at the base, it has been reported that Christopher said he “had to” kill Blacks. At that point, Christopher’s home was searched by the police. They found evidence linking him to three murders. In April 1981, Joseph Christopher was indicted based on this evidence.
At his trial in 1982, Christopher rejected attempts by his mother to provide him with lawyers. He represented himself before a trial judge and was found guilty. However, the ruling was overturned because the judge had not allowed psychiatric testimony about Christopher’s mental ability to stand trial.
In 1985, after being found competent to stand trial, he was again found guilty and sent to Attica Correctional Facility. At the prison he was quoted to have claimed credit for thirteen killings. Author Pelonero says Christopher allegedly claimed eighteen victims during “a savage four month reign of terror…”
Christopher died in prison on March 1, 1993. Although it was reported at the time that he died of a rare form of male breast cancer, Ms. Pelonero’s research determined that the cause of death was testicular cancer. He was 37 years old.
This compilation of WIVB-TV news reports includes the manhunt for Christopher and a massive Buffalo rally against racism. Reporter Rich Newberg traveled with photographer Mike Mombrea, Jr. to Fort Benning, Georgia for first hand accounts from soldiers in Joseph Christopher’s barracks. This retrospective also includes special WIVB-TV coverage of an appearance by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, during Christopher’s reign of terror.
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Rich Newberg Reports Collection
WIVB (Television Station: Buffalo, N.Y.)
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
1980, 1981
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<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Terranova%2C+Michael+%28editor%29">Terranova, Michael (editor)</a>
Copyright held by WIVB-TV. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of WIVB-TV and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
An Interview with Michael Brown
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As a young journalist at the Niagara Gazette in 1977, Michael Brown took a special interest in stories by two fellow reporters at the paper involving sump pump issues in the Love Canal neighborhood. Reported problems included odors and chemicals surfacing in homes. Those articles, published in 1976, did not get much traction at the time.
Mr. Brown had begun covering toxic waste dumpsites in Niagara County. That became his journalistic focus. He managed to stir up a lot of controversy in the process.
While covering a public hearing, a woman in her early 20s from the Love Canal neighborhood broke down in tears when describing her concerns about potential health issues associated with chemicals believed to be leaking into her and her neighbors’ homes.
The city of Niagara Falls had initiated an assessment of the issue and considered covering the old dumpsite with clay. In 1977, Mr. Brown talked with a city engineer who felt the situation was very serious and could effect future generations if not properly addressed.
A period of silence by the city followed. Brown decided to follow up but said he got no answers from the County Health Department. He had become the Niagara Falls City Hall reporter for the Gazette. His journalistic intuition prompted him to go door-to-door, talking with Love Canal families. His goal was to determine whether the presence of toxic chemicals may have been having an effect on their health.
Rich Newberg’s interview with Michael Brown takes us back to that initial period of discovery and what followed next. At the time of the interview, more than four decades had passed since the Love Canal disaster became a “journalistic obsession” for Mr. Brown.
Viewers will learn of the obstacles he faced and how his reporting for the Niagara Gazette led to the rise of Lois Gibbs, leader of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, whose tireless efforts not only ended in victory for her neighbors, but served as the beginning of the environmental justice movement for people exposed to toxic chemicals in their communities.
Portions of the Brown and Gibbs interviews appear in the 2021 documentary, “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here.” The segment entitled “A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening,” won a New York Emmy award in 2022 in the category of Science/Environment.
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Rich Newberg Reports Collection
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
2020-11-23
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Copyright held by Moments In Time Video, Inc. & TVRE Productions, Inc. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
<div class="element-text"><span><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/items/show/2175">A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1]</a> </span></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2176"><span>Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2]</span></a></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2177">Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3]</a><br /><span></span></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2178">What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4]</a></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2350">An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her Battle and Victory on Behalf of Love Canal Homeowners]</a></div>
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An Interview with Lois Gibbs [Her battle and victory on behalf of Love Canal homeowners]
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chemical+plants+--+Waste+disposal+--+Environmental+aspects+--+New+York+%28State%29+--+Niagara+Falls">Chemical plants -- Waste disposal -- Environmental aspects -- New York (State) -- Niagara Falls</a>
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Lois Gibbs, a stay-at-home mom who whose family moved into the Love Canal neighborhood when her son was one year old, was never told she would be living on top of a dumpsite where 20 thousand tons of toxic chemicals had been buried.
She says that her son, who had been “perfectly healthy,” suddenly got “sicker and sicker and sicker.” He developed epilepsy. Lois began reading articles by Michael Brown in the Niagara Gazette, questioning whether a disproportionate number of health issues in the community could be attributed to toxic chemical exposure.
Mrs. Gibbs, who said it was “terrifying,” began her search for answers by going to the Niagara Falls school board, City Hall, and the offices of state senators and other representatives. She says no one offered to help. She says Mayor Michael O’Laughlin told her Michael Brown was a “troublemaker,” and that she should “go home and take care of my child.”
In her interview with Rich Newberg, Lois Gibbs reflects on the strategies employed to finally get the president of the United States to come to Niagara Falls and sign legislation benefitting Love Canal families wishing to move out of the neighborhood. It also created a Superfund to assist other communities across the country dealing with the hazards of toxic chemical exposure.
Portions of the Lois Gibbs interview appear in the 2021 documentary, “The Buffalo Story: History Happens Here.” It is part of the Rich Newberg Reports Collection. The Love Canal segment entitled “A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening,” won a New York Emmy award in 2022 in the category of Science/Environment.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Newberg%2C+Rich+%28Interviewer%29">Newberg, Rich (Interviewer)</a>
Rich Newberg Reports Collection
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (publisher of digital)
2021-02-15
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Copyright held by Moments In Time Video, Inc. & TVRE Productions, Inc. Access to this digital version provided by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Videos or images in this collection are not to be used for any commercial purposes. Users of this website are free to utilize material from this collection for non-commercial and educational purposes.
<div class="element-text"><span><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/items/show/2175">A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1]</a> </span></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2176"><span>Love Canal: Neighborhood of Fear [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 2]</span></a></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2177">Turning Anger Into Action [The Story of Love Canal Pt.3]</a><br /><span></span></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2178">What Have We Learned? [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 4]</a></div>
<div class="element-text"><a href="http://digital.buffalolib.org/admin/items/show/2347">An Interview with Michael Brown</a></div>
<div class="element-text"></div>
Video/mp4
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