Twenty years ago on this date,
September 2, 1994, 29-year-old Sandra Lee Long was murdered by Brian Steckel.
He was executed by lethal injection in Delaware on November 4, 2005. Let us
hear from the loved ones of Sandra Lee Long and do not forget her.
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Sandra Lee Long
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Summary:
Steckel met 29 year old Sandra Lee Long approximately one week before her
murder. Steckel gained access to her apartment by asking to use her telephone.
Once inside, he pretended to use the phone, then demanded sexual favors. When
she refused, Steckel beat her and threw her onto a couch. During the struggle,
Sandra, bit Steckel’s finger causing it to bleed. Steckel then strangled her
with a pair of nylons then a sock, causing her to lose consciousness. Steckel
then sexually assaulted her, first using a screw-driver he brought with him,
and then by raping her anally. He then dragged her to the bedroom and set the
bed on fire, then fled the scene. Later the same day, the News Journal received
an anonymous phone call from a male who identified himself as the “Driftwood
Killer.” The man named his next victim by name. The News 4 Journal contacted
the police, and the police brought the woman into protective custody. The woman
had previously reported to the police that she had been receiving harassing
phone calls with a “very lurid, very sexual” content. The authorities had
traced these calls to Steckel. Steckel was arrested in connection with an
outstanding harassment warrant for the phone calls to the woman. During the
interview, Steckel confessed in detail to his crimes against Sandra Long, as
well as other murders.Although some portions of Steckel’s confession lacked
credibility, many of the details were confirmed by subsequent investigation by
the police, including the autopsy of Sandra, the fire department’s discovery of
the points of origin of the fire, DNA testing of blood found on Sandra’s
apartment door, which matched Steckel, and the discovery of the nylons, lighter
and screwdriver used in the attack. During his trial, Steckel sent a copy of
Sandra Long's autopsy to her mother, writing "Read it and weep. She's gone
forever. Don't cry over burnt flesh."
QUOTE 1: Long’s mother, Virginia Thomas, who witnessed the
execution spoke briefly afterward to thank prosecutors, police and the courts
for their assistance during this “terrible nightmare.”
“Now, hopefully, we will have some peace and closure.”
QUOTE 2: Bells rang outside the Smryna prison in protest of
the court-ordered execution of Brian Steckel. "I don't think it's a
process that contributes to healing any of the things or making society safer
or healing people's pain," said Kristin Froehlich, who opposes the death
penalty.
Just a few
feet away were people who felt his death would bring justice, including April
Walters. She has no pity for the man who tortured and killed her best friend 11
years ago. "This is justice for all the sick
people out there that think they can do whatever they can and that they're God.
He wanted to be God that day. He killed her, he took her life, he was trying to
be God. He's not God," she said.
QUOTE 3: Across a street from the protesters, in another
penned area, a different group carried signs supporting the death penalty. "He's still going to die," Dan Blevins, a
friend of Long's family from Boca Raton, Fla., shouted as the bell began to
toll.
QUOTE 4: "He's going to
hell." Nicholas Long, the victim's stepson, held a sign with Long's
photograph. "We're going to get some justice at 12
o'clock," he said. After the execution, Long's relatives planned to
gather and celebrate, he said. "It's been 11
years. We need to get justice."
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