Sean Vincent Gills was born on June 24, 1962 in Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, to Norman and Yvonne Gillis. His father died of acholism when Gills was just a young boy. His mother who worked full time at a local television station struggled to care for Gills. His parents often took care of him. As a child, we thought Gills was normal. His mother was quoted as saying: “I called him my little blue-eyed angel. She is the person I loved most in the world. It wasn't until he was a teenager that others began to see a different side of him. As a teenager, he committed minor offenses, but none alarmed others into believing he would become a killer. He has been arrested for traffic violations, drunk driving, marijuana possession and contempt of court over the years. Sean did not commit his first murder until 1994. His first victim was an 81-year-old woman, Ann Bryan, in March 1994. Ann lived in St. James Place, an assisted living facility located across the street from the convenience store where Gillis worked . As she often did, Ann left her apartment door open before going to bed so she wouldn't have to get up to let the nurse in the next morning. The warrant says Gillis told detectives he entered Ann Bryan's house at 3 a.m. raped the 81-year-old woman, but she started screaming when he touched her. Gillis then told detectives he slit her throat to stop her from screaming and began stabbing her a total of 47 times. The warrant says Gillis gave them details about the elderly woman's death that only the killer could have known. He seemed determined to stab her face, genitals and breasts. His second victim, 29-year-old Katherine Ann Hall, was murdered on January 4, 1999. Katherine was a prostitute. She was black and a drug...... middle of paper...... it took her about a minute and a half to succumb to unconsciousness and then death. Honestly, his last words were: I can't breathe. I still wonder about post-mortem dismemberment and excision. There must be something deep in my subconscious that really needs this kind of macabre action. » Although Purpera died shortly after receiving Gillis' letter, before she died she gave all the letters she received to the police. The letters and numerous other photos found of other victims on Sean's computer were used during his various first-degree murder trials. Sean was convicted of the murders of Katherine Hall, Johnnie Mae Williams and Donna Bennett Johnston on July 21, 2008 and was sentenced to life in prison the following year. he was charged with second-degree murder for the killing of 36-year-old Joyce Sean Williams and has currently only been convicted of seven of eight of his victims.