When April Balascio was in the second grade, her dad brought her to a sprawling park in their quaint town of Norton, Ohio. Go to People.com/peopletv, or download the app on your favorite streaming device. April Balascio always had a sneaking suspicion about her father, Edward Wayne Edwards. Edwards was born fatherless and his mother committed suicide when he was five years old. It was May 2009 and April was fixated on the belief that something had happened in the small town where she’d spent a … His collaborator on the project, a 50-year-old mother of three named April Balascio, thought she might have better luck. However, when the police arrived to question Edwards about a missing couple that had disappeared from his workplace, a dance hall, he told them the cut had been from a hunting accident. Edwards took Dannie in, and they developed a father-son relationship. In October 1972, Edwards appeared on the television game show To Tell The Truth, claiming to be reformed and denying having committed any murders. | The Metamorphosis of a Criminal: The True Life Story of Ed Edward turned Edwards into a small-time celebrity of sorts, a fully rehabilitated criminal, appearing on TV shows and speaking on radio programs about prison reform. It was muggy out, and mosquitos swarmed the 8-year-old's ankles. She would not put the pieces together until she was a parent herself to three children: her father was housing a deadly secret, he was the murderer of at least five people. Credit: Edwards was very emotional when he got the news about Dannie, and told police he would do anything to help. I just believe that there are so many more out there that he has killed that we’ll just never know about.”, Give as a GiftApply for MembershipGift Cards, © 2020 | Hunt A Killer LLC | Press | Privacy. https://people.com/crime/edward-edwards-serial-killer-daughter-investigated In 1980, the Edwards’ family was living in Ohio when word of two missing young adults, Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, hit the media. She would not put the pieces together until she was a parent herself to three children: her father was housing a deadly secret, he was the murderer of at least five people. The scripted series will revolve around the life of April Balascio, whose story is the focus of the “The Clearing” podcast. Looking back, Rawson said … Finally, he would make his family move every six months to a year, often rousing them in the middle of the night without warning to tell them to pack up. He was found a year later, the cause of death a shotgun blast. She typed four words into Google: “Watertown Wisconsin cold case”. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? When April Balascio was 40 years old, something she’d feared for decades was finally proven true. • For more on Edward Edwards’ dark secrets and his daughter’s search for the truth, pick up last week’s issue of PEOPLE, still on newsstands. April long suspected something was off with her father. The father of April Balascio once paraded his secret in front of his wife and kids, daring them to find him out. Also, Edwards had a peculiar fixation with crime, collecting newspaper clippings about local murders and often contacting police about their investigations. For April Balascio, that person was her father, convicted serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards. She typed four words into Google: “Watertown Wisconsin cold case”. That’s how difficult it is to tell. Or would we too be fooled by a killer’s ability to blend in? But what makes The Clearing unique is the fact that a family member of the accused was directly involved with the development of the podcast: specifically, Edwards’ daughter, April Balascio … The police had questioned him, and then they had left in the middle of the night. For April Balascio, that person was her father, convicted serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards. Soon after, he married Balascio's mother, Kay, and the family grew up thinking his life of crime was far behind him. The guilt of turning your father in, and then the guilt on not turning him in sooner. But both Detective Garcia and April believe that Edwards committed more murders than he admitted to. The bad memories started flowing again, and they remembered that she had been stabbed by their father in an argument over a bag of chips that he wanted, that the children had eaten before he came home from work. And that’s when it really hit me that all the suspicions I had about my father were true.”. Read full article. And he said there was no mistake, and there was a match,” she says tearfully in the clip. That’s when April finally felt she could contact the police. It was muggy out, and mosquitos swarmed the … Dannie even legally changed his name to Dannie Boy Edwards. He was physically and verbally abusive to Balascio’s mom, even hospitalizing her multiple times. It’s a no win situation.” Despite April's feelings, without her courage, justice would have never been served for the families of the five victims. They recalled their family friend Dannie Glockner, who Edwards took a strong interest in. “Everything was kind of foggy, and I remember just literally hyperventilating, and that’s when it really hit me.” April said. Eric Ogden. People Senior Editor Gillian Telling wrote the cover story for People and appeared in the episode. Season 2 focuses on the disappearance of young mother Kristal Reisinger from a remote mountain town in Colorado. He began admitting to murders in other states, hoping for new trials that would convict him with the death penalty. Garcia showed up to Edward’s home, finding an ailing man with an oxygen tank and a bad case of diabetes. My parents tried to do everything on a grand scale when it came to holidays and family dinners and birthday dinners and tried to make things special to us.” Edwards was active in his children's schools and sports teams. She came up with nothing, but she had forgotten to search Wisconsin. Police also found pieces of rope, leading them to believe that Kelly Drew had been sexually assaulted. “During this whole process, you’re still holding out for hope that he’s not this monster that I think he is, that he’s just my dad and has a temper,” she says in the PeopleTV clip shown exclusively above. And it’s just going to be something that is going to bother me til the day that I die. In 2009, Balascio, who married and had three children of her own, felt compelled to act on her long-held suspicions and began investigating her father’s past online. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. They remembered another time when Edwards showed up in the evening with a cut on his nose and told the family he had been in a fight. When April Balascio was in the second grade, her dad brought her to a sprawling park in their quaint town of Norton, Ohio. In 2009, Balascio, who married and had three children of her own, felt compelled to act on her long-held suspicions and began investigating her father’s past online. “One night I remember my dad coming home, he had a cut on his nose, and while we had only lived there for a very short time, we again left in the middle of the night.” April said in the ID episode. April still wonders how many more there could be: "It makes me wonder, it makes me really wonder. It was a perfect match to the DNA found on Kelly Drew’s underwear. April Balascio Suspected Her Father Was a Serial Killer—and She Was Right. Augustine was born in the Bronx on Dec. 12, 1940 to Anthony & Catherine Balascio. What if we were in that situation, would we be able to survive? At home in Kingsville, OH, October 21, 2016. Credit: Eric Ogden Hair & Makeup: Mariella Vitalone/Zenobia HIGH RES RETOUCHED IMAGE PHOTOS CANNOT BE REUSED WITHOUT APPROVAL He started his own investigation of Dannie Boy’s murder. Finally, Edwards was given the death penalty, but died from natural causes just one month before his scheduled execution. Also, “People Crime: April Balascio — A Daughter’s Decision,” is available for viewing on peopletv.com. Back in 1980, when April was 11-years-old, her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, woke his family up in the middle of the night and urged them to get packing. “I remember I was in the car, and I called up detective Garcia and I asked him about the match for the DNA. So he had been questioned once or twice, but he managed to ingratiate himself with the police. Rose Minutaglio. Dannie disappeared shortly after going AWOL from the military, from which he was medically discharged. Her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, really was a murderer. April Balascio courtesy of People Magazine. It was in April 1985 that Rader murdered his eighth victim and neighbor, Marine Hedge, who lived just six doors down. Squirrel hunters eventually found the bodies of the couple in the nearby woods. His charming exterior was belied by the violent temper he showed those close to him. Edwards shot and killed both Billy and his girlfriend Judy Staub while they were parked at a lover’s lane. Her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, really was a murderer. • Watch the full episode of People Crime: April Balascio — A Daughter’s Decision, streaming now on PeopleTV. But Edwards didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison, and began advocating for a lethal injection. April was certain she knew who the killer was – her father, Ed Edwards. Charming and intelligent, Edwards used his past to gain fame and notoriety, Unlike the what-ifs of our imagining, April spent her entire childhood with a serial killer and still, she didn’t know. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: WATCH: Growing up With a Serial Killer: How April Balascio Discovered the Truth About Her Father. Her father had come home with a cut on his face the night of their disappearance. Someone was always murdered wherever we lived.”. Edwards at first refused to give his DNA, until he was presented with a warrant and swabbed. People Magazine published April’s story and followed up with her in their Investigation Discovery show People Magazine Investigates. April and her siblings also remembered a strange camping trip they took while their mother was in the hospital. A new podcast, The Clearing, explores the story of Edward Wayne Edwards. Her father had murdered at least five people. Balascio, Augustine A.Augustine A. Balascio of Ossining formerly of Cortlandt Manor passed away on March 31, 2015. Would we have gotten in the car with the handsome, charming man, or would we have known something was wrong? He had at least three children, two sons, Wayne and Jeff Edwards, one daughter, April Lynn Balascio (Edwards) who tipped off police about his possible involvement in the Sweetheart Murders. They talked about the book Edwards wrote in 1972 that provided a glimpse into his criminal past, for which he served 14 years in state prison for armed robbery. He admitted to the killing of his adopted son Dannie Boy, all for the military insurance money, a sum he received of $250,000. The tip led to Edwards’ arrest weeks later, but even at that point, Balascio hoped her suspicions would be proven wrong. Prior to his spree he had commited crimes, served time in jail, and served time in prison. I can tell you, with all the research I have done, with all the experts I have spoken to for both this blog and our podcast Behind True Crime, you wouldn't know. April Balascio. Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. From ELLE. It was 2009 when April and her four siblings sat down to discuss their childhood. But by the time Edwards met Balascio’s mother, Kay, he claimed to be completely reformed. The last-minute and sudden moves, the collections of clippings of stranger murders from the … It was Balascio who initially contacted police. The 40-year-old mother of three crept out of bed and went to get her laptop. She had unsettling information about the 1980 murders of Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, who disappeared from a Watertown, Wisconsin, venue called the Concord House — where Edwards had worked as a handyman before the family skipped town. She called Detective Garcia and told him her theory. Balascio was 40 in 2009 when she reached out to detectives to Ohio to discuss her suspicion that her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, had committed a double murder when she … “I don’t think my dad’s a very nice man,” April remembers thinking at the time. His collaborator on the project, a 50-year-old mother of three named April Balascio, thought she might have better luck. Her father had worked there. Their clothes were found strewn along side the road, seemingly cut with a knife. The detective got to work right away, and when he read Edward’s strange memoir which spoke of violent tenancies, he had what he needed to get a DNA warrant. In the same People article, his daughter April Balascio described her father as "very good-looking" and a "ladies' man." A lot of guilt. ®, TM & © 2020 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. He was especially obsessed with the murder that prompted the police to question him that night that became known as the ‘Sweetheart Murders.’. April struggles with a lot of conflicting feelings: “A lot of regrets. Really. The name of a town she’d lived in when she was a child turned over in her mind. Had to pull off to the side of the road. Edwards was sentenced to two years in prison. The couple's murder was one of the crimes discussed, and when they showed a picture of the dance hall, Concord House, April remembered. Edwards kept a close relationship to law enforcement where ever the family moved, and acted as a voluntary informant, listening for the chatting of petty criminals in local bars. He wrote a letter to law enforcement stating: “Once I tell you all the details, you’ll want to put a needle in my arm.”, He admitted to the Sweetheart Murders. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. April Balascio showed the world that integrity and fairness are very important to her when she turned her father in to the police. 9 April Balascio was convinced her father was the killer of two teenagers, a murder that happened a … Dannie was an orphan, just like Edwards. Explore some of April Balascio best quotations and sayings on Quotes.net -- such as 'So I started reading and then … it was at that time that I realized I had seen the Concord House before, and I was shaking, I was shaking because immediately I knew who it was that had committed the murderers.' My dad did things like hide and go seek in the dark and haunted trails at Halloween. In Honor of the Upcoming Movie: My Favorite Episodes of ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’, 'My Favorite Murder' and the Mystery of Why We Laugh at Scary Things, Growing Up With a Serial Killer: How April Balascio Turned Her Father In. He went as far as to interview people at the funeral. Despite that, April does remember positive sides of her father: “We had a lot fun. What no one suspected was that he wasn’t just lying — he was a killer. She began researching cold cases in all the different cities they lived in the 70s and 80s, looking for new connections. Hack and Drew disappeared from a wedding reception at … While Balascio did not have creative control over the podcast, the artist and mom of three says it finally felt like a … When April Balascio was 40 years old, something she’d feared for decades was finally proven true. She’d eventually learn a horrifying truth: Her father had murdered at least five people. “He was a very charming guy, he was a very good-looking guy, he was funny. But when detective Chad Garcia of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office told Balascio that Edwards’ DNA was a match to that found on the victims, she knew that her dad was who she thought he was: a serial killer. “There were dead bodies. The 40-year-old mother of three crept out of bed and went to get her laptop. After the conversation with her siblings, April became obsessed with the idea that her father was a serial killer, seeing the links between the missing people and the areas they lived. Likewise, April Balascio discovered that her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, was responsible for the 1980 “Sweetheart Murders” in Watertown, Wisconsin, after … April Balascio always had sneaking suspicions about her father, Edward Wayne Edwards. Could we tell a dangerous serial killer apart from a normal person? Edwards was arrested and sentenced to life. “And I literally went into a panic attack, or an anxiety attack. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype, People Crime: April Balascio — A Daughter’s Decision. It was the Sweetheart Murders that clicked for April in 2009, when she was reading about new funds given to Wisconsin cold cases. April Balascio couldn’t sleep. The siblings also recalled Edwards’ obsession with law enforcement and murder cases. April Balascio denounced her father Edward Wayne Edwards as a serial killer. Those of us with an interest in crime spend a lot of time thinking about what-ifs. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. April remembers no such crime being committed against her. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “Kids aren’t stupid,” Balascio, now 48, says in last week’s issue of PEOPLE. … He just managed to fool everybody because he was a likable guy.” Telling said. Together, they remembered the strange patterns of moving in the middle of the night, often after a troubling event. He admitted to another couple’s killing, that of Billy Lavaco, a man that worked for the family, who Edwards says molested April. People said he would have been a great salesman had he not been a murderer. Twice the Edward’s residences were burned down, and the second time, the three brothers admitted to police that they had helped their father commit the arson to collect insurance money. Credit: Alamy. He claimed he was abused in the orphanage he lived in after, and that it contributed to his criminal behavior. Even world renown criminologist Katherine Ramsland let me know in no uncertain terms that none of us has the ability to sense a killer, as much as we like to think we do. Up and Vanished aims to tell compelli ... S. Someone Knows Something. When asked if he is regretful of his actions, he had this to say: “I’m sorry and everything, but if I felt that bad about it I wouldn’t have done it to start with.”.
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