Arthur Gary Bishop | Roger Downs | Crimes and Investigations Documentary

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• published: 04 Apr 2016
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Raised by devout Mormon parents in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bishop was an Eagle Scout and honor student in high school, afterward serving his church as a missionary in the Philippines. On his return to Utah, he graduated with honors from Steven Henager College, with a major in accounting. Friends and family members were stunned by his February 1978 conviction for embezzling $8,714 from a used car dealership, but Bishop seemed repentant, pleading guilty and winning a five-year suspended sentence on his promise of restitution. Instead of paying the money back, however, he dropped from sight, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. When Bishop refused to surrender, he was formally excommunicated from the Mormon church. By that time, in October 1978, he was living as "Roger Downs" in Salt Lake City, signing up with the Big Brother program to spend time with disadvantaged youth. Wherever Bishop settled, his charisma lured children into spending time around his home or joining him on camping expeditions. Over time, it led five victims to their deaths. The first to vanish, four-year-old Alonzo Daniels, was reported missing from his Salt Lake City apartment complex on October 14, 1979. "Roger Downs" lived just across the hall, and he was questioned by police, but it was all routine. Detectives had no leads, no body, and no suspect in the case. On November 9, 1980, 11-year-old Kim Peterson disappeared in Salt Lake City, last seen when he left home to sell a pair of skates. The buyer was alleged to be a male adult, but neither of Kim's parents had seen the man, and they had no clue to his identity. Eleven months later, on October 20, 1981, four-year-old Danny Davis disappeared from his grandfather's side while shopping at a busy supermarket in southern Salt Lake County. "Roger Downs," residing half a block from the store, was routinely questioned by authorities, but they made no connection with previous cases and did not consider him a suspect. Another eighteen months elapsed before the killer struck again, abducting Troy Ward on June 22, 1983 -- his sixth birthday. On July 14, 13-year-old Graeme Cunningham vanished from home, two days before he was scheduled to go on a camping trip with a classmate and their adult chaperone, 32-year-old "Roger Downs." After questioning "Downs," police began quietly checking his background, discovering his almost unnatural fondness for neighborhood children. They also learned that he was wanted -- under the alias of "Lynn Jones" -- for embezzling $10,000 from a recent employer, stealing his own personnel file from the office before he disappeared. In custody, Bishop quickly admitted his true identity, confessing to five counts of murder. Next morning, he led authorities to the Cedar Fort section of Utah County, pointing out graves where the remains of victims Daniels, Peterson, and Davis were recovered. A drive to Big Cottonwood Creek, 65 miles further south, turned up the bodies of Troy Ward and Graeme Cunningham. The continuing investigation revealed that Bishop had molested scores of other children through the years, sparing their lives for reasons known only to himself. Several parents had knowledge of his activities, but none had come forward while the four-year search for a child killer was in progress. A search of Bishop's home uncovered a revolver and a bloody hammer, snapshots of one victim taken after his abduction, and various other photographs of nude boys, focused on their torsos to prevent identification. In court, jurors listened to Bishop's taped confession, including his admission of fondling victims after death. At some points he giggled, at other times mimicking a boy's final words in a high, falsetto voice. The clincher was his statement that, "I'm glad they caught me, because I'd do it again." Convicted and sentenced to die, Bishop waived all appeals and was executed, by lethal injection, on June 9, 1988.