Kendall Francois

Kendall Francois (July 26, 1971 – September 11, 2014) was a serial killer from Poughkeepsie, New York, convicted of killing eight women, from 1996 to 1998.

Francois wrestled and played football at Arlington High School.

Upon graduation in 1989, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he completed basic training at Fort Sill.

After four years in the Army, Francois was discharged due to obesity issues.

He returned to New York, and enrolled at Dutchess Community College as a liberal arts major.

Francois took a job as a student monitor at Arlington Middle School while attending DCC.

His stench earned him the nickname “Stinky” from the students.

Despite his smell, it was noted that he tended to make inappropriate sexual jokes with female students while touching their hair.

Francois' first three victims were sex workers for whom Francois was a repeat customer.

They also all shared similar physical appearances, white, slight build, dark hair.

He picked up his first victim, 30 year old Wendy Meyers, at the local Valley Rest Motel on October 24, 1996.

During sex, Francois began choking her.

Once she fell unconscious but was not dead, Francois placed her face down in the bathtub and held her down until she died.

A month later, (November 29), he killed 29 year old prostitute Gina Barone in his car.

Days later, he claimed his third victim, Cathy Marsh, who was pregnant at the time of her murder.

All three bodies were placed side by side in the attic of his home on 99 Fulton Street, in which, Francois lived with his parents and younger sister.

Marsh was not reported missing until March 7, 1997, by which time, Francois had already claimed his fourth & fifth victims, 47 year old Kathleen Hurley & 29 year old Mary Healey Giaccone (Giaccone was not reported missing until November 13).

Poughkeepsie Police Department Detective Bill Siegrist inquired with the Neighborhood Recovery Unit (the department's narcotic unit).

It was reported back to Lt. Siegrist that some of the Main Street prostitutes complained about a local man (Francois) who was rough with the girls and was violent during sex.

Francois was known by local law enforcement for assaulting prostitutes.

Detectives began surveilling Francois' home, and had a wired prostitute meet with Francois.

Little useful information was obtained, however, they noticed that Francois had a routine.

In the morning, he would drive his mother to her work at a nearby psychiatric center where she was a nurse in the family car.

Then, he would cruise the streets of downtown Poughkeepsie.

In early January 1998, Poughkeepsie Police interviewed Francois about the missing women, but it led to another dead end.

Later that month, Francois was arrested for assaulting a prostitute in his room after a dispute over money.

Francois punched her in the face, knocking her down onto the bed, then got on top of her and choked her with his bare hands.

Francois was arrested, and on May 5, he pled guilty to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor for which he spent 15 days in jail.

Perhaps the increased heat from the police department slowed the killing spree.

It wasn't until June 1998 that Francois claimed his sixth confirmed victim, 51 year old Sandra Jean French.

She was reported missing on June 12 in Dover, New York.

Her car was found abandoned in Poughkeepsie, three blocks from the Francois home.

On August 26, 25 years old Catina Newmaster vanished.

Like all of Francois' other victims, she was white, slight of build, brown hair and was last seen in downtown Poughkeepsie.

On September 1, 1998, Francois brought a local drug addict named Christine Sala to his home.

Francois pulled the car into the garage and demanded sex from her.

After she told him no, he punched her in the face and held her by her throat.

He then pulled her out of the car by her hair and demanded that she perform oral sex on him, repeatedly saying “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you.”

Afterwards, Sala convinced Francois to drive her back to Main Street where he had picked her up.

They got into his car and drove to a local Sunoco station, but just before pulling in, Sala jumped from the car and ran away.