The Carol City murders were a series of murders that took place predominantly in Carol City, Florida and in and around Miami-Dade County between October 1974 and January 1978. The murders were committed by American mass murderer and serial killer John Errol Ferguson (February 27, 1948 – August 5, 2013) who murdered at least eight people but is believed to have killed up to twelve. He was aided in six of the murders by two accomplices: Marvin Francois (January 18, 1946 – May 29, 1985) and Beauford White (October 29, 1945 – August 28, 1987).
On July 27, 1977, Ferguson, Francois, and White entered a drug house in Carol City where they tied up a total of eight people and shot all of them in the head execution-style. Only two of the eight survived. At the time, the incident was the largest case of mass murder in Miami-Dade County history. Months after the massacre, Ferguson murdered a teenage couple in Hialeah after raping the female victim. He is also suspected to be responsible for the May 1977 murders of an elderly couple and is suspected of killing a further two men in 1974.
Ferguson, Francois, and White were all eventually captured, sentenced to death, and executed by the state of Florida. Francois was executed in the electric chair on May 29, 1985, followed by White, who was executed in the electric chair on August 28, 1987. Ferguson was executed over two decades later by lethal injection on August 5, 2013, following years of appeals over his sanity.
Backgrounds
John Errol Ferguson
Ferguson, the fourth oldest of eight children, had been known to psychiatrists since he was 10. His father died when he was 13 and his mother had managed to take care of the children on her own. Ferguson dropped out of school after repeating 9th grade three times. Ferguson had his first police encounter when he was 13 after being caught driving someone else's car without their consent. He would continue to get in trouble with the police throughout his youth. In 1969, Ferguson tried to kill a police officer after a traffic stop. He disarmed officer Edward Hartman, ordered him on his knees, and told him to beg for his life. Hartman complied, but also slipped a revolver out of his boot. Ferguson fired four shots at Hartman but missed all of them. Hartman then shot Ferguson four times.
In 1975, a court-appointed psychiatrist diagnosed John Ferguson as "dangerous to himself and others ... homicidal ... a man who should not be released under any circumstances." Another psychiatrist said Ferguson's potential for recovery was minimal and that the probability of him returning to a life of crime was very high. He described Ferguson as "explosive ... a dangerous person who cannot cope with day to day living." Ferguson bragged to his friends that he had feigned insanity and misled the doctors. A woman who knew him later said, "He was into psychology. He told us he psyched them out. He'd say things like 'See that airplane flying in the room?'"
After repeatedly escaping from a hospital, Ferguson, who had previously been acquitted of six robberies and two assaults on the grounds of insanity, was sent to the more secure Florida State Hospital. In June 1976, doctors said Ferguson's treatment was complete and that further hospitalization was not necessary. Ferguson was sent to Miami to face charges of resisting arrest after a hospital escape. Although a psychiatrist warned that he was "unpredictable and a danger to himself and others", a judge ruled Ferguson competent and later accepted a guilty plea. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of probation, and released 225 days later.
Marvin Francois
Francois, whose parents were not married, had an impoverished upbringing. His father was a deadbeat heroin addict who brought other addicts into the home to take heroin in front of his son and beat Francois when he would not fight with the other children. Francois's mother was a sex worker who did not do much for her son. She married, but Francois's stepfather abused him. Although Francois did not finish school, he did obtain his GED.
Beauford White
White had a lengthy criminal record dating back to July 1963, and was on parole for assault with intent to commit rape at the time of the murders.