#andre rand

Cropsey

The legend of Cropsey is essentially an unknown figure that would kidnap children and take them to an abandoned tunnel system under an old hospital to murder them. Various real and fake disappearances were attributed to Cropsey. Then in 1987, a man in the area named Andre Rand was found to be connected to crimes like those that Cropsey had supposedly committed. Rand was working as a janitor at a state school for kids with intellectual disabilities which was an abusive and unsafe environment for students. He was homeless at the time and living near an old hospital and an abandoned school.

Cropsey

The legend of Cropsey is essentially an unknown figure that would kidnap children and take them to an abandoned tunnel system under an old hospital to murder them. Various real and fake disappearances were attributed to Cropsey. Then in 1987, a man in the area named Andre Rand was found to be connected to crimes like those that Cropsey had supposedly committed. Rand was working as a janitor at a state school for kids with intellectual disabilities which was an abusive and unsafe environment for students. He was homeless at the time and living near an old hospital and an abandoned school.

Cropsey is an Urban Legend stemming out of New York. He seemingly had a hook for a hand and was a patient at the Willowbrook State School. Legend has it that he would come out late at night and chase the local kids with his hook hand, abducting them through the sanatorium tunnels. The reason why this legend is so popular is that there was actually a series of child murders that took place in that area in the 70′s and 80′s. 

To parents horror, Andre Rand was the real life boogeyman. Working as a janitor for the Willowbrook State School for many years before the school finally closed its doors due to horrendous conditions, the now former janitor was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer Schweiger, a 12- year-old girl with Down Syndrome. Police suspect he is also responsible for the disappearance of at least four other children, however none of the bodies have been found. He is currently serving a 50 year jail sentence and will not be eligible for parole until 2037 when he will be 93 years old. 

Source

Andre Rand; Source: SILive

It started out as a dark urban tale of a homeless, ex-mental patient stealing and killing children. The story of "Cropsey" is native to Staten Island, NY, a camp-fire horror tale children and teenagers would tell to amuse and frighten each other.

The story originated with the closing of the infamous Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, NY. Willowbrook was a home for the mentally challenged and mentally ill that was the subject of a famous 1972 news report by Geraldo Rivera, exposing horrendous conditions and abuse of the patients.

Willowbrook was closed in 1987 but the locals believed that something was still not quite right in the woods surrounding the institution.

The story of "Cropsey" was that he had been a patient at Willowbrook who was still living in the tunnels beneath the facility and preying on local children. The word "cropsey" before then was another word for mental illness or someone who is mentally ill.

In 1987, nightmare became a reality with the disappearance of Jennifer Schweiger, a 12-year-old girl with Down Syndrome. Schweiger's remains were receovered in the woods surrounding the former Willowbrook State School near a camp site where a known homeless drifter named Andre Rand lived. Rand had worked as a janitor at Willowbrook.

Andre Rand was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Jennifer Schweiger. After his arrest, many details about Rand were uncovered such as an arrest for the attempted rape of a young girl in 1969. Rand was also linked to several disappearances of children, mostly mentally challenged, from 1972 to 1989.

Rand was convicted based mostly upon circumstantial evidence and received a 25-year sentence for the kidnapping and murder of Jennifer Schweiger.

Willowbrook State School, Staten Island, NY; Source: Opacity.us/Rollin Through Life blogspot.

Jennifer Schweiger; Source: My Passions, genkidjericho

Just as Rand was about to become eligible for parole in 2004, he would face another trial for the disappearance of 7-year-old Holly Ann Hughes in 1981. People in her neighborhood reported that they saw her speaking to Rand before she disappeared. He was convicted and sentenced to another 25 years.

Rand is also suspected of being involved in the disappearances of the following children:

Alice Pereira, age 5, 1972. Rand's previous criminal record made him a suspect in this case.

Tiahease Jackson, age 11, 1983 who disappeared after leaving the Mariner's Harbor Motel on Staten Island. She disappeared shortly after Rand had been released from prison. He was questioned but not charged with the crime.

Hank Gafforio, age 22, 1984: Gafforio was a mentally challenged young man who disappeared after being seen with Rand at a diner.

The remains of Holly Ann Hughes and the other children mentioned have never been found.

- Missy Dawn

Alice Pereira; Source: The Charley Project

Hank Gafforio; Source: Lines and Strings blog/retrieved from Cropsey and The Doe Network

“Cropsey” aka Andre Rand

For years, kids living in and around Staten Island raised goosebumps by relating the tale of “Cropsey,” a boogeyman who lived in the woods and made a nocturnal habit of disembowelling children. Parents no doubt eased their kids’ fears by telling them no such monster existed. But he did.

Andre Rand was born Frank Rushan. The origins of the name "Andre Rand" are unknown. According to his younger sister in the 2009 documentary Cropsey, neither she nor Rand were sexually or physically abused as children. When he was 14, his father died on March 27, 1958 and his mother was institutionalized at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, New York, where they would visit her as teenagers.

In the mid 1960s, Rand worked as a custodian, orderly and physical therapist at Willowbrook State School. Rand picked up a group of 11 children from the YMCA located on Staten Island in a school bus, purchased a meal for them without the consent of any of their parents, and took them to the Newark Liberty International Airport in the state of New Jersey. None of the children were harmed in this encounter, but Rand was apprehended and served 10 months in jail for unlawful imprisonment.

In 1972, 5-year-old Alice Pereira vanished after her brother had left her alone for a moment. They were playing in the lobby of a building on the island. Reports also suggest Alice may have been sighted in one of the parks. Rand was the prime suspect in this case due to his previous criminal record. Alice was never seen again.

In 1981, 7-year-old Holly Ann Hughes did not return home after going to the store to get a bar of soap with her friend. Andre Rand pulled up to Holly and her friend and pulled Holly into his Volkswagen and drove off with Holly. Her parents filed a missing persons report and a search was issued. When questioned, several eyewitnesses reported seeing Hughes with Rand. She was last seen with Rand and has not been seen again. In 2004, Rand was convicted of kidnapping Holly Ann Hughes.

In 1983, 11-year-old Tiahease Jackson was reported missing after her mother had sent her to purchase food and she did not return. She was last seen exiting the Mariner’s Harbor Motel in Staten Island on August 14, 12 days after Rand was released from prison. Rand was questioned, but no charges were brought.

In 1984, Staten Island resident Hank Gafforio was reported missing after he did not return home one night. Gafforio was described as being “slow” and had an I.Q. in the 70s. At the time of his disappearance he was 22 (according to the "Cropsey" documentary Gafforio was 21 when he was allegedly kidnapped by Rand). Eyewitnesses reported last seeing Gafforio in a local diner with Rand in the early morning hours. His body has never been found.

In 1987, twelve-year-old Jennifer Schweiger, born with Down syndrome, was reported missing on July 9th. Witnesses spotted Jennifer walking with Rand. Her body was found underground after a 35-day search. While combing the area around Willowbrook State School, a particular spot caught the eye of retired New York City firefighter George Kramer. He returned with the police, the entire body was unearthed from the shallow grave, and the remains were positively identified as those of Schweiger. Police searched the grounds for evidence and found one of Rand’s makeshift campsites in proximity to Schweiger’s grave.

In 1988, Andre Rand was charged with the kidnapping and first-degree murder of Jennifer Schweiger. The Staten Island jury could not reach a verdict on the murder charge, but convicted Rand of the first-degree kidnapping charge. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He would have been eligible for parole in 2008 if not convicted of a second kidnapping.

According to the "Cropsey" documentary, some people along with detectives speculated that Rand may have been involved with Satanism and provided the children to be sacrificed. There were people also who thought that Rand was not alone in the commission of his crimes and many believed he was passing the children around to his friends in the underground network of homeless and mentally disabled people living in the tunnel systems of the former Willowbrook state school.

She went to the store to pick up food and never returned. #OurBlackGirls #TrueCrime #Cropsey #MissingKids

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