Frank Stanfield has been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 40 years, including at the Orlando Sentinel, where he covered the double-homicide trial of vampire cult leader Rod Ferrell. Since then, he has covered the case for other news outlets through the appeals process and a resentencing hearing in 2019, where he pleaded with the court to reduce his life sentence.
He continues to cover other stories — the kind that make Florida famous – like the grave robbers who took skulls from coffins for voodoo rituals, a teacher who had sex with a young student but was deemed “too pretty to go to jail,” alligator attacks, hurricanes and naked people walking down the road, who tell cops: “It’s not as bad as it looks!”
Then, there are the heart-breaking stories, like the two teens who carjacked, murdered two little girls and raped and shot their mother. When she began to pray, one of them said “This ain’t Jesus doing this. This is Satan doing this.”
He has worked full-time for the Augusta Chronicle, Daily Commercial, Wilmington Star-News and the Ocala Star-Banner. He has also written for magazines, wire services, has worked as a community liaison for nonprofits and taught school for a year, while writing a column about it for the Sentinel. Currently, he is a correspondent for the Daily Commercial in Leesburg, Fla.
He has written two other books, Unbroken: The Dorothy Lewis Story, and Vampires, Gators, and Wackos: A Florida Newspaperman’s Life.
He has appeared on several television shows about the vampire case, including Discovery ID, Court TV, Oxygen and the Hallmark Movie Channel.
He earned a B.A. degree in political science from the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia.
He and his wife live in Leesburg near their three daughters and seven grandchildren.
Hello,
I am a Librarian at the DeLand Regional Library in Volusia County. I’m reaching out to contact Mr. Stanfield to ask if he would be available to speak at our library in the near future? Thanks.