Anyone interested in cold cases: Smiley Face Murder Theory

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The Smiley face murder theory (variations include Smiley face murders, Smiley face killings, Smiley face gang, and others) is a theory advanced by retired New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. Cloud State University.[1] They allege that a number of young men found dead in bodies of water across several Midwestern American states from the late-1990s to the 2010s[2] did not accidentally drown, as concluded by law enforcement agencies, but were victims of a serial killer or killers. The term smiley face became connected to the alleged murders when it was made public that the police had discovered graffiti depicting a smiley face near locations where they think the killer dumped the bodies in at least a dozen of the cases. Gannon wrote a textbook case study on the subject titled, "Case Studies in Drowning Forensics".[3][4] The response of law enforcement investigators and other experts has been largely skeptical.

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As recently as 2008, Gannon and Duarte were examining evidence[5] going back to the late 1990s that they believe connects the deaths of 45 college-age males, whose dead bodies were found in water in 11 states, often after leaving parties or bars where they were drinking. The men, according to the former detectives, often fit a profile of being popular, athletic, and good students, and most were white.[6] Gannon and Duarte have theorized that the young men were all murdered, either by an individual or by an organized group of killers.[6][7] The term smiley face became connected to the alleged murders when it was made public that Gannon and Duarte had discovered graffiti depicting a smiley face near locations where they think the killer dumped the bodies in at least a dozen of the cases.[4] In 2019, a new article appeared on the Daily Beast that highlighted the theory advanced over the years that a serial killer is abducting and murdering subjects of the previously classified age group.

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When 24-year-old William Hurley called his girlfriend the night of October 8th, 2009, all he wanted was to go home. The Navy veteran, who’d been attending a Boston Bruins home game, asked Claire Mahoney to pick him up early, explaining that he was tired from a long day of work as a greenskeeper. While on the phone with Mahoney, Hurley warned that his cellphone battery was low; when she asked for his exact location, someone in the background yelled, “99 Nashua Street,” before the line went dead. Minutes later, Mahoney arrived at that address — but Hurley was nowhere to be found. Six days later, his body was found in the Charles River, the cellphone from which he’d made that final call smashed nearby. Hurley’s death was eventually ruled an undetermined drowning, with the police stating that they found no evidence of foul play. Yet people who were close to Hurley — including Claire Mahoney — have disputed these claims, pointing to his damaged cellphone as well as injuries indicating blunt-force trauma, and a toxicology report that found high levels of GHB, commonly known as the date-rape drug.

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