CLAUDIA, ZACARIAS, LARRY, and LISA SALDANA and MICHAEL AGUILAR - 12, 11, 9, 7, 6 - / Convicted: Boyfriend Adam Matthew Moss - Sioux City, IA

Sioux City mass murderer hangs himself in prison

Adam Moss killed five children and two adults in 2001.


Jun. 28, 2013

A murderer who admitted violently killing seven people in 2001 took one more life Wednesday — his own.

Adam Matthew Moss, 35, hanged himself with a bedsheet at the Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison, where he was serving a life sentence on seven counts of first-degree murder, state corrections officials announced Thursday.

Moss brutally murdered his girlfriend, her five children, and a Sioux City businessman in August 2001 in a homicidal rampage that Joe Frisbie, Sioux City’s now-retired police chief, Thursday told the Sioux City Journal was “the most heinous crime I’ve ever seen in the history of Sioux City, and probably the state of Iowa.”

“I don’t wish anybody death ... He made a decision, for whatever reason. I don’t know anybody that wants to spend the rest of their life in prison, but the other side is that most people value life enough to where they probably wouldn’t take their own. He certainly didn’t value the lives of that family,” Frisbie told the Journal.

Moss was found with a bed sheet around his neck and tied to a wall vent at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday. The cause of death was asphyxia due to suffocation, said Fred Scaletta, assistant director of the Iowa Department of Corrections.

In August 2001, Moss killed his girlfriend, Leticia Aguilar, 32, and her five children, Claudia Saldana, 12; Zacarias Saldana, 11; Larry Saldana, 9; Lisa Saldana, 7; and Michael Aguilar, 6.

Moss bludgeoned the children to death with a hammer. He slit Leticia Aguilar’s throat and also beat her with a hammer.

A baby sitter discovered the bodies on Aug. 30, 2001. She had gone to the home to check on the family when the children did not show up for school.

Moss then beat and stabbed to death Ronald Fish, the owner of Ben Fish Tire Co. in Sioux City. Police believe he killed Fish to steal his car.

Sioux City police launched an intense manhunt and found Moss hiding behind a pile of firewood the next day. Moss initially pleaded not guilty to the murders, but abruptly changed his plea to guilty in early September 2001. He received seven life sentences without the possibility of parole and a 10-year term for theft. He began the sentence Sept. 25, 2001.

In published reports, Moss’ mother speculated her son was high on cocaine at the time of the murders. Moss himself never offered a motive for the killings.

Sarilye Atlas, sister of Ronald Fish, told the Journal: “It’s the end of the chapter for the Fish family.”

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130628/NEWS01/306280042/-1/COMM03/Sioux-City-mass-murderer-hangs-himself-prison

Iowa man who killed 7—including his girlfriend and her 5 children—commits suicide in prison

• Adam Moss, 35, was found hanging with a bed sheet around his neck tied to wall vent in his cell Wednesday
  
• In 2001 he beat his girlfriend, Leticia Aguilar, 31, and her five children, aged 6 to 12, to death with a hammer
  
• Moss also beat his former employer, Ronald Fish, 38, and slit his throat'
  
• It is the end of the chapter for the Fish family' said Fish's sister
  
  

By Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 18:34 EST, 28 June 2013 | UPDATED: 18:34 EST, 28 June 2013

An Iowa man serving several life sentences in the 2001 slayings of his girlfriend, her five children and a former employer committed suicide in his prison cell.

Adam Moss, 35, was found unresponsive and hanging with a bed sheet around his neck tied to a wall vent in his cell Wednesday afternoon at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. He had been confined to a mental health unit.

'It is the end of the chapter for the Fish family,' said Sarilye Atlas, whose brother Ronald Fish was killed by Moss in August 2001, according to the Sioux City Journal.

 






Dead: Adam Moss, 35, was found dead in his cell 12 years after he pleaded guilty to seven murders in Iowa




Tragic: In October 2001, Moss pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend's five children, aged six to 12, two months earlier




Funeral: Along with her children, Leticia Aguilar, 31, was killed by Moss, her boyfriend

When authorities found Moss, medical personnel immediately detached the bed sheet and determined he was dead, corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta said, according to The Des Moines Register.

The Lee County Medical Examiner said the cause of death was asphyxia due to suffocation. Scaletta said the death is under investigation.


Moss pleaded guilty in Sioux City in October 2001 to seven counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his girlfriend, Leticia Aguilar, 31, her five children, and Fish, 58, who he had worked for at some point.




Too young: Claudia Saldana, 12, left, and her brother Zacarias Saldana, 11, right, were murdered with their mother and siblings on August 30, 2001






Unspeakable: Larry Saldana, 9, left, and Lisa Saldana, 6, right, were both beaten to death with a hammer by Moss, along with the rest of their family






Horror: A babysitter found Michael Aguilar, 6, left, and his mother Leticia Aguilar, 31, right, after Moss had beaten them and the rest of the family to death


Aguilar's children—Claudia Saldana, Zacarias Saldana, Larry Saldana, Lisa Saldana, and Michael Aguilar—were between the ages of six and 12.

Police said Moss beat all seven victims to death with a hammer and slit Aguilar's throat.

Retired Sioux City police Chief Joe Frisbie told the Journal the spree was 'the most heinous crime I've ever seen in the history of Sioux City, and probably the state of Iowa'.

Police captured Moss a day after the bodies were discovered following a manhunt. He was later sentenced to seven consecutive life terms with no chance of parole.




Heinous: After beating Ronald Fish, 38, left, to death with a hammer, Moss, right, also slit his throat

The bodies of Aguilar and her children were discovered by Donna Stabile, their babysitter. The Journal reported Stabile almost cried when she heard about Moss' suicide. She also said she was sad for his family's sake.

'When I think of the children and their momma, I think of the good and happy times, and don't let myself go to the tragedy,' she told the Journal. 'They are in heaven, and that's a sure thing.'

Frisbie, the retired police chief, also told the Journal he felt for Moss' family.




Prison: Moss died of asphyxia due to suffocation in his cell in the Iowa State Penitentiary and Clinical Care Unit in Fort Dodge, where he was serving multiple life sentences

'I don't know anybody that wants to spend the rest of their life in prison, but the other side is that most people value life enough to where they probably wouldn't take their own,' he said. 'He certainly didn't value the lives of that family.'

Stabile said she's forgiven Moss for his crimes.

'For my own sake,' she told the Journal. 'I can't carry bitterness and hatred in my heart.'

Iowa does not have the death penalty, and Register reported that the killings renewed debate on whether to bring it back.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2351345/Adam-Moss-suicide-Iowa-man-killed-7-including-girlfriend-5-children-commits-suicide-prison.html#ixzz2XfHkL7y0

At least he won't kill a child again. We should have a national death penalty for the deliberate killing of a child. Regardless what state death penalties are. Here in Illinois we stopped using it. While some were wrongfully convicted there have been plenty of killers rightfully executed here. William