The Chilling Crimes Of John Jemelske: The “Syracuse Dungeon Master”

After the general public discovered the truth about his crimes, John Jamelske, a kidnapper and rapist from New York, went under several nicknames, including “Syracuse Dungeon Master” and “Ariel Castro of Syracuse.” Jamelske abducted, imprisoned, and methodically raped five women, ages 14 to 53, during a fifteen-year period.

Jamelske kept the women as sex slaves in a handcrafted underground dungeon, kidnapping and freeing them one at a time; some were held for years, while others were kept captive for a few months. But, Jamelske misjudged the fifth and last victim, a 16-year-old, who was able to get in touch with a relative and bring the authorities directly to Jamelske.

John Jamelske believed that the eccentric serial rapist had committed no crimes. Instead of abducting and sexually abusing these females, he built a relationship with them and had shown them kindness.

John Jamelske’s Journey to Becoming the “Syracuse Dungeon Master”

Born on May 9, 1935, in Fayetteville, New York, John Thomas Jamelske began his career as a handyman after working at local food shops. He got married in 1959 and had three boys with the schoolteacher he wedded. After Jamelske persuaded his father to buy stocks, he and his wife inherited a substantial sum of money upon his death.

Due to his inheritance and some clever real estate investments, Jamelske had become a millionaire by 2000, but he continued to lead the simple lifestyle of a compulsive hoarder. Over the years, Jamelske gathered a large amount of cans and bottles for recycling deposits along with other random trash; but, by 1988, he had begun hoarding people.

When Jamelske’s wife became ill in 1988, he came up with a sinister plan to make sure he had the sex that his wife’s condition was now limiting. In the wealthy DeWitt section of Syracuse, near 7070 Highbridge Road, Jamelske constructed a concrete bunker three feet below the ground’s surface.

The bunker was eight feet high, twenty-four feet long, and twelve feet broad. It was joined to the basement’s east side by a brief tunnel. The eight-foot tunnel was accessible via a steel door positioned beneath a shelf used for storage. The tunnel was a confined, dank crawl area that led to another closed door and a short, three-rung ladder that allowed access to the dungeon. After his wife died in 1999, Jamelske had already kidnapped and freed three sex slaves.

Jamelske did not try to provide his victims any sort of comfort at all. They were raped every day and had to live in horrible conditions. A foam mattress and a handmade seatless chair atop a bucket served as their dungeon’s toilet. The captives of Jamelske took baths in a dirty bathtub situated on an elevated wooden deck using a garden hose. It had no plumbing and a drain stopper, so the water collected on the cement floor, growing mold. Meanwhile, an extension line passing through a tiny opening in the wall powered a TV and a clock radio.

The Suburban Abductions of Jamelske

Jamelske drove through the streets of Syracuse, abducting defenseless women and adolescent runaways. He picked victims of all nationalities and enticed them into his car with the promise of a ride. Among them was a fourteen-year-old girl who was abducted in 1988 and imprisoned in a little hole beneath his mother’s house. She was then “upgraded” to his new bunker, where she spent two and a half years.

A 14-year-old girl was abducted by the “Syracuse Dungeon Master” in 1995; a 53-year-old lady was abducted in 1997; a 26-year-old was abducted in 2001; and a 16-year-old was abducted in 2002.

By using force and psychological manipulation, Jamelske kept his victims bound to their ankles while raping them, telling them that their families would suffer if they fought him. In addition to flashing a sheriff’s badge he had acquired on the street years earlier, Jamelske told some of his victims he was a part of a police sex-slave ring and had to follow orders from his bosses.

Some victims were led to believe by Jamelske that the more cooperative they were, the sooner his “bosses” may release them. A 53-year-old Vietnamese immigrant with little knowledge of the language, was afterwards seen on videotape persuading “the bosses” to let her go.

Jennifer Spaulding, the fourth victim in 2001, wanted to inform her parents that she was still alive with a letter. Jamelske accepted, but only to explain that she was checking herself into a drug recovery facility. The police dismissed her missing person investigation once her relatives confirmed the letter.

The wealthy area where Jamelske lived was unaware that the odd cheapskate crank was also a deviant kidnapper who ate Viagra like candy. After Jamelske’s victims began to receive regular readings from the Old Testament Bible and sexual assaults, they understood that even if they succeeded in killing him without knowing the combination to their cell’s padlock, they would be locked there forever.

When it was time to let them go, Jamelske blindfolded his victims before releasing them. He left one at her mother’s house, one at an airport, and one at a Greyhound station along with $50 in cash.

Jamelske’s Investigation Was Abandoned By Police

The victims’ social position as drug addicts and runaways complicated the investigation when they told the authorities about what they had gone through. Since Jamelske made sure he had no intercourse with a victim for a few days before their release, the rape kit test for Spaulding revealed no evidence of sexual assault.

Police located one registered car in the New York region after she informed them that her assailant drove a tan 1974 Mercury Comet. Officers closed Spaulding’s case because her description of the car didn’t match theirs. Sadly, they hadn’t looked for models from prior years; Jamelske was a driver of a tan 1975 Mercury Comet.

To make matters more complicated, the victims of Jamelske were unable to identify their kidnapper or rapist beyond an elderly white guy or the location in which they were being held.

But in October 2002, a 16-year-old runaway from Syracuse would prove to be Jamelske’s last victim and his undoing.

The End Of John Jamelske

After being held captive for more than six months, the sixteen-year-old girl convinced Jamelske that she was his friend. As a result, he felt comfortable taking her to karaoke bars and on his monthly visit to his recycling center.

When Jamelske’s hostage requested if she may phone a church on April 7, 2003, at the recycle depot, he gave her the opened Yellow Pages. The police apprehended Jamelske and his victim at a nearby auto dealership after she quickly contacted her sister to describe what was going on. Her sister used caller ID to identify the company in Manlius, Syracuse.

Investigators were extremely horrified by the state of Jamelske’s dungeon when they searched his house of horrors and collected garbage, which included over 13,000 bottles. There were many calendars that the victims had to fill in, methodically marking each day with the code letter “B,” “S,” or “T.” The collective calendars spanned a 15-year period, with the codes designating each date a victim was either raped (S), bathed (B), or brushed their teeth (T).

The 53-year-old Vietnamese victim was seen on camera in multiple recordings. Some walls had slogans written on them, and a victim called the investigators to verify one of the writings.

The arrogant Jamelske, 68, believed he would receive community service and a slap on the wrist. However, he finally entered a guilty plea to five charges of first-degree abduction and was given a sentence of eighteen years to life in July 2003.

The victims were not forced to relive their ordeal in court, and the majority of them remain anonymous. Jamelske’s wealth was liquidated and distributed to them as compensation. In December 2020, John Jamelske was denied parole.

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