How Carol Spadoni & Her Mother Eva Petersen Were Killed

Phillip Carl Jablonski, who died in prison on December 27, 2019, was a serial killer who was convicted of the deaths of five women in California and Utah. Featured on ID’s Serial Killer week, “The Serial Killer Among Us: Phillip Jablonski,” Jablonski was a murderer who targeted only women, and often those he was in a close relationship with.

Jablonski had already served 12 years for murder when he was released on good behavior in 1990, and it wasn’t long until he began killing again, Tv Shows Ace reported. Over a period of a few days in April 1991, Jablonski brutally murdered his wife, Carol Spadoni, her mother, Eva Petersen, and Fathyma Vann, a fellow student at his college.

He had been married to Spadoni since 1982. Here’s what you need to know about Spadoni and her mother Petersen’s deaths:

The Couple Met & Married While Jablonski Was in Prison But Spadoni Grew to Fear Him

In 1978, Jablonski was convicted for the murder of Linda Kimball, the mother of his child, SF Gate wrote. While in prison, he struck up a relationship with Spadoni after she responded to a personal ad he placed in the newspaper. In 1982, Spadoni and Jablonski were married. Eight years later, in 1990, Jablonski was released from prison on good behavior.

However, according to court documents, the relationship soured and Spadoni told a friend that she thought Jablonski was “weird” and she was afraid of him. At the time of Jablonski’s release, Spadoni, 46, was living in Burlingame, California with her mother, Petersen, 72. Petersen agreed with Spadoni and had a mutual friend clear out Jablonski’s belongings which had been sent to their home prior to his release, telling the friend that she didn’t want Jablonski living with them. She said she was afraid of him as well and believed he might hurt her, court documents show.

When Jablonski was released from prison, he was informed that he could not go to Burlingame as part of his parole conditions.

He Killed Spadoni & Petersen in the Same Day & Recorded Himself Discussing the Murders

In April 1991, Jablonski killed his wife and his mother-in-law in the same day at their home in Burlingame. SF Gate reported that he first shot and killed Spadoni before raping, sodomizing and fatally shooting Petersen. The two women’s bodies were found a few days later when a friend called police after becoming concerned, court records show. Those court records also detail the brutal murders and the crime scene found when officers responded to the Burlingame home.

Among the evidence used to convict Jablonski was a tape recording found in his car on which he detailed the murder of his wife and described sexually assaulting Petersen. He had also recorded himself speaking about two other murders, East Bay Times wrote.

Authorities reported that on the tape, he said he shot, stabbed and mutilated Spadoni and Petersen and raped his mother-in-law after her death, NBC Bay Area said. The Daily Journal wrote that San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said, “He really butchered those two women.”

Jablonski died at the age of 73 while on death row at California’s San Quentin State Prison. He was found unresponsive in his single cell and pronounced dead minutes after, NBC Bay Area wrote.

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