Between 1988 and 2003, John Jamelske abducted women and girls as young as 14 and held them captive in his secret bunker, where he raped them daily.
New York kidnapper and rapist John Jamelske, known as the “Syracuse Dungeon Master” and the “Ariel Castro of Syracuse,” kidnapped, imprisoned, and systematically raped five women aged 14 to 53 over a 15-year period.
Jamelske had an underground dungeon where he kept the women as sex slaves, abducting and releasing them one at a time. Some were held for years, others for a few months. His fifth and final victim, a 16-year-old, managed to contact a family member, leading the police to Jamelske.
In his twisted mind, Jamelske believed he had done nothing wrong. He saw himself as being in a relationship with these women and thought he treated them well.
How John Jamelske Became The ‘Syracuse Dungeon Master’
John Thomas Jamelske was born in Fayetteville, New York, on May 9, 1935. He worked in local grocery stores before becoming a handyman. In 1959, he married and had three sons with his wife, a schoolteacher. After convincing his father to invest in stocks, he and his wife inherited a large sum when his father passed away.
By 2000, Jamelske had become a millionaire through inheritance and real estate investments. Despite his wealth, he lived as a frugal hoarder, collecting bottles and cans for recycling and other junk. By 1988, he had started hoarding humans.
In 1988, as his wife became ill, Jamelske built a concrete dungeon three feet below ground outside his ranch house at 7070 Highbridge Road in DeWitt, an upscale neighborhood of Syracuse. It was his way of ensuring he would receive sex, which his wife’s illness prevented.
The bunker was eight feet high, 24 feet long, and 12 feet wide, connected to the basement by a short tunnel. Access to the tunnel was through a steel door behind a storage shelf. The tunnel led to another locked door, with entry to the dungeon down a small, three-rung ladder. By the time his wife passed away in 1999, he had already imprisoned and released three sex slaves.
Jamelske provided no comfort for his victims. They lived in degrading conditions and were subjected to daily rape. The dungeon had a foam mattress and a makeshift toilet — a seatless chair above a bucket. The captives bathed with a garden hose in a stained bathtub on a raised wooden deck. With no plumbing, the water pooled on the cement floor, creating damp and moldy conditions until it eventually evaporated. There was a clock radio and TV connected to an extension cord running through a small hole in the wall.
Jamelske’s Suburban Abductions
Jamelske roamed the streets of Syracuse, abducting teenage runaways and vulnerable women, holding them one at a time. He lured them into his car by offering a lift, choosing victims of different ethnicities. This included a 14-year-old girl in 1988, who he kept in a small well behind his mother’s home, later moving her to his new bunker where she stayed for two and a half years.
Known as the “Syracuse Dungeon Master,” he also kidnapped a 14-year-old girl in 1995, a 53-year-old woman in 1997, a 26-year-old in 2001, and his last victim, a 16-year-old, in 2002, according to ABC News.
Jamelske controlled his victims with ankle chains, threats, and mind games to continue his assaults, convincing them that their families were in danger if they disobeyed. He sometimes claimed to be part of a police sex-slave ring, even flashing a sheriff’s badge he found years earlier.
He manipulated some victims into believing that their compliance would hasten their release. One victim, a 53-year-old Vietnamese refugee who spoke little English, was later seen on videotape pleading for her release, pretending to talk to “the bosses,” according to CNN.
The fourth victim, Jennifer Spaulding, wanted to write to her parents in 2001 to let them know she was alive. Jamelske agreed but only allowed her to say she was entering a drug rehabilitation clinic. When her family received and confirmed the letter, the police closed her missing-person case.
The residents of Jamelske’s upscale neighborhood had no idea the eccentric man was also a kidnapper and rapist. His victims knew that if they killed him without getting the padlock combination to their cell, they would be trapped forever.
When it was time to release his victims, Jamelske blindfolded them and dropped them at various locations, such as an airport, a mother’s house, and a Greyhound station with $50 cash.
Police Bungled The Investigation Into Jamelske
As victims reported their ordeal to the police, their social status as runaways and substance abusers hindered the investigation. The rape kit test for Spaulding showed no evidence of sexual assault because Jamelske ensured no sexual contact for several days before their release.
Spaulding told police her rapist drove a tan 1974 Mercury Comet, but the investigators found only one registered in New York, and it didn’t match her description. They didn’t search for other models, missing Jamelske’s tan 1975 Mercury Comet.
Jamelske’s victims couldn’t describe where they were held or who their abductor was, other than he was an old white man.
In October 2002, Jamelske’s final victim, a 16-year-old runaway from Syracuse, would lead to his downfall.
The End Of John Jamelske’s Reign Of Terror
Over six months of captivity, the 16-year-old girl convinced Jamelske that she was his friend. He felt confident enough to take her to karaoke bars and his weekly recycling center visits.
On April 7, 2003, at the recycling depot, she asked if she could call a church. Jamelske handed her the opened Yellow Pages. She called her sister and explained what was happening. Her sister located the business in Manlius, Syracuse, from caller ID, and the police arrested Jamelske with his victim at a nearby car dealership.
Investigators were shocked by the depravity of Jamelske’s dungeon. They found calendars where victims marked each date with codes: “B” for bathed, “S” for raped, and “T” for brushed teeth. These calendars spanned 15 years.
Several videos featured at least one woman, his 53-year-old Vietnamese victim. Graffiti slogans covered some walls, and one victim confirmed a slogan to investigators by phone.
Jamelske, 68, thought he’d get a light sentence but ultimately pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree kidnapping. In July 2003, he was sentenced to 18 years to life, as reported by The New York Times.
The victims were spared from reliving their horror in court, and most of their names were kept private. Jamelske’s wealth was liquidated and divided among them as compensation. He was denied parole in December 2020.
After learning about John Jamelske, explore the disturbing marriage of John Wayne Gacy and the torture dungeon of serial killer Leonard Lake.