William Gladden was a pedophile who operated in Florida, Arizona and California, usually killing his victims so that they would not turn out like him. He grew up in the Sarasota area where he was molested as a child. He never identified his molester but it was probably Clifford Beltran. Gladden later became an abuser himself, and he spent time in Florida State Prison in Raiford where he was sentenced to 70 years for child molestation. His cellmate was Horace Gomble who taught Gladden ways to avoid detection and arrest. He became an effective jailhouse lawyer and filed a successful appeal of his conviction based on illegal search and seizure. He was released on probation and then disappeared. He was wanted for violation of terms of probation.