Mark Riebe, is a convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence in Florida. His brother Wells also serves time for his role in one homicide but has cooperated with police. His defiant daughter also recalls the abuse she endured from her father. Riebe constantly stands accused of slaying over 13 women but denies guilt.
Mark Rebie’s Early Life and Family’s Reaction to Riebe’s Crimes
Mark Riebe was born in 1961 and raised in Florida. He came from a fairly large family, with parents who loved him along with two sisters and a brother named Alex Wells. Riebe seemed to have a normal upbringing without any notable trauma or family dysfunction reported.
After graduating high school, Riebe briefly served in the U.S. Army before returning to Florida. Back in his home state, Riebe proceeded to have four marriages over the years and fathered five children total, including both biological and stepchildren.
According to Special Agent Dennis Haley as well as Riebe’s daughter Jelena, most of of Riebe’s extended family members are mortified by his criminal actions involving the suspected serial murders. They strongly sympathize with the families of the victims Riebe is assumed to have killed.
Over the years, various family members have repeatedly attempted to persuade Riebe to fully confess and come clean about the speculation surrounding his involvement in a string of slayings. However, he has continued to largely deny culpability.
Riebe’s daughter Jelena in particular has been outspoken, condemning her father’s alleged crimes. She has reached out to relatives of Riebe’s potential victims, acknowledging the immense grief felt by those families. Jelena described the guilt she feels over her father’s lack of remorse as difficult to bear.
Mark Riebe’s Half-Brother Alex Wells
Mark Riebe’s half-sibling Alex Wells ended up imprisoned in the 1990s after convictions for attempted kidnapping and an armed convenience store robbery. While serving his lengthy sentence, Wells confessed during a prison Bible study group session that he had been involved in murdering a woman years earlier.
This stunning admission first alerted law enforcement officials to both Wells’ and Riebe’s potential culpability in undisclosed crimes. Up until that point, neither brother had been connected to or questioned about any unlawful killings.
Brothers Crime (The murder of Donna Callahan)
In August 1989, half-brothers Mark Riebe and Alex Wells entered a Gulf Breeze, Florida convenience store with the intention of robbing it. According to later admissions by Alex Wells, the two men forced pregnant clerk Donna Callahan into the backseat of their vehicle after she begged repeatedly for her life and that of her unborn child.
One of the brothers (each still blames the other) then strangled the helpless Callahan. They placed her body in the trunk and drove to their family’s property in Defuniak Springs, where they buried the young expectant mother’s remains in the woods.
Years passed before Alex Wells exposed the vicious murder. After confessing to his role in a Bible study group in prison, he voluntarily led authorities to Callahan’s makeshift grave in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. Both brothers pled no contest to first-degree homicide charges.
The shocking confession prompted deeper scrutiny of Mark Riebe. Special Agent Dennis Haley revealed that he believes Alex Wells aided his brother in at least two other crimes against women, although the extent of his involvement remains unclear.
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Mark Riebe’s behavior following Alex’s disclosures added to rising suspicions. Upon learning police were questioning Wells regarding Callahan’s murder, Riebe paid an ominous visit to his imprisoned brother. Displaying chilling arrogance and evasiveness, he bragged that Callahan’s body would never be found, an assurance proving false once Alex revealed the location himself.
Most disturbingly, Mark then referenced having moved the corpse of “the other lady” from Panama City, likely signaling the death of area mother Pamela June Ray who had recently vanished without explanation.
Alex is now open about his crime to the victim’s family
In 2019 email exchanges with Rhonda Bishop, the sister of suspected murder victim Pamela June Ray, Alex Wells demonstrated a striking openness to discuss his role in the 1989 killing of Donna Callahan. After years of formal appeals preventing him from addressing details of the case, Wells now states he will candidly answer any questions Bishop has while serving out dual life sentences.
Alex Wells stresses that he genuinely wishes he could provide definitive closure for Rhonda regarding her own sister’s baffling 1992 disappearance. While lacking concrete evidence of Pamela Ray’s fate, Wells does disclose glimpses into Mark Riebe’s reference to moving her body as well as the noticeable agitation displayed on the very day she went missing. Wells makes clear he would readily admit to any relevant knowledge but regrets having no actual involvement in Ray’s case due to already serving jail time when she vanished.
As of now, Alex Wells is currently serving two life sentences for his crimes without the possibility of parole.
Mark Riebe Marriage Life and Children
Mark Riebe has had four marriages already. According to available information, Riebe repeatedly engaged in adulterous behavior, cheating on three out of his four wives over the years.
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In addition to his four wives, Mark Riebe has fathered five children in total. Some offspring were his biological kids while others entered the family as stepsiblings. A few of Riebe’s own children formed friendships with Andrea Durham, one of the numerous women he stands accused of later killing.
Mark Riebe’s Daughter Jelena Speaks Out Against Her Father
Jelena is one of Mark Riebe’s daughters who is more limelight to the media in this case.
Jelena experienced severe trauma having been raised by serial murder suspect Mark Riebe. She recalls enduring physical and emotional abuse alongside her mother from a young age at Riebe’s hands. Now an outspoken advocate granting interviews about her father’s crimes.
Jelena was just six years old when Riebe began his life sentence for murdering Donna Callahan. In subsequent years, Jelena accompanied family members on occasional prison visits. She recalls a time when close familial bonds existed between daughter and father.
After sending Riebe a letter asking difficult questions about his suspected crimes, his harsh response demonstrated no accountability or empathy.
Jelena has since ended contact with her father completely. She also assists authorities by providing insight into Riebe’s past behavior and advocating for the still-grieving families of potential victims like Pamela Ray. Jelena selflessly lends her support to help bring answers that she knows Riebe will not willingly offer himself.
Jelena had a good relationship with one of Mark Riebe’s victim Pamela June Ray’s sister Rhonda as well as some other members of Mark’s victim family.
Jelena has avoided visiting Riebe for over 10 years after the unkind response to her letter. She realizes the futility of appealing to any semblance of conscience or morality still residing within him.
Now, She will do anything she can to try to find any answers in these cases if it will help the victims’ families.
Where Is Mark Riebe Now?
Mark Riebe continues serving a life sentence at Blackwater River Correctional Facility for the premeditated murder of Donna Callahan. Despite a 1998 conviction, Riebe has proven a defiant prisoner, vehemently denying responsibility for over a dozen slayings he once allegedly confessed to from behind bars.
