Andre Rand

Serial Killer

Andre Rand: The Suspected "Pied Piper" of Staten Island

Background

Andre Rand, born Frank Rostum Rushan on March 11, 1944, is an American convicted child abductor, sex offender and suspected serial killer whose name became associated with a series of disappearances on Staten Island, New York. He also used the names Frank Bruchette and Frank Rushan. Newspapers later called him the "Pied Piper of Staten Island" because of his disturbing ability to approach children, gain their confidence and lead them away without immediately attracting attention. Rand was never convicted of murder. However, he received two separate convictions for the first-degree kidnappings of 12-year-old Jennifer Schweiger and seven-year-old Holly Ann Hughes. Schweiger was found dead near one of Rand's campsites, while Hughes has never been located. Investigators also examined Rand as a possible suspect in several other disappearances and one unsolved murder connected to Staten Island and the former Willowbrook State School.

Employment at Willowbrook

Between approximately 1966 and 1968, Rand worked under the name Frank Bruchette at Willowbrook State School, an institution for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. His positions reportedly included custodian, orderly and physical-therapy aide. Willowbrook later became notorious for severe overcrowding, neglect and abusive conditions before it closed and was renamed the Staten Island Developmental Center. Rand's familiarity with Willowbrook became important during the investigation into Jennifer Schweiger's disappearance. After leaving regular employment, he frequently lived outdoors in makeshift shelters and campsites around Staten Island. One of those camps was on the overgrown grounds surrounding the abandoned Willowbrook complex. ...

Confirmed Victims: (2)

Holly Ann Hughes Age: (7), Date of Death: 1981-07-15

Suspected Victims:

Alice Pereira Age: (5), Date of Death: 1972-07-07

Audrey Lyn Nerenberg Age: (18), Date of Death: 1977-07-05

Shin Lee Age: (44), Date of Death: 1978-07-20

Ethel Louise Atwell Age: (42), Date of Death: 1978-10-24

Tiahese Jackson Age: (11), Date of Death: 1983-08-14

Hank Gafforio Age: (22), Date of Death: 1984-06-09

Andre Rand - Wikipedia