Ronald Gene Simmons
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Ronald Gene Simmons | |
---|---|
Executed | |
Spouse | Bersabe Rebecca "Becky" Ulibarri (m. 1960; died 1987) |
Children | 7 |
Conviction(s) | Capital murder (16 counts) |
Criminal penalty | Death |
Details | |
Date | December 22–28, 1987 |
Country | United States |
Location(s) | Dover and Russellville, Arkansas |
Target(s) | Family, acquaintance, strangers |
Killed | 16 |
Injured | 4 |
Weapons |
Ronald Gene Simmons | |
---|---|
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | Airforce Ribbon for Excellent Marksmanship |
Spouse(s) | Bersabe Rebecca "Becky" Ulibarri (died 1987) |
Ronald Gene Simmons Sr. (July 15, 1940 – June 25, 1990) was an American
Simmons was
Early life and military career
Ronald Gene Simmons was born to Loretta and William Simmons on July 15, 1940, in
On September 15, 1957, Simmons dropped out of school and joined the
On April 3, 1981, Simmons was being investigated by the
Simmons worked a string of low-paying jobs in the nearby town of Russellville, Arkansas. He quit a position as an accounts receivable clerk at Woodline Motor Freight after numerous reports of inappropriate sexual advances. He went to work at a Sinclair Mini Mart for approximately a year and a half before quitting on December 18, 1987. By the time of the killings, the number of people within the home had reduced to seven, as two of the older children (Billy and Sheila) moved out, married, and had children of their own.
Murder spree
Simmons' home (near Dover)
Shortly before Christmas 1987, Simmons decided to kill all the members of his family. On the morning of December 22, he first killed his wife Rebecca and eldest son Gene by bludgeoning them with a crowbar and shooting them with a .22-caliber pistol. He then killed his three-year-old granddaughter Barbara by
Around mid-day on December 26, the remaining family members arrived at the home, as Simmons had invited them over for the holidays. The first to be killed was Simmons' son Billy and his wife Renata, who were both shot dead. He then strangled and drowned their 20-month-old son, Trae. Simmons also shot and killed his oldest daughter, Sheila (whom he had sexually abused), and her husband, Dennis McNulty. Simmons then strangled his child by Sheila, seven-year-old Sylvia Gail, and finally, his 21-month-old grandson Michael. Simmons laid the bodies of his whole family in neat rows in the lounge. Their bodies were covered with coats except that of Sheila, who was covered by Rebecca Simmons' best tablecloth. The bodies of Trae and Michael were wrapped in plastic sheeting and left in abandoned cars at the end of the lane. After the murders, Simmons drove to a Sears store in Russellville, where he retrieved Christmas gifts that he had previously ordered for his family. That night, he went for a drink at a local bar before returning home where he spent the rest of the evening and the following day drinking beer and watching television.[3]
Russellville
On the morning of December 28, Simmons drove to a Walmart in Russellville, where he purchased another firearm to use in the attack he was about to carry out. His first target was a law firm where he had previously met secretary Kathy Cribbins Kendrick. Simmons had been infatuated with Kendrick, but she had rejected him. After walking into the office, he shot and killed Kendrick. He next went to an oil company office, where he intended to kill the owner, Russell "Rusty" Taylor. Taylor was also the owner of the Sinclair Mini Mart from which Simmons had recently resigned. He shot and wounded Taylor before killing another person in the building named James David Chaffin; Chaffin was the only deceased victim who was a stranger to Simmons.[4] Another employee in the building was shot at, though the bullet missed.[3]
Simmons then drove on to Sinclair Mini Mart, shooting and wounding two more people. His final target was the office of the Woodline Motor Freight Company, where he shot his former supervisor twice, wounding her.[5] He then ordered one of the employees at gunpoint to call the police. When they arrived, Simmons handed over his gun and surrendered without any resistance.[3] Throughout the 40-minute-long rampage, Simmons had killed two and injured four others.
Victims
Date | Name | Age | Relationship | Cause of death |
December 22, 1987 | ||||
Ronald Gene Simmons Jr. | 26 | Son | Gunshot | |
Bersabe Rebecca Simmons | 46[6] | Wife | Gunshot | |
Barbara Simmons[7] | 3 | Granddaughter [6] | Strangulation | |
Loretta Simmons | 17[8] | Daughter | Strangulation | |
Eddy Simmons | 14[9] | Son | Strangulation | |
Marianne Simmons | 11[9] | Daughter | Strangulation | |
Rebecca "Becky" Simmons | 8[9] | Daughter | Strangulation | |
December 26, 1987 | ||||
William "Billy" Simmons II | 22[9] | Son | Gunshot | |
Renata[10] Simmons | 21[9] | Daughter-in-Law | Gunshot | |
William H. "Trae" Simmons III | 1[6][8] | Grandson | Drowning | |
Sheila Simmons McNulty | 24 | Daughter | Gunshot | |
Dennis McNulty | 33 | Son-in-Law | Gunshot | |
Sylvia Gail McNulty | 7 | Daughter or Granddaughter | Strangulation | |
Michael McNulty | 1 | Grandson | Strangulation | |
December 28, 1987 | ||||
Kathleen "Kathy" Kendrick | 24 | Acquaintance | Gunshot | |
James David "Jim" Chaffin | 33[8] | Stranger | Gunshot |
Conviction
After his arrest, Simmons underwent a psychiatric evaluation where he was found fit to stand trial. He first went on trial for the murders of Kendrick and Chaffin, and was found guilty on May 12, 1988, being sentenced to death.[3] He made an additional statement, under oath, supporting his sentence:[11]
I, Ronald Gene Simmons, Sr., want it to be known that it is my wish and my desire that absolutely no action by anybody be taken to appeal or in any way change this sentence. It is further respectfully requested that this sentence be carried out expeditiously.
He next went on trial for the murders of his 14 family members, and was found guilty on February 10, 1989, again being sentenced to death by lethal injection. As to motive, a family friend told investigators that Simmons' wife had been saving up money to divorce Simmons when the killings happened. During the trial Simmons had to be removed from the courtroom for punching the prosecutor, John Bynum, and trying to grab a deputy's handgun, after Bynum had introduced a letter between Simmons and his daughter Sheila in which Simmons expressed anger that Sheila had revealed that he was the father of her child, and that he would see her in Hell.[1][12] He refused to appeal his death sentence, stating, "To those who oppose the death penalty – in my particular case, anything short of death would be cruel and unusual punishment."[13] The trial court conducted a hearing concerning Simmons' competence to waive further proceedings, and concluded that his decision was knowing and intelligent.
Simmons became the subject of the United States Supreme Court case Whitmore v. Arkansas when another death row inmate, Jonas Whitmore, attempted unsuccessfully to force an appeal of Simmons' case.[14]
Execution
While on death row, Simmons had to be separated from other prisoners as his life was threatened constantly. This was because he refused to appeal his death sentence; the other prisoners believed Simmons was damaging their chances of beating their own death sentences.
On May 31, 1990, Arkansas governor (later President) Bill Clinton signed Simmons' execution warrant, and on June 25, he died by the method he had chosen, lethal injection, in the Cummins Unit.[15] None of his surviving relatives would claim the body, and he was buried in a potter's field in Lincoln County, Arkansas.[3]
See also
- Capital punishment in Arkansas
- Capital punishment in the United States
- List of people executed in Arkansas
References
- ^ a b Roberts, Adam (December 22, 1922). "One of Arkansas' worst mass murders happened on Christmas week 1987". KHBS / KHOG. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-671-68511-9. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Swanlund, Angela. "Ronald Gene Simmons (1940-1990)". encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ "James David "J.D." Chaffin, age 33". gunmemorial.org. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Victim of shooting spree plagued with nightmares". United Press International. May 11, 1988. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (January 1, 1988). "Arkansas massacre victims eulogized at funerals". Ocala Star-Banner. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Conflicting Sources: some have listed Barbara as a daughter, while others label her a granddaughter.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (January 1, 1988). "Massacre Victims Eulogized at Funerals With AM-Algona Killings". Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Sheriff reconstructs the murders of 16". The New York Times. January 1, 1988. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Some sources spell her name "Renada."
- ^ "Franz v. State". law.justia.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ "ARKANSAS MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING 14 MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY". Deseret News. February 12, 1989. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Archived October 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 17, 2013
- ^ "Whitmore v. Arkansas 110 S. Ct. 1717, 109 L.Ed.2d 135 (1990)". Capital Defense Journal. 3 (1). November 1, 1990. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
- ^ Trager, Lauren (October 25, 2012). "Trail of Terror: 25 Years After The Ronald Gene Simmons Murders Part 1". KARK-4. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
Bibliography
- Moore, Jim: Rampage - America's Largest Family Mass Murder; The Summit Publishing Group, 1992. ISBN 978-1-56530-002-6
- Marshall, Bryce Zero at the Bone: Story of Gene Simmons Mass Murder; Pocket Star Books, 1991. ISBN 978-0-671-68511-9
External links
- Crime Library Report
- Ronald Gene Simmons from the Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney
- Article at The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture