I watched the segment yesterday about the Sacramento Convenience Store Murders. I believe it was the first time I'd seen the update although I did know someone had been arrested. For those of you who don't know he was dubbed the "Thrill Killer" and his name is Eric Royce Leonard. The defense argued that he had diminished mental capacity due to brain damage caused by epilepsy. I also read that at one point in the trial he shouted out "I'm guilty!". The jury apparently didn't buy the defense and sentenced him to death and he is currently on death row in California.

I didnt know that case had been updated thanks for sharing.

I recommend checking out this link. It's about Kyle Reynolds, who was one of Eric Leonard's victims.

http://www.murdervictims.com/CAH/kyle_reynolds.htm

Kane, I tried the link and it didnt work but will try it again later. Yes indeed Eric Royce Leonard who was 22 at the time of the murders was 27 when he was sentenced to death on June 13th, 1996. Leonard's lawyer did say that he didnt deserve death and actually should be confined to a state mental hospital and not prison. Leonard's lawyer says he needs treatment and that he cant get that on death row. Leonard's lawyer said that he had brain damage due to epilepsey as well as a schizoid personality. The prosecution even agreed that Leonard had brain damage to epilepsey and because of this had both mental and physical limitations however they justified death because they said despite the brain damage Leonard knew right from wrong in that he hid evidence and tried to make the pizza parlor killings look like a robbery.

Kane, I tried the link and it didnt work but will try it again later.

I see what you mean. I also tried "murdervictims.com", but that didn't work either. Evidently, the site is down. But I don't know whether it's temporary or permanent.

In any case, I have been to "Murder Victims" site before. It listed numerous other cases that were profiled on UM.

His appeal was denied yesterday by the California Supreme Court. The appeal was comprised of several issues, including the argument that Eric Royce Leonard was "incompetent to stand trial because of psychiatric disorders and developmental disabilities". His lawyers contend that he is brain damaged, suffers from epilepsy, and is of low intelligence.

Heh. The local paper that this story is printed in, The Sacramento Bee, goes on to say that ERL "suffers from low intelligence". "SUFFERS". Poor choice of words considering that this man murdered, with no reason whatsoever (hence his catchy moniker "Thrill Killer"), six inncocent people. If there's any suffering going on, its being done by the familes of the six people this scumbag murdered. I don't mean to quibble over word usage like that but that just seems wholly inappropriate.

Kudos to the justices who found this appeal devoid of merit and said so.

His appeal was denied yesterday by the California Supreme Court. The appeal was comprised of several issues, including the argument that Eric Royce Leonard was "incompetent to stand trial because of psychiatric disorders and developmental disabilities". His lawyers contend that he is brain damaged, suffers from epilepsy, and is of low intelligence.

I saw some of the recent articles. For those of your who are interested, her is one of them:

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2007/leon051807.htm

Heh. The local paper that this story is printed in, The Sacramento Bee, goes on to say that ERL "suffers from low intelligence". "SUFFERS". Poor choice of words considering that this man murdered, with no reason whatsoever (hence his catchy moniker "Thrill Killer"), six inncocent people. If there's any suffering going on, its being done by the familes of the six people this scumbag murdered. I don't mean to quibble over word usage like that but that just seems wholly inappropriate.

The Sacramento Bee must be run by a staff that is politically correct and soft-hearted. :crazy: In any case, I agree with you, Corky, that it was a poor choice of words. The families of the six innocent murder victims are going through more suffering than the killer is. So they deserve far more sympathy than Eric Leonard.

Kudos to the justices who found this appeal devoid of merit and said so.

My thoughts exactly.

Well this wont be popular but I am used to not having my views be popular. OF course everyone feels sorry for the victims, I dont think the article was meant to seem not sorry for the victims. We all know what happened there and it was horrible that it happened. At the same time, Eric Royce Leonard also has a family that has had to suffer with this and what has happened and maybe these murders could have been prevented had Eric Royce Leonard got the proper help he needs. He should have been confined to a mental health hospital and committed there for the rest of his life instead of being in prison especially on death row because like it or not the man is still alive, he wont be executed anytime soon since California is being blocked by the feds from executing unless someone voluntarily ends their appeals and asks to be executed. Eric Royce Leonard needs mental health treatment and he cant get that on death row.

Well this wont be popular but I am used to not having my views be popular. OF course everyone feels sorry for the victims, I dont think the article was meant to seem not sorry for the victims. We all know what happened there and it was horrible that it happened. At the same time, Eric Royce Leonard also has a family that has had to suffer with this and what has happened and maybe these murders could have been prevented had Eric Royce Leonard got the proper help he needs. He should have been confined to a mental health hospital and committed there for the rest of his life instead of being in prison especially on death row because like it or not the man is still alive, he wont be executed anytime soon since California is being blocked by the feds from executing unless someone voluntarily ends their appeals and asks to be executed. Eric Royce Leonard needs mental health treatment and he cant get that on death row.

Your opinion is based on the assumption that he truly is mentally insane and that really hasn't been proven. Of course they're going to give the insanity defense a shot since the death penalty was involved. I have a sister who has epilepsy and has even had brain surgery to remove part of her brain that was affected by her epilepsy and she has absolutely no signs of brain damage and is as normal as you or I. I also have a friend who has it and even suffers grand mal seizures currently but is not brain damaged so I would think it is a very small percentage of epilepsy sufferers who have brain damage from it especially to the degree where you would no longer know right from wrong. Not to mention if he were confined to a mental hospital, it would be easier for him to escape than if he were on death row and if he were to escape you would run the risk of him murdering even more innocent people.

Well Crystaldawn, I am going to respectfully disagree with your opinion. While I am sorry your sister has epilepsy and while I am glad that your sister has no mental problems as a result of it that does not mean that others wouldnt have a problem. I dont know if that is what you meant or not but you seemed to imply that, if that is not what you meant than I do apologize.

I do not think Leonard is insane, but I have not examined him either so I guess I do not know for sure. I do think that sentencing him to death was inappropriate but then again I am against the death penalty so I am against it as a whole but some people I would feel less sorry for than others. Leonard did terrible things and I am not excusing his behavior. However if he has serious psychatric problems, which it seems that he does, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in addition to his epilepsy and the prosecution did not disagree that Leonard had serious psychatric problems but they said it didnt excuse his behavior. I do not think it excuses either, he shouldnt be on the streets, I am not disputing that. I do however thing we have an obligation to give him the proper mental health treatment and psychatric help he needs whether he is on death row, a mental hospital, life in prison, whatever.

However I think if we had preventative measures in this country to care for the mentally ill than we could head off a lot of crimes before they happen in the first place since at leats 20 percent of people in prison have serious mental illness i.e. schizophrenia, bi polar, etc.

Again Crystaldawn, I hope I didnt come off as a jerk, it is just I had a serious disagreement with you on this issue but I wanted to let you know more where I was coming from. If I offended you at all I do apologize because that was not my intention.

In 1995, I spent 6 months in a housing area in the downtown Sacramento jail in a cell next to Eric Leonard. I spent a lot of time talking to and getting to know this guy. Although there is absolutely no excuse for what he did, and the victims of this crime and their families deserve justice for what happened, I firmly believe that the death sentence is inappropriate for this person. He was obviously mentally damaged, and had these horrible seizures regularly where I would have to cushion his head to prevent head injury on many occasions. He was oddly childlike, and claimed to see multicolored 'auras' around people. Anyway, what I am saying is that after spending several hours daily around this guy for several months, it was obvious to me that he belonged in a mental institution, for life.

In 1995, I spent 6 months in a housing area in the downtown Sacramento jail in a cell next to Eric Leonard. I spent a lot of time talking to and getting to know this guy. Although there is absolutely no excuse for what he did, and the victims of this crime and their families deserve justice for what happened, I firmly believe that the death sentence is inappropriate for this person. He was obviously mentally damaged, and had these horrible seizures regularly where I would have to cushion his head to prevent head injury on many occasions. He was oddly childlike, and claimed to see multicolored 'auras' around people. Anyway, what I am saying is that after spending several hours daily around this guy for several months, it was obvious to me that he belonged in a mental institution, for life.

Thanks for posting. Does he seem to show remorse for what he did? Of course on one hand you would certainly hope so but on the other hand if he showed remorse it might indicate that he was aware that what he was doing was wrong. Meaning you're not going to feel remorse for something that you don't understand was wrong.

Jdeem, does Leonard believe he deserves death for his crimes? Are there still appeals going on in his behalf that you're aware of? Thanks!

I have to a agree with kadrmas here. I, too, am anti-death penalty; I think it reduces the state to the level of the murderer, for one thing, and I also think it is unfair to ask any otherwise decent person to be responsible for essentially murdering a healthy person. I wouldn't do it if I were asked, and I don't think it's right to ask anyone else to do it. We're supposed to be the good guys, for heaven's sake.

But, that said, I'm not mourning the loss of child murderers and serial killers and their ilk. The law is the law, and if I were the governor of a state, I'd allow death sentences to be carried out --- UNLESS there were obvious questions about the mental capacity of the accused. In this case, that sounds like it was overwhelmingly the case. What does the state get by executing this person that they couldn't get by keeping him under very secure surveillance while providing him with proper treatment? And which is better for the moral "health" of the state?

I have to a agree with kadrmas here. I, too, am anti-death penalty; I think it reduces the state to the level of the murderer, for one thing, and I also think it is unfair to ask any otherwise decent person to be responsible for essentially murdering a healthy person. I wouldn't do it if I were asked, and I don't think it's right to ask anyone else to do it. We're supposed to be the good guys, for heaven's sake.

Indeed, we are supposed to be the good guys, and one can have a legitimate argument against capital punishment. But I seriously question whether being pro-death penalty necessarily makes you a bad person. I don't see it that way. I mean, I think there are some crimes that are so brutal and so outrageous (especially ones that result in the death of a child or police officer) that the killer has shown himself to be unfit to live among us.

But I wouldn't go out and seek revenge on a killer or anyone for that matter. There's a difference between that and executing a killer through legal process.

If what's been said by Leonard's prison-mate is indeed accurate, then I agree that treatment would be definitely warranted.

However my confidence in such treatment is shaky at best. For example, the State of Nebraska spent over a quarter of a million dollars on many forms of treatment for a teenager.....but then a month and a half ago, said teen took an assault rifle and killed a number of people inside our largest shopping mall before turning the weapon on himself (see my avatar....)

When some people are obviously beyond help.....I don't think it makes a damn bit of difference whether you let them die in prison or strap them into the electric chair. No matter what kind of treatment is prescribed or how much money is spent on the treatment, the subject is obviously not going to improve at all. Then it just comes back to the fact that said subject committed a brutal, callous crime and deserves to be punished.

Well Huskerz, your state hasnt exactly been warming up that electric chair much, as a matter of fact, after this supreme court decision comes down, while I expect them to uphold the dp, I do think they will make it so your state has to offer an alternative to the electric chair.

Also, while you are complaining about the state supposedly blowing a quarter of a million dollars on treatment for that kid that went on the shooting spree, you might want to look how much your state blows every year housing those guys on death row when they could save money by just housing them in general population for life.

This really isnt about you supporting the death penalty or not, but when you complain about how much money the state blew trying to help that kid, then you brag about how your state still has the chair as its only form of execution, kind of makes me wonder. I would be shocked if Nebraska isnt required to get an alternative form of execution such as lethal injection and where people can then only get the chair if they choose to be executedd in the chair.

Kane, I dont think people that support the DP are bad people at least most of the time, there are bad people that support the DP, there are bad people that are against the DP. What Mozart was saying, was that you fight murder with murder and that in my opinion is contradictory to what these tough on crime people argue all the time. I bet most DP supporters do not even know that on an inmate's death certificate when they are executed the cause of death is listed as "homicide" ?

It is murder, a lot of DP supporters dont view it that way because they view the "execution" (which is a politically correct term for murder by the way) or murder or however you want to say it, as justified so they do not view it as murder.

Another problem is, you have medical personell who should have their medical licenses revoked since they take an oath to save lives not take them. The people that participate in these executions should also be required to have their names listed. Why not? They have the gall to be medical personell and participate in killing people, they should put their money where their mouths are and list their names.

In terms of Eric Royce Leonard, well, we could all go back and forth on this one, yes he killed 6 people, some have alleged he was possibly faking mental illness or perhaps not mentally ill enough to warrant being spared the DP.

Well, he is on death row, just where all you death row supporters think he should be, sitting there, waiting, along with the 670 + other death row inmates in Cali, he is getting no help, no rehab, even on death row I feel he should have mental health treatment. What is so bad about that? You have people that argue with a straight face how expensive this treatment is yet have no objection to blowing millions to have death row, house the people there and the 2 million dollars or so it costs just to have an execution when they actually happen.

At San Quentin they probably just have Leonard on 50's style meds just so he is easy to control and is pretty much in a haze all the time, either that, or he isnt on anything at all and might pop off and try killing a guard or something. The guy did have seizures, he has schizophrenia, he might not be totally out of it, that I dont know, but clearly he is not "up to par" one might say. I dont think he should be out on the streets, clearly he is a danger to society and he needs to be locked up, but is death row really the answer? In this case I do not think so.

Kane, I dont think people that support the DP are bad people at least most of the time, there are bad people that support the DP, there are bad people that are against the DP.

You got that last part right. I mean, there have been numerous cases in which murderers, especially those on death row, who voiced their opposition to capital punishment, often arguing that "killing is wrong". Well, duh! :rolleyes: They should have thought of that before they committed the murder or murders that sent them to the death house!

The way I see it, such people DO believe in the the death penalty, because they killed someone. The only difference is that the murder victims didn't usually get a chance to appeal their death sentences. :rolleyes:

It is murder, a lot of DP supporters dont view it that way because they view the "execution" (which is a politically correct term for murder by the way) or murder or however you want to say it, as justified so they do not view it as murder.

If the death penalty is murder, then why are there people who fight to save the life of a murderer while fighting to defend a woman's right to kill her unborn child? Since 1973, far more lives have been snuffed out through abortion than through capital punishment. That may be un-PC thing to say, but it is true.

Kane, I think you are beginning to tread on thin ice with the abortion thing. While I too believe abortion is murder, unless for health reasons the mother needs to have abortion and even then it is murder, it is maybe justified homicide, however, are you in someway trying to suggest that when an inmate is "executed" that isnt homicide? If you are suggesting this, I am assuming that because you think it is justified to execute someone that it isnt murder?

As for abortion, well, I would say it was murder, if the person goes in for the abortion, which yes, is a politically correct term for murder as well, I would say it is a murder unless the mother needs to have the abortion for health reasons. In particular I am against partial birth abortion which is such a vile procedure, I will not go into descriptions of it but you know all about it. I feel the ban on this should be upheld. I always supported the partial birth abortion ban.

As for "regular" abortions, which occur in the first trimester, while I would say that I am against that, I am also against a blanket ban, I do think it should be made as hard as possible to get one, but at the same time, if you bring back the blanket ban, you will see more deaths, we will go back to the days of coat hanger abortions in back alleys and sleezy hotel rooms, so it is kind of a catch 22. But comparing abortion to executions in my opinion really isnt a fair comparison, yes they are both murder but in different ways, in my opinion.

Roe v. Wade was 1973 as you mentioned, however if you think that abortions were not happening at a similar rate before that law took effect, that is ignorance on your part. I'm sure the rates 1973 and on are not much different than they were before 1973, you might not like that it is more public and more out in the open in terms of abortion where as before 1973 people just pretended they didnt happen, out of sight, out of mind, kind of thing, I can understand that, but abortions happened a lot before 1973, the mother ended up dying a lot too because of doctors and wannabee doctors performing these abortions in an un proper fashion.

Like I said, I am torn on this issue, it is tough, I am against it, but I dont know if I could support a blanket ban on abortion, mainly because of my fear it would lead to more deaths of the mother. It is tough as I said.

I feel South Dakota did pass a good state law, that has since been struck down. I can promise you most people in that state are against abortion, but yet they didnt want to see more deaths so in a ballot measure they didnt bring back the law, this after the law was struck down by the courts.

This really isnt about you supporting the death penalty or not, but when you complain about how much money the state blew trying to help that kid, then you brag about how your state still has the chair as its only form of execution, kind of makes me wonder. I would be shocked if Nebraska isnt required to get an alternative form of execution such as lethal injection and where people can then only get the chair if they choose to be executedd in the chair.


Wow.....you missed my point entirely. :rolleyes:

What I was saying was that I think Leonard deserves some treatment but that I'm skeptical of such treatment because it didn't work in the case of 'the kid' who shot up our shopping mall not too long ago.

Also I wasn't complaining at all about how much money Nebraska HHS blew, I was just stating it as a simple fact. How was I bragging too about the electric chair being our only form of CP?? I didn't even mention 'Nebraska' and 'Electric Chair' in the same sentence (bragging isn't something I'd even think to do.....by now I would think it would be common knowledge).....go ahead and construe my words however you like though :rolleyes:

Okay, huskerz, thank you for explaining your point better. Well, that stuff about the chair, it seemed in the past in other threads you had bragged about your state being the only state left where the electric chair is the only available method of execution.

Yes, treatment will not work for everyone, but it should be tried. Obviously in that case of that kid, he was a ticking timebomb for sometime, he fell through the cracks of the system and went on his rampage. But give Leonard the treatment, see if it works, maybe it wont, maybe all they can do is medicate him to make him more managable, but some other type of treatment in his case and others like it is at least worth a try.

While I do see people that are anti-death penalty's point about murdering a murderer being murder itself, I think it would be better than having the murderer escape and murdering more innocent people.

True... although you need to weigh that against the possibility of executing an innocent person. UM has also shown us that sometimes people get sent to jail, or even the chair, when it is anything but a slam dunk case.

But that said, it's not an easy issue for most of us. And this board probably isn't the place to debate it (read: We better stop before this really gets out of hand. ;) )

Well, unless you have the guys locked in their cells 24 hours a day, you will never be able to completely prevent escape. If they are that determined to get out they will get out somehow. As far as I know, no one has ever escaped from death row, at least from the prison itself anyway though some have come close.

Ironically enough one death row inmate that escaped while he was being transported was Nick Yarris in 1985, he escaped while in custody and he was on the run for 3 and a half weeks before he turned himself in. Ironically, Yarris was later proven innocent by DNA testing when his DNA was excluded and he was released from death row and prison in 2003 after 21 years on the row.

Well, unless you have the guys locked in their cells 24 hours a day, you will never be able to completely prevent escape. If they are that determined to get out they will get out somehow. As far as I know, no one has ever escaped from death row, at least from the prison itself anyway though some have come close.

Some inmates have escaped from death row, although such cases tend to be few and far between. There was the infamous case in Virginia where seven Virginia death row inmates escaped in 1984, but all of them were soon recaptured (all of them were eventually put to sleep). Also, an inmate named Martin Gurule escaped from the Texas death house in November 1998, only to be found dead in a river several days later.

This case still gets to me. My school bus would go by the quick stop every morning when I was in 7-8th grade. As a adult I must have drove by that place a thousand times, and every time I do I always look. The store no longer stays open late I think it closes by 10 pm now.

To this day I never ever expose my back to anyone while at a convienance store at night.

I'm sorry but this guy knew what he was doing when murdering these people. He had a choice and thats it. He should die.

hey if anyone is interested i could take some photos of the general location where this happened....well let me know

hey if anyone is interested i could take some photos of the general location where this happened....well let me know

I always like pictures. I've taken a few myself of various "UM locations" near me and posted them here, and I enjoy it when others do the same; it's very interesting to get a feel for the place and see what everything looks like today. Personally, I'd appreciate it.

ok...give me a week or two i live on opposite side of town now but i will take them soon meg

ok...give me a week or two i live on opposite side of town now but i will take them soon meg


Hey I'm in Sac too! I meant to offer this in another thread but if anyone can get me the addresses for the ONS case I'll take photos of the locations.

And, just to get back to the prior discussion, I don't find it hypocritical to be anti-death penalty (which I am) and pro-choice re: abortion (which I am). Two completely different things, IMO.

And, just to get back to the prior discussion, I don't find it hypocritical to be anti-death penalty (which I am) and pro-choice re: abortion (which I am). Two completely different things, IMO.

I'm personally anti-abortion and anti-death penalty, but I can certainly understand that line of thinking much more than being anti-abortion and pro-death penalty--which I do definitely think is immensely hypocritical, if the argument is that no one should be deprived of life. "Children are innocent"? There's no way of foreseeing whether that child will grow up to rob a bank, kill his/her spouse, or molest children--just as there's no way of determining with absolute certainty, without a shadow of a doubt, that a person sentenced to die is completely guilty or innocent of his/her crime(s). Another human being's life is far beyond our judgement's capacity, no matter what context it's being framed within, IMO.

...much more than being anti-abortion and pro-death penalty--which I do definitely think is immensely hypocritical, if the argument is that no one should be deprived of life...


I concur. As mixed up and hypocritcal as it may sound, I can reconcile being pro-choice ((saying “pro-abortion sounds weird)) and anti-death penalty, but I can’t see the logical justification for being pro-death penalty but anti-abortion.

Let me be clear though, there are many many times I feel people should die and that they’ve re-negged on their humanity and their ticket should be punched. However, I can’t get with our current institutionalized method of capital punishment.

well it depends on your outlook corky.....

i often reference the bible for moral guidelines

Matthew 6:15
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Leviticus 24 20-21
20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

21. And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

personally I am against abortion, but i think both arguments are resonable depending on your perspective... one may get you some hell fire tho

Hmm, in my opinion I agree with Meg the Egg. I personally do not mind if people are for abortion 'rights' although I am against abortion 'rights' because it is not a right and the only time that I would be for it is if the life of the mother is at stake. Heck, Dr. Tom Coburn, Senator from Oklahoma and the most anti abortion member of the U.S. Senate himself has admitted to performing two abortions while an OB/GYN because he had to save the life of the mother.

However the argument Meg the Egg is making carries a lot of weight. I am at issue with most of my own party on this. Most of whom appear to me anyway to love the death penalty and certainly are avid supporters of it yet are strongly anti abortion. Jeb Bush is a big one in this debate as is George W. Bush. I have tried telling folks with that mindset you cannot have it both ways. You cannot be anti abortion but pro death penalty. A life is a life regardless of what they have done. To sponsor killing is a direct contradiction to the bible in terms of the new testament which practically all Christian faiths, they recognize the new testament as the 'real' bible not the old testament.

Interesting conservative joe that you would bring up Leviticus. Leviticus is in the old testament. I have actually got in arguments with fellow conservatives over Leviticus because of many of them cite Leviticus for why God would allegedly condemn gay marriage. I am not sure whether God would endorse gay marriage but I know that he would not condemn it. According to Leviticus, God was only against men being gay but not women. It is simply self contradictory. You see that many times in the bible. But God created all of us and he knew how we would live before we even lived it (in my opinion) and anything and everything that happens to us was for one reason or another meant to happen or not happen.

However getting back to the point at hand. Yes it is contradictory and hypocritical to say you are anti abortion but pro death penalty. Conservatives far and away are the biggest offenders in that contradiction. I am conservative but do not go to the contradiction. I am anti abortion and I am anti death penalty. IF people want to be pro death penalty that is their choice. However it tends to tick me off when they sit there and talk about how pro life they are and then they boast about how much they support the death penalty.

Also to clarify the above: While I am against abortion in most instances, I for the record would not support the overturning of Roe v. Wade for the reasons I stated in this thread in 2008. I also view a person like Corky who is pro-choice but anti death penalty with way more credibility than a person who would sit there and insist that they are 'pro life' while being pro death penalty as most 'pro lifers' are.

Once again this site delivers! I was searching online for info on this case and had no idea really what to search for as I couldn't recall any of the victims names and here I am.

It would be awesome to see photos of the pizza parlor and convenience store if its still possible. Or even if someone knows the address so we can check street view on google maps.

I remember this ordeal vividly. I knew ERL's older brother and I lost a very good friend, Stephen Anderson, in the first murders at the convenience store. At the time, it was a Quik Stop Convenience store, located around 3523 Auburn Blvd and there wasn't anything else around it - no businesses, etc. Secluded would be a good word. Steve, also known as "Savage" by us his friends, worked the day shifts. The store didn't have any cameras and had been robbed a few times before late at night. When the night clerks quit because they feared being robbed again, it was Steve who took the shift. Ironically, that night was his first night shift there.

ERL robbed and killed 3 people At the Quik Stop that night. He stole some beef jerky of all things. Exactly one week later, he killed 3 people at a Round Table Pizza very close to the convenience store. The Round Table Pizza was in the shopping mall located around 3469 Watt Ave. I don't believe the RTP is there anymore either. If I remember correctly, one of the victims at the pizza place was a woman ERL had an interest in and she had rejected him.....which I later heard the police thought the motive was for all the killings.

A horrifying time and one of the saddest times I've ever gone through. We miss you immensely Stephen "Savage" Anderson.

I remember this ordeal vividly. I knew ERL's older brother and I lost a very good friend, Stephen Anderson, in the first murders at the convenience store. At the time, it was a Quik Stop Convenience store, located around 3523 Auburn Blvd and there wasn't anything else around it - no businesses, etc. Secluded would be a good word. Steve, also known as "Savage" by us his friends, worked the day shifts. The store didn't have any cameras and had been robbed a few times before late at night. When the night clerks quit because they feared being robbed again, it was Steve who took the shift. Ironically, that night was his first night shift there.

ERL robbed and killed 3 people At the Quik Stop that night. He stole some beef jerky of all things. Exactly one week later, he killed 3 people at a Round Table Pizza very close to the convenience store. The Round Table Pizza was in the shopping mall located around 3469 Watt Ave. I don't believe the RTP is there anymore either. If I remember correctly, one of the victims at the pizza place was a woman ERL had an interest in and she had rejected him.....which I later heard the police thought the motive was for all the killings.

A horrifying time and one of the saddest times I've ever gone through. We miss you immensely Stephen "Savage" Anderson.

So sorry for the loss of your friend. Thanks for the additional info about a possible motive. One of the most senseless killings UM has ever profiled! I do remember reading an article that ERL had tried to blame his epilepsy (possibly creating brain damage) as part of what drove him to do it. I find this pretty offensive having a sister that has suffered from epilepsy for most of her life. I'm glad the Judge and jury didn't buy it.