Albert Pearson, a 20-year-old African American male, was tragically murdered on January 27, 1981, in Rockford, Illinois. He was working as a stock boy at Fredd's Groceries, a small market on Rockford's west side, when the incident occurred. On that fateful day, Albert Pearson and the store owner, Willie Fredd, were both shot and killed during an armed robbery.
The perpetrator, Raymond Lee Stewart, used a .38-caliber revolver to commit the murders, shooting each victim multiple times in the head.
The murders of Albert Pearson and Willie Fredd were part of a larger spree of violence carried out by Raymond Lee Stewart. Over the course of several days, Stewart committed multiple armed robberies and murders in both Illinois and Wisconsin. His crime spree included the killing of a 17-year-old named Kevin Kaiser at a Clark gasoline station in Rockford and two more victims at an E-Z Go gas station.
Raymond Lee Stewart was eventually apprehended and faced multiple charges for his crimes. In the case of Albert Pearson and Willie Fredd, Stewart was charged with two counts of murder in the circuit court of Winnebago County, Illinois. He was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to death. The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court of Illinois.
Stewart's reign of terror and subsequent trial drew significant attention, highlighting the brutality of his actions and the impact on the victims' families. Despite his initial silence, Stewart later expressed remorse for his crimes, attributing his actions to a deep-seated hatred for whites, although his first two victims, including Albert Pearson, were African American. Stewart was executed by lethal injection on September 18, 1996, bringing a sense of closure to the families affected by his violent spree.
