In the summer of 1983, a White / Caucasian male teenager named Graeme Cunningham, 13, was filled with excitement. He was eagerly anticipating a weekend camping trip scheduled for mid-July with a classmate and an adult chaperone named Roger Downs. His gear was packed, and the adventure was all he could talk about. On the evening of July 14, 1983, just two days before the planned trip, Graeme received a phone call at his Salt Lake City, Utah, home and went out, telling his mother he was just
running to the store. He never returned. When he failed to come home for dinner, his parents grew alarmed, and a frantic search began. His disappearance quickly became statewide news.
In a strange turn of events, Roger Downs, the man who was supposed to take Graeme camping, contacted the Cunningham family to offer his help in the search. This act, however, raised suspicion among detectives. The name "Roger Downs" was familiar to them; he had been questioned in connection with the disappearances of four other young boys in the Salt Lake City area over the previous four years. Investigators discovered that Downs had lived in close proximity to the other victims and was known to Graeme's parents. This connection prompted police to bring him in for further questioning regarding Graeme's case.
Under interrogation, the man known as Roger Downs was revealed to be Arthur Gary Bishop, a man living under an alias who was wanted for a parole violation. Feeling the pressure, Bishop's story began to unravel. He eventually confessed to the murder of Graeme Cunningham and the murders of four other boys: Alonzo Daniels, Kim Peterson, Danny Davis, and Troy Ward. Bishop recounted the horrifying details of Graeme's last hours. He had lured the boy to his home with a promise of a skateboard in exchange for posing for photographs. Fearing Graeme would tell someone about the encounter, Bishop struck him in the head with a hammer before drowning him in the bathtub.
Following his confession, Bishop led authorities to the locations where he had disposed of his victims' bodies. The remains of Graeme Cunningham and six-year-old Troy Ward were recovered from an area near Big Cottonwood Creek. The other three boys had been buried in the desert near Cedar Fort. Arthur Gary Bishop was charged with five counts of murder and kidnapping. During his trial, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on June 10, 1988.
