Vicki Ann Garner, a 38-year-old woman, was brutally murdered on September 24, 1996, in her home in Tyler, Texas. Garner, who lived in an apartment complex catering to individuals with mental disabilities, was a patient at Andrews Center Behavioral Healthcare Systems and worked in the copy/mail room there. On the night of her murder, she had a friend over who left around 8:15 p.m.
Shortly after, an intruder broke into her home.
The following morning, at approximately 6:45 a.m., the Tyler Fire Department responded to a fire at Garner’s residence. Upon entering her bedroom, emergency personnel discovered her lying face down on the floor, naked from the waist down, with her hands bound behind her back. A belt was tightened around her neck, and ligature marks were present on her ankles. A wad of bedding had been placed between her legs, and parts of her body and the bedding were partially burned from an unsuccessful attempt to set the scene on fire. Investigators noted signs of a robbery, including missing small appliances. A VCR instruction manual was found, but the VCR itself was missing. Crime scene technicians discovered a full palm print on one of the kitchen cabinet doors.
The medical examiner’s report revealed that Garner had been beaten in the head and body with a hammer. Her wrists and ankles had been bound with an electrical cord, and she had burns on her head and torso consistent with a smoldering fire. The presence of semen indicated that she had been raped. The cause of death was determined to be manual strangulation from the belt around her neck, and her estimated time of death was around 8:45 p.m. the previous night. Investigators suspected that the fire was intended to destroy evidence of the crime.
Robert Charles Ladd, who was on parole for a previous triple murder, was identified as the perpetrator. Ladd had previously been convicted of the 1978 murders of Vivian Geanett Thompson and her two children in Dallas, Texas. He had stabbed Thompson multiple times before setting her body on fire, which resulted in the deaths of her children due to smoke inhalation. Despite his conviction, Ladd was granted mandatory parole after serving only 12 years of his sentence.
Following Garner’s murder, investigators quickly linked Ladd to the crime through physical evidence, including fingerprints and witness testimonies. Ladd had worked at Andrews Center, the same facility where Garner was employed. He was arrested the day after the murder and refused to cooperate with authorities. A psychiatric evaluation determined that he had an antisocial personality disorder, lacked remorse, and posed a high risk of reoffending.
Ladd was convicted of Garner’s murder and sentenced to death. His execution took place on January 29, 2015, after multiple appeals, including claims that his IQ of 67 should have exempted him from the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected these arguments, and Ladd was executed by lethal injection in Texas. In his final statement, he apologized to Garner’s sister, expressing remorse for his actions.
