Belinda Sue Cronin, known to her friends and family as "Bebe," was a 21-year-old woman with her whole life ahead of her. A divorced mother, she was devoted to her young son and was navigating the promises and challenges of young adulthood in Phoenix, Arizona. Her life, full of potential, was cruelly and senselessly extinguished on January 20, 1992, when she became a victim of one of the city's most vicious predators.
On that Monday night, Belinda left her apartment with the intention of
hitchhiking to a friend's house. It was a decision that placed her in the path of Scott Alan Lehr, a man who would later become known as "The Baby Seat Rapist." Lehr, feigning concern for her safety, lured her into his vehicle. This act of deceptive kindness was the beginning of a horrific ordeal that would end in her death. He drove her to a remote area where he raped and brutally murdered her, bludgeoning her with rocks.
For nearly six months, Belinda's family was left with the agonizing uncertainty of her whereabouts. Their hopes for her safe return were shattered in June 1992, when her remains were discovered near a canal. The condition of her body spoke to the violence of her final moments and the callousness of her killer. An autopsy would later confirm that she died from blunt force trauma to the head, having sustained multiple skull fractures. Her clothes were found scattered nearby, a grim testament to the assault she had endured.
The investigation into Belinda's murder became part of a much larger and more terrifying picture. Phoenix police were hunting a serial predator responsible for a string of sexual assaults and murders between 1991 and 1992. The attacker was dubbed "The Baby Seat Rapist" because survivors reported seeing a child's car seat in his vehicle, a detail he used to project an image of safety and normalcy. Through the courageous testimony of survivors, who provided descriptions of the man, his car, and in one case, a partial license plate number, authorities were able to close in on their suspect.
Scott Alan Lehr, a father of three, was arrested on June 27, 1992. The investigation would ultimately prove that he was responsible for the murders of at least three women: 40-year-old Margaret Christorf in November 1991, Belinda in January 1992, and 19-year-old Michelle Morales in February 1992. In addition to these homicides, he was linked by DNA evidence and survivor testimony to at least seven other kidnappings and sexual assaults, his victims ranging in age from young girls to adult women.
Lehr's path through the justice system was long and complex. He was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, along with numerous other charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault. In 1997, he was sentenced to death for all three murders. However, due to legal challenges and appeals, including a landmark Supreme Court ruling that juries, not judges, must impose death sentences, his sentences were subject to years of review.
Ultimately, in 2009, Lehr was re-sentenced to death for the murders of Margaret Christorf and Michelle Morales. For the murder of Belinda Cronin, the jury could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty. As a result, the prosecution opted not to pursue another sentencing trial, and Lehr received a life imprisonment term for her death. This was in addition to the two death sentences and a staggering 947 years in prison for his other numerous and heinous crimes. Today, Scott Alan Lehr remains on death row in Arizona. The memory of Belinda "Bebe" Cronin, a young mother whose life was stolen, endures, a painful reminder of the profound and lasting impact of a killer's rampage. Her sister, Katrina Hayes, has expressed that even after all these years, the family is still deeply affected by what happened to her.
