Marcella Landis, 31, was a woman whose life intersected tragically with a troubled young man in a place meant for healing. Their brief and volatile relationship ended with her murder on Saturday, June 4, 1966, in Westminster, California, making her the first victim of a man who would later be known as "The Candlelight Killer."
Marcella, a female, had met 19-year-old Robert Willard Liberty at the Orange County Medical Center.
Both were patients in the psychiatric ward, each recovering from recent suicide attempts. A connection formed between the two, and after they were released, they began a relationship and Liberty moved into Marcella's apartment at 8382 Westminster Boulevard. The apartment complex was typical for its time, with rectangular buildings and minimal ornamentation. But within the walls of their shared home, their relationship would come to a brutal and ritualistic end.
On that Saturday night, Liberty himself called the Westminster police and reported that his girlfriend was dead. When officers arrived, they encountered a bizarre and macabre scene. Marcella's body was lying on the couch. Her killer had dressed her, applied makeup to her face, and placed a Bible on her chest. From her head to her feet, lit candles surrounded her body. Sitting on the floor nearby, strumming a guitar and humming, was Robert Liberty. It was immediately clear she had been murdered; a single silk stocking was knotted tightly around her neck.
Liberty was arrested on suspicion of murder. During questioning, he recounted meeting Marcella in the hospital. The investigation into Marcella's death led to a legal process focused on Liberty's mental state. Three court-appointed psychiatrists examined him, and two declared him to be insane. In August 1966, a judge found Liberty insane and ordered him to Atascadero State Hospital for 90 days. By February 1967, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to Marcella's murder. A judge accepted the plea, and Liberty was sent to the Vacaville State Hospital for the criminally insane.
Shockingly, despite the violent crime, Liberty was deemed to have recovered by psychiatrists and was released on September 15, 1969. Six court-appointed psychiatrists concurred he was sane, though they warned he could be harmful if he used drugs or alcohol. A prosecutor argued against his release based on this warning, but a judge disagreed, stating that speculation was not enough to keep him in custody. Liberty was freed with no supervision required.
Liberty's freedom would prove fatal for others. In 1970, he killed two more men, Thomas Astorina and Robert Irion, in separate incidents. The murder of Irion involved a similarly ritualistic staging with candles, and Liberty left behind taunting notes, signing them "The Candlelight Killer," a name that would be retroactively applied to Marcella's case. This crime spree led to a manhunt, and Liberty was apprehended on June 9, 1970, in Colorado.
Marcella Landis was the first of three people killed by Robert Liberty. While he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for her murder, he was awaiting trial for the 1970 killings when his own life came to a violent end. On January 20, 1971, Liberty and his cellmate were strangled to death by another inmate in a San Diego jail. Because of his death, he was never brought to final justice for the murders of Thomas Astorina and Robert Irion. The case of Marcella Landis remains officially resolved, with her killer identified but deceased before he could be held fully accountable by the law for his later crimes.
