In the summer of 1996, a wave of violent crime swept through Tucson, Arizona, leaving a trail of devastation and heartbreak. One of the victims in this tragic series of events was Carol Lynn Noel, a 50-year-old woman working as a bartender. Her life was cut short on the evening of June 13, 1996, during an armed robbery at the Tucson Firefighters Association Union Hall.
On that fateful night, two men, Robert G.
Jones and Scott Nordstrom, entered the union hall with the intent to rob the establishment. Inside were Carol Lynn Noel and three patrons: Maribeth Munn, and Arthur and Judy Bell. The assailants, armed and ruthless, showed no hesitation in using lethal force. Noel was taken to the back of the bar and shot, while the three customers were also tragically murdered at the scene. This brutal act was part of a larger crime spree by Jones and Nordstrom, who had committed another double murder just two weeks prior during a robbery at a local smoke shop.
The investigation into these senseless killings led authorities to Jones and Nordstrom. A key witness in the case was Scott Nordstrom's younger brother, David, who acted as the getaway driver in the smoke shop robbery. His testimony was instrumental in bringing the two men to justice. Both Robert G. Jones and Scott Nordstrom were subsequently convicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder for the six lives they had taken.
In the aftermath of the trials, both men were sentenced to death for their heinous crimes. The legal proceedings brought a semblance of closure to the families of the victims, though the pain of their loss remained. Carol Lynn Noel's son, Carson Noel, was a poignant voice for the families throughout the legal process. He spoke of the profound impact of his mother's murder, sharing a video of her during the sentencing phase to remind the court of the vibrant life that had been extinguished. After years of appeals, Robert G. Jones was executed in 2013. Scott Nordstrom remains on death row. The tragic death of Carol Lynn Noel, a woman remembered for the life she lived, became an indelible part of a dark chapter in Tucson's history.
