In the late morning of September 14, 1993, a knock came at the door of the Luna family home in Maryvale, Arizona. Patricia Valdez Luna, a 42-year-old Caucasian female, answered to find a man holding a vase of artificial flowers. This man was Richard Kenneth Djerf, an acquaintance of her eldest son, Albert Luna Jr. His friendly gesture was a ruse to gain entry and exact a twisted revenge.
Once inside, Djerf brandished a handgun and overpowered Patricia and her 5-year-old son, Damien. The motive for this horrific home invasion stemmed from a burglary at Djerf's apartment months earlier, a crime he attributed to Albert Jr. Frustrated by what he perceived as police inaction, Djerf decided to take matters into his own hands. He bound Patricia and her young son to chairs in the kitchen, beginning a long and terrifying ordeal for the family. He repeatedly questioned Patricia, asking her if she or her son should be the first to die.
The horror escalated as the day wore on. When 18-year-old Rochelle Luna arrived home from school, Djerf accosted her, took her to a bedroom where he assaulted and murdered her. Later that afternoon, Albert Luna Sr., Patricia's 46-year-old husband, returned from work to the unimaginable nightmare unfolding within his home. Djerf attacked him with an aluminum baseball bat before shooting him multiple times. Having systematically eliminated the other members of the family present, Djerf returned to the kitchen. There, in a final, brutal act, he shot both Patricia and 5-year-old Damien at close range.
Before leaving the scene of the massacre, Djerf attempted to cover his tracks by dousing the house in gasoline with the intent to set it ablaze, but the fire failed to start. The gruesome discovery was made the following day when Albert Luna Jr. returned home to find his parents and two younger siblings dead. The investigation quickly led to Richard Djerf after he confessed the details of the murders to several acquaintances. He was arrested on September 18, 1993. Djerf ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to death.
