On New Year's Eve 1980, as he and his wife, Marilyn, were preparing for a party at their Phoenix, Arizona home, 46-year-old William Patrick 'Pat' Redmond was met by three men at his door. The men, one of whom was a former police officer, forced their way into the residence at gunpoint. They rounded up Redmond, his wife, and his 70-year-old mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, who was visiting for the holiday.
The intruders ordered the three family members into a bedroom, where their hands were
bound. In a brutal and calculated act, each was shot in the back of the head. William Redmond and Helen Phelps died from their injuries. Miraculously, despite also being shot in the head, Marilyn Redmond survived the horrific ordeal. The initial belief that this was a simple home invasion and robbery, as some jewelry and cash were taken, soon gave way to a much more sinister explanation.
The investigation revealed a complex murder-for-hire plot. Authorities determined that the killings were contract killings orchestrated to seize control of a printing business owned by Redmond and his partner. Marilyn Redmond was later able to identify the three assailants as Edward Lonzo McCall Jr., a former Phoenix police officer, William Bracy, and Murray Hooper. The investigation also implicated Robert Charles Cruz, a Tempe businessman, as the mastermind behind the scheme, and Joyce Lukezic, the wife of Redmond's business partner, in the conspiracy.
The legal aftermath of the murders spanned decades. McCall, Bracy, and Hooper were all convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. McCall and Bracy died on death row before their executions could be carried out. After numerous appeals, Murray Hooper was executed by lethal injection in November 2022. Robert Charles Cruz, accused of ordering the murders, was acquitted after his fifth trial. Joyce Lukezic was also eventually acquitted of her involvement in the case. The story of the crime and its convoluted legal proceedings was later depicted in a television film.
