On a tragic day in Mesa, Arizona, three-year-old Debra 'Debbie' Sellers, a young White female, became an innocent victim of a senseless act of violence. On November 12, 1966, Debbie was with her 27-year-old mother, Joyce Sellers, at the Rose-Mar College of Beauty. What should have been an ordinary day turned into a nightmare when an 18-year-old man named Robert Benjamin Smith entered the establishment armed with a revolver and a knife.
Smith, who later stated he was inspired by other
mass murderers and wanted to 'make a name for himself,' forced the occupants of the beauty school into a back room. There, he ordered them to lie on the floor in a circle before he began shooting them one by one. In the horrific attack, five people lost their lives, including young Debbie and her mother, Joyce. Three other women, Glenda Carter, Mary Olsen, and Carol Farmer, were also killed. Two other individuals were injured but survived the massacre.
The perpetrator, Robert Benjamin Smith, was arrested at the scene without incident. He confessed to the gruesome crimes and was subsequently charged with multiple counts of murder. In October of 1967, Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and received a death sentence. However, due to a Supreme Court decision in 1972 that placed a moratorium on the death penalty, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Robert Benjamin Smith remained incarcerated for the rest of his life and died in prison on April 21, 2024.
