On a crisp Saturday morning in Mesa, Arizona, the peaceful atmosphere of the Rose-Mar College of Beauty was shattered in an act of shocking violence. It was November 12, 1966, when a young woman named Mary Olsen, aged 18, found her life tragically cut short. She was a student at the beauty school, caught in a senseless attack that would leave a lasting scar on the community.
That morning, an 18-year-old high school senior named Robert Benjamin Smith entered the salon armed with a.
22-caliber pistol and a hunting knife. His motive, as he would later confess, was a chilling desire for infamy, inspired by other mass murderers of the time. Smith corralled the occupants—students and customers alike—into a back room. There, he instructed them to lie on the floor in a circle.
Among the terror-stricken group, Mary Olsen began to pray. When another woman explained what she was doing, Smith callously replied, 'I do,' before opening fire, making Olsen his first victim. The ensuing chaos saw Smith shoot multiple people, ultimately killing five individuals. Alongside Mary Olsen, the other victims who lost their lives were fellow students Glenda Carter, 18, and Carol Farmer, 19, as well as a customer, 27-year-old Joyce Sellers, and her 3-year-old daughter, Debra. Two others were wounded but survived the horrific ordeal; one by pretending to be dead, and an infant who was shielded by her mother's body.
The police arrived at the scene to find a laughing Robert Benjamin Smith, who readily confessed to the horrific acts he had just committed. He was promptly arrested and, in October 1967, was convicted of first-degree murder. His death sentence was later commuted to life in prison following a Supreme Court decision on capital punishment. Smith remained incarcerated until his death in April 2024.
