In the winter of 1987, the life of Kathleen 'Kathy' Michele Cribbins Kendrick, a 24-year-old female, was tragically cut short in Russellville, Arkansas. A mother to a young son, she was working as a secretary at the Peel, Eddy, and Gibbons Law Firm, building a life for herself and her child.
On the morning of December 28th, a man named Ronald Gene Simmons entered her workplace.
Simmons, a former coworker from a previous job at Woodline Motor Freight, had previously made unwelcome romantic advances toward Kendrick. After she rebuffed him, he continued to harass and stalk her. When she returned to the reception desk that morning and asked, 'Can I help you?', Simmons shot her four times in the head.
Kathleen Kendrick was one of the final victims in a horrific killing spree carried out by the 47-year-old Simmons over the Christmas holiday. Before arriving at the law firm, he had already murdered 14 members of his own family, including his children and grandchildren. After shooting Kendrick, he continued his rampage, killing another person and wounding several others at different locations in Russellville before finally being apprehended by police.
Ronald Gene Simmons was subsequently charged with 16 counts of murder. At his trial for the murders of Kathleen Kendrick and his other final victim, he requested the death penalty. His request was granted, and he received another death sentence for the murders of his family members. On June 25, 1990, Ronald Gene Simmons was executed by lethal injection.
