In the late afternoon heat of September 10, 1980, in Van Buren, Arkansas, a dark chapter unfolded at Staton's Jewelry Store. Inside, Suzanne Staton Ware, a young woman of 23, was working alongside her father, Kenneth Staton. As the day wound down, two men entered the store, not as customers, but with the intent of robbery. What transpired next was a brutal act of violence that would leave the small community in shock. The two men bound and gagged both Suzanne and her father.
In a cold-blooded act, each was shot twice in the head at close range, ending their lives.
The grim discovery was made around 6:00 p.m. by a clerk from a neighboring business in the Cloverleaf Shopping Center. The subsequent investigation into the double homicide quickly identified two primary suspects: Eugene Wallace Perry and Richard Phillip Anderson. The two had met at a campground and meticulously planned the robbery of the jewelry store. Their preparations included visiting the store days prior to the crime to survey the layout and even bringing a wig to help conceal their identities on the day of the robbery.
Following the murders, Perry and Anderson fled the scene in Suzanne Ware's vehicle, which they later abandoned. They made off with an estimated $100,000 worth of jewelry. However, their freedom was short-lived. Within months, both men were apprehended. Perry was arrested in Florida, and Anderson, after attempting to evade law enforcement, was captured in Canada. Their trials resulted in convictions for the heinous crimes. Richard Phillip Anderson received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Eugene Wallace Perry, identified as the one who pulled the trigger, was convicted of capital felony murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on August 6, 1997.
