On the evening of July 19, 1976, a young Caucasian man named Max David Jensen was working his shift as a gas station attendant in Orem, Utah. The 24-year-old was a student at Brigham Young University, balancing his studies with work to support his wife and their young daughter. His life was tragically cut short when a man named Gary Gilmore entered the Sinclair service station with the intent to rob it.
Despite Jensen complying with his demands, Gilmore forced him to lie down before fatally shooting him in the head. The motive appeared to be robbery, and the senseless act of violence left a community in shock and a young family devastated. A customer later discovered Jensen's body in the restroom after finding the station unattended.
The night after murdering Jensen, Gilmore went on to commit a similar crime in the nearby city of Provo, where he robbed and murdered a motel manager named Bennie Bushnell. Gilmore's recklessness ultimately led to his capture. While attempting to dispose of the murder weapon, a. 22 caliber pistol, he accidentally shot himself in the hand. This injury left a trail of blood that authorities were able to follow. A mechanic who witnessed Gilmore hiding the gun also played a crucial role by reporting his license plate number to the police. Furthermore, Gilmore's own cousin, Brenda, turned him in to the authorities after he contacted her seeking help for his self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Gary Gilmore was apprehended by the Utah State Police as he attempted to leave Provo and surrendered without resistance. He was charged with the murders of both Max Jensen and Bennie Bushnell. However, the case for Jensen's murder was never brought to trial, reportedly due to a lack of eyewitnesses. Gilmore's trial for the murder of Bennie Bushnell commenced on October 5, 1976, and concluded swiftly. The jury returned a guilty verdict and recommended the death penalty. In a move that drew international attention, Gilmore demanded that his death sentence be carried out, waiving all his appeals. On January 17, 1977, Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad, becoming the first person to be executed in the United States in nearly a decade.
