On a summer day in June of 1978, a journey of sorrow turned into a horrifying tragedy for the Lorenz family. Linda Stephens Lorenz, a 31-year-old woman, her husband Melvin, and their 12-year-old son Richard were traveling through Oklahoma, making their way to a family funeral. Their trip was abruptly interrupted near Purcell when they noticed what appeared to be a stranded motorist and, in a gesture of kindness, pulled over to offer their assistance. This act of compassion would be their last.
The distressed motorist was a woman named Verna Stafford, and her plea for help was a deceptive lure. As the Lorenz family stopped, they were ambushed by Verna's husband, Roger Dale Stafford, and his brother, Harold.
The motive for this brutal encounter was robbery. The Stafford brothers, along with Verna, had set a trap for an unsuspecting victim. When Melvin Lorenz resisted giving up all of his money, he was shot and killed. In a moment of terror and grief, Linda rushed to her husband's side, only to be gunned down as well. The horror did not end there. The couple's young son, Richard, who had been in the camper of their truck, was also tragically shot and killed. The perpetrators then disposed of the bodies of Linda and Melvin in a field, while Richard's body was found later, about a mile away.
The investigation into the senseless murders of the Lorenz family would eventually lead authorities to Roger Dale Stafford, his wife Verna, and his brother Harold. A crucial break in the case came when Verna Stafford, after being apprehended, implicated her husband and brother-in-law in the killings. Her testimony provided a chilling account of the events that transpired on that fateful day. Further investigation connected the Staffords to another heinous crime—a mass murder at a Sirloin Stockade restaurant in Oklahoma City that occurred just weeks after the Lorenz family was killed. Before he could be brought to justice, Harold Stafford died in a motorcycle accident. Verna Stafford received two life sentences for her role in the crimes. Roger Dale Stafford, the man who pulled the trigger and ended the lives of Linda, Melvin, and Richard Lorenz, was convicted of their murders and ultimately executed for his crimes in 1995.
