In the summer of 1977, a chance encounter on a wooded road near Colfax, Louisiana, ended the life of 38-year-old Jimmy Cockrell. On June 28th of that year, Cockrell was with his motorcycle when he crossed paths with two men who were in the midst of a violent crime spree. Those men were Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton, fugitives who had recently escaped from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
Ruiz and Denton had a history of violent crime and their escape on June 23, 1977, marked the
beginning of a bloody journey that would span multiple states. After their prison break, the pair embarked on a series of robberies and murders. It was during this rampage that they came upon Jimmy Cockrell. In a senseless act of violence, they shot and killed him.
The killing of Cockrell was just one of several murders committed by Ruiz and Denton during their short-lived freedom. Their crime spree also included the deaths of individuals in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The duo's violent run from the law came to an end on July 8, 1977, when they were apprehended in Portland, Oregon.
Following their capture, Ruiz and Denton were extradited to Arkansas to face charges for the murders they committed in that state. They were tried, convicted, and ultimately sentenced to death. While they were not tried for the murder of Jimmy Cockrell in Louisiana, their capture brought an end to the terror they had inflicted across state lines. On January 8, 1997, Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton were executed by lethal injection in Arkansas, closing the final chapter on their deadly rampage.
