Roger Dale Stafford

Serial Killer

Roger Dale Stafford: The Oklahoma Serial Killer

Introduction

Roger Dale Stafford was a notorious American serial killer responsible for a string of brutal murders in Oklahoma during the late 1970s. His crimes were particularly heinous, involving robbery-motivated killings and the massacre of an entire family at a rural rest stop. His reign of terror ended when authorities uncovered his involvement through a combination of eyewitness testimony and investigative work.

The Sirloin Stockade Massacre - July 16, 1978

One of Stafford’s most infamous crimes occurred at a Sirloin Stockade restaurant in Oklahoma City. Stafford, along with his wife, Verna Stafford, and his brother, Harold Stafford, orchestrated a robbery that ended in the cold-blooded execution of six employees.

• Victims:
  • Steve Harmon, 15
  • David Lindsey, 17
  • Forrest Mayer, 22
  • Anthony Tew, 17
  • Terry Horner, 15
  • Rhonda Morrison, 17

Stafford and his accomplices forced the employees into the restaurant’s freezer at gunpoint before shooting each of them execution-style. This mass murder shocked the community and prompted an extensive police investigation.

The Lorenz Family Murders - June 22, 1978

Less than a month before the Sirloin Stockade massacre, Stafford and his gang committed another horrifying crime near Purcell, Oklahoma. The victims, an Illinois family traveling through Oklahoma, stopped at a rest area when they encountered Stafford and his group.

• Victims:
  • Melvin Lorenz, 38
  • Linda Lorenz, 37
  • Richard Lorenz, 12

The family was lured into a trap, robbed, and then shot to death. Their bodies were left by the roadside, a crime that would later be linked to Stafford through witness accounts and evidence. ...Read More

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Melvin Lorenz Age: (38), Date of Death: 1978-06-22

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Roger Dale Stafford - Wikipedia

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