Willie Luther Steelman: The 1973 Arizona and California Murder Spree
Background
Willie Luther Steelman was born on March 21, 1945, in San Joaquin County, California, and grew up in the Lodi area. After losing his father during adolescence, Steelman left school and became involved in theft, burglary, drug use, and other criminal activity. By adulthood, he had developed a reputation as an unstable drifter who could be threatening, manipulative, and intensely controlling.
In 1973, the 28-year-old Steelman joined Douglas Edward Gretzler, a younger drifter originally from New York. During October and November of that year, the two men traveled through Arizona and California while committing robberies, kidnappings, assaults, and murders. Seventeen people were killed during a period of approximately three weeks. The victims ranged in age from nine to 38.
Steelman was frequently described as the dominant member of the partnership. Prosecutors later characterized him as the planner who selected victims, decided when witnesses should be killed, and pressured Gretzler to participate. Their crimes were largely motivated by robbery, the theft of vehicles, fear of identification, revenge over perceived insults, and a willingness to murder anyone who interfered with their plans.
The Murders of Kenneth Unrein and Michael Adshade
The confirmed murder spree began after Steelman and Gretzler became acquainted with Kenneth Unrein and Michael Raymond Adshade in the Phoenix and Mesa area of Arizona. On October 17, 1973, Steelman and Gretzler forced the two young men into Unrein's Volkswagen van at gunpoint. The captives were made to accompany them west into California.
On October 18, the group stopped near Littlejohn Creek outside Knights Ferry, California. Unrein and Adshade were led into a secluded creek bed, bound with cord and rope, and falsely told that they would be left alive. Steelman and Gretzler instead strangled both men with leather belts. They stole the victims' money and van, leaving their bodies in the isolated area.
The Killing of Steven Allan Loughran
While traveling back toward Arizona, Steelman and Gretzler picked up 18-year-old hitchhiker Steven Allan Loughran near Monterey Bay. Loughran traveled with them to Arizona and spent time at the residence of Robert Robbins and Katherine Mestites.
On October 23, 1973, Steelman provoked a confrontation with Loughran. After the physically stronger teenager gained the advantage in the fight, Steelman retrieved a shotgun and forced him into a vehicle. Loughran was driven to a remote gully near the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, robbed, and ordered to crawl into a sleeping bag. Steelman then shot him in the head. His body was abandoned at the scene.
The Murders of Robert Robbins and Katherine Mestites
Steelman became concerned that 19-year-old Robert G. Robbins and 21-year-old Katherine M. Mestites knew enough about the men's activities to connect them to the disappearance of Unrein and Adshade. Steelman reportedly also despised Robbins and believed that the young man might eventually alert authorities.
On October 24, 1973, Gretzler attacked Robbins inside the residence near Apache Junction, Arizona. Robbins was strangled with an electrical cord and then shot in the head to ensure that he was dead. His body was concealed beneath a mattress.
The following day, October 25, Mestites was killed after returning home. She was conducting a spiritual or fortune-telling session when Steelman and Gretzler shot her in the head. The bodies of Robbins and Mestites were discovered on October 28. Witnesses who had seen Steelman and Gretzler with the victims helped investigators identify them as suspects.
The Murder of Gilbert Rodriguez Sierra
On November 2, 1973, Steelman and Gretzler were traveling near Tucson, Arizona, when 19-year-old Gilbert Rodriguez Sierra stopped and offered them a ride. The men quickly decided to steal his automobile and money.
Sierra was forced from the vehicle and shot to death. Steelman and Gretzler then drove away in his car. The murder demonstrated the random nature of their crimes: Sierra had encountered the killers only because he had attempted to help two apparent hitchhikers.
The Sandberg Murders
On November 3, 1973, Steelman and Gretzler saw 28-year-old Michael Bruce Sandberg washing his car outside the Villa Paraiso apartment complex in Tucson. They approached him, produced weapons, and forced their way into the apartment he shared with his 32-year-old wife, Patricia May Sandberg.
Michael and Patricia were restrained and robbed. Both were shot to death inside their home so they could not identify their attackers. Steelman and Gretzler stole money and fled in the Sandbergs' automobile. These murders later became the basis of the Arizona death sentences imposed on both killers.
The Orchard Road Massacre
The final and largest crime occurred on November 7, 1973, in Victor, California, near Acampo and Lodi. Steelman had returned to the area where he had grown up and planned to rob a grocery business operated by Walter “Wally” Parkin. When Steelman and Gretzler discovered that the store was closed, they went to the Parkin family's house on Orchard Road.
At the residence were the Parkins' children, 11-year-old Lisa and nine-year-old Robert. They were being watched by 18-year-old Debra Earl and her 15-year-old brother, Richard Earl Jr. Debra became suspicious after Steelman and Gretzler appeared at the door and contacted her father, Richard Earl Sr.
Richard Earl Sr. went to the Parkin home to check on the teenagers. Before leaving, he told his wife, Wanda, to call the police if he did not return promptly. Steelman and Gretzler captured him when he arrived. Knowing that Wanda might summon help, Steelman forced Richard to return to the Earl residence and bring her back as another hostage.
Debra Earl's boyfriend, 20-year-old Mark Allen Lang, also arrived at the house and was taken prisoner. When Walter and Joanne Parkin returned from an evening of bowling, they too were seized. Steelman then forced Walter to accompany him to the family's store, where approximately $4,000 was removed from the safe.
After returning to the Orchard Road house, Steelman and Gretzler decided that none of the nine hostages could be left alive. The victims were bound and separated. Lisa and Robert Parkin were placed in their parents' bedroom and shot. The seven remaining victims were forced into or near a walk-in closet, where they were systematically shot. Several were struck by multiple bullets.
The massacre killed every person being held in the house. The victims included the entire Parkin household, most of the Earl family, and Mark Lang. The brutality of the crime, particularly the deliberate killing of two children, shocked investigators and residents throughout San Joaquin County.
Confirmed Victims
- Kenneth Unrein, 21 — Murdered on October 18, 1973, near Littlejohn Creek in Knights Ferry, California. He was kidnapped in Arizona, bound, strangled, and robbed.
- Michael Raymond Adshade, 19 — Murdered on October 18, 1973, near Littlejohn Creek in Knights Ferry, California. He was abducted with Unrein and strangled.
- Steven Allan Loughran, 18 — Murdered on October 23, 1973, in a remote area near the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. He was robbed and shot in the head.
- Robert G. Robbins, 19 — Murdered on October 24, 1973, near Apache Junction, Arizona. He was strangled with an electrical cord and shot in the head.
- Katherine M. Mestites, 21 — Murdered on October 25, 1973, near Apache Junction, Arizona. She was shot in the head inside her residence.
- Gilbert Rodriguez Sierra, 19 — Murdered on November 2, 1973, near Tucson, Arizona. He was shot after offering Steelman and Gretzler a ride.
- Michael Bruce Sandberg, 28 — Murdered on November 3, 1973, at the Villa Paraiso apartment complex in Tucson, Arizona. He was restrained, robbed, and shot.
- Patricia May Sandberg, 32 — Murdered on November 3, 1973, inside her Tucson apartment. She was shot along with her husband.
- Robert Allen Parkin, 9 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at the Parkin home on Orchard Road in Victor, California. He was shot in his parents' bedroom.
- Lisa Diane Parkin, 11 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at the Parkin home in Victor, California. She was shot with her younger brother.
- Walter George “Wally” Parkin, 32 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at his Orchard Road home in Victor, California, after being forced to open his grocery store safe.
- Joanne Carol Parkin, 33 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at her family's home in Victor, California.
- Richard Allen Earl Sr., 38 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at the Parkin residence in Victor, California, after attempting to check on his children.
- Wanda Jean Earl, 37 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at the Parkin residence in Victor, California. She was taken from her home so that she could not alert police.
- Debra Jean Earl, 18 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, while babysitting the Parkin children at the Orchard Road residence.
- Richard Allen Earl Jr., 15 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, at the Parkin home in Victor, California.
- Mark Allen Lang, 20 — Murdered on November 7, 1973, after arriving at the Parkin home to meet his girlfriend, Debra Earl.
Arrest and Confessions
Following the discovery of the Orchard Road victims, investigators quickly connected Steelman and Gretzler to the murders. Witnesses provided descriptions, warrants were issued, and Steelman's photograph was distributed to the news media.
Gretzler was recognized at a Sacramento hotel and arrested on November 8, 1973. Steelman was located later that day at the Sacramento home of a former girlfriend. Police surrounded the residence and used a loudspeaker to demand his surrender. Steelman initially threatened suicide and attempted to negotiate conditions for leaving the apartment. Officers eventually fired tear gas into the residence, and he surrendered after allowing the woman inside to leave safely.
Both men confessed to the murder spree. Their accounts differed on some details and on who personally carried out individual acts, but each admitted involvement in the killings. Steelman also claimed knowledge of three additional deaths involving men associated with the illegal drug trade. Investigators found no evidence confirming that story and did not add those alleged victims to the official total.
Trials and Sentences
Steelman and Gretzler were prosecuted in California for the nine Orchard Road murders. In June 1974, Steelman entered no-contest pleas to nine counts of murder and five counts of robbery. On July 8, 1974, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentencing judge described Steelman as the “architect and engineer” of the massacre and recommended that he never be released.
California officials subsequently extradited both men to Arizona. Steelman went on trial in 1975 for the murders of Michael and Patricia Sandberg. Prosecutors characterized the killings as planned, execution-style murders committed during a robbery. Steelman's defense attempted to place greater responsibility on Gretzler and argued that years of drug abuse had affected Steelman's mental condition.
The jury rejected those arguments and convicted Steelman of two counts of first-degree murder, along with kidnapping, robbery, and burglary charges. He received death sentences for the Sandberg murders and was transferred to death row at the Arizona State Prison in Florence.
Death in Prison
Steelman remained on death row while his attorneys pursued appeals concerning his convictions and sentences. Prison records described him as a difficult inmate who repeatedly clashed with correctional officers and other prisoners. He also wrote to outsiders, sometimes offering false or contradictory stories about his childhood, military service, religious conversion, and supposed innocence.
Willie Luther Steelman was never executed. He died in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 7, 1986, at the age of 41. His death was attributed to cirrhosis of the liver while he remained under a sentence of death. Gretzler stayed on Arizona's death row for another 12 years and was executed by lethal injection on June 3, 1998.
Legacy of the Crimes
Steelman and Gretzler's crimes remain among the deadliest multistate murder sprees of the 1970s. Although the pair are frequently classified as serial killers, the short duration and continuous nature of their violence have also caused them to be described as spree killers and mass murderers.
The defining feature of Steelman's crimes was the deliberate elimination of witnesses. People were murdered after offering transportation, providing temporary shelter, arriving unexpectedly, or simply being present during a robbery. The Orchard Road massacre represented the culmination of that reasoning, as Steelman and Gretzler killed nine people, including two children, to conceal a robbery and prevent identification.
Seventeen confirmed victims died between October 18 and November 7, 1973. Their murders left several families devastated and created a lasting sense of grief in communities across Arizona and California. Steelman's role as the dominant organizer of the partnership ensured that his name remained associated with one of the most ruthless and concentrated killing sprees in American criminal history.
