Allen Leroy Anderson

Serial Killer

Allen Leroy Anderson: The 1976 Cross-Country Killing Spree

Allen Leroy Anderson was an American murderer responsible for a violent cross-country series of robberies and killings during the summer and fall of 1976. His crimes are sometimes categorized as serial murders, although the rapid succession of killings committed while he continuously traveled across the United States also makes the case characteristic of a killing spree. Investigators ultimately connected Anderson to eight homicides stretching from Wisconsin and Minnesota through Virginia, Florida and Iowa before continuing west to Washington and California. Robbery was a recurring element of Anderson's crimes. Most of the victims were people he encountered while traveling and several were working alone or otherwise vulnerable when they were attacked. Seven of the eight victims associated with the spree were shot, usually in or near the back of the head with a .22-caliber firearm. The final California victim was beaten to death rather than shot.

Background and Beginning of the Spree

Anderson was born on September 12, 1943, and was originally from Minnesota. By the time of the 1976 murders, he already had a substantial criminal history involving offenses such as burglary, forgery and automobile theft and had spent much of his adult life within the correctional system. In June 1976, Anderson was staying at a treatment or halfway facility in Washington State. On June 1, he left the facility without authorization after taking an employee's automobile and wallet. He then began traveling across the country, using stolen cars, credit cards and other property to finance his movements. Within approximately two months, robberies along his route had escalated into murder.

Victims of Allen Leroy Anderson

• Irene Carlson — August 6, 1976 — Blueberry, Douglas County, Wisconsin: Irene Carlson, 77, was a widow who operated the Blueberry Antiques shop near Superior. On the morning of August 6, a neighboring store owner went to check on Carlson and discovered her dead inside the business. She had been shot once in the back of the head with a .22-caliber firearm. Anderson later admitted killing Carlson during an attempted robbery. He eventually pleaded guilty to her murder in Wisconsin and received a life sentence.
• Wayne Richard Stickley — August 10, 1976 — Northfield, Minnesota: Wayne Stickley was a 16-year-old service-station attendant working in Northfield when Anderson robbed the station and shot him in the back of the head. Stickley was found dead on August 10, 1976. Anderson later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He reportedly explained that he killed Stickley because a dead witness could not identify him. Anderson received a life sentence for the teenager's murder.
• Stuart Drake Davis — August 22, 1976 — Alexandria, Virginia: Stuart Drake Davis, 26, was found dead inside his Alexandria apartment. His hands and feet had been bound and he had been shot in the back of the head. Police identified Anderson as the principal suspect after his movements and the pattern of the killing were compared with other crimes occurring along his route. Virginia authorities later pursued a murder indictment involving Anderson.
• James L. Norford — August 24, 1976 — Albemarle County near Charlottesville, Virginia: James L. Norford, 37, managed a Texaco service station near Charlottesville. Only two days after Davis was found murdered, Norford was robbed at his station and shot in the back of the head. Albemarle County authorities publicly announced that Anderson would be charged with Norford's murder.
• Bascom DeWitt Harden — August 27, 1976 — Titusville area, Brevard County, Florida: Bascom DeWitt Harden was a 67-year-old Florida resident identified in contemporary newspaper accounts as the fruit-stand operator killed during Anderson's passage through Florida. Harden was robbed and shot in the back of the head on August 27, 1976. Some contemporary reports described the victim as 57 years old, but Harden's birth information indicates that he was actually 67, making the younger age most likely a reporting error. Harden resided in the Edgewater/New Smyrna Beach area of Volusia County, while the murder connected to Anderson occurred at a fruit stand in neighboring Brevard County in the Titusville area. Anderson was indicted for first-degree felony murder in the Florida case and later entered a plea of nolo contendere.
• Arlene Gehrke — September 4, 1976 — Buckeye, Iowa: Arlene Gehrke, 58, was a church organist living in the Buckeye area of Iowa. She was robbed and shot in the back of the head on September 4, 1976. Contemporary accounts of Anderson's crimes initially described her only as a 58-year-old church organist, but newspaper reports identify the victim as Arlene Gehrke. Investigators charged Anderson with first-degree murder in connection with her death.
• Unidentified fisherman — September 28, 1976 — near Wenatchee, Washington: A man fishing in a stream near Wenatchee was robbed and shot once in the back of the head on September 28. Investigators identified Anderson as a suspect in the homicide because of his movements, the robbery circumstances and the similarity to the other execution-style shootings attributed to him. Available contemporary accounts reviewed do not reliably identify the fisherman by name, and his identity should therefore remain unstated unless additional documentary evidence is located.
• Aaron Albert Church — October 12, 1976 — Chowchilla, Madera County, California: Aaron Albert Church, 57, was a garage manager from Chowchilla. Church was reported missing on October 8, 1976. His body was discovered on October 12. Unlike most of Anderson's other victims, Church had not been shot; he had been beaten to death and robbed. Church's age, residence and October 12 death date match contemporary accounts describing Anderson's unnamed Chowchilla garage-manager victim. Anderson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in California in connection with the killing.

...

Confirmed Victims: (7)

Irene Carlson Age: (77), Date of Death: 1976-08-06

Allen Leroy Anderson | Murderpedia