Robert Charles Ladd
Background
Robert Charles Ladd was a Texas murderer responsible for the deaths of four people in two separate attacks committed nearly eighteen years apart. His crimes followed a disturbing pattern involving attacks on women inside their homes, theft, sexual violence, and the deliberate setting of fires. In both murder cases, flames were used in an apparent effort to destroy evidence and conceal what had happened.
Ladd was born on March 19, 1957, in Dallas, Texas. His criminal history began while he was still a teenager. In 1974, he pleaded guilty to the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and received a probated sentence. His probation was later revoked, and he was sent to prison. After his release, he committed the first known murders associated with him in Dallas in October 1978.
The 1978 Dallas Murders
On October 25, 1978, firefighters were called to an apartment belonging to Vivian Thompson in Dallas, Texas. Inside the burned residence, authorities discovered the bodies of Thompson and her two young children, Latoya and Maurice. Investigators determined that the fire was not an accident. It had been deliberately started after Thompson was attacked.
Thompson, an 18-year-old mother, had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. Evidence presented in later court proceedings described how a fire had been set between or near her legs, a detail that would become especially significant after Ladd committed another murder many years later. Thompson's two children died from smoke inhalation or asphyxiation caused by the fire.
The deaths of the children made the crime particularly devastating. Although they apparently were not stabbed, they were left inside the burning apartment and had no opportunity to escape. The fire consumed portions of the residence and threatened to destroy evidence, but investigators were able to connect Ladd to the killings.
Ladd was prosecuted for the deaths. On September 8, 1980, he pleaded guilty to two murder charges, one arson charge, and one theft charge. Although three people died, available court summaries commonly describe the plea as involving two counts of murder. He received concurrent 40-year prison sentences for the murder charges, a 20-year sentence for arson, and a 10-year sentence for theft.
Despite the brutality of the crime and the deaths of three people, Ladd did not remain imprisoned for the full 40 years. He served approximately sixteen years before being released under mandatory supervision on October 13, 1992. He was permitted to live in Tyler, Texas, where he eventually came into contact with the woman who would become his fourth known victim.
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