Hi-Fi Murders
Encyclopedia
The Hi-Fi murders were the brutal killings of three people during a robbery
at a home audio
store in Ogden, Utah
, on April 22, 1974. Five people had been held hostage but two survived with severe injuries. All were bound and forced to drink corrosive drain cleaner
. One victim had a pen kicked into his ear and a teenage girl was repeatedly raped
before being shot in the head. The crime became notorious for the violence inflicted against the victims and accusations of racial bias
in the Utah judiciary.
Police believed that six men were involved in the crime but only had enough evidence to convict three enlisted United States Air Force
airmen named Dale Selby Pierre, William Andrews and Keith Roberts. Pierre and Andrews were both sentenced to death
for murder and aggravated robbery while Roberts, who had remained in a getaway vehicle, was convicted of robbery.
s while Roberts and another man remained with the vehicles. Two employees, Stanley Walker, age 20, and Michelle Ansley, age 19, were in the store at the time and taken hostage. Pierre and Andrews took the two into the basement of the store and bound them. The gang then began robbing the store. Later, a 16-year-old boy named Cortney Naisbitt arrived to thank Walker for allowing him to park his car in the store's parking lot as he ran an errand next door. He was also taken hostage and tied up in the basement with Walker and Ansley. Later that evening, Orren Walker, Stanley's 43-year-old father, became worried that his son had not returned home. Cortney Naisbitt's mother Carol Naisbitt, also arrived at the shop looking for her son who was late getting home. Both Orren Walker and Carol Naisbitt were taken to the basement and tied up. At this point, Ansley began begging and crying, as did Cortney Naisbitt.
Pierre and Andrews then propped each of the victims into sitting positions and forced them to drink the liquid, telling them it was vodka
laced with sleeping pills. Rather, it was liquid Drano
. The moment it touched the hostages' lips, enormous blister
s rose, and it began to burn their tongues and throats and peel away the flesh around their mouths. Ansley, still begging for her life, was forced to drink the drain cleaner too, although she was reported to have coughed less than the other victims (by Orren Walker). Pierre and Andrews tried to duct-tape the hostages' mouths shut to hold quantities of drain cleaner in and to silence their screams, but pus
oozing from the blisters prevented the adhesive from sticking. Orren Walker was the last to be given the drain cleaner, but seeing what was happening to the other hostages, he allowed it to pour out of his mouth and then faked the convulsion
s and screams of his son and fellow hostages.
Pierre became angry because the deaths were taking too long and were too loud and messy, so he shot both Carol and Cortney Naisbitt in the backs of their heads. Pierre then shot at Orren Walker but missed. He then fatally shot Stanley before again shooting at Orren, this time grazing the back of his head.
Pierre then took Ansley to the far corner of the basement, forced her at gunpoint to remove her clothes, then repeatedly and brutally raped her, after telling Andrews to clear out for 30 minutes. When he was done, he allowed her to use the bathroom while he watched, then dragged her, still naked, back to the other hostages, threw her on her face, and fatally shot her in the back of the head.
Andrews and Pierre noted that Orren was still alive, so Pierre mounted him, wrapped a wire around his throat, and tried to strangle him. When this failed, Pierre and Andrews inserted a ballpoint pen
into Orren's ear, and Pierre stomped it until it punctured his eardrum
, broke, and exited the side of his throat. Pierre and Andrews then went upstairs, finished loading equipment into their van, and departed.
but was pronounced dead on arrival
. Cortney, though not expected to live, survived with severe and irreparable brain damage
; he was hospitalized for 266 days before being released. Orren Walker survived with extensive burns to his mouth and chin, as well as the damage to his ear caused by the pen.
Hours after news of the crime broke, an Air Force member called the Ogden police and told them that Andrews had confided to him months earlier, "One of these days I'm going to rob that Hi-Fi shop, and if anybody gets in the way, I'm going to kill them." Hours later, two teenage boys dumpster diving
near Hill Air Force Base
, where Pierre and Andrews were stationed, contacted the police after discovering the victims' wallets and purses, and recognizing their pictures from drivers' licenses.
The detective who responded to the scene, believing that the killers might be in the crowd, put on a show for the gathered airmen. Speaking dramatically he waved each piece of evidence in the air with tongs as he removed it from the dumpster. Later he noted that out of all the service personnel who gathered around the dumpster most stood still and watched in relative silence. However two men paced around the crowd, speaking loudly and making frantic gestures with their hands. The detective later identified these two airmen as Pierre and Andrews. The detective later received an award from the Utah branch of the Justice Department
for his use of proactive techniques.
Based on the two men's reactions to the evidence being removed from the trash bin, and the officer's implication of Andrews, both Andrews and Pierre were arrested. A search warrant
was then issued for their barracks
. Police found fliers for the Hi-Fi shop and a rental contract for a unit at a public storage
facility. Following the issue of another search warrant, stereo equipment taken from the Hi-Fi store, later identified by their serial numbers, was recovered from the unit. Detectives also discovered the half-empty bottle of Drano that had been used on the hostages.
With the collection of the evidence, Pierre and Andrews were formally charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. Another airman, Keith Roberts, who had waited outside the Hi-Fi shop in a getaway vehicle, was charged with robbery.
During the trial, it was revealed that Pierre and Andrews had robbed the store with the intention of killing anyone they came across, and in the months prior to the robbery had been looking for a way to commit the murders quietly and cleanly. The two then repeatedly watched the film Magnum Force
, in which a prostitute is forced to drink Drano
and is then shown immediately dropping dead. Pierre and Andrews decided that this would be an efficient method of murder and decided to use it in their crime.
Survivor Orren Walker was the star witness for the prosecution. Due to his amnesia
of the events, Cortney Naisbitt was unable to testify. His father, Dr. Byron Naisbitt, did testify.
, and later shot. Nonetheless, two individuals survived their horrific injuries.
their death sentences
but eventually failed.
The NAACP demanded that Pierre's and Andrews' sentences be removed; claiming that Pierre and Andrews had been unfairly convicted since they were both black, and the victims and jury were all white. Andrews was quick to accuse the judicial system of racism
following the NAACP's request for reduced sentences, and in an interview with USA Today
, he claimed that he had never intended to kill anyone. This was later rebutted when detectives cited a statement by Andrews in which he admitted being the one to purchase the drain cleaner and bring it to the store on the night of the killings.
Pierre and Andrews became notoriously hated prisoners. They were particularly reviled on death row
, especially by convicted murderer Gary Gilmore
(also facing capital punishment and imprisoned at the same facility), whose final words to his fellow inmates before being taken to face the firing squad were, "I'll see you in Hell, Pierre and Andrews!" Gilmore is reported to have laughed at Pierre and Andrews as he passed by their cells.
Despite movements by the NAACP and Amnesty International
to overturn the court's decision, Pierre and Andrews were both put to death by lethal injection
, Pierre on August 28, 1987, Andrews five years later on July 30, 1992.
The Hi-Fi murders are still considered as among the worst crimes ever committed in the state of Utah. The case is now taught to FBI
trainees at the FBI Academy
at Quantico, Virginia
, and it was included as a sample case in the FBI's Crime Classification Manual
.
by Gary Kinder
. This book was viewed by many as pioneering because it was one of the first true-crime books that focused on the victims of a violent crime rather than on the perpetrators
.
The Hi-Fi murders was also the basis for the 1991 CBS
television movie
Aftermath: A Test of Love, starring Richard Chamberlain
and Michael Learned
.
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
at a home audio
Home audio
Home audio, essentially, refers to any audio electronics intended for home use, such as shelf stereos and surround sound receivers, which are becoming the most popular piece of home audio equipment...
store in Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, on April 22, 1974. Five people had been held hostage but two survived with severe injuries. All were bound and forced to drink corrosive drain cleaner
Drano
Drano is a drain cleaner product manufactured by S. C. Johnson & Son.- Crystal Drano :According to the National Institutes of Health's Household Products Database, the crystal form is composed of sodium hydroxide , sodium nitrate, sodium chloride , and aluminum.The power crystals are simply colored...
. One victim had a pen kicked into his ear and a teenage girl was repeatedly raped
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
before being shot in the head. The crime became notorious for the violence inflicted against the victims and accusations of racial bias
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in the Utah judiciary.
Police believed that six men were involved in the crime but only had enough evidence to convict three enlisted United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
airmen named Dale Selby Pierre, William Andrews and Keith Roberts. Pierre and Andrews were both sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for murder and aggravated robbery while Roberts, who had remained in a getaway vehicle, was convicted of robbery.
Robbery
On April 22, 1974 Pierre, Andrews, Roberts and three other men drove to a Hi-Fi store on Washington Boulevard, Ogden, in two vans just before closing time. Three of the group then entered the shop brandishing handgunHandgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s while Roberts and another man remained with the vehicles. Two employees, Stanley Walker, age 20, and Michelle Ansley, age 19, were in the store at the time and taken hostage. Pierre and Andrews took the two into the basement of the store and bound them. The gang then began robbing the store. Later, a 16-year-old boy named Cortney Naisbitt arrived to thank Walker for allowing him to park his car in the store's parking lot as he ran an errand next door. He was also taken hostage and tied up in the basement with Walker and Ansley. Later that evening, Orren Walker, Stanley's 43-year-old father, became worried that his son had not returned home. Cortney Naisbitt's mother Carol Naisbitt, also arrived at the shop looking for her son who was late getting home. Both Orren Walker and Carol Naisbitt were taken to the basement and tied up. At this point, Ansley began begging and crying, as did Cortney Naisbitt.
Murder, torture and rape
With five people now in the basement, Pierre told Andrews to get something from out of their van. Andrews returned with a bottle in a brown paper bag, from which Pierre poured a cup of blue liquid. Pierre ordered Orren to administer the liquid to the other hostages, but he refused, and was bound, gagged and left face-down on the basement floor.Pierre and Andrews then propped each of the victims into sitting positions and forced them to drink the liquid, telling them it was vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
laced with sleeping pills. Rather, it was liquid Drano
Drano
Drano is a drain cleaner product manufactured by S. C. Johnson & Son.- Crystal Drano :According to the National Institutes of Health's Household Products Database, the crystal form is composed of sodium hydroxide , sodium nitrate, sodium chloride , and aluminum.The power crystals are simply colored...
. The moment it touched the hostages' lips, enormous blister
Blister
A blister is a small pocket of fluid within the upper layers of the skin, typically caused by forceful rubbing , burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection. Most blisters are filled with a clear fluid called serum or plasma...
s rose, and it began to burn their tongues and throats and peel away the flesh around their mouths. Ansley, still begging for her life, was forced to drink the drain cleaner too, although she was reported to have coughed less than the other victims (by Orren Walker). Pierre and Andrews tried to duct-tape the hostages' mouths shut to hold quantities of drain cleaner in and to silence their screams, but pus
Pus
Pus is a viscous exudate, typically whitish-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammatory during infection. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collection of pus within or beneath the epidermis is known as a pustule or...
oozing from the blisters prevented the adhesive from sticking. Orren Walker was the last to be given the drain cleaner, but seeing what was happening to the other hostages, he allowed it to pour out of his mouth and then faked the convulsion
Convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...
s and screams of his son and fellow hostages.
Pierre became angry because the deaths were taking too long and were too loud and messy, so he shot both Carol and Cortney Naisbitt in the backs of their heads. Pierre then shot at Orren Walker but missed. He then fatally shot Stanley before again shooting at Orren, this time grazing the back of his head.
Pierre then took Ansley to the far corner of the basement, forced her at gunpoint to remove her clothes, then repeatedly and brutally raped her, after telling Andrews to clear out for 30 minutes. When he was done, he allowed her to use the bathroom while he watched, then dragged her, still naked, back to the other hostages, threw her on her face, and fatally shot her in the back of the head.
Andrews and Pierre noted that Orren was still alive, so Pierre mounted him, wrapped a wire around his throat, and tried to strangle him. When this failed, Pierre and Andrews inserted a ballpoint pen
Ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument with an internal ink reservoir and a sphere for a point. The internal chamber is filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed at its tip during use by the rolling action of a small sphere...
into Orren's ear, and Pierre stomped it until it punctured his eardrum
Eardrum
The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear in humans and other tetrapods. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles...
, broke, and exited the side of his throat. Pierre and Andrews then went upstairs, finished loading equipment into their van, and departed.
Arrests
The victims were discovered almost three hours later when Orren's wife and other son came to the store looking for them. Orren's son heard noises coming from the basement and broke down the back door while Mrs. Walker called the Ogden police. Stan Walker and Ansley were already dead; Carol Naisbitt was taken by ambulance to Odgen HospitalOgden Regional Medical Center
The Ogden Regional Medical Center is a hospital in Ogden, Utah.-Overview:Ogden Regional has 238 licensed beds, 300 physician medical staff, 1,000 employees & volunteers, 77,000 outpatient visits per year, 7,300 inpatient admissions annually, 6,000 surgeries performed annually, 22,000 units of blood...
but was pronounced dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival or D.O.A. is a term used to indicate that a patient was found to be already clinically dead upon the arrival of professional medical assistance, often in the form of first responders such as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, or police...
. Cortney, though not expected to live, survived with severe and irreparable brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
; he was hospitalized for 266 days before being released. Orren Walker survived with extensive burns to his mouth and chin, as well as the damage to his ear caused by the pen.
Hours after news of the crime broke, an Air Force member called the Ogden police and told them that Andrews had confided to him months earlier, "One of these days I'm going to rob that Hi-Fi shop, and if anybody gets in the way, I'm going to kill them." Hours later, two teenage boys dumpster diving
Dumpster diving
Dumpster diving is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential trash to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but that may be useful to the dumpster diver.-Etymology and alternate names:...
near Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force Base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and near the towns of Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, Sunset, and Layton. It is about north of Salt Lake City. The base was named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill of the U.S. Army Air...
, where Pierre and Andrews were stationed, contacted the police after discovering the victims' wallets and purses, and recognizing their pictures from drivers' licenses.
The detective who responded to the scene, believing that the killers might be in the crowd, put on a show for the gathered airmen. Speaking dramatically he waved each piece of evidence in the air with tongs as he removed it from the dumpster. Later he noted that out of all the service personnel who gathered around the dumpster most stood still and watched in relative silence. However two men paced around the crowd, speaking loudly and making frantic gestures with their hands. The detective later identified these two airmen as Pierre and Andrews. The detective later received an award from the Utah branch of the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
for his use of proactive techniques.
Based on the two men's reactions to the evidence being removed from the trash bin, and the officer's implication of Andrews, both Andrews and Pierre were arrested. A search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
was then issued for their barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
. Police found fliers for the Hi-Fi shop and a rental contract for a unit at a public storage
Self storage
Self storage is an industry in which storage space is rented to tenants, usually on a monthly basis. A self storage business provides rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space in which tenants can store and access their goods. Self storage tenants include businesses and individuals...
facility. Following the issue of another search warrant, stereo equipment taken from the Hi-Fi store, later identified by their serial numbers, was recovered from the unit. Detectives also discovered the half-empty bottle of Drano that had been used on the hostages.
With the collection of the evidence, Pierre and Andrews were formally charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. Another airman, Keith Roberts, who had waited outside the Hi-Fi shop in a getaway vehicle, was charged with robbery.
Trial
Pierre, Andrews, and Roberts were tried jointly for first-degree murder and robbery. Pierre and Andrews were convicted of all charges and sentenced to death. Roberts was convicted only of robbery and was sentenced to imprisonment. He was paroled in 1987.During the trial, it was revealed that Pierre and Andrews had robbed the store with the intention of killing anyone they came across, and in the months prior to the robbery had been looking for a way to commit the murders quietly and cleanly. The two then repeatedly watched the film Magnum Force
Magnum Force
Magnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
, in which a prostitute is forced to drink Drano
Drano
Drano is a drain cleaner product manufactured by S. C. Johnson & Son.- Crystal Drano :According to the National Institutes of Health's Household Products Database, the crystal form is composed of sodium hydroxide , sodium nitrate, sodium chloride , and aluminum.The power crystals are simply colored...
and is then shown immediately dropping dead. Pierre and Andrews decided that this would be an efficient method of murder and decided to use it in their crime.
Survivor Orren Walker was the star witness for the prosecution. Due to his amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
of the events, Cortney Naisbitt was unable to testify. His father, Dr. Byron Naisbitt, did testify.
Convictions
Police believe six black men driving two vans were involved in the robbery. Roberts and another man remained with the vehicles and another two loaded the vans while Pierre and Andrews were in the basement with the victims. However detectives only had enough evidence to convict three people for the crime.- Dale Selby Pierre (January 21, 1953 – August 28, 1987): Pierre was 21 years old at the time of the crime. He was born and raised in Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, until moving to BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, at the age of 17. In May 1973, Pierre entered active service with the United States Air Force. On November 16, 1974, Pierre was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery for the Hi-Fi crimes. On November 20, 1974, he was given three death sentences, one for each of the murder victims. While in prison, Pierre frequently changed his name, reportedly to protect his family name from notoriety. In all, he changed it 27 times, finally settling on "Pierre Dale Selby" (simply transposing his first, middle, and last names from birth) as his legal name. After exhaustion of appeals, Pierre was executed by lethal injectionLethal injectionLethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
on August 28, 1987, at the age of 34. At the time of his death, Pierre bequeathedBequestA bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
all of his money ($29) to Andrews. - William Andrews: Andrews was 19 years old at the time of the crimes. He was put to death by lethal injectionLethal injectionLethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
on July 30, 1992. - Keith Roberts: The court found that Keith Roberts had no role in, or knowledge of, the murders though he was convicted of armed robbery. Roberts was paroled in 1987.
Victims
The victims included the following five individuals, three of whom were murdered. Each of the victims was bound, forced to drink DranoDrano
Drano is a drain cleaner product manufactured by S. C. Johnson & Son.- Crystal Drano :According to the National Institutes of Health's Household Products Database, the crystal form is composed of sodium hydroxide , sodium nitrate, sodium chloride , and aluminum.The power crystals are simply colored...
, and later shot. Nonetheless, two individuals survived their horrific injuries.
- Michelle Ansley: Ansley, age 19, was an employee of the Hi-Fi Shop. She had been hired only a week before the murders. Ansley was raped and killed by Pierre.
- Byron Cortney Naisbitt (September 25, 1957 – June 4, 2002): Cortney Naisbitt was a 16-year-old Ogden High School student at the time of the crime. Although he survived his injuries, he had amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
of the events at the Hi-Fi Shop and was thus unable to testify at trial. Naisbitt was able to return to school more than a year after the incident, and he graduated with his class at the high school in 1976. Due to the brain damage from his head wound, however, he was forced to drop out of college. Because he could not hold down a job, he had to apply for Social SecuritySocial Security (United States)In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
assistance. On November 15, 1985, Naisbitt married Catherine Hunter. He suffered chronic pain for the rest of his life, and he died at the age of 44 on June 4, 2002. The experiences of Cortney Naisbitt and his family were detailed in Gary KinderGary Kinder (author)Gary Kinder is an American writer. He is the author of Light Years and The New York Times Best Seller Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. Kinder also wrote the 1982 classic of true crime, Victim: The Other Side of Murder. He researched Victim for seven years prior to having it published...
's 1982 book Victim: The Other Side of MurderVictim: The Other Side of MurderVictim: The Other Side of Murder is a 1982 true crime book by Gary Kinder. The book is based on real characters and events of the Hi-Fi Murders that occurred on April 22, 1974, in Ogden, Utah.- Summary :...
. - Carol Naisbitt: Carol Naisbitt, age 52, was the mother of victim Cortney Naisbitt. She was killed.
- Orren W. Walker (September 17, 1930 – February 13, 2000): Orren Walker, the father of victim Stanley Walker, was 43 years old at the time of the crime. Having survived the brutal attack, Orren Walker testified at trial against the perpetrators. He died at the age of 69 on February 13, 2000.
- Stanley Walker: Stanley Walker, age 20, was an employee of the Hi-Fi Shop. He was killed.
Aftermath
Following the issuing of death sentences, the NAACP campaigned to commuteCommutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
their death sentences
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
but eventually failed.
The NAACP demanded that Pierre's and Andrews' sentences be removed; claiming that Pierre and Andrews had been unfairly convicted since they were both black, and the victims and jury were all white. Andrews was quick to accuse the judicial system of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
following the NAACP's request for reduced sentences, and in an interview with USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, he claimed that he had never intended to kill anyone. This was later rebutted when detectives cited a statement by Andrews in which he admitted being the one to purchase the drain cleaner and bring it to the store on the night of the killings.
Pierre and Andrews became notoriously hated prisoners. They were particularly reviled on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
, especially by convicted murderer Gary Gilmore
Gary Gilmore
Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal, and murderer, who gained international notoriety for demanding that his own death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah. He became the first person executed in the United States after the U.S...
(also facing capital punishment and imprisoned at the same facility), whose final words to his fellow inmates before being taken to face the firing squad were, "I'll see you in Hell, Pierre and Andrews!" Gilmore is reported to have laughed at Pierre and Andrews as he passed by their cells.
Despite movements by the NAACP and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
to overturn the court's decision, Pierre and Andrews were both put to death by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
, Pierre on August 28, 1987, Andrews five years later on July 30, 1992.
The Hi-Fi murders are still considered as among the worst crimes ever committed in the state of Utah. The case is now taught to FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
trainees at the FBI Academy
FBI Academy
The FBI Academy, located in Quantico, Virginia, is the training site for new Special Agents of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was first opened for use in 1972 on 385 acres of woodland. It is a relatively small government academy, housing three dormitory buildings and...
at Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
, and it was included as a sample case in the FBI's Crime Classification Manual
Crime Classification Manual
Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes is a text on the classification of violent crimes by John E. Douglas, Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess and Robert K...
.
Media
The experiences of Cortney Naisbitt and his family became the basis for the 1982 book Victim: The Other Side of MurderVictim: The Other Side of Murder
Victim: The Other Side of Murder is a 1982 true crime book by Gary Kinder. The book is based on real characters and events of the Hi-Fi Murders that occurred on April 22, 1974, in Ogden, Utah.- Summary :...
by Gary Kinder
Gary Kinder (author)
Gary Kinder is an American writer. He is the author of Light Years and The New York Times Best Seller Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. Kinder also wrote the 1982 classic of true crime, Victim: The Other Side of Murder. He researched Victim for seven years prior to having it published...
. This book was viewed by many as pioneering because it was one of the first true-crime books that focused on the victims of a violent crime rather than on the perpetrators
.
The Hi-Fi murders was also the basis for the 1991 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Aftermath: A Test of Love, starring Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
and Michael Learned
Michael Learned
Michael Learned is an American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.-Personal life:Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" and Bruce Learned, a diplomat. Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome...
.
See also
- Capital punishmentCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
- Capital punishment in Utah
- Victim: The Other Side of MurderVictim: The Other Side of MurderVictim: The Other Side of Murder is a 1982 true crime book by Gary Kinder. The book is based on real characters and events of the Hi-Fi Murders that occurred on April 22, 1974, in Ogden, Utah.- Summary :...