An Oklahoma man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole after committing gruesome murders.
According to court documents, Lawrence Paul Anderson (above) pleaded guilty Wednesday to the vile murders of three people, including a child, “on or about” February 9, 2021 in Chickasha, according to NBC News. The victims were 41-year-old Andrea Lynn Blankenship (above, right), Anderson’s 67-year-old uncle Leon Pye, and Leon’s 4-year-old granddaughter Kaeos Yates. The 44-year-old also admitted to injuring his 66-year-old aunt, Delsie Pye — he broke her tailbone and ribs, and gouged out one of her eyes, according to The Oklahoman. Just shocking brutality…
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported that Anderson first broke into Blankenship’s home, which was across the street from the Pyes’, using his shoulder to force his way in through the back door. From there, he stabbed the unsuspecting woman 40 times, before removing her left eye, stomach, and most of her heart, according to a medical examiner’s autopsy report. Found at the scene were multiple bloody knives, a broken boxcutter, drill bits, screws, a sewing machine, and a bloodied tree branch, according to the outlet.
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From there, Anderson brought the heart across the street to his aunt and uncle’s residence, where he “cooked the heart with potatoes to feed to his family,” according to an OSBI agent via The Oklahoman. Apparently he thought it would “release the demons.”
After attempting to force the human remains on his family, he stabbed Leon to death, assaulted Delsie, and murdered 4-year-old Kaeos, who was visiting her grandparents at the time. Delsie wrote in a victim impact statement, which was read in court by Grady County District Attorney Jason Hicks:
“I can’t sleep at night without having nightmares of that night. To think a family member of mine could do this heinous crime breaks my heart. Family means everything to me. As my nephew, I don’t love you but I don’t hate you. … I can’t judge you. God will.”
The 66-year-old had previously told local news station KFOR back in 2021 that after attacking her, Anderson thought she was dead. She added, “God was with me.”
During his trial, part of the evidence was a voicemail recording of Kaeos screaming as Anderson stabbed her to death… The toddler’s mother, Tasha Yates, told Anderson he doused a light “in this dark world.” She added:
“On judgment day, I pray your heart is full of fear.”
Anderson eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and one count of maiming, in addition to agreeing to never appeal, seek commutation, write a book, or “participate in telling [his] story,” which reduced his sentence from death to five consecutive life sentences — three of which without the possibility of parole, according to The Oklahoman.
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The lack of death penalty was at the request of the victims’ families. Hicks explained in a news conference after the sentencing:
“A lot of that was tied to… they don’t want a trial. They don’t want to sit in a courtroom and listen to all the gory details of what happened to their loved ones.”
The Oklahoman reported that in 2017, Anderson had been sentenced to nine years in prison for violating probation on drug charges but was released three years later as part of a mass commutation effort. Just one month later he committed the brutal slayings. See more (below):
Our hearts are with the Pye and Blankenship families as they continue to heal from this horrible atrocity, and we’re glad to see justice being served.
Do you think his sentence was severe enough? Share your thoughts in the comments down below.
[Images via News 9/YouTube]
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