Texas is famous for its use of capital punishment; more than a third of executions in the United States since the 1970s have taken place in Texas. Another notable fact about capital murder in Texas is that in capital murder cases, the decision rests with the jury whether to sentence a convicted defendant to death or to life in prison. Of course, only a fraction of people sentenced to death are actually executed. Some die of natural causes while on death row, some have their sentences commuted to life in prison, and a few are actually released from prison. The story of Kenneth McDuff includes almost every possible outcome for a capital murder case. After killing at least nine people and escaping his fate several times, McDuff was executed in 1998.
Murders Kenneth McDuff is Known to Have Committed
Like other famous Texas serial killers, including Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, McDuff boasted that he killed numerous people. The exact number of his victims remains unknown. These are some of his known victims, although he was neither executed nor served life sentences for killing them:
- In 1966, McDuff and an accomplice named Roy Dale Green kidnapped and three teenagers named Robert Brand, Mark Dunman, and Edna Sullivan in Everman, Texas. McDuff shot the two boys and strangled Sullivan to death after raping her. McDuff was originally sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He then hired a criminal defense lawyer who collected sufficient evidence to convince a court that it was Green who committed the actual killings. McDuff was released on parole in 1989. He is one of only 20 people in Texas to be released on parole after spending time on death row.
- Shortly after his 1989 release, he most likely killed Serafia Parker in Temple, Texas, although he was never charged with her murder.
- In 1991, McDuff murdered Brenda Thompson after evading police, who chased him in an attempt to rescue her from his car.
- In 1991, McDuff killed Regenia Moore near Waco.
- Around that same time, he abducted Cynthia Gonzalez and murdered her.
- In late 1991, McDuff and an accomplice named Alva Hank Worley abducted Colleen Reed. Worley admitted to raping Reed but testified that McDuff alone had murdered her.
- McDuff strangled Valencia Joshua to death in February 1992.
- McDuff abducted Melissa Northrup from a Waco convenience store and murdered her in February 1992.
McDuff Finally Gets Caught
After Northrup’s murder, McDuff moved to Missouri, where he used the alias Richard Fowler. A coworker of his in Missouri saw McDuff’s image on America’s Most Wanted and recognized that “Fowler” was actually McDuff. The coworker reported him to police. McDuff was tried and convicted. He was executed by lethal injection in 1998.
Contact Madrid Law About Felony Cases
If McDuff’s defense attorney was able to get McDuff, a known murderer who had previously been on death row, released on parole, then you know what a difference good legal representation can make. Contact Madrid Law in Houston to discuss your case.
