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{{short description|American serial killer (1953–2002)}}
{{Short description|American serial killer (1953–2002)}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2018}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox criminal
{{Infobox serial killer
| name = Stephen Wayne Anderson
| name = Stephen Wayne Anderson
| image = Stephen Wayne Anderson mugshot.jpg
| image = Stephen Wayne Anderson mugshot.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|7|8}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|7|8}}
| birth_place = {{circa}} [[Utah]], U.S
| birth_place = [[Utah]], U.S
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|1|29|1953|7|8}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|1|29|1953|7|8}}
| death_place = [[San Quentin State Prison]], [[San Quentin, California]], U.S.
| death_place = [[San Quentin State Prison]], [[San Quentin, California]], U.S.
| death_cause = Execution by [[lethal injection]]
| death_cause = [[Execution by lethal injection]]
| conviction_penalty = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
| conviction_penalty = [[Capital punishment in California|Death]]
| occupation = [[Contract killer]]
| conviction_status = [[Capital punishment|Executed]] at [[San Quentin State Prison]]
| occupation = [[Contract killer]]
| beginyear =
| beginyear =
| endyear =
| endyear =
| victims = 9+
| victims = 9+
| apprehended = May 26, 1980
| apprehended = May 26, 1980
| country = United States
| country = United States
| states = [[Utah]], [[Nevada]], and [[California]]
| conviction = [[Murder (United States law)|First degree murder]] with [[Special circumstances (criminal law)|special circumstances]]<br>[[Aggravated assault]]<br>[[Burglary|Aggravated burglary]] (4 counts)<br>[[Burglary]]
| states = [[Utah]], [[Nevada]], and [[California]]
| criminal_status = [[Executed]]
| conviction = [[Murder|First degree murder with special circumstances]]
}}
}}

'''Stephen Wayne Anderson''' (July 8, 1953 – January 29, 2002) was an American [[serial killer]] who was executed at California's [[San Quentin State Prison]] by [[lethal injection]] in 2002 for the murder of Elizabeth Lyman. He was either known to have killed or admitted to the killings of at least eight other people, including a fellow inmate and at least seven contract killings.
'''Stephen Wayne Anderson''' (July 8, 1953 – January 29, 2002) was an American [[Contract killing|contract killer]] and [[serial killer]] who was executed at California's [[San Quentin State Prison]] by [[lethal injection]] in 2002 for the murder of Elizabeth Lyman. He was either known to have killed or admitted to the killings of at least eight other people, including a fellow inmate and at least seven contract killings.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Stephen Wayne Anderson was born on July 8, 1953, the older of two boys born to an alcoholic father with a violent temper and an emotionally abusive mother who kicked Stephen and his brother out of the home when he was 14.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/short-hed-article-1.2334263|title=Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row}}</ref> As a result, they had to live with friends and relatives.
Stephen Wayne Anderson was born on July 8, 1953, the older of two boys, born to an alcoholic father with a violent temper and an emotionally abusive mother who kicked both Stephen and his brother out of the home when he was 14.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/short-hed-article-1.2334263 |title=Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row |website=[[New York Daily News]] |date=August 22, 2015 }}</ref> They began living with friends and relatives following the ban.


==The crimes==
==Crimes==
Anderson committed his first violent crime in 1971, when he burglarized a school in [[Farmington, New Mexico]]. During the robbery, he threatened two police officers.<ref name=":0" /> He was convicted of burglary and sentenced to one to five years in prison. He was paroled on that count in 1975, but continued to serve a sentence of 10 to 50 years on multiple aggravated burglary convictions.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1975-05-18 |title=Clayton Hayward Potts murderer Michael Lee Sharer parolled |page=66 |work=Albuquerque Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19229723/clayton-hayward-potts-murderer-michael/ |access-date=2022-05-02}}</ref> Anderson was sent out of state to the [[Utah State Prison]]. While he was there, he killed a fellow inmate named Blundell on August 24, 1977. He also assaulted another inmate, and assaulted a correctional officer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Stephen Wayne Anderson, Petitioner-appellant, v. Arthur Calderon, Warden, Respondent-appellee, 232 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2000) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/232/1053/514854/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>
Anderson had been incarcerated for one count of aggravated burglary in 1971 and three counts of aggravated burglary in 1973. While incarcerated at Utah State Prison, Anderson murdered an inmate, [[assault]]ed another inmate, and assaulted a correctional officer. Anderson admitted to six other [[contract killing]]s in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]] that happened prior to the crime for which he received a death sentence. On November 24, 1979, he escaped from prison, after which he worked for narcotics traffickers and committed at least one murder in the eastern mountains of [[Salt Lake County, Utah]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thirty-five-year-old Utah cold-case murder solved, police say|url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2592790&itype=CMSID|access-date=2021-12-22|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref>


On May 26, 1980, Anderson, then 26, burglarized the [[Bloomington, California]] house of 81-year-old Elizabeth Lyman, a retired piano teacher. In the middle of the night, Anderson cut Lyman's telephone line with a knife, and broke into her home by removing a glass pane from her French doors. He checked the house for occupants room by room. When he entered Lyman's bedroom, she awoke and screamed. Anderson shot her in the face from close range with a .45 caliber [[handgun]], fatally wounding her. He covered her body with a blanket, recovered the expelled casing from the hollow-point bullet that killed her, and ransacked her house for money. He found less than $100.<ref name="Bovsun2015">{{cite news |last1=Bovsun |first1=Mara |title=Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/short-hed-article-1.2334263 |accessdate=16 September 2018 |work=New York Daily News |date=August 22, 2015}}</ref>
On May 26, 1980, Anderson, then 26, burglarized the [[Bloomington, California]], house of 81-year-old Elizabeth Lyman, a retired piano teacher. In the middle of the night, Anderson cut Lyman's telephone line with a knife, and broke into her home by removing a glass pane from her French doors. He checked the house for occupants room by room. When he entered Lyman's bedroom, she awoke and screamed. Anderson shot her in the face from close range with a .45 caliber [[handgun]], fatally wounding her. He covered her body with a blanket, recovered the expelled casing from the hollow-point bullet that killed her, and ransacked her house for money. He found less than $100.<ref name="Bovsun2015">{{cite news |last1=Bovsun |first1=Mara |title=Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/short-hed-article-1.2334263 |access-date=September 16, 2018 |work=New York Daily News |date=August 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen Wayne Anderson #754 |url=http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/anderson754.htm |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=www.clarkprosecutor.org}}</ref>


Anderson then prepared himself a meal in Lyman's kitchen. A suspicious next door neighbor called the sheriff's department. As he was eating and watching television, sheriff's deputies responded to the call and arrested him. He admitted to the murder.<ref name="Bovsun2015" />
Anderson then prepared himself a meal in Lyman's kitchen. A suspicious next door neighbor called the sheriff's department. As he was eating and watching television, sheriff's deputies responded to the call and arrested him. He admitted to the murder.<ref name="Bovsun2015" /> Anderson later told the detectives that "I was born and trained to be a killer. I always wanted to be a killer."<ref name=":0" /> Anderson admitted to six other [[contract killing]]s in [[Las Vegas]] that happened prior to the crime for which he received a death sentence. On November 24, 1979, he escaped from prison, after which he worked for narcotics traffickers and committed at least one murder in the eastern mountains of [[Salt Lake County]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thirty-five-year-old Utah cold-case murder solved, police say |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2592790&itype=CMSID |access-date=2021-12-22 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Executed Inmate Summary - Stephen Wayne Anderson |url=https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/capital-punishment/inmates-executed-1978-to-present/stephen-wayne-anderson/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=Capital Punishment |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Trial and execution==
==Trial and execution==
On July 24, 1981, Anderson was convicted and sentenced to [[capital punishment|death]]. His [[last meal]] before the [[capital punishment|execution]] was two grilled cheese sandwiches with [[radishes]], one pint of [[cottage cheese]], a hominy/corn mixture, one slice of [[peach pie]], and one pint of [[chocolate chip]] [[ice cream]]. On January 29, 2002, Anderson was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 am Pacific Time.
On July 24, 1981, Anderson was convicted and sentenced to [[capital punishment|death]]. The prosecution pointed to his violent history, both in and out of prison, as evidence that he was too dangerous to be kept alive.

{{blockquote|So remember that when you consider what he's done and what he's testified to. This particular individual is a sociopath. He cannot live with anybody. He cannot get along with anybody. He kills people everywhere. He stabs people everywhere. He has stabbed an individual in prison. And you'll have the court documents that shows where he pled guilty. And he admitted that while in the Utah State Prison sitting in a movie he stabbed an inmate there. And as a result of that stabbing he was convicted of aggravated assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon. He stabbed Mr. Blundell and killed Mr. Blundell while he was in prison. He admitted that he killed him. He told you that just before he came down here from San Quentin he got into a fight with the people in San Quentin and his housing was changed because he was fighting. There is no place that anybody is going to be safe from this individual. He looks out for old number one, and that's all he's concerned with. And forget about the rest of the world.<ref name=":0" />}}

On January 29, 2002, Anderson was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. PT. Anderson's [[last meal]] consisted of two grilled cheese sandwiches with [[radishes]], one pint of [[cottage cheese]], a hominy/corn mixture, one slice of [[peach pie]], and one pint of [[chocolate chip]] [[ice cream]]. He had no last words.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 40: Line 43:
* [[Capital punishment in the United States]]
* [[Capital punishment in the United States]]
* [[List of people executed in California]]
* [[List of people executed in California]]
* [[List of people executed in the United States in 2002]]
* [[List of serial killers in the United States]]
* [[List of serial killers in the United States]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Capital_Punishment/inmates_executed/stephenAnderson.html Profile: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation], cdcr.ca.gov; retrieved March 2020
* [http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/anderson754.htm Infosite], clarkprosecutor.org; accessed March 30, 2020


{{sequence|
{{sequence|
prev=[[Robert Lee Massie]]|
prev=[[Robert Lee Massie]]|
list=[[Capital punishment in California|Executions conducted and scheduled in California]]|
list=[[Capital punishment in California|Executions carried out in California]]|
next=[[Donald Beardslee|Donald Jay Beardslee]]
next=[[Donald Beardslee|Donald Jay Beardslee]]
}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Stephen Wayne}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Stephen Wayne}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:1953 births]]
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[[Category:1980 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
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[[Category:Contract killers]]
⚫
[[Category:1980 murders in the United States]]
⚫
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
⚫
[[Category:People executed for murder]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:21st-century executions by California]]
[[Category:21st-century executions by California]]
⚫
[[Category:People executed by California by lethal injection]]
[[Category:21st-century executions of American people]]
[[Category:21st-century executions of American people]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by California]]
[[Category:Contract killers]]
[[Category:Executed American serial killers]]
[[Category:Executed American serial killers]]
[[Category:Male serial killers]]
[[Category:Executed people from Utah]]
⚫
[[Category:People convicted of murder by California]]
⚫
[[Category:People executed by California by lethal injection]]
⚫
[[Category:Serial killers from California]]
[[Category:Serial killers from Nevada]]
⚫
[[Category:Serial killers from Utah]]

Latest revision as of 19:55, 24 October 2024

Stephen Wayne Anderson
Born(1953-07-08)July 8, 1953
Utah, U.S
DiedJanuary 29, 2002(2002-01-29) (aged 48)
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
OccupationContract killer
Conviction(s)First degree murder with special circumstances
Aggravated assault
Aggravated burglary (4 counts)
Burglary
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims9+
CountryUnited States
State(s)Utah, Nevada, and California
Date apprehended
May 26, 1980

Stephen Wayne Anderson (July 8, 1953 – January 29, 2002) was an American contract killer and serial killer who was executed at California's San Quentin State Prison by lethal injection in 2002 for the murder of Elizabeth Lyman. He was either known to have killed or admitted to the killings of at least eight other people, including a fellow inmate and at least seven contract killings.

Early life

[edit]

Stephen Wayne Anderson was born on July 8, 1953, the older of two boys, born to an alcoholic father with a violent temper and an emotionally abusive mother who kicked both Stephen and his brother out of the home when he was 14.[1] They began living with friends and relatives following the ban.

Crimes

[edit]

Anderson committed his first violent crime in 1971, when he burglarized a school in Farmington, New Mexico. During the robbery, he threatened two police officers.[2] He was convicted of burglary and sentenced to one to five years in prison. He was paroled on that count in 1975, but continued to serve a sentence of 10 to 50 years on multiple aggravated burglary convictions.[3] Anderson was sent out of state to the Utah State Prison. While he was there, he killed a fellow inmate named Blundell on August 24, 1977. He also assaulted another inmate, and assaulted a correctional officer.[2]

On May 26, 1980, Anderson, then 26, burglarized the Bloomington, California, house of 81-year-old Elizabeth Lyman, a retired piano teacher. In the middle of the night, Anderson cut Lyman's telephone line with a knife, and broke into her home by removing a glass pane from her French doors. He checked the house for occupants room by room. When he entered Lyman's bedroom, she awoke and screamed. Anderson shot her in the face from close range with a .45 caliber handgun, fatally wounding her. He covered her body with a blanket, recovered the expelled casing from the hollow-point bullet that killed her, and ransacked her house for money. He found less than $100.[4][5]

Anderson then prepared himself a meal in Lyman's kitchen. A suspicious next door neighbor called the sheriff's department. As he was eating and watching television, sheriff's deputies responded to the call and arrested him. He admitted to the murder.[4] Anderson later told the detectives that "I was born and trained to be a killer. I always wanted to be a killer."[2] Anderson admitted to six other contract killings in Las Vegas that happened prior to the crime for which he received a death sentence. On November 24, 1979, he escaped from prison, after which he worked for narcotics traffickers and committed at least one murder in the eastern mountains of Salt Lake County.[6][7]

Trial and execution

[edit]

On July 24, 1981, Anderson was convicted and sentenced to death. The prosecution pointed to his violent history, both in and out of prison, as evidence that he was too dangerous to be kept alive.

So remember that when you consider what he's done and what he's testified to. This particular individual is a sociopath. He cannot live with anybody. He cannot get along with anybody. He kills people everywhere. He stabs people everywhere. He has stabbed an individual in prison. And you'll have the court documents that shows where he pled guilty. And he admitted that while in the Utah State Prison sitting in a movie he stabbed an inmate there. And as a result of that stabbing he was convicted of aggravated assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon. He stabbed Mr. Blundell and killed Mr. Blundell while he was in prison. He admitted that he killed him. He told you that just before he came down here from San Quentin he got into a fight with the people in San Quentin and his housing was changed because he was fighting. There is no place that anybody is going to be safe from this individual. He looks out for old number one, and that's all he's concerned with. And forget about the rest of the world.[2]

On January 29, 2002, Anderson was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. PT. Anderson's last meal consisted of two grilled cheese sandwiches with radishes, one pint of cottage cheese, a hominy/corn mixture, one slice of peach pie, and one pint of chocolate chip ice cream. He had no last words.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row". New York Daily News. August 22, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d "Stephen Wayne Anderson, Petitioner-appellant, v. Arthur Calderon, Warden, Respondent-appellee, 232 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2000)". Justia Law. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Clayton Hayward Potts murderer Michael Lee Sharer parolled". Albuquerque Journal. May 18, 1975. p. 66. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Bovsun, Mara (August 22, 2015). "Stephen Wayne Anderson, a murderous creep with an IQ of 136, earned admiration and awards from the literary community while writing on death row". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Stephen Wayne Anderson #754". www.clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "Thirty-five-year-old Utah cold-case murder solved, police say". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Executed Inmate Summary - Stephen Wayne Anderson". Capital Punishment. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Preceded by
Robert Lee Massie 		Executions carried out in California Succeeded by
Donald Jay Beardslee
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Stephen_Wayne_Anderson&oldid=1253193776"