James Glenn Robedeaux

Case details

James Glenn Robedeaux was charged with and convicted of first degree murder involving the killing and dismemberment of Nancy Rose Lee McKinney, age 37. McKinney was killed in the Oklahoma City apartment she shared with Robedeaux.

Robedeaux was executed by lethal injection on June 1, 2000, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. He was pronounced dead shortly after the execution began.

Timeline

• August 20, 1985 — The disappearance of Nancy Rose Lee McKinney, 37, was reported by her mother.
• September 22, 1985 — Nancy McKinney was last seen alive at the apartment she shared with Robedeaux; in testimony, loud noises were heard from the apartment below at approximately 10:00 p.m. continuing until approximately 1:00 a.m.
• October 9, 1985 — The lock on the apartment door was changed after a trespass note was placed.
• October 11, 1985 — An apartment owner noticed stains wiped clean and the carpet damp during a visit; Robedeaux entered to retrieve his clothing.
• October 15, 1985 — The apartment was revisited with police; officers removed some carpeting and part of the carpet pad.
• October 24, 1985 — More spots were discovered when carpet was pulled back in the bedroom; the police were contacted and removed the entire bedroom carpet and several pieces from the carpet pad.
• October 25, 1985 — An additional carpet layer removal and cleaning activity occurred; a carpet layer removed the carpet from the apartment; cleaning included use of Clorox.
• November 14, 1985 — Robedeaux was interviewed after being read his rights; further questioning occurred until officers attempted to locate his father.
• November 15, 1985 — Robedeaux was arrested on the morning of November 15, 1985, although her body had not been found; police interviewed him further with investigators including a Noble County sheriff’s deputy and an investigator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• December 28, 1985 — A left leg was found by two boys while they were playing in a creek near Wellston.
• February 3, 1986 — A skull was found in a rural yard where it had apparently been dragged by a dog.
• February 15, 1986 — An arm was found.
• Tuesday, May 23 — The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board held a clemency hearing for James Robedeaux and voted 4-0 to deny clemency recommendation.
• May 31 — Vigils were held at numerous locations around the state.
• June 1, 2000 — Robedeaux was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma.

Background

On August 20, 1985, Nancy Rose Lee McKinney, 37, was reported missing by her mother. Robedeaux was McKinney’s boyfriend and was arrested on the morning of November 15, 1985, though her body had not been found at that time.

Robedeaux had a prior criminal history. In November 1978, Robedeaux pleaded guilty to strangling to death his first wife, Linda Sue Robedeaux, in March 1978. He was sentenced on a second degree murder conviction and given a sentence of 25 years in prison with 15 years suspended. In February 1983, he also received an additional year in prison for escaping when he failed to return to the Oklahoma City Community Treatment Center on July 27, 1982. He was released in September 1984.

On November 19, 1985, Robedeaux was charged with attempting to kill his second wife, Doris M. Robedeaux, by choking her. Doris Robedeaux told police that she and her husband were separated, but she went to meet him after he said that he wanted to try to get back together. Doris Robedeaux suffered a broken nose and fractured eye socket during that beating. The jury was not told of this history at trial.

Robedeaux was charged with first degree murder in December 1985 for killing Nancy McKinney, although her body had not been found. The charge alleged he beat the woman to death in Oklahoma City on or about September 17, 1985. The charge was based on evidence found in the apartment where Robedeaux had lived with McKinney. The apartment owner said he alerted police after he and his employees found some stains on the carpets and walls. Robedeaux had been seen leaving the apartment with carpet cleaning equipment. He moved from the apartment on October 11, 1985.

The offence

Victim and location

Nancy Rose Lee McKinney, 37, was killed in the Oklahoma City apartment she shared with Robedeaux.

Dismemberment and recovery of remains

A left leg was found on December 28, 1985 by two boys while they were playing in a creek near Wellston. On February 3, 1986, a skull was found in a rural yard where it had apparently been dragged by a dog. On February 15, 1986, an arm was found. No other body parts were found.

The state medical examiner’s office identified the skull as McKinney’s by comparing X-rays. The doctors also examined other body parts and concluded the remaining remains were McKinney’s by comparison to X-rays and by examining the leg and arm.

Medical examiner and forensic evidence

A doctor from the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office identified the skull, arm, and leg as McKinney’s. He estimated that it would take approximately 4 to 5 hours to dismember a body. A forensic anthropologist from Norman also identified the leg and skull as McKinney’s remains. He testified that "squared off" cut marks on the leg bone are consistent with the use of a saw with a thin blade.

Evidence at the apartment included stains identified as human blood type A. Stains were found on the carpet, on Robedeaux’s jeans, and the seat cover of his pickup, identified as the same blood type A as McKinney. Additional testimony identified human blood type A on towels retrieved from the apartment and on the closet wall, and human blood type A on jeans belonging to Robedeaux, while Robedeaux had type O blood. A luminol process on the carpet revealed a high concentration of blood in specific areas, with appearance of dilution and spread over the carpet through cleaning.

Dr. Larry Balding, Medical Examiner’s office, and anthropologist, Dr. Clyde Snow, examined the skull and compared it to X-rays. They concluded the skull was McKinney’s. Tests on the leg found at Deep Fork River led to an opinion that it was McKinney’s. The arm and attached hand found at Coon Creek were also opined to belong to McKinney. Dr. Balding testified that there was no way, from the three body parts, to determine the cause of death, but because of the evidence of dismemberment of the body, he believed it to be a homicide.

State’s theory of dissection

According to District Attorney Robert Macy, evidence showed that Robedeaux killed McKinney and used a saw and knife or machete to dissect her. Macy theorized that he removed the body parts in trash bags and dumped them into Coon Creek in far north Oklahoma City. Macy also said that the large amount of blood in the apartment indicated that McKinney may have still been alive at the start of the dissection.

Investigation

Apartment evidence and odor

An apartment complex owner and employees found stains on carpets and walls and alerted police. The apartment smelled, with Robedeaux explaining the odor as from spoiled hamburger meat. Police investigated the apartment and removed carpeting and carpet pad sections after a foul odor was detected like spoiled meat.

Carpet layer John Fox removed carpet from the apartment on October 25, 1985 and observed stains in the hallway and an odor so nauseating that he took off his t-shirt, wrapped it around his face, went outside, and vomited.

A police investigation included multiple visits:

• An initial removal of some carpeting and part of the carpet pad on October 15, 1985.
• Additional discovery and removal of the entire bedroom carpet and pieces from the carpet pad on October 24, 1985.
• Cleaning assistance and stain cleaning activities on October 25, 1985, including use of Clorox, when the stain turned red.

Witnesses and surrounding events

Barbara Jones, who lived in the apartment directly below McKinney’s apartment, saw the decedent for the last time on the morning of September 22, 1985. She testified that around 10:00 p.m. she and Bobby Jones heard loud noises that sounded like someone getting on furniture and jumping off of it. The noise was loud enough that their apartment shook and continued for several hours, stopping at approximately 1:00 a.m. She also stated she could distinguish between the heavy footsteps of Robedeaux and the "softer" ones of the decedent. After that night, she never heard the decedent’s footsteps again. She stated that a week prior, she had heard the decedent and Robedeaux arguing and that the decedent was overheard to say "don't hit me anymore". Later, Barbara Jones heard a noise outside her door near a storage closet and then saw Robedeaux go up the stairwell to his apartment.

Bobby Jones testified that on September 23, 1985 he saw Robedeaux coming out carrying two small dark colored trash bags, one in each hand. Robedeaux apologized to Mr. Jones for being noisy. He said he did drink and had a tendency to get a little loud. He did not indicate he was apologizing for a specific time when he thought he may have been noisy. On September 28, 1985, Bobby Jones saw Robedeaux placing a red and white carpet cleaning machine in the back of a white pickup. He testified that on that day he heard a carpet cleaner or vacuum upstairs for approximately two hours.

Contacts with apartment management and related collection actions

A.D. Smedley owned the apartment complex. He entered their apartment on the last day of September or the first of October, 1985 with Allen Savill and Roy Aber, noticing dark spots that appeared to be blood on the wall of the walk-in closet and a dark stain on the carpeting. He placed a trespass note and had the lock changed on October 9, 1985. Robedeaux contacted one of Smedley’s employees, and entrance into the apartment was authorized for Robedeaux to retrieve his clothing. During Smedley’s October 11 visit, he noticed stains wiped clean and the carpet damp.

On October 24, 1985 with Roy Aber, Smedley discovered more spots when pulling carpet back in the bedroom. He reported that spot of blood on a dining room drape that was washed off that day. On October 25, 1985 Smedley assisted in cleaning and attempted to wash the stain off the floor where carpet and pad had been removed.

Allen Savill, maintenance engineer for Mr. Smedley, first went to apartment 204 during the week of September 23, 1985 and noticed a brownish-red stain in the entrance to the bedroom closet. When he returned the following Saturday, September 28, the stain had been cleaned up. Savill also noticed three dirty towels hanging on a rack in the bathroom, each with a reddish tint as if they had been used to clean up something. Savill saw Robedeaux carry two loads of boxes to the trash dumpster on October 11, 1985. After Robedeaux left, Savill checked the dumpster, retrieved the three towels he had seen, and put them in his truck. He later turned them over to Smedley, who turned them over to the police.

John Farris, a Collection Agent for Ford Motor Credit Company, was sent to the decedent’s apartment on September 25, 1985 to collect back payments due on the decedent’s 1982 Ford Fairmont and to repossess the vehicle if payment was not made. As he arrived, he and his partner met Robedeaux coming out of the stairwell. Farris asked for directions and whether Robedeaux knew where Nancy McKinney lived. Robedeaux responded he did not know where those apartments were and gave directions to the manager’s office. Farris asked again if he knew Nancy McKinney; Robedeaux replied in the affirmative but claimed he did not know who they were talking about the first time. As they left, they saw Robedeaux get into the Ford Fairmont.

Statements by Robedeaux to police

A homicide detective for the Oklahoma City Police Department, Eric Mullenix, and Detective Horn talked to Robedeaux from noon until approximately 7:30 p.m. after reading him his rights on November 14, 1985. Robedeaux told them he and McKinney lived together since July 1985. He stated that in August they moved to the apartment which McKinney rented, but she left around the first of September taking all belongings while he visited parents in Red Rock, Oklahoma. He stated there were verbal arguments and that he had never struck her. He stated he had not injured himself in the apartment and was not aware of anyone else injuring themselves in the apartment to the extent that they would have bled heavily. He admitted he cleaned the carpet before vacating the apartment but had no cleaning deposit to be returned on the apartment. He explained he had spilled red Kool-aid in the bedroom, taking a glass to bed several times and having it knocked over. He explained he spilled oil in the living room hall after lubricating hinges on a door. He denied killing after confronting the opinion that authorities believed he caused McKinney’s death, stating that McKinney had merely left and he had not seen her. Later at approximately 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., he hung his head, began crying, and asked to speak with his father, Willis Robedeaux. Officers attempted to contact his father by telephone, and further questioning ceased except inquiry about the location of the decedent’s body.

On November 15, 1992, Rod Tavanello of the Noble County Sheriff’s Department and Bill Grant, an investigator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, came to interview Robedeaux. After being advised of his rights, Robedeaux said he had not seen the decedent since the first week of September. He stated he and the decedent had "two or three fights" during the time they were living together and he had hit her several times during these arguments. He said he was mad at the decedent because she had written several bad checks. He stated that they got into a fight several days before she left and he did a "number on her" when he hit her in the temple and in the face, causing her to bleed. He stated a ring he was wearing struck her in the head and that she was hit so hard her bleeding soaked the carpet. When asked about blood in the closet, he responded that he and the decedent had wrestled in the bedroom and that the decedent was "a big girl" who "fought back by hitting him in the mouth and splitting his lip". He stated he took her to the bathroom to clean her up and had to lean her up against the wall for support. He further stated that prior to that fight, they both had been drinking.

Arrest

Robedeaux was arrested on the morning of November 15, 1985, at his home in Oklahoma City. The apartment investigation and witnesses and police questioning preceded the arrest, and the disappearance had been reported on August 20, 1985.

Trial

Charges, court, and recommendation

Robedeaux was tried by jury and convicted of first degree murder of Nancy McKinney. The case was filed as Case No. CRF-85-6362 in the District Court of Oklahoma County. The jury recommended the death penalty and the trial court sentenced accordingly.

During the trial in June 1986, the jury heard testimony from a couple living in an apartment below McKinney’s apartment describing loud noises. The jury also heard testimony from a bartender who helped Robedeaux move a stereo after he started staying with her in late September. The bartender testified that the apartment smelled, and Robedeaux explained the odor as from spoiled hamburger meat.

A police detective testified that when they arrested Robedeaux on November 14, 1985, he denied harming McKinney but started crying when police told him they were convinced he killed her and that her family wanted a proper burial. The next day Robedeaux told police that McKinney left the apartment after a final fight.

A Noble County sheriff’s deputy testified that Robedeaux said he suffered a split lip and McKinney bled heavily after he did a pretty good number on her face.

Defense witnesses testified that Robedeaux was in bars during the time he was accused of killing and sawing up his girlfriend. Two members of a band testified that Robedeaux played drums every Sunday at a local club from Labor Day until his arrest in November. They said these Sunday sessions including September 22, 1985 would last until 11 p.m. or midnight. Another defense witness testified that Robedeaux joined him at a different bar at about 11 p.m. on September 22 and stayed until 1:45 a.m. on September 23. Robedeaux did not testify.

The jury was not told at trial that Robedeaux had served a prison sentence after pleading guilty to strangling to death his first wife.

After 90 minutes of deliberations, the jury convicted Robedeaux of killing and dismembering Nancy McKinney.

Punishment phase evidence

During the punishment phase, after hearing evidence of other attacks on women, including his first wife’s murder, they recommended the death penalty. Two former girlfriends described how Robedeaux attacked and choked them. McKinney’s 13-year-old daughter said he choked her until she passed out.

A defense psychiatrist testified that he believed Robedeaux did not know what he was doing during the violent attacks because of his alcohol problem which was worsened by diabetes. He said that when a person with diabetes drinks it causes tremendous problems, and that a person in those circumstances could be in a semi-coma much of the time. Other defense witnesses described Robedeaux as a nice person when sober.

When sentenced to death, Robedeaux told the judge that he was innocent.

Appeals

The US Supreme Court refused Robedeaux’s final appeal.

The case was also described in relation to Robedeaux v. State, 866 P.2d 417 (Okl.Cr. 1993) (Direct Appeal). Appellant, James Glenn Robedeaux, was tried by jury and convicted of Murder in the First Degree (21 O.S.Supp.1982, § 701.7). It was from the judgment and sentence that Appellant appealed.

Outcome

Robedeaux was convicted of killing Nancy Rose Lee McKinney, 37, on Sept. 22, 1985. He was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Aftermath

Clemency and witnesses

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board held a clemency hearing for James Robedeaux on Tuesday, May 23. The Board voted 4-0 to deny a recommendation of clemency.

Vigils were held at numerous locations around the state on the evening of May 31.

About a dozen relatives of Nancy McKinney witnessed the execution, and twelve members of McKinney’s family also witnessed the execution. Approximately 10 feet away, Robedeaux’s father watched his son die.

Execution procedure and last statements

Twelve members of McKinney’s family witnessed the execution. When privacy blinds opened onto the execution chamber, Robedeaux was strapped to the table with a white sheet covering him to his chest.

He looked up anxiously until he spotted his father, who offered a thumbs-up sign. Robedeaux addressed his last words to his family and to McKinney’s survivors. His father was in an adjacent room.

He said:

"Dad," he said, "I just want you to know I love you. Tell Mother I love her. Tell Sister I love her. Tell the kids I love them."

He assured his father he had found salvation and encouraged him to trust Christ. He said:

"I'll see you again,"

He asked McKinney’s family for forgiveness. His last words were:

"God bless you all. I'm going to be all right. I love you."

At 12:28 a.m., Warden Gary Gibson said, "Let the execution begin." Robedeaux closed his eyes, and within a minute took a deep breath and snored once before he lost consciousness. Six minutes later, he was dead. He was pronounced dead at 12:34am in one account and pronounced dead at 12:24 a.m. in another account after receiving a dose of drugs at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Statements attributed to family members

E.J. McKinney, the victim’s brother, said he had forgiven Robedeaux, stating:

"I can't really say I'm happy to see him die, but justice was carried out,"

Sean Liggons, Nancy McKinney’s son, said:

"I wish it could have been more painful. I didn't believe his apologies or nothing. I just wanted him to rot in hell,"

Tammy McKinney said:

"I think he had an easy death. He went to sleep. That's not comparable to what he did to my mother,"
and also: "I only wishes Robedeaux would have suffered more."

Reported statements by Nancy McKinney’s relatives before execution

In statements issued a few hours before the execution, Nancy McKinney’s relatives thanked the state Pardon and Parole Board for rejecting clemency and allowing the execution to go ahead. Nancy McKinney’s mother wrote:

"I feel that any person not wanting a killer's death sentence carried out is like an accomplice to the crime. They are upholding and enabling murders."

The local media reported that Nancy McKinney’s daughter wrote:

"I have waited for this moment for so long. It would be nice if I could have popcorn and maybe something to drink while I watch this maggot die."

Other contextual details mentioned

Robedeaux was described as the seventh inmate executed in Oklahoma that year, with three more executions upcoming: Robert James Berget scheduled to die June 8, William Clifford Bryson on June 15, and Gregg Francis Braun on July 20.

Additional claims about remains and family planning

Carmen McKinney, Nancy McKinney’s mother, said she visited the apartment about a week after the murder, finding a rented rug cleaner but no trace of her daughter. She stated that the only remains of her daughter are ashes held by various members of the McKinney family and that the family planned to hold several ceremonies and sprinkle some of her ashes in a place where her daughter used to spend time with her children. She said the family planned to put a gravestone for McKinney near Pawnee.