Mitchell Willoughby

Case name

Mitchell Willoughby

Timeline

• January 13, 1983 — Two men shot to death Jackqueline Greene, Joe Norman and Joey Durham in a Lexington, Kentucky apartment.
• January 13, 1983 (that night) — The two men attempted to dispose of the bodies by throwing them from the Brooklyn Bridge in Jessamine County, Kentucky.
• September 15, 1983 — Mitchell Willoughby was sentenced to death in Fayette County for participation in the murder of three people with Leif Halvorsen; Leif Halvorsen was also under the death sentence.
• Early one morning in 1992 — A corrugated box arrived in the mail at the speaker’s Boston studio containing a calling card.

Background

Mitchell Willoughby (DOB 10-5-58) was sentenced to death on September 15, 1983 in Fayette County for participation in the murder of three people with Leif Halvorsen, who was also under the death sentence.

The offence

On January 13, 1983, the two men shot to death Jackqueline Greene, Joe Norman and Joey Durham in a Lexington, Kentucky apartment.

That night, they attempted to dispose of the bodies by throwing them from the Brooklyn Bridge in Jessamine County, Kentucky.

In Fayette County in 1983, Mitchell L. Willoughby, along with Leif Halvorsen, executed a teenage female and two male victims inside a home they were remodeling. These killers shot the female eight times in the back of the head. They shot the younger male five times—in the back, testicles, right arm, left leg, and right temple. They shot the other male three times—in the back, the chest, and in the back of his neck.

The victims had been shot during a drug-related argument at a home in Lexington, Kentucky.

Investigation

Two bodies were found on a bridge, each bound to a heavey rock. A third was found in the river below the bridge.

Trial

Mitchell L. Willoughby was convicted with Leif Halvorsen of 3 counts of murder, 2 of which brought death sentences.

A codefendant, Susan Hutchens, received a 10 year term in exchange for testifying against the two men.

Sentencing

Mitchell Willoughby was sentenced to death on September 15, 1983 in Fayette County. Leif Halvorsen was also under the death sentence.

Outcome

Mitchell Willoughby was sentenced to death on September 15, 1983.

Aftermath

Early one morning in 1992, a corrugated box arrived in the mail at the speaker’s Boston studio. The package turned out to be a macabre calling card. Mitchell Willoughby, a prisoner the speaker had written to, sent one of his handmade sculptures.

The gift was a miniature figure sitting in the electric chair, faithful to the smallest detail. The speaker wrote back. The gift turned out of be a test: Mitchell Willoughby would react to the speaker’s request to photograph him depended on how the speaker responded to the gift. From inside his prison, Mitchell was trying to screen out the tourists.

The speaker went to Eddyville to photograph him, where the new Kentucky State Penitentiary stood. The speaker was allowed on death row. The speaker was introduced to everyone. Some inmates were dressed in shorts and T-shirts; others, stepping out of the shower, were wrapped only in towels. Guards and administrators were called away, and the metal door closed, leaving the speaker outnumbered by the prisoners.

The inmates usually busied themselves with pool, checkers, chess, and a Universal workout machine. In the common room, dozens of men milled around, wandering in and out of their cells. The speaker concentrated on the work at hand; making a subject comfortable in front of a camera was described as a daunting task.

Mitchell Willoughby was described as a big man. He practiced Tae Kwon Do when no one was looking (the martial arts were described as illegal in prison). Mitchell was described as soft spoken and did not talk much; when he did, his comments were described as monosyllabic.

The speaker’s brief conversation with Mitchell’s partner in crime covered the partner’s family.

The speaker was interrupted by a man later found out had been on death row longer than anyone else in the United States. The man was described as having been sentenced to die in 1960. No one was described as having been executed in Kentucky since 1962.