The Arizona Supreme Court granted a warrant of execution to the Attorney General’s Office for 76-year-old Murray Hooper, who was sentenced to death in 1983. This is the third execution warrant issued in Arizona this year.
On December 31, 1980, William Bracy, Murray Hooper, and Edward McCall, a former Phoenix police officer, went to the home of Patrick Redmond in Phoenix. Redmond, his wife, Marilyn, and his mother-in-law, Helen Phelps, were preparing for a New Year’s Eve party when Bracy, Hooper, and McCall entered the house and forced the Redmonds and Phelps into the master bedroom at gunpoint. After taking jewelry and money, the intruders bound and gagged the victims. They shot each victim in the head and slashed Mr. Redmond’s throat. Mr. Redmond and Mrs. Phelps died from their wounds, but Mrs. Redmond survived and later identified all three killers.
Hooper, Bracy, and McCall were convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. Bracy and McCall died in prison before their sentences could be carried out.