Oklahoma Executes Man: Steven Ray Thacker, Triple-Murderer Gets Death Penalty, 5th in U.S. This Year

Steven Ray Thacker, 42, who was convicted of committing three murders in a three-state killing spree in 1999, was executed at the Oklahoma State Prison in McAlester, Reuters reported.

He is the fifth person executed this year in the U.S., and the first in Oklahoma.

Thacker kidnapped, raped and murdered 25-year old Laci Dawn Hill on December 23, 1999. He met her at her home in Bixby, Oklahoma, south of Tulsa after answering her classified ad about a pool table.

After her murder, Thacker was identified on a surveillance tape using Hill's debit card, leading authorities on a multi-state chase, which involved two other murders -- the fatal stabbing of Forrest Reed Boyd, 24, who he killed while burglarizing his home in southwestern Missouri, in a town called Aldrich and murder of wreck driver Ray Patterson, 52, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, who responded to Thacker's request for a tow, authorities said.

Thacker was convicted of all three murders, and was held in a Tennessee prison until his transfer last week to the Oklahoma state prison in McAlester for his execution on Tuesday.

Thacker reportedly suffered from bipolar disorder but refused to stay on medication designed to curb his mood swings, according to court documents.

Thacker's last words dealt with God and forgiveness, and apologized to his victim's families.

"I would like to apologize sincerely to the families of Laci Hill, Forrest Boyd, and Ray Patterson," his statement read. "I don't deserve it, but God has forgiven me. I hope you will forgive me for the pain I've caused."

Friends of his first victim, Hill, were none too forgiving. 

"His apology doesn't change anything of what happened or what her family has been through," best friend Marnie Reed said.

Tags

Death Penalty, Oklahoma, Murder Spree, Steven Ray Thacker

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