RawNews1st – Vicki Ann Garner was raped, beaten, and strangled in her Tyler, Texas home by Robert Ladd.
When he committed the murder, Ladd had been out on parole for murdering a mother and her 2 children.
On September 24, 1996, Vicki Garner had a friend over until approximately 8:15. Later, an intruder broke into her home.
At approximately 6:45 a.m. the next morning, the Tyler Fire Department responded to a fire at Vicki’s residence.
They discovered Vicki lying face down. She was naked from the waist down and her hands were bound behind her back with electrical cord. She had a belt tightened around her neck and ligature marks around her ankles.
A wad of bedding had been placed between her legs. Parts of her body and the bedding were partially burned from the fire.
The medical examiner’s official report stated Vicki was beaten with a hammer. She had burns on her head and torso consistent with a fire that had smoldered.
There was an internal presence of semen, indicating that she had been raped. The cause of death was manual strangulation.
It was discovered that a man named Robert Ladd exchanged several small appliances to a local drug dealer in exchange for crack.
Police investigated and discovered Ladd was on parole for a triple murder that occurred years prior.
In October 1978, Ladd murdered Vivian Thompson and her children, Maurice, 3, and Latoya, 18 months.
He broke into their apartment in Dallas, Texas and stabbed Vivian 10 times in her chest, stomach, neck, and back.
He put her in her bedroom closet and set the closet on fire. The medical examiner determined both children died of smoke inhalation. Investigators surmised the fire was set to destroy evidence of a sexual assault.
Ladd was arrested for the murders and received 40 years for the 3 murders and 20 years for arson. After serving 12 years, he was released.
Knowing this information, police investigated further and found some of Vicki’s household items at pawn shops. They traced them back to Ladd.
Ladd was arrested and charged with capital murder.
He was found guilty and received the death penalty. After years of appeals psychological testing, Ladd was executed on January 29, 2015.
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