October 19, 1982Tempe, ArizonaMindi Chambers (17) disappears; it has been speculated her father killed her after she made a report of sexual misconduct In 1968, when Mindi was 2 years old, her mother Mary Xenos Chambers was murdered by being drowned in her bathtub. While authorities suspected Mary’s husband and Mindi’s father — Allen Chambers…
Woman poisons, beats, stabs terminally ill husband
October 8, 2000Ahwatukee Foothills, Phoenix, ArizonaWendi Andriano (30) poisons, beats, and stabs her husband Joe Andriano (33) On October 7, Wendi and Joe went to a barbecue, returning to their home around midnight at which point they put their two young children to bed. Around 2:15 a.m., Wendi called a coworker and neighbor (both worked…
“The Truck Stop Killer” Robert Ben Rhoades is arrested
April 1, 1990 Casa Grande, Arizona Serial rapist and killer Robert Ben Rhoades (pictured) is arrested Rhoades, later dubbed “The Truck Stop Killer,” was a commercial truck driver. As such, his career granted him the opportunity to travel great distances across the country, and the overwhelming majority of his time was spent alone and in…
A man sets his 2-year-old on fire for reasons that remain unclear
December 2, 1999Near Apache Junction, ArizonaShawn Ryan Grell drives his 2-year-old daughter Kristen Salem to a remote location, douses her with gasoline, and sets her on fire Warning: The details in this article may be considered graphic. Discretion is advised. For reasons that remain unclear, Grell signed Kristen Salem out of her daycare, drove around…
“Pied Piper of Tucson” dies from wounds inflicted in prison
March 30, 1975 Arizona “The Pied Piper of Tucson” Charles Schmid dies of wounds sustained 10 days before Schmid (pictured, left) had killed his occasional-girlfriend Alleen Rowe (15) on May 31, 1964, after deciding to kill someone just to know how it felt. Shortly after the killing, he told another occasional-girlfriend, Gretchen Fritz, of the…