Robert Elmer Kleason

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (November 2006)

Robert Elmer Kleason (1934 - April 21, 2003) is an American who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of two Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) missionaries in Texas in October 1974. The murders coincided with the release of the movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. However, his conviction was overturned and Kleason was released after two years on deathrow.

The Police investigation led to believe that the missionaries Gary Darley (20) and Mark Fischer (19) were shot dead after having agreed to meet Kleason for dinner.

Police discovered Fischer's bloody watch and bullet-punctured name tag in Kleasen's trailer but bodies never were found. Investigators also discovered blood and tissue on a band-saw in the taxidermy shop. Prosecutors at Kleasen's 1975 murder trial alleged he dismembered the victims and buried the remains.

In 1990, Kleason moved to Barton on Humber, Humberside, and he was given a three-year prison term in 2000 for possession of illegal firearms and munitions. Kleason also served time in a federal prison for firearms violations and in New York for assault.

In 2001 he faced extradition to the US after DNA analysis and other forensic tools were used to obtain new evidence. Before he could be extradited, Kleason died on April 21, 2003 of heart failure in the UK. He was 69 years old.

A book by Ken Driggs was written about the murders, Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders published by Signature Books in Salt Lake City.