CHICKASHA, Okla. (TCD) — A 44-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to killing his neighbor, his uncle, and his uncle’s 4-year-old granddaughter, and maiming his aunt.
On Feb. 9, 2021, Chickasha Police responded to a home on the 200 block of Minnesota Avenue after an individual called 911 but hung up without saying anything. From outside the door, officers could reportedly hear someone inside the home calling for help.
Police forced entry into the home, where they located four individuals, including Leon Pye, 67, and his young granddaughter, who were both pronounced dead at the scene.
A third individual, Leon Pye’s wife, Delsie Pye, was reportedly stabbed in both eyes and was transported to the hospital and survived the attack.
The fourth individual in the home, Leon and Delsie Pye’s nephew, Lawrence Anderson, was taken into custody and transported to the hospital to treat his injuries.
On Feb. 12, 2021, while he was still at the hospital, Anderson admitted to authorities that he killed his neighbor, 41-year-old Andrea Blankenship. Officers subsequently responded to her home and discovered she had been stabbed to death.
According to The Associated Press, investigators determined Anderson broke into his neighbor’s home, fatally stabbed Blankenship, cut her heart out, and then he cooked it with “potatoes to feed to his family to release the demons.”
Anderson reportedly tried to force his aunt and uncle to eat the heart before he killed them.
On Wednesday, March 15, Anderson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and one count of maiming, the Oklahoman reports.
In 2017, Anderson was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug-related charges, but Gov. Kevin Stitt granted him an early release following a recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board, The Associated Press reports. However, a grand jury investigation reportedly determined Anderson was wrongfully released.
Delsie Pye and the victims’ families have filed a lawsuit against Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board for Anderson’s release, according to The Associated Press.
In a statement posted by KOCO-TV, Grady County District Attorney Jason Hicks said, “He is never going to get out of prison, and the intent of the agreement, which I’m sure you heard in the courtroom, was to ensure that he never steps outside of the prison.”
