Arthur Gary Bishop

Arthur Gary Bishop (September 29, 1952 – June 10, 1988) was an American serial killer and sex offender who abducted, sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated five young boys in Salt Lake City, Utah, between 1979 and 1983. He voluntarily led police to the burial sites of his victims upon being questioned in July 1983 for the disappearances of several children. In his confession, he said that he had killed his victims to cover up the fact that he had molested them. Described as "scheming, calculating, and cunning" by prosecutors, Bishop was convicted and sentenced to death in 1984. He declined to pursue any appeals and spent four years on death row at Utah State Prison before being executed by lethal injection in 1988.

Early life Arthur Gary Bishop was born on September 29, 1952, in Hinckley, Utah. He was the eldest of six boys born to Eugene and Carol ( Talbot) Bishop, both of whom had ancestors that had resided in the area for decades. Bishop said that his first feeling of sexual gratification came after seeing a picture of the binding of Isaac in the Book of Genesis.

Growing up in Hinckley, Bishop was an Eagle Scout and a devout Latter-day Saint. He was a quiet child who was described as a loner but also very intelligent. From 1966 to 1970, he attended Delta High School, where he was recognized as an honors student who succeeded best in business classes. He was elected to be the school's business manager and was a keynote speaker at his graduation. He enrolled at Stevens–Henager College, where he majored in accounting and business administration. He was recognized by college president J. M. Stevens as an honors student with a 3.7 GPA in 1971. When he was 19, Bishop served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines. He was arrested for embezzlement in February 1978

While in Salt Lake City, he joined the Big Brothers program, where he was a "big brother" to a 10-year-old boy for nearly a year. Bishop was forced out of the program, before his first murder, after directors discovered he was molesting other children.

Murders Alonzo Daniels Bishop killed his first victim, a four-year-old named Alonzo Daniels, on October 14, 1979. He lured the boy from the courtyard of his apartment complex to his own apartment with the promise of free candy.

Kim Peterson Bishop molested a young boy, later known by the pseudonym "John," using money and toys to ensure John's compliance. On November 8, 1980, John introduced Bishop to 11-year-old Kim Petersen at a roller-skating rink. At Bishop's request, John agreed to contact Petersen on the pretext of buying a pair of roller skates that Petersen was trying to sell, all so Bishop could obtain photographs of Peterson. When Bishop and John called Petersen, Bishop took the phone and asked Peterson to meet Bishop and John at a pool parlor. Bishop asked Peterson to go out to Cedar Valley and hunt rabbits. Peterson said yes, and after convincing him to take photos in the car, they got out and started walking. Bishop, walking behind Petersen, shot Peterson in the back with a .38 caliber revolver. Petersen began crying and Bishop shot him twice more in the head. Bishop molested Peterson's corpse, mutilated him in a fit of anger, and buried him, close to the body of Alonzo Daniels. Several shoppers recalled a smiling man standing near the child but could only give vague descriptions of his appearance. Police launched one of the biggest searches in Salt Lake County history:

Victims Alonzo Daniels, age 4, October 14, 1979 Claude Kimley Peterson, age 11, November 8, 1980 Danny Davis, age 4, October 20, 1981 Troy Ward, age 6, June 22, 1983 Graeme Cunningham, age 13, July 14, 1983

Trial and execution Bishop was brought to trial on February 27, 1984. During his trial, Bishop said that an addiction to child pornography molded his violent sexual fantasies and eventually drove him to act them out. The trial lasted three weeks; on March 19, 1984, Bishop was found guilty of five counts of first degree murder, five counts of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of sexually abusing a minor, and sentenced to death. Upon receiving his sentence, Bishop apologized to his victims' families and requested to be executed by lethal injection.

After his conviction, he wrote a letter in which he explained the motivation for his crimes:

Bishop was executed by lethal injection at Utah State Prison in Point of the Mountain on June 10, 1988. He declined a last meal. Before his execution, he again expressed remorse for his crimes: