Lowell Lee Andrews

Lowell Lee Andrews (September 21, 1940 – November 30, 1962) was a University of Kansas student convicted of the murders of his parents and his sister on November 28, 1958, a crime for which he was later executed.

Background Andrews, a biology major who played bassoon in the college band, was described by his hometown newspaper as "The Nicest Boy in Wolcott". In reality, the 18-year-old entertained fantasies of poisoning his family and moving to Chicago, Illinois to become a gangster and professional hitman.

Andrews and his sister, Jennie Marie, were both home for the Thanksgiving holiday in 1958. Jennie Marie was watching television with her parents while Andrews was upstairs reading The Brothers Karamazov. When he finished reading the novel, Andrews shaved, put on a suit, and went downstairs carrying a .22 caliber rifle and a revolver. Walking into the room where his parents and sister were, Andrews turned on a light and opened fire with his rifle. He shot his sister, Jennie Marie, 20, between the eyes. He then turned the gun on his parents, shooting his father, William, 50, twice and mother, Opal, 42, three times. His mother moved toward him and he shot her another three times. His father attempted to crawl to the kitchen and was shot repeatedly with the revolver. Andrews fired a total of 17 shots into his father.

After opening a window in an attempt to make the crime look like a burglary, Andrews left the house and drove to the nearby town of Lawrence. He drove to his apartment to establish an alibi, claiming that he had needed to pick up his typewriter to write an essay, and then went to the Granada movie theater, where he watched Mardi Gras (1958), starring Pat Boone. It was determined that Andrews had killed his family to inherit the family property and had been planning the crime for months.

Conviction and execution

Andrews pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but was convicted and condemned to death. His request for clemency from Kansas Governor John Anderson, Jr. was dismissed. Despite further appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court let the conviction stand and the State of Kansas executed Andrews by hanging on November 30, 1962. He was 22 at the time of his execution, and his final meal consisted of two fried chickens with sides of mashed potatoes, green beans and pie à la mode. He gave no final words.

Andrews was on death row at the Lansing Correctional Facility at the same time as Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, murderers of the Clutter family and the subjects of Truman Capote's 1965 book In Cold Blood. Several pages in Capote's book concern Andrews, who was portrayed by C. Ernst Harth in the film Capote and Ray Gestaut in the film Infamous the following year. He was portrayed by Bowman Upchurch in the original film adaptation of In Cold Blood.