Richard Djerf

Richard Kenneth Djerf (November 6, 1969 – October 17, 2025) was an American convicted of the mass murder of the Luna family on September 14, 1993. He was found guilty of four counts of first degree murder, sentenced to death on May 22, 1996, and executed on October 17, 2025.

Background Djerf was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 6, 1969. Before the murders, he had often been described as a loner. He stated that his motive for the murders he committed was revenge for an alleged home robbery of Djerf's residence committed by Albert Luna Jr., a former friend of his whom he had met when they were working as night custodians at a Safeway supermarket. In January 1993, Albert Luna Jr. stole several electronic items, among them a cassette player Originally, Djerf contacted police to report the robbery, but decided to commit personal revenge for the home invasion upon being frustrated by police inaction.

Murders On September 14, 1993, Djerf showed up at the Luna home with flowers and then forced himself in at gunpoint. Patricia Luna and her son Damien Luna were at home. Holding Damien hostage, Djerf then forced Patricia to load several items owned by the Luna household into his car. There were four death sentence rulings on May 22, 1996.

The Arizona Supreme Court rejected Djerf's appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear it. The Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution in February 2002. The U.S. District Court issued a stay one month later.

Djerf continued his appeals to the federal courts. Under Ring v. Arizona the Supreme Court ruled that only a jury, not a judge, could hand a death sentence. That put Djerf's case on permanent hold until the Supreme Court clarified its ruling in Schriro v. Summerlin. All three far-reaching cases—Ring, Summerlin, and Djerf—are Arizona capital murder cases.

In April 2017, the district court dismissed all of his claims, and Djerf appealed the dismissal. On July 24, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's dismissal.

Legal significance The case is significant for multiple reasons. First, under a rule 11 law, Djerf insisted on his right to fire his legal counsel and represent himself. Djerf had to fight for the right to legally represent himself in court so that he could forgo a trial and enter a guilty plea. His case is often cited as a self-representation case where it is not in the client's best interest to represent themselves as long as the person can prove competency.

Execution After the execution of Aaron Gunches on March 19, 2025, it had been speculated that Djerf was next in line for execution, although no motion seeking a death warrant had yet been filed. Those speculations proved correct when on May 22, 2025, 29 years to the day since Djerf was first sentenced to death, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes's office requested an execution date. It was initially expected that Djerf would receive his death warrant on August 19, 2025, for a requested execution date of October 9, 2025. However on August 19, the Arizona Supreme Court granted the warrant, scheduling Djerf to be executed by lethal injection on October 17, 2025, instead.

On September 18, Djerf wrote a handwritten letter to the media in which he apologized for the murders and stated that he would not seek clemency from the state for his upcoming execution.

Djerf was executed by lethal injection on October 17, 2025, the second inmate to be executed by Arizona in 2025. He was declared dead at 10:40 a.m. local time, and did not have any last words. His last meal was a double cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato, onion rings with ketchup, a piece of cherry pie with whipped cream and a Pepsi.