Chevie Kehoe
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Chevie O'Brien Kehoe (born January 29, 1973) is an American
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
and domestic terrorist. He is serving three consecutive life sentences for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of William Mueller and his family. His accomplice, Daniel Lewis Lee, was sentenced to death for the murders, and was executed on July 14, 2020. The murders were committed as part of a plot to establish a
white ethnostate A white ethnostate is a proposed type of state in which residence and citizenship would be limited to whites. In the United States, proposals for the establishment of such a state are advanced by white supremacist and white separatist factions s ...
in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
, known as the Northwest Territorial Imperative.


Early life and education

Kehoe was born in
Orange Park, Florida Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. As a suburb of Jacksonville in neighboring Duval County, it is formally a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,089 at the 2020 cen ...
, United States. He was the oldest of eight sons born to Kirby and Gloria Kehoe, and was named after his father's favorite brand of automobile (Chevrolet). His father had served in the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. When Kehoe was an infant, his father moved the family to
Madison County, North Carolina Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,193. Its county seat is Marshall. Madison County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History ...
. In 1985, Kirby moved the family again, this time to a property near Deep Lake in Stevens County, Washington. Kehoe entered Colville Junior High School as a ninth grader in 1987 where he was an honor student. The Kehoe family were childhood friends with Israel Keyes, later arrested for murder. In 1988, Kehoe's parents pulled him and his younger brother, Cheyne, out of public school, and from then on they were home-schooled. Raised with increasingly extreme anti-government and white supremacist beliefs, Kehoe formed a plan to bring down the United States government with his self-styled "
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
People's Republic" militia. Kehoe married Karena Gumm and the couple had three children. Kehoe took a second wife, Angie Murray in 1993, but the relationship only lasted for 54 days.


Crimes

In June 1995, Kehoe and an accomplice kidnapped and robbed Malcolm and Jill Friedman, a couple believed to be Jewish, who owned a store at which Kehoe was once employed. On July 15, 1995, Kehoe ordered that fellow white supremacist Jeremy Scott be beaten in his presence and then shot in the back of the head by an accomplice, Faron Lovelace, in
Bonner County, Idaho Bonner County is a County (United States), county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 47,110. The county seat and largest city is Sandpoint, Idaho, Sandpoint. Par ...
. The murder was committed so that Scott's common-law wife, Kelli Kramer, could enter into a relationship with Kehoe. Scott was also suspected of being a government informant. Lovelace was convicted of first degree murder and first degree kidnapping in state court and sentenced to death after admitting his guilt and refusing to defend himself. However, Lovelace later changed his mind and sought to overturn his death sentence. In 2003, his death sentence was vacating under ''Ring v. Arizona'', which required that juries and not judges consider whether aggravating factors in a case warranted a death sentence. In 2005, following an agreement with the
Idaho Attorney General The attorney general of Idaho is an elected office that assists local law enforcement agencies in the state of Idaho. They provide legal representation for state agencies, state corporations and any persons holding ownership of property, as well a ...
, Lovelace agreed to waive all of his appeals in exchange for being resentenced to life in prison without parole. Lovelace died in prison on December 20, 2019, at the age of 68. On April 29, 1996, Kehoe's future accomplice, Daniel Lewis Lee, transported and placed a
pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively larg ...
made by Kehoe at the Spokane City Hall Building building in Washington, which detonated and damaged the building. The bomb did not hurt or kill anyone since nobody was present.


Mueller family murders

In January 1996, Kehoe and Daniel Lewis Lee left the state of Washington and traveled to
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
. On January 11, 1996, they arrived at the home of William Frederick Mueller, a gun dealer who lived near Tilly, Arkansas, and who was in possession of a large collection of weapons, ammunition, and cash. Kehoe and his father had previously, in February 1995, robbed Mueller once already, and Kehoe expected to find valuable property at the house. Dressed as FBI agents, the two men tried to enter the home of the Muellers, but they were not at home. When the Muellers returned, Lee and Kehoe overpowered and incapacitated Mueller and his wife, Nancy Ann Mueller (née Branch). They then questioned Nancy Mueller's 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Powell, about where they could find the cash, guns, and ammunition, forcing her to talk by shocking her with an electric cattle prod. After finding $50,000 in cash, guns, and ammunition, they shot each of the three victims with a stun gun, causing them to pass out. They then placed plastic bags over their heads, and sealed the bags with duct tape, suffocating them to death. There is some evidence that Lee was unwilling to kill Sarah, so Kehoe killed her. They took the victims in Kehoe's vehicle to the Illinois Bayou, where they taped rocks to them and threw each body into the water, a fast-moving stream, despite its status as a bayou. The bodies were discovered in
Lake Dardanelle Lake Dardanelle is a major reservoir on the Arkansas River in Arkansas, USA. and is an integral part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), which allows barge transportation from the Mississippi River to the Tulsa Port o ...
near
Russellville, Arkansas Russellville is the county seat of and the largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a 2022 estimated population of 29,133. It is home to Arkansas Tech University. Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant is nea ...
, in late June 1996. Kehoe and his family took the stolen property to a motel in
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, by way of the
Christian Identity Christian Identity (also known as Identity Christianity) is an interpretation of Christianity which advocates the belief that only Celtic and Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic nations, or the Aryan race and kindred peoples, are ...
community of Elohim City, Oklahoma. William Mueller had put some of the stolen firearms into a Federal Firearms License registry as insurance against potential theft. The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...
(ATF) used the ID numbers in the registry to trace the stolen firearms to several other men who confirmed they had purchased them in Spokane from Chevie Kehoe and his father Kirby.


1997 shootout

On February 15, 1997, Kehoe and his brother Cheyne were involved in two shootouts with law enforcement officers in
Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 12,664 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Micropolitan statistical area, Wilmington micropolitan area ...
. The first incident happened with John Harold Harker, an
Ohio State Highway Patrol The Ohio State Highway Patrol is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and has the primary responsibility of traffic enforcement in the U.S. state of Ohio. Divisions Operationally, the Patrol is divided into units whose varying task ...
trooper, and Robert Gates, a Clinton County, Ohio Sheriff's Office deputy. The Highway Patrol trooper had stopped their vehicle, a blue Chevy Suburban, for driving too slowly and erratically on the road. Harker found the license plate and registration had expired; the brothers also failed to produce any driver's licenses. Chevie, the driver, complied with the officer's orders to get out of the car but warned him against touching him when Harker tried to search him. Gates noticed the trouble the state trooper was having with Chevie and stopped to help. As one of the officers called for a tow truck to impound the vehicle, Chevie suddenly began to dash back to the vehicle with the officers in pursuit. The officers had pinned Chevie to a patrol car and were trying to subdue him when Cheyne produced a handgun from his passenger seat and opened fire on the officers, allowing Chevie to jump back into the Suburban and escape. Cheyne himself fled into the nearby woods, where police searched unsuccessfully for him for the whole day. Later that day, Chevie was involved in a shootout in an electrical supply company parking lot with two Wilmington police officers, Ofc. Richard "Rick" Wood and Sgt. Robert "Bob" Martin. During the second shootout, a passer-by motorist, 56-year-old Frank Marsden, was hit in the shoulder. The two shootouts were recorded on both the trooper and the sergeant's dashboard camera in their patrol vehicle and was widely broadcast in the media at the time. Footage of the shootout was first aired in 1997 on
FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
's '' World's Scariest Police Shootouts''. It has since been shown on such television programs as '' Most Shocking'' and '' World's Most Amazing Videos'', among others.


On the run and arrest

After fleeing from police, Chevie and Cheyne Kehoe traveled secretly with their families through different states before settling in a ranch in Utah. They worked for the local ranch owner for a time, but disputes between the brothers over Chevie's extremist ideology grew bitter and eventually violent, and ultimately Cheyne left, taking his family with him. He subsequently surrendered to local police and directed them and the FBI back to the Utah ranch, where Chevie Kehoe was arrested on June 17, 1997. In federal court Kehoe was charged with: *
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was e ...
(RICO) statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(c) and (d)) * Murdering in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1959) * Robbery conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 1951) Kehoe denied the criminal accusations against him and filed appeals. His appeals have been denied.


Sentencing

On February 20, 1998, Kehoe pleaded guilty in Ohio state court to felonious assault,
attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...
, and carrying a concealed weapon related to a February 15, 1997, shootout in
Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 12,664 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Micropolitan statistical area, Wilmington micropolitan area ...
, with an
Ohio State Highway Patrol The Ohio State Highway Patrol is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and has the primary responsibility of traffic enforcement in the U.S. state of Ohio. Divisions Operationally, the Patrol is divided into units whose varying task ...
Trooper and a
Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...
sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop resulting from expired tags on his 1977
Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of SUVs built by Chevrolet since the 1935 model year. The longest-used automobile nameplate in the world, the Chevrolet Suburban is currently in its twelfth generation, introduced for 2021. Beginning life a ...
. In 1999, Kehoe was convicted in federal court for the January 1996 murders of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife Nancy Mueller, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. He received three life terms without parole after the jury voted against a death sentence. Kehoe's mother Gloria and his younger brother Cheyne served as prosecution witnesses and testified against him at the trial. However, they both kept the secret until he got caught. Cheyne Kehoe received a 24-year prison sentence for attempted murder and weapons possession due to his role in the Ohio shootout, while Kirby Kehoe received 44 months after pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges. Cheyne Kehoe's sentence was later reduced to 11 years, resulting in him being released from prison in 2008. On October 14, 2013, he and his father were arrested by federal officials in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, after an ATF raid on an "off-grid compound." The government discovered a commercial-grade marijuana growing operation, as well as an arsenal of weapons, a set of body armor, three bulletproof vests, and explosive powder. They seized 17 firearms, 16,891 rounds of ammunition and about 15 pounds of marijuana. In 2014, Cheyne and Kirby pleaded guilty to being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition. Cheyne was sentenced to 41 months in prison, while Kirby was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Cheyne was released from prison on September 16, 2016, while Kirby was released from prison on January 18, 2022. Kehoe was imprisoned at United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX in Fremont County, Colorado, under
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
register number: #21300-009. In November 2019, he was transferred to
United States Penitentiary, Florence High The United States Penitentiary, Florence High (USP Florence High) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States United States Departm ...
. On December 18, 2020, Kehoe was transferred to
United States Penitentiary, McCreary The United States Penitentiary, McCreary (USP McCreary) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated McCreary County, Kentucky. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United State ...
in Kentucky. He was then held at
United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy The United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy (USP Big Sandy) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated area, unincorporated Martin County, Kentucky, near the city of Inez, Kentucky, Inez. It is operated by the ...
in Inez. As of 2022, he is held at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute.


Oklahoma City bombing allegations

Kehoe has been accused of being involved in, or having prior knowledge of, the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...
on April 19, 1995. Cheyne claimed to have knowledge of Chevie's involvement in the bombing shortly after he was sentenced for his role in the shootout. The manager of the Shadow motel in Spokane claimed to have seen Chevie with convicted bomber
Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured ...
at the motel, four to six months prior to the bombing. The manager also claimed that on the morning of the bombing, Chevie appeared at the motel office and asked the manager to put on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and became ecstatic when news of the bombing appeared. The manager also claimed that Chevie had told him in the days prior that something big would happen on April 19. Kehoe denied the allegations and the FBI found no evidence McVeigh had ever travelled to Spokane.


Media

The Discovery Channel's docudrama series '' The FBI Files'' reenacts the behavior of Kehoe and Lee while also showing the forensic science used by the FBI to arrest them in season 2, episode 16, "Deadly Mission", originally aired: 2000. The A&E criminal justice series '' American Justice'' profiled Chevie Kehoe's white supremacist motivations on season 10, episode 14, "Raised on Hate", originally aired on August 8, 2001.


See also

*
List of serial killers in the United States A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines serial murder a ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehoe, Chevie Living people 1973 births 20th-century American murderers American kidnappers American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American people convicted of attempted murder American people convicted of assault American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American torturers American white separatists American white supremacists Christian Identity people Inmates of ADX Florence Oklahoma City bombing People convicted of murder under the RICO Act People from Clay County, Florida People from Madison County, North Carolina People from Stevens County, Washington Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government Serial killers from Arkansas Serial killers from Idaho