Kevin Ray Underwood (born December 19, 1979) is a convicted murderer from
Purcell, Oklahoma
Purcell is a city in and the county seat of McClain County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,651.
Founded in 1887, Purcell was a railroad town named after Edward B. Purcell, who was an official with the ...
.
Crimes
Authorities had sought a missing 10-year-old girl, Jamie Rose Bolin, for whom an
Amber Alert
An Amber Alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert (SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated in ...
had been issued. Underwood, who lived near Bolin in the same apartment complex, was arrested on April 17, 2006. Underwood admitted to
FBI agents and Oklahoma detectives that he had murdered and attempted to
decapitate
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...
Bolin, telling them, "Go ahead and arrest me. She is in there. I chopped her up." After Underwood's confession, Bolin's corpse, stashed in a large plastic container, was recovered from his bedroom closet.
Purcell Police Chief David Tompkins stated that Bolin's murder was the culmination of Underwood's fantasy to "kidnap a person, rape them, torture them, kill them, cut off their head, drain the body of blood, rape the corpse, eat the corpse then dispose of the organs and bones."
Underwood was convicted of having bludgeoned Bolin to death with a wooden
cutting board
A cutting board (or chopping board) is a durable board on which to place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food; other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting bo ...
. Police stated that they found
meat tenderizer
A meat tenderizer, or meat pounder is a hand-powered tool used to tenderize slabs of meat in the preparation for cooking. Although a meat tenderizer can be made out of virtually any object, there are three types manufactured specifically fo ...
and barbecue
skewer
A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...
s at the scene, which they presume were intended for use on the victim's corpse.
Trial
On February 29, 2008, a jury found him guilty of
first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
. A jury recommended the
death penalty on March 7, 2008.
On April 3, 2008, McClain County District Judge Candace Blalock approved the recommended death sentence.
[ Underwood attempted to appeal his sentence because it would be an unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment due to his mental illness (he was initially diagnosed with ]schizotypal personality disorder
Schizotypal personality disorder (STPD or SPD), also known as schizotypal disorder, is a mental and behavioral disorder. DSM classification describes the disorder specifically as a personality disorder characterized by thought disorder, paran ...
at his trial but was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behav ...
). An Oklahoma City federal judge rejected the appeal.
Scheduled execution
On July 1, 2022, Underwood was one of twenty-five death row inmates to be scheduled for execution in Oklahoma. He was scheduled to be executed on December 7, 2023. His execution was later postponed due to a request by attorney general Gentner Drummond, who asked for sixty days between executions rather than thirty "to alleviate the burden on DOC personnel." He is currently awaiting a new execution date.
See also
* List of death row inmates in the United States
, there were 2,414 death row inmates in the United States. The number of death row inmates changes frequently with new convictions, appellate decisions overturning conviction or sentence alone, commutations, or deaths (through execution or otherw ...
* List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States
This is a list of people scheduled to be executed in the United States.
Summary of scheduled executions
As of February 16, 2023, a total of 46 people are scheduled to be executed in the United States. All of these executions are scheduled over ...
References
External links
Continuing coverage on the case from ''The Oklahoman''
Wabnitz, Melissa A. - "Purcell girl found dead at neighbor’s apartment: Investigators have identified and arrested a man they believe is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin." ''Norman Transcript'' April 14, 2006
Transcript of taped confession
1979 births
2006 murders in the United States
Living people
People from Purcell, Oklahoma
American people convicted of murder
American murderers of children
American cannibals
American prisoners sentenced to death
Prisoners sentenced to death by Oklahoma
People convicted of murder by Oklahoma
People with Asperger syndrome
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