Michael Wayne Hunter (born 1958) was a death row prisoner and writer at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

in the U.S. state of California. He was

incarcerated Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "false imprisonment". Impris ...

for

murdering Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, ...

his father and stepmother in 1981. Prior to committing his crime, he served four years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He was married to Teresa "Terri" Hunter, but divorced in 1989. Originally given a sentence of death in May 1984, his sentence has since been commuted to life without the possibility of parole after a retrial in February 2002.

Crime and trial

On the evening of December 28, 1981, Jay and Ruth Hunter, Michael's father and stepmother, were shot to death in the bedroom of their home in

Pacifica, California Pacifica (, meaning "Peaceful") is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay, California, Half Moon Bay. Overview The City of Pacifica is spread along a stretch of sandy c ...

. The events surrounding their death, as revealed through the

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

and

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

, were as follows. In November 1981, about a month before the

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

s, Hunter told his friend, Thomas Henkemeyer, of plans to kill his father and stepmother. According to Henkemeyer, Hunter laid out several scenarios for possible alibis, including taking out a hiking permit in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

and then returning to commit the murders, or going down to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

where friends would purportedly provide an alibi. Based on earlier conversations with Hunter, Henkemeyer concluded that Hunter's motive for the planned killings was to take "revenge" for a number of perceived grievances, including an incident in which his stepmother had reported Hunter for breaking into his parents' home while they were away on vacation, and his stepmother's handling of his natural mother's will, which Hunter believed resulted in his being cheated out of his

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

. Hunter also discussed possible methods of transporting and concealing a rifle or

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

. About a month later, on the evening of December 28, a neighbor of Jay and Ruth Hunter was awakened by a loud "bang or shot" from the direction of the Hunter residence. He heard four more shots in quick succession. On or about the same evening in late December, Philip Eldred was walking two dogs a short distance from the Hunter residence when he encountered a man wearing a leather jacket and a motorcycle

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

. For no apparent reason the man told Eldred to leave the area. Eldred refused. In response, the man pointed a long object (which Eldred then realized was a shotgun) at Eldred's face, kicked him in the thigh and retreated behind a cyclone fence several feet away. He then fired a shotgun blast in Eldred's direction, entered a small, burgundy-colored car parked nearby, and drove away. Eldred stated that the man appeared to be in his early 20s and of medium build. Hunter was 23 at the time of the offenses. The bodies of Jay and Ruth Hunter were discovered the following day, December 29, 1981, after the police were alerted that the front door of the residence was wide open and a window on the side of the door was broken out. The police found both bodies in the master bedroom. The body of Jay Hunter was on the bed; that of Ruth Hunter was lying against the far wall, on top of the telephone receiver. Eight expended

casings were found on the floor.

Autopsies An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...

revealed that Ruth Hunter had died of two shotgun wounds to the head, either of which was sufficient to cause death. Jay Hunter had suffered four shotgun wounds. One shot to the upper chest that had apparently caused death was fired from a distance. Three other shots, to the neck,

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

and left knee, had been fired from much closer range and were consistent with having been inflicted where the victim lay. During the next several days, Henkemeyer, still in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

visiting his family, received two telephone calls from Hunter. In the first call, Hunter told Henkemeyer that he had killed his mother and father and was trying to decide what to do. During the second call, a day or two later, Hunter said that he had spoken with a lawyer, was preparing to leave the country, and asked him to sell some of his belongings. He also indicated that he had been seen by a stranger after the killings but doubted that an identification could be made because he was wearing a helmet. When Henkemeyer returned home to

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

on New Year's Day, he found that the shotgun Hunter had left was missing. On the way to the San Jose Airport, Hunter stopped at a barbershop and had his beard and moustache shaved off. Hunter asked another friend (Jefferson Schar) to obtain a phony

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...

for him under the name John Dunne. After obtaining a ticket to San Diego under a false name, Hunter told Schar that he planned to contact a friend named Jeffrey Luther in San Diego and instructed Schar to forward the phony birth certificate to him there. Luther received a telephone call from Hunter on January 3, 1982. The two arranged to meet at a restaurant in San Ysidro, near the U.S.-Mexican border. At the restaurant, Hunter told Luther that he was "wanted for murder" and explained the circumstances of the shootings. Hunter told him that he had confronted his father and threatened to shoot him. His father responded, "You don't have the balls." In response, Hunter told Luther, he "pumped four slugs into him." Following the conversation in San Ysidro, Luther saw Hunter again in a hotel in the Mexican town of Las Playas. Luther agreed to purchase some items for him. After the meeting in Mexico, however, Luther contacted the police, who advised him not to meet Hunter again in Mexico but rather to lure him back across the border. Accordingly, Luther arranged to meet Hunter again at the restaurant in San Ysidro where they had met earlier. When Hunter appeared at the restaurant, he was arrested. Following his arrest, Hunter was

in the San Mateo County jail. Joseph Lauricella, Hunter's cellmate, testified that Hunter gave him a number of descriptions of how the murders occurred. Hunter also told him that he had been turned in by a Navy buddy (Luther) and offered Lauricella $1,000 to have him killed. Even as Hunter was fleeing to Mexico, the police investigation into the killings was focusing on him as the prime suspect. A search of Hunter's house and two vehicles uncovered a cleaning bill for a leather jacket which stated "pre-spot for blood." The police also found a shirt with blood on it and a black motorcycle helmet. Glass fragments found inside a pair of Hunter's socks and gloves matched glass fragments from the broken window of the Hunter residence. Finally, a number of prosecution witnesses testified about Hunter's troubled relationship with his father and stepmother. Hunter's father and natural mother, June Hunter, had separated and divorced in 1973. June Hunter died of cancer in 1979. Following the divorce, Jay Hunter married Ruth Chatburn Hunter. Hunter's sister, who was the administrator of her mother's estate, asked Ruth, a lawyer, to handle the

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

. Ruth eventually removed herself from the case, however, because of an argument with Hunter sometime in 1980. Hunter felt that he had been cheated of his share of the estate. According to a former roommate of Hunter, the dispute became so acrimonious that it caused a rupture of all contacts between Hunter and his father. The acrimony was apparently mutual. Only a month before the murders, in late November 1981, Hunter's father instructed his attorney to delete from his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

any inheritance for Michael. Mr. Hunter indicated that the matter was not urgent, however, and could wait until the new year. At the time of the murders in late December, the will had not been changed.

Prison writings

Michael Wayne Hunter has won numerous awards for his writing, including many of the essays that are featured on www.prisonwall.org and other places around the Internet. His work has also appeared in various periodicals and book collections.
Crime and Punishment: Inside Views (1st Ed.)
. Contributor of an essay entitled "The Sixth Commandment", Chapter 5, Story 39. Book edited by Robert Johnson (

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

) and Hans Toch (

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...

).
Undoing time: American prisoners in their own words
. Contributed "Another day". Edited by Jeff Evans.

External links

Appellate case which details both the prosecution case against him and his defense.
498 U.S. 887 (1990, U.S. Supreme Court)
Denied

Writ of Certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

, October 1, 1990.
Collected essays by Michael Wayne Hunterwww.prisonwall.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Michael Wayne American people convicted of murder United States Navy sailors Living people 1958 births People convicted of murder by California American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Patricides Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California