A 1974 robbery-turned-torture in Ogden, Utah left three dead and became notorious for extreme violence and subsequent racial bias accusations against the Utah judiciary.
Key Facts
- Date
- April 22, 1974
- Victims
- 5 tortured, 3 killed, 2 survived with permanent injuries
- Perpetrators convicted
- 3 (Dale Selby Pierre, William Andrews, Keith Roberts)
- Sentences (Pierre & Andrews)
- Death; both executed
- Roberts sentence
- Convicted of robbery only; remained in getaway vehicle
- Unidentified perpetrators
- 3 others involved were never caught
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In April 1974, a group of at least six men, including three U.S. Air Force airmen, targeted the Hi-Fi Shop, a home audio store in Ogden, Utah, as a robbery site. Several entered shortly before closing time, taking employees and customers hostage with the apparent intent to eliminate witnesses.
The perpetrators forced five victims to drink corrosive drain cleaner, believing it would fatally poison them; it instead caused severe burns. Additional violence included kicking a ballpoint pen into a victim's ear and the rape of an eighteen-year-old woman. Three victims were then fatally shot. The two survivors sustained life-altering injuries.
Police gathered sufficient evidence to convict only three of the six participants. Pierre and Andrews received death sentences and were executed; Roberts was convicted solely of robbery. The case drew lasting attention due to its extreme brutality and allegations that racial bias influenced judicial proceedings against the defendants, who were Black servicemen.