A familicide in Troy, Michigan, in which a man killed his wife and six children, leading to a landmark Michigan competency and criminal trial process.
Key Facts
- Victims killed
- 7 (wife, daughter, five stepchildren)
- Primary weapon
- Double-edged axe
- Secondary weapon
- Shotgun (used on daughter)
- Date of murders
- September 1964
- Years before trial
- 3 years at Ionia State Hospital before trial
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment (1968)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
William Gravlin, a Royal Oak fireman, had previously been committed to Pontiac State Hospital after slashing his cousin's wife in 1961. Following his release, his wife sought a divorce. The combination of his prior violent history and the marital breakdown preceded the killings by only a few days.
In late September 1964, Gravlin killed his wife, their five-year-old daughter, and his five stepchildren in Troy, Michigan. He used a double-edged axe to kill six of the victims and a shotgun to kill his daughter. He left handwritten apology notes on each body and subsequently confessed to all seven killings.
Gravlin was initially found incompetent to stand trial and was confined to the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane for three years. In 1968, having been deemed competent, he was tried and convicted, receiving a life sentence. He died in prison on March 1, 1994.