An Oklahoma man who was released early from prison as part of a massive commutation effort and only weeks later admitted to killing a 4-year-old girl, her uncle and a woman whose heart he cut and cooked has been sentenced to prison. perpetual on Wednesday. , according to court documents.
According to court documents, Lawrence Paul Anderson, 44, admitted to fatally stabbing Andrea Lynn Blankenship, her uncle Leon Pye, 67, and her uncle’s 4-year-old granddaughter, Kaeos Yates, «on or around» the February 9, 2021 in Chickasha. , Oklahoma. Anderson had been released early from prison in January 2021.
Anderson also admitted to injuring his aunt, Delsie Pye, by stabbing her and gouging out her eye.
Authorities say Anderson took Blankenship’s heart to his aunt and uncle’s home, cooked it with potatoes and tried to feed it to them before killing his uncle, injuring his aunt and killing the couple’s granddaughter.
Anderson pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon and one count of mutilation, reducing his death sentence to five counts of life in prison, three without parole.
Anderson’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Anderson had been sentenced in 2017 to 20 years in prison for probation violations in a drug case, The Oklahoman reported. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted the sentence last year to nine years in prison, and Anderson was released after serving just over three years.
Grady County District Attorney Jason Hicks has criticized criminal justice reform that led to the commutations of hundreds of Oklahoma inmates.
“It’s time we did better,” Hicks said. “If we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, that’s fine. We can look at our citizens and be honest with them and tell them that they are safe. I can’t tell the people in my district today that they are safe.»
The Associated Press contributed.