Andrew Pixley
Encyclopedia
Andrew Pixley was a convicted murderer from Dallas, Oregon
. He was executed December 10, 1965 in Wyoming for the murder of two young girls in August 1964.
Born Andrew Armandoz Benavidez in Las Cruces, NM, Pixley joined the U.S. Army after being charged with passing bad checks. His father Columbus Pixley said he had dropped out of high school and had never held a job. He served two years, mostly overseas. He was described as "slightly built" and "nervous" and as a transient and dishwasher. There was a previous warrant out for his arrest in his home town on a charge of larceny. He was accused and cleared of being in possession of a stolen car in Davenport, Washington, two weeks before the murders. He had been living in a trailer with two employees of the hotel where the murders took place, David Starling and Orval Edwards. Starling was described as having had prior knowledge of Pixley's violent tendencies.
On the night of August 5/6, 1964 Pixley broke into a room of the Wort Motor Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming
, occupied by the family of Illinois Circuit Court Judge Robert McAuliffe, who were holidaying. McAuliffe and his wife were elsewhere in the hotel taking in a show. When they returned to their room, they found Pixley lying on the floor. He appeared to be drunk, but may have been feigning; McAuliffe said at the trial he had not smelled alcohol. McAuliffe grabbed Pixley and pinned him to the floor. Police officer James Jensen heard Mrs. McAuliffe screaming and rushed to the scene, where McAuliffe shouted "My God, this man has killed my babies."
Their older daughters, Debbie, 12, and Cindy, 8 lay dead in their beds. The girls had been sexually assaulted, Debbie had been bludgeoned with a rock, and Cindy beaten and strangled.
The youngest child, six-year-old Susan, was unharmed. Initially described as asleep during the crime, she may actually have witnessed the assault on her sisters.
Pixley had apparently climbed a stack of wood and scaled the rear wall of the hotel, removing a screen to get in at the window.
As Pixley was taken by police from the hotel, a crowd outside called for him to be lynched. He was taken to a jail in another town and then to the Wyoming State Penitentiary for better security.
The McAuliffe sisters were buried together in a single casket. Their parents later filed suit against the hotel in order to pay for the surviving child's psychiatric treatment.
Initially, Pixley only told police "I didn't do it." Hotel employee Richard Souther testified that Pixley cited his Native American
heritage in explaining why he "couldn't" have done such a thing. Later, Pixley asked to make a statement, and was examined using sodium pentothal interviews. He said he remembered drinking earlier in the evening, but could not remember entering the hotel or killing the girls. His court-appointed attorney, Robert Hufsmith, added that Pixley remembered being in the company of another person earlier that evening, but that his mind was "blank since he left that person."
Pixley was examined by Dr. William Karn, Jr. of the Wyoming State Hospital, who pronounced him sane, but an "incurable sociopath" at the trial, adding that "it meant a lot more to Pixley to kill the girls while they were awake." At this, Judge McAuliffe got up from his seat and attempted to assault Pixley before being restrained.
Pixley was tried and sentenced to death
, laughing when the execution date was announced. Although an appeal was filed to change his sentence to life imprisonment, he said he did not want an appeal. He was executed in the Wyoming gas chamber
on December 10, 1965. He also took the longest time to die than any other executed person in the Wyoming gas chamber.
According to genealogical research, Robert and Betty McAuliffe divorced sometime after the murders. McAuliffe remarried and had a son. He died April 1, 1998 of a heart attack. Betty McAuliffe died November 28, 2010. Susan McAuliffe married and had five children.
Dallas, Oregon
The city of Dallas is the county seat of Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 14,583 at the 2010 census.Dallas is located on Rickreall Creek, approximately 15 miles west of Salem, at an altitude of 325 feet above sea level...
. He was executed December 10, 1965 in Wyoming for the murder of two young girls in August 1964.
Born Andrew Armandoz Benavidez in Las Cruces, NM, Pixley joined the U.S. Army after being charged with passing bad checks. His father Columbus Pixley said he had dropped out of high school and had never held a job. He served two years, mostly overseas. He was described as "slightly built" and "nervous" and as a transient and dishwasher. There was a previous warrant out for his arrest in his home town on a charge of larceny. He was accused and cleared of being in possession of a stolen car in Davenport, Washington, two weeks before the murders. He had been living in a trailer with two employees of the hotel where the murders took place, David Starling and Orval Edwards. Starling was described as having had prior knowledge of Pixley's violent tendencies.
On the night of August 5/6, 1964 Pixley broke into a room of the Wort Motor Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
, occupied by the family of Illinois Circuit Court Judge Robert McAuliffe, who were holidaying. McAuliffe and his wife were elsewhere in the hotel taking in a show. When they returned to their room, they found Pixley lying on the floor. He appeared to be drunk, but may have been feigning; McAuliffe said at the trial he had not smelled alcohol. McAuliffe grabbed Pixley and pinned him to the floor. Police officer James Jensen heard Mrs. McAuliffe screaming and rushed to the scene, where McAuliffe shouted "My God, this man has killed my babies."
Their older daughters, Debbie, 12, and Cindy, 8 lay dead in their beds. The girls had been sexually assaulted, Debbie had been bludgeoned with a rock, and Cindy beaten and strangled.
The youngest child, six-year-old Susan, was unharmed. Initially described as asleep during the crime, she may actually have witnessed the assault on her sisters.
Pixley had apparently climbed a stack of wood and scaled the rear wall of the hotel, removing a screen to get in at the window.
As Pixley was taken by police from the hotel, a crowd outside called for him to be lynched. He was taken to a jail in another town and then to the Wyoming State Penitentiary for better security.
The McAuliffe sisters were buried together in a single casket. Their parents later filed suit against the hotel in order to pay for the surviving child's psychiatric treatment.
Initially, Pixley only told police "I didn't do it." Hotel employee Richard Souther testified that Pixley cited his Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
heritage in explaining why he "couldn't" have done such a thing. Later, Pixley asked to make a statement, and was examined using sodium pentothal interviews. He said he remembered drinking earlier in the evening, but could not remember entering the hotel or killing the girls. His court-appointed attorney, Robert Hufsmith, added that Pixley remembered being in the company of another person earlier that evening, but that his mind was "blank since he left that person."
Pixley was examined by Dr. William Karn, Jr. of the Wyoming State Hospital, who pronounced him sane, but an "incurable sociopath" at the trial, adding that "it meant a lot more to Pixley to kill the girls while they were awake." At this, Judge McAuliffe got up from his seat and attempted to assault Pixley before being restrained.
Pixley was tried and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, laughing when the execution date was announced. Although an appeal was filed to change his sentence to life imprisonment, he said he did not want an appeal. He was executed in the Wyoming gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
on December 10, 1965. He also took the longest time to die than any other executed person in the Wyoming gas chamber.
According to genealogical research, Robert and Betty McAuliffe divorced sometime after the murders. McAuliffe remarried and had a son. He died April 1, 1998 of a heart attack. Betty McAuliffe died November 28, 2010. Susan McAuliffe married and had five children.