The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office announced on Monday that the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Kentucky’s longest serving death row inmate who brutally murdered three elderly people during a robbery in 1979.
On death row since 1980, Karu Gene White has lost repeated appeals in state and federal courts. His most recent appeal was rejected on Friday by a 2-1 vote by a Sixth Circuit panel.
In 1979, White and two juvenile accomplices used a crowbar to beat a blind 75-year-old man, and two other seniors while robbing them in Breathitt County.
The victims, Charlie Gross, 75, his wife Lula Gross, 74, and Lula’s brother, Sam Chaney, 79, were killed inside the small general store they operated.
“The attack was so violent that the coroner, Kentucky state trooper and detective all testified it was the most brutal murder they had worked. The coroner described the scene as a slaughterhouse,” according to the attorney general’s office.
The Gross’ granddaughter, Mary Lou Herald, responded to the ruling by saying: “This brutal killer stole my grandparents. Then he took 40 years of my life as he tried to escape justice. After all this time, we are hopeful the sentence will be carried out and justice will finally be done. I’m grateful to the Office of the Attorney General and every person that worked over the years to ensure my grandparents and family were never forgotten.”
To read the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, click here.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
