Robert Elmer Kleason

Robert Elmer Kleasen (September 20, 1934 – April 21, 2003) was an American who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS Church) in the area known as Oak Hill, on the southern outskirts of Austin, Texas in October 1974. However, after two years on Texas' death row, an appeals court overturned Kleasen's conviction, ruling that the search of his home was illegal and that key evidence had to be excluded.^[1]

The police investigation led to the scenario that the missionaries Gary Darley (20) and Mark Fischer (19) were shot dead after having agreed to meet Kleasen for dinner.

Police discovered Fischer's bloody watch and bullet-punctured name tag in Kleasen's trailer but bodies never were found. Investigators also discovered blood and tissue on a band-saw in the taxidermy shop where Kleasen worked. Prosecutors at Kleasen's 1975 murder trial alleged he dismembered the victims and buried the remains.

Robert Kleasen upon his release from prison stayed a brief time in a Buffalo, New York mission. The local police had to be posted near the mission for Kleasen's protection. He only congregated with the other people living in the mission during church services prior to eating. During this time, the local Buffalo TV channels updated the story every night on their news broadcasts.

In 1990, Kleasen moved to Barton-upon-Humber, Humberside, England. He married local woman Marie Longley, and began to amass a huge gun collection. When local authorities became aware of the gun collection and his legal problems, they prosecuted. He was given a three-year prison term in 2000 for possession of illegal firearms and munitions and began to serve time in an English prison. Kleasen had also previously served time in a U.S. federal prison for firearms violations and in New York for assault.

In 2001 he faced extradition to the US after DNA analysis and other forensic tools were used to obtain new evidence. Before he could be extradited, however, Kleasen died on April 21, 2003 of heart failure. He was 70 years old.^[2]

Ken Driggs wrote a book about the murders, Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders, published by Signature Books in Salt Lake City, Utah.

References

1. ^ Larsen, Kent (28 November 2001). "Kleasen Tells Court He Fears US Death Penalty". Mormon-News. http://www.mormonstoday.com/011130/P5REKleason01.shtml. Retrieved 5 November 2009. 
2. ^ "Mormon murders suspect dies". BBC News. 22 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2965259.stm. 

External links

• BBC News article
• Mormon news

Persondata
Name	Kleasen, Robert Elmer
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 20, 1934
Place of birth
Date of death	April 21 2003
Place of death	London, England, UK