Serial Killer Gary Grant #truecrime

From 1969 to 1971 a vicious killer committed 4 brutal murders in Renton Washington. 2 of the victims were teenagers and 2 were young children. They were all targeted for sickening abuse both before and after their deaths. Investigators and the community were shocked when they found that the killer was a local teenager.

Gary Grant, the Fiend of Washington

Gary Grant was born on June 29, 1951 in Renton, Washington. His family was impoverished and struggled to pay for the trailer at the edge of the city they lived in. His mother was also an alcoholic and often had loud fights with his father as he grew up.

As a child, Grant had trouble in school. He found it too difficult and often became frustrated trying to keep up due to having some form of undiagnosed mental illness. After a while he began skipping school and then eventually dropping out altogether.

After leaving school, Gary Grant decided to enlist in the military. However he did not last long. Almost immediately, the others began to mock him, and the mental issues he struggled with became more severe. He reported having health problems and was dismissed from service in the late 1960’s to return home to Renton. Soon the murders would begin.

He killed his first victim on December 15 1969. 19 year old Carole Adele Erickson was walking home from the library when Grant attacked her. The creature rushed her with a knife and stabbed her to death.

Once she was dead he then dragged her into the bushes nearby and out of view where he abused the young woman’s body. The disgusting assault was so vicious that he left additional damage and lacerations on her neck.

9 months later, the killer was watching for his next victim. On September 20th 1970 he attacked and killed Joanne Mary Zulauf. In broad daylight Gary ran up and smashed her in the head with a rock. Once again he dragged his victim out of sight.

The sick monster violated Zulauf before strangling her. Once she was dead he took her watch off her arm to give to his girlfriend. He left her nude body in the woods where he assaulted her where it was discovered on September 22 1970.

The final 2 known victims of Gary Grant were 2 young boys he came across while walking Through Renton. 6 year old Scott Andrews and Bradley Lyons were playing outside Bradley’s home on April 20 1971 when Grant spotted them. He pulled his knife and threatened them into leaving with him.

He walked into the woods more than a mile from where he found them. Once he was away from witnesses he attacked them. He beat them both savagely then stabbed Andrews to death and strangled Lyons. Grant left the bodies hidden under leaves and brush. Police would find them days later and take a imprint of the shoe prints they found by the bodies.

A man named John Chance wandered into a local hospital and began making bizarre claims. The mentally disturbed veteran told staff that he was the son of Saturn and that he had met Jesus Christ near Tillicum Washington. Hr also gave them details of the 2 boys murders and became a prime suspect. But other evidence would soon lead to police arresting a different man for the crimes and Chance was released after a week in custody
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Investigators had a major break in their serial killer case on April 28th 1971 when they found a bloody knife near the latest murder scene. The blood was tested and came back as a match for Scott Andrews and a name was found on it as well, Tom Evenson.

When Evenson was interrogated he told police that he had sold the knife to a friend. That person had also sold the knife as had the owner. Police eventually found that the last person to have posession of it was a man named Gary Grant.

On April 30 1971, Grant was brought in for questioning. He was not able to give police an alibi for his whereabouts during the 2 boys murder. He initially claimed to have amnesia and not remeber the day of the murders, further questioning led the killer to breakdown and confess to tue killings.

The following day Grant was back in the interview with a lawyer with more to tell investigators. He confessed to all 4 murders in detail and he was charged with the crimes and put in jail until his trial.

Grants lawyers argued that the charges should be dismissed after it was discovered that police captain William Frazee had illegally recorded the second confessions. However this was dismissed since the killer had been legally recorded giving his first confession the day before. Frazee would eventually be placed on leave and given 4 months probation for his violation, but the trial proceeded.

The murder trial began on August 12 1971. The prosecution had a good amount of evidence against Grant. They had the knife which was drenched in the blood of his 6 year old victim, the shoe imprints which matched those he was wearing, and witnesses who placed him near the murder scenes.

The defense argued that Grant was mentally unstable and that he should be treated with leniency. Family and acquaintances testified that he was a passive and gentle person and a psychiatric evaluation was ordered. While he was found to be sane, doctors determined that Grant was impulsive and lacked self control. He would often react to high stress situations by acting out.

After the evaluation, the trial continued. The psychiatrist stated that the murders were committed as a way to release the tension and stress that Grant felt. This leads one to believe that it was more than possible that he would offend once again if he was allowed to go free. On August 25, 1971 after a 2 week trial, Gary Grant was found guilty of all 4 murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each murder.

He is now housed at the Monroe Correctional Complex and is 71 years old as of 2022. His case received some attention in 2020 when a book was released with details of the case that were not public such as the claims of John Chance. However he is still a relatively obscure serial killer.

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