Bio

Brandon Scott Hutchison was born on December 16, 1974. Later appellate filings on his behalf described a difficult upbringing marked by a family history of alcoholism and mental illness, childhood sexual abuse, and struggles in school, his family moved from Fillmore to Palmdale, California, at some point during his youth, and he developed problems with alcohol and drug use amid ongoing family financial difficulties. 

His attorneys later argued that he had been dominated and controlled by older, more violent associates, particularly Michael Salazar, described in court filings as Hutchison's "close gang brother, hit-man and enforcer," and Freddie Lopez, who allegedly instigated a stabbing of another man and had once tried to force Hutchison to shoot a woman, which Hutchison refused to do.

Murder Story

On December 31, 1995, Freddie Lopez and his wife, Kerry Lopez, held a small New Year’s Eve party in the garage next to their home in Lawrence County, Missouri. Ronald and Brian Yates arrived shortly after midnight looking for their brother, Tim Yates, who had already left. Freddie Lopez invited them to stay and drink beer.

Several people at the party became intoxicated, including Brandon Hutchison. Court records state that Freddie Lopez and Ronald Yates shared a line of methamphetamine. During the party, Hutchison punched another guest, Jeremy Andrews, for no apparent reason. Andrews also testified that he saw Hutchison making shooting motions with his hand toward the Yates brothers.

At about 4:00 a.m., Freddie and Kerry Lopez went into the house to continue an argument. After several guests left, Hutchison, Michael Salazar, Ronald Yates, and Brian Yates remained in the garage. About 20 minutes later, Hutchison ran into the house and told the Lopezes that something bad had happened in the shop. Salazar then told Freddie Lopez that he had shot someone.

When Freddie Lopez entered the garage, he found both Yates brothers lying on the floor. Salazar said one of the brothers had tried to stab him. Autopsy evidence later showed that both men had first been shot at point-blank range with a .25 caliber gun. Ronald Yates was paralyzed from the waist down after a bullet lodged in his spinal cord. Brian Yates had been shot in the chest and stomach. Both men were still alive when Lopez found them.

Instead of calling for medical help, Hutchison insisted that no one call an ambulance and claimed Ronald Yates was already dead. He suggested moving both brothers from the garage in Lopez’s white Honda Accord. Hutchison and Salazar placed Ronald Yates in the trunk first. Hutchison then dragged Brian Yates by the shoulders, dropped him, kicked him in the upper body, and placed him in the trunk on top of Ronald.

Salazar went into the house and retrieved a drug scale and a .22 caliber handgun. He placed those items in the car, and the three men left, with Hutchison driving. After driving for about 10 to 15 minutes, Hutchison stopped on the side of a dirt road. According to Lopez, Hutchison got out of the car holding the .22 caliber pistol and said, “we got to kill them, we got to kill them.” Lopez then heard several gunshots.

Ronald and Brian Yates were found at about 8:00 a.m. on January 1, 1996, on the side of the road. Both died from execution-style gunshot wounds to the head caused by .22 caliber bullets. Ronald Yates had been shot in each eye and once in the back of the head. Brian Yates had been shot in the right eye and the right ear. Hair and blood from the victims were found on a piece of carpet that had come from the trunk of Lopez’s car.

After the shootings, Hutchison and Salazar left Missouri. They were later apprehended in California. Hutchison was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. At trial, Freddie Lopez testified for the State. The Missouri Supreme Court later described Lopez as the State’s primary witness against Hutchison.

A jury convicted Hutchison in October 1996 in the deaths of Ronald and Brian Yates. On November 18, 1996, he was sentenced to death. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence on direct appeal in 1997.

Hutchison later filed postconviction challenges. In 2001, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing on whether the State had failed to reveal a plea agreement with Freddie Lopez. The court later rejected relief on the guilt phase but reversed the penalty phase because Hutchison’s attorneys had not adequately investigated and presented mitigation evidence.

After the penalty-phase ruling, Hutchison’s death sentence did not remain in effect. Later case summaries state that he was resentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Local reporting after his death stated that the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the death sentence in 2011 and that Hutchison was serving a life sentence when he died.

Brandon Scott Hutchison died in prison on November 2, 2019, at South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri. He was 44 years old. Prison officials reported that he died of apparent natural causes.