Bio

Gary Ploof was born on March 19, 1964. He grew up in a suburban environment. As a young man, he joined the United States Air Force and eventually became a Staff Sergeant. During his service, he was stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

In 2001, while stationed there, Gary was married to Heidi Ploof. Their marriage experienced some difficulties, especially as Gary began an affair with Adrienne Hendricks. This was a significant issue in his life during that time. The affair was not his only major concern, he also learned that the Air Force would provide a life insurance policy for military spouses, effective November 1, 2001.

Gary had plans that involved this insurance policy. He informed his supervisor that he wished to opt out of the coverage but did not take any action to do so. Instead, he planned to keep the insurance policy. As his marital problems escalated, he had told Hendricks that they would be living together soon because he and Heidi were having issues and that Heidi was preparing to move out. However, that was not true. Heidi did not plan to leave.

Murder Story

On November 3, 2001, Gary Ploof went to the parking lot of the Dover Wal-Mart with his wife, Heidi Ploof. There, he shot her in the head using a .357 magnum revolver. He made the act look as if she had committed suicide, believing this would mislead investigators.

After the shooting, Ploof quickly left the area, as shown by security footage that captured him walking away from Heidi's vehicle. He then attempted to create an alibi by making several frantic phone calls to friends and pretending to be worried about his missing wife. One of these calls led a friend to search for Heidi on the roads she might have taken home.

Ploof also called Heidi's cell phone, trying to divert attention away from himself. He hid the murder weapon on his property and requested friends to store other firearms to keep them out of police reach. When questioned by law enforcement, Ploof lied about his relationship with his mistress, Adrienne Hendricks, claiming she was just a friend. He also denied owning any guns and feigned ignorance about the life insurance policy that he had aimed to benefit from.

Due to his actions and the investigation that followed, he was sentenced to death on August 22, 2003.