Bio

George C. Mercer, also known as “Tiny,” was born on August 31, 1944. He lived in Missouri and was 34 years old when Karen Keeton was murdered in 1978. Mercer lived in Belton, Missouri, near Kansas City. He spent time drinking with friends at the Blue Seven Lounge in Grandview, where Karen Keeton worked as a waitress.

At the time of Keeton’s murder, Mercer also had a pending rape charge involving a 17-year-old girl. Prosecutors later used this case to argue that Mercer killed Keeton to stop her from reporting him. Mercer was later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on January 6, 1989.

Murder Story

On the night before August 31, 1978, George “Tiny” Mercer was drinking with friends at the Blue Seven Lounge in Grandview, Missouri. Karen Keeton, a 22-year-old waitress, was working there that night. One of Mercer’s friends, Steven Gardner, knew Keeton and later brought her to Mercer’s home in Belton, Missouri. Mercer was there with other men, and his young daughter was also in the house.

Inside the home, Mercer used a sawed-off shotgun to force Keeton upstairs. Court records state that Keeton was sexually assaulted before she was killed. After the assaults, Gardner and David Gee left the house. Gardner told Mercer to kill Keeton. Mercer then strangled Keeton with his hands. John Campbell, who was still in the house, later testified that Mercer ordered him to check Keeton’s pulse. When Campbell found a faint pulse, Mercer continued strangling her until she died.

After the murder, Mercer cleaned parts of the scene and placed Keeton’s body in a truck. He then directed Campbell to drive and dumped her body in a field. Three to four weeks later, Campbell and his attorney found Keeton’s badly decomposed body and reported it to authorities. She was identified through dental records.

Mercer was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. His appeals were rejected by state and federal courts. On January 6, 1989, George Mercer was executed by lethal injection at the Missouri State Penitentiary. He was 44 years old and became the first person executed in Missouri since 1965.