Bio 

Harold Loyd McElmurry III was born on June 1, 1970, in the United States. Before the 1999 murders, McElmurry had prior convictions including grand larceny and receiving stolen property. He later lived a transient lifestyle with his wife, Vickie McElmurry, and the couple struggled with drug abuse and financial problems. In the months leading up to the murders, McElmurry had worked odd jobs and yard work for elderly residents Robert and Vivian Pendley in rural Oklahoma. He became familiar with their property and later targeted them for robbery.

Murder Story

In the summer of 1999, Harold Loyd McElmurry III and his wife, Vickie McElmurry, decided to rob elderly couple Robert Pendley and Rose Vivian Pendley, who lived in a rural area west of Eufaula, Oklahoma. The couple had previously hired them for yard work, so McElmurry knew the victims, their home, and the property.

After walking through the woods for two days to avoid being seen, the McElmurrys arrived at the Pendley home on August 2, 1999. They first visited with the victims, then left the house and went into a wooded area nearby, where they discussed whether to commit robbery alone or robbery and murder. McElmurry later admitted that he and his wife injected methamphetamine before returning to the home.

When they went back, the victims were in the garage. McElmurry attacked Robert Pendley first. He stabbed the 80-year-old paraplegic multiple times with a pair of scissors while he was in his wheelchair, then struck him with garden tools and a steel pipe. When Vivian Pendley saw the attack and tried to flee, Vickie restrained her while McElmurry stabbed and beat her to death.

Before leaving, McElmurry discovered that Robert Pendley was still alive and struck him again with the pipe until he died. The couple then stole $70 in cash, jewelry, two pistols, and the Pendleys’ Oldsmobile. They fled through Texas and crossed into Mexico.

On August 5, 1999, authorities captured the pair when they attempted to return to the United States near Laredo, Texas. McElmurry confessed to the killings and was returned to Oklahoma to face trial. A jury convicted him in 2000 of two counts of first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and vehicle theft. He was sentenced to death. His wife received life imprisonment for her role in the crimes.

McElmurry later waived further appeals and accepted execution. On July 29, 2003, he was executed by lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. His final statement was an apology to the Pendley family. He was pronounced dead at 6:06 p.m.