Bio

Jay Kelly Pinkerton was born on February 14, 1962, in Amarillo, Texas. Pinkerton struggled in school and eventually dropped out by the age of 17. After leaving school, he started working as an apprentice butcher. By 1979, at just 17 years old, Pinkerton was involved in a series of incidents that would change the course of his life.

Murder Story

Jay Kelly Pinkerton committed two murders in Texas in the late 1970s. On October 26, 1979, he killed 30-year-old Sarah Donn Lawrence. Pinkerton attacked her in her home, stabbing her over 30 times. He was arrested later but was released due to a lack of evidence.

Five months later, on April 9, 1980, Pinkerton murdered 25-year-old Sherry Welch. She worked at a furniture store in Amarillo. After these murders, investigators found a bloody handprint at Lawrence's crime scene that matched Pinkerton's, leading to his arrest on September 26, 1980.

In May 1981, a jury found Pinkerton guilty of Lawrence’s murder, and he received a death sentence. He was also later convicted for Welch’s murder based on bite mark evidence. Pinkerton faced multiple appeals and received several stays of execution.

However, his last stay was short. On May 15, 1986, he was executed by lethal injection in Texas at the age of 24.