Bio

Joe Leonard Lambright was born on September 3, 1947. He later lived a traveling lifestyle and moved from place to place. Before the murder, Lambright was traveling with Robert Douglas Smith and Kathy Foreman. The three eventually arrived in the Tucson, Arizona area.

Lambright had a troubled background that included mental health issues, alcohol and drug problems, childhood abuse, and past suicide attempts. He had also served in Vietnam, which was later raised during appeals as part of his personal history.

In March 1980, Lambright, Smith, and Foreman picked up Sandra Owen while she was hitchhiking near Tucson. What started as a ride later turned into her kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder.

Murder Story

Between March 11 and March 14, 1980, Joe Leonard Lambright, Robert Douglas Smith, and Kathy Foreman picked up Sandra Owen while she was hitchhiking in the Tucson area. After she entered the vehicle, the group took her away from the city. Smith sexually assaulted Owen, and the group later drove her to a remote mountain area outside Tucson.

At the remote location, Owen was attacked and killed. Case records state that she was choked, stabbed, and struck in the head with a large rock. After the killing, her body was covered with rocks and left in the area. Her remains were not found until about a year later.

Kathy Foreman later testified against Lambright and Smith after receiving immunity. Both Lambright and Smith were tried together, but before separate juries. Lambright was convicted on March 30, 1982, of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault. On May 27, 1982, he was sentenced to death for the murder.

The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed Lambright’s conviction and death sentence in 1983. Years later, his legal team challenged the death sentence, arguing that his trial attorney had failed to properly investigate and present mitigating evidence during sentencing. In 2007, the Ninth Circuit overturned the death sentence and ordered a new sentencing proceeding.

Lambright was later resentenced. On January 25, 2016, the trial court imposed a consecutive life sentence. The Arizona Court of Appeals later affirmed that resentencing decision. Joe Leonard Lambright died in custody on August 7, 2023, at Mountain Vista Medical Center. He was 75 years old.