Jonathan Daniel Carr was born on March 30, 1980, in Dodge City, Kansas. He was the younger brother of Reginald Dexter Carr Jr., who was born on November 14, 1977. 

On December 8, 2000, Jonathan Carr and his brother Reginald went on a violent crime spree in Wichita, Kansas. Their first victim was Andrew Schreiber, a 23-year-old assistant baseball coach. They robbed him and left him injured. Just a few days later, on December 11, they shot Ann Walenta, a 55-year-old cellist, multiple times as she attempted to escape in her car. She later died from her injuries.

On December 14, the Carr brothers broke into a house where they found five people: Brad Heyka, Heather Muller, Aaron Sander, Jason Befort, and his girlfriend, Holly G. After searching for valuables, they forced their victims to strip naked and bound them. They then assaulted the two women and made the men participate in sexual acts.

After the assaults, the Carrs took the victims in Jason's truck to several ATMs, forcing them to withdraw money. TAfter robbing the victims’ bank accounts at multiple ATMs, the Carr brothers drove them in Jason Befort’s truck to the remote Stryker Soccer Complex. There, they lined up all five victims and shot them execution‑style in the back of the head. They then ran over the bodies with the truck before fleeing.

Four victims died instantly: Heyka, Muller, Sander, and Befort. Holly G. miraculously survived because a plastic barrette deflected the bullet from her skull. Naked and bleeding in sub‑freezing temperatures, she walked more than a mile to find help. Even before receiving medical attention, she provided police with detailed descriptions of the attackers. Holly later revealed she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease from one of the brothers during the assaults.

After the murders, the Carrs returned to the victims’ house and ransacked it for more valuables. They also bludgeoned Holly’s dog, Nikki, to death with a golf club.

The next day, police arrested the Carr brothers. Witnesses identified Reginald, and with Holly's testimony, they were charged with numerous crimes including murder, rape, and robbery. The brothers were convicted on multiple counts and given death sentences. Over the years, their cases went through various appeals concerning their sentences, but they remained on death row in Kansas.