Joseph Thomas McEnroe was living in Washington State and working as an employee at a Target store before the murders. At the time, he was in a relationship with Michele Anderson, the youngest daughter of Wayne and Judy Anderson. The couple reportedly struggled financially and lived together in a rural setting.

Family members described McEnroe as quiet and reserved, with no prior convictions for violent crime. However, his relationship with Michele Anderson brought him into long-standing family tensions involving money disputes and perceived mistreatment by Michele’s parents and older brother. These resentments would ultimately culminate in a deadly plot.

On December 24, 2007, Joseph McEnroe and Michele Anderson drove to the home of Michele’s parents, Wayne and Judy Anderson, near Carnation, Washington. Armed with firearms, they planned a mass killing motivated by financial grievances and feelings of exclusion from the family.

Inside the home, McEnroe distracted Judy while Michele attempted to shoot her father. When her gun jammed, McEnroe fatally shot Wayne and then Judy. After dragging their bodies outside and cleaning up, the pair waited for Michele’s brother, Scott Anderson, his wife Erica, and their two children, Olivia (5) and Nathan (3), to arrive for a Christmas gathering.

When Scott and his family entered the home, Michele shot her brother multiple times. Erica tried to call 9-1-1 but McEnroe stopped her, removed the batteries from the phone, and fatally shot her. At Michele’s request, McEnroe then executed the two children to eliminate witnesses.

All six victims were shot in the head. Police were briefly dispatched following the interrupted 9-1-1 call but did not investigate further due to a locked property gate. The crime scene was not discovered until two days later when a family friend found the bodies and called authorities.

McEnroe and Anderson were arrested that same day when they returned to the property. Both confessed to the murders during police questioning. Prosecutors later stated that the motive was money and Michele’s belief that she was mistreated by her family.

In January 2014, McEnroe confessed to avoid execution. His trial began in December 2014. On 25 March 2015, a jury found him guilty on six counts of aggravated first-degree murder. On 13 May 2015, McEnroe was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, avoiding the death penalty due to Washington’s gubernatorial moratorium.

Michele Anderson was convicted on 4 March 2016 of the same charges and was also sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2016.

As of 2024, Joseph McEnroe remains imprisoned for life at Washington State Penitentiary for the murders of six members of the Anderson family.