Kenneth Eugene Biros was born on June 24, 1958, in Ohio, United States. He grew up in the small town of Brookfield, located in Trumbull County, where he lived a relatively unremarkable early life. Biros struggled with personal issues including reported mental health challenges and substance abuse throughout his adulthood. Neighbors and acquaintances described him as quiet but troubled, and there were indications of underlying emotional instability. He did not have a significant criminal record prior to the murder but had exhibited increasingly erratic behavior, especially toward women.

Biros lived in close proximity to his victim and was familiar with her social circle. At the time of the murder, he was unemployed and reportedly battling depression. Despite his troubles, he was not widely seen as a threat to the community until the brutal killing of Tami Engstrom revealed the depths of his violent tendencies. Psychological evaluations later conducted during trial proceedings suggested underlying antisocial traits and potentially suppressed rage that could contribute to a sudden outburst of extreme violence.

On February 7, 1991, Kenneth Biros committed the brutal murder of 22-year-old Tami Engstrom, a secretary from Hubbard, Ohio. According to court records and Biros' later confession, he lured Engstrom to his home under the pretense of offering her a job interview. During her visit, a violent altercation occurred in which Biros attacked her. The assault escalated rapidly, and in a fit of rage, he bludgeoned her to death.

After killing Engstrom, Biros proceeded to dismember her body with chilling precision. He placed various body parts into garbage bags and scattered them across wooded areas spanning northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. The gruesome disposal method created a complex crime scene for investigators, and a widespread search was launched to recover the remains. Some body parts were eventually found in a rest stop in Pennsylvania, while others were discovered buried or discarded in rural Ohio.

Biros was arrested on February 9, 1991, just days after the killing, and was charged with aggravated murder, attempted rape, aggravated robbery, and felonious sexual penetration. During his trial in Trumbull County, Ohio, prosecutors argued that the murder was premeditated and sexually motivated, pointing to evidence of attempted sexual assault and mutilation. The jury convicted him on all counts on March 3, 1992, and he was sentenced to death.

In the years that followed, Biros’ legal team pursued numerous appeals, including claims that Ohio’s lethal injection method constituted cruel and unusual punishment. Despite stays and delays, the appeals were ultimately denied. On December 8, 2009, Kenneth Biros was executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. Notably, he was the first person in the United States to be executed using a single-drug lethal injection protocol, consisting of sodium thiopental, instead of the previously used three-drug cocktail. This procedure set a precedent in the U.S. legal system and was later adopted by other states.

During his final moments, Biros offered an apology to the victim’s family and to his own. He was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m., approximately 47 minutes after the initial injection. His execution closed a case that had remained controversial due to the gruesome nature of the crime and the legal debate surrounding his method of execution.