Kenneth Granviel was born on August 4, 1950, in Fort Worth, Texas. He grew up with an older brother and a half-brother. Their mother raised the three boys by herself in a small house on Charlotte Street. From a young age, Kenneth was seen as an odd and reclusive child. He often played alone, had very few friends, and rarely interacted with girls.

When he was 16 years old, an incident occurred that would change his life. On March 22, 1967, Kenneth entered his mother’s bedroom and attacked her. He grabbed her by the throat and attempted to rape her. During their struggle, he came to his senses and stumbled out onto the porch, where he collapsed. After this, his mother called the police, and he was taken into custody. Due to his unusual behavior, he was temporarily placed in the John Peter Smith Hospital, where he stayed for ten days.

After his release from the hospital, Kenneth assaulted his brother. This led to his placement at the Gatesville State School, where he spent two and a half years.

On October 8, 1974, Kenneth Granviel visited the Riverside Village apartment complex. He knocked on the door of the McClendon family's apartment and was let in for a glass of water. Inside were 21-year-old Laura, her 19-year-old sister Linda, their 24-year-old cousin Martha, and two young children, Steven and Natasha. Granviel grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen and ordered Laura and her son into the bedroom, instructing her to tie up the child. When the other family members came in, he tied them up and gagged them as well.

Granviel then led Laura to another room and began to assault her. When Natasha started crying, he stabbed the child multiple times. He next killed Linda by strangulation and then attacked Steven, stabbing him so brutally that the knife broke. After raping Laura, he stabbed her to death too. Finally, he killed Martha and took valuables from the victims before leaving the apartment. The family members were discovered later by their stepfather.

On February 8, 1975, Granviel lured his friend, 24-year-old Betty Williams, to his apartment under the pretense of giving her cigarettes. While she was in the bedroom, he assaulted her and was interrupted by another friend, 21-year-old Vera Hill. He killed Vera by stabbing her multiple times before returning to attack Betty. After leaving the apartment, he committed further crimes, including kidnapping and raping a daughter of a family he visited.

Feeling guilty, Granviel brought his rape victim to a local church to meet with the pastor. Together, they went to the police station, where Granviel confessed to the murders. He was arrested and led police back to his apartment, where the bodies of Williams and Hill were found. He was charged with seven counts of capital murder and one count of aggravated rape.

In the trial that followed, witnesses described Granviel's strange behavior before and after the murders. The jury convicted him and recommended the death penalty. His sentence was appealed and upheld, and Granviel remained on death row for over two decades due to various delays. Finally, he was executed by lethal injection on February 27, 1996, without making a final statement.