Lester Leroy Bower Jr. was born on November 20, 1947, in Arlington, Texas. He lived what appeared to be an upstanding and stable life. College-educated, Bower worked as a chemical salesman and was known to be a devoted husband and father of two. Prior to his arrest, he had no criminal record. Those who knew him described him as mild-mannered and intelligent. By the time he was arrested for one of the most brutal multiple homicides in Texas, many were shocked by the accusation, as Bower did not fit the profile of a typical violent offender.

The early 1980s in Texas were marked by a heightened focus on crime, drug trafficking, and law enforcement presence, especially in rural areas with under-regulated airstrips. Bower, a licensed pilot, had an interest in aviation and had apparently been involved in an agreement to purchase a small aircraft. That connection would eventually become a central point in his case. Until his arrest, Bower’s life had unfolded quietly, with no indication of the events that would soon land him on Texas death row.

On October 8, 1983, the bodies of four men — Bob Tate, Jerry Brown, Philip Good, and Ronald Mayes — were discovered in a Grayson County airplane hangar in Texas. Each had been shot execution-style in the head at close range. The murders stunned the local community, especially given the backgrounds of the victims: two were law enforcement officers, and Tate was a known aircraft dealer with reported ties to cocaine distribution.

The investigation soon led authorities to Lester Bower. A search of his home turned up disassembled parts from the aircraft linked to Tate. Bower initially denied ever being at the hangar, but later admitted he had gone there to purchase the plane. However, he insisted the men were alive when he left and maintained that he had paid for the aircraft, though no receipt was ever produced. Investigators also found Fiocchi-brand .22 caliber ammunition at Bower’s residence — the same rare brand used in the killings, according to prosecutors.

The prosecution’s case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence. They claimed Bower had gone to the hangar with the intent to steal the aircraft and killed Tate to eliminate him. When the other three men unexpectedly arrived, Bower allegedly murdered them to cover up the original crime. On April 28, 1984, Bower was convicted on four counts of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Over the next three decades, Bower and his legal team filed numerous appeals, all while maintaining his innocence. They argued that exculpatory evidence had been suppressed by the prosecution, including reports suggesting the killings may have stemmed from a drug deal gone wrong. In 1989, a woman known as “Pearl” contacted Bower’s attorneys and claimed her ex-boyfriend Lynn and three associates — identified only as Ches, Rocky, and Bear — had committed the murders. Her testimony was backed by a statement from one of the men's wives, who confirmed her husband’s involvement. One of the men allegedly owned a .22 caliber pistol compatible with Fiocchi ammunition. The defense also claimed that the prosecution had misrepresented the rarity of the ammunition — it was, in fact, widely available for hunting and target practice.

Despite these revelations, Bower’s conviction remained intact. He was granted six separate stays of execution between 1989 and 2015. Critics of the case pointed to the complete lack of physical evidence linking Bower to the crime scene — no fingerprints, no eyewitnesses, and no forensic proof. Nonetheless, after 31 years on death row, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal on the day of his scheduled execution.

On June 3, 2015, Lester Leroy Bower Jr. was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m., aged 67, making him — at the time — the oldest prisoner executed by the state of Texas since the resumption of capital punishment in 1976. In his final words, Bower addressed his family and legal team, expressing love and gratitude, and quoting the Bible: “I have fought the good fight, I held my faith. I am not going to say goodbye, I will simply say, until we meet again.”