Bio

Myron Darl Lance was born in 1941 and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. By 1966, Lance was 25 years old and had already spent time in prison. He was on parole from the Utah State Prison when he became connected with Walter Bernard Kelbach, another parolee. Kelbach was 28 years old and was originally from Racine, Wisconsin. The two men became closely linked in the final weeks of 1966, shortly before the crimes that made them known in Utah criminal history.

Lance was also married shortly before the murders. Donna Lance married him on December 2, 1966. This was only about two weeks before the killing spree began. Their marriage became part of later court records because Donna Lance was later convicted of trying to bring an item into prison to help Lance escape.

On December 17, 1966, Lance’s name became tied to a violent five-day crime spree with Walter Kelbach. The crimes involved robberies, abductions, sexual assaults, stabbings, and shootings in and around Salt Lake County, Utah. By the time the spree ended, six people had been killed. Lance and Kelbach were arrested after police stopped them at a roadblock near Parleys Canyon.

Murder Story

Myron Lance and Walter Kelbach began their killing spree on December 17, 1966. Their first known victim was Steven Shea, an 18-year-old service station attendant in the Kearns area of Utah. Lance and Kelbach robbed the station, abducted Shea, and took him to a remote area. Shea was later found dead in Tooele County. He had been stabbed several times.

The next day, December 18, 1966, they abducted another 18-year-old service station worker named Michael Holtz. His case was very similar to Shea’s. Holtz was taken from a service station, killed, and left in a remote area. Both victims were young attendants working alone, which helped police connect the two crimes.

On December 21, 1966, Lance and Kelbach targeted a taxi driver named Grant Creed Strong. Strong became suspicious of the two men during the ride and contacted his dispatcher. He was later found shot in the back of the head near the Salt Lake City Municipal Airport area.

Later that same night, Lance and Kelbach went to Lally’s Tavern in Salt Lake City. They entered the bar and began a robbery. During the robbery, Lance shot James Sizemore in the head and ordered the bartender to hand over the cash drawer. After that, more shots were fired inside the tavern.

Fred Lillie and Beverly Mace were also killed during the shooting. Another person inside the tavern was wounded but survived. After the attack, Lance and Kelbach fled the scene. By that point, six people had been killed: Steven Shea, Michael Holtz, Grant Strong, James Sizemore, Fred Lillie, and Beverly Mace.

Police caught Lance and Kelbach a few hours later at a roadblock near Parleys Canyon. Their arrest ended the five-day crime spree. Both men were later connected to all six killings.

Lance and Kelbach were tried for the murders connected to the Lally’s Tavern shooting. A jury found them guilty of first-degree murder, and both were sentenced to death. Their death sentences were later changed to life imprisonment after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that death penalty laws like Utah’s were unconstitutional at that time.

Lance spent the rest of his life in prison. In 1992, he appeared before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. When asked what he would do if he were deciding his own case, Lance said, “I don’t see how you could ever let me out.” The parole board decided he should remain in prison for life.

While imprisoned, Lance was later linked to prison misconduct, including a reported 1968 attack on a prison guard and an escape that ended with his capture in Idaho. Myron Lance died in custody on August 30, 2010, at University Hospital in Utah. He was 69 years old.