Bio

Robert Lee Massie was born on December 24, 1941, in the United States. His early life was marked by instability, abuse, and time spent in foster care and juvenile institutions. As a teenager, he entered the criminal justice system and became familiar with detention facilities at a young age.

By adulthood, Massie had developed a criminal record and was living in California. He was described as intelligent and self-educated in legal matters, but he also struggled with substance abuse and repeated criminal behavior.
 

Murder Story

Robert Lee Massie’s first murder took place on January 7, 1965, during a robbery spree in Los Angeles County. That night he robbed several victims, shot Franklin Boller who survived, and fatally shot Mildred Weiss outside her San Gabriel home during an attempted robbery. Days later, he wounded another man, Frank Patti, during a separate robbery. He was arrested on January 20, 1965, convicted of murder and other crimes, and sentenced to death.

His death sentence was later reduced in 1972 after the death penalty was temporarily ruled unconstitutional. Massie was paroled in 1978, but his freedom lasted only a few months.

On January 3, 1979, he entered a San Francisco liquor store owned by Boris G. Naumoff. During a robbery attempt, a struggle broke out and Massie opened fire, killing Naumoff and wounding employee Charles Harris. He was arrested the next night with loaded weapons in his possession.

Massie was sentenced to death again in 1979. After his conviction was overturned, he was retried, convicted once more in 1989, and returned to death row. After abandoning his final appeals, he was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison on March 27, 2001.