Steven Brian Pennell was born on November 22, 1957, in Glasgow, Delaware. 

On November 29, 1987, 23-year-old Shirley Anna Ellis, a nurse, left Wilmington Hospital after her shift. She was heading home when she got a ride on Route 40. Later, two boys found her body by the roadside. She was partially nude, with her legs spread and her hands and feet tied with adhesive tape. She had been severely abused, and the cause of death was identified as blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation.

Seven months later, on June 28, 1988, 31-year-old Catherine A. DiMauro was seen walking along Route 40 at around 11:30 PM. By 6:25 AM, construction workers discovered her naked body at a nearby site. Similar to Ellis, there were no signs of sexual assault, and her cause of death was also found to be hammer blows to the head and strangulation. Her body was covered in blue fibers.

On August 22, 1988, 27-year-old sex worker Margaret Lynn Finner disappeared. Witnesses remembered seeing her enter a blue Ford driven by a white male. Her decomposed body was found three months later near the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal, showing signs of torture. The exact cause of death could not be determined.

Just two days after Finner's body was discovered, 22-year-old Michele Gordon went missing. Witnesses saw her get into a blue panel car. On September 20, her body was found on the rocks near the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal. An autopsy showed that she had been drugged with cocaine, which had caused her heart to stop before any torture occurred.

Later, on September 23, 1988, 26-year-old Kathleen Meyer disappeared. A police officer saw her enter a blue Ford on Route 40. He managed to get the license plate number, which turned out to belong to Steven Brian Pennell. However, her body was never found.

Pennell was arrested on November 29, 1988, a year after his first murder. Undercover police had been monitoring Route 40 when they identified his vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle, investigators found blood and hair samples matching the victims. They also discovered a "torture kit," which included various disturbing items. He was charged with the murders of Ellis, DiMauro, and Gordon, but he remained silent during questioning.

The trial began, during which Pennell's defense claimed that some evidence was obtained illegally. However, the judge ruled that the evidence was legitimate. DNA evidence played a crucial role in linking him to the murders, marking a significant moment in the legal system for criminal trials. On November 23, 1989, the jury convicted him of murdering DiMauro and Ellis, but was not able to convict him of Gordon's murder due to insufficient evidence. He received two life sentences.

Later, after new evidence emerged, Pennell was implicated in the murders of Gordon and Meyer. He dismissed his lawyer to represent himself and expressed a wish to receive the death penalty, citing religious reasons. On October 31, 1991, he was sentenced to death. His case went to the Supreme Court, where he again sought the death penalty, becoming notable for this unique position.

On March 14, 1992, Steven Brian Pennell was executed by lethal injection. He became the first person executed in Delaware in 46 years and did not disclose the whereabouts of Kathleen Meyer's body before his execution. His last meal included crab cakes, steaks, and corn on the cob.