Steven Judy was born on May 24, 1956, into a violent and dysfunctional household. His early life was filled with exposure to domestic violence, pornography, alcohol abuse, and chaos. His father, Vernon Judy, had a history of assaulting his mother, Myrtle, and was once so enraged by her infidelity that he killed the family dog in retaliation. Judy later recalled an incident where his mother pulled a gun on his father and tried to shoot him. These experiences shaped a deeply disturbed childhood.

By age 10, Judy was already engaging in alarming behaviors—he committed arson by burning a neighbor's garage and stabbed a classmate with a compass. At 13, he posed as a Boy Scout to enter a woman’s home, where he raped her and attempted to murder her. He fractured her skull and severed one of her fingers before his pocketknife broke. He was caught, pleaded insanity during the trial, and was ultimately sent to a juvenile detention center followed by a stay in a mental hospital, where he was diagnosed as a "sexual psychopath."

After release, Judy was placed in foster care with a couple named Robert and Mary Carr—who were unaware of his violent criminal past. He continued to escalate his disturbing behavior throughout adolescence and early adulthood. By the time of the murders in 1979, Judy was already a predator with a long history of violent sexual offenses.

On April 28, 1979, 23-year-old Steven Judy committed one of the most brutal family murders in Indiana history. That morning, Terry Lee Chasteen, a 21-year-old mother of three, was driving her children—Misty (5), Steve (4), and Mark (2)—to a babysitter’s house before work. While on the road, Judy approached her car and motioned that something was wrong. Playing the part of a helpful stranger, he claimed he could fix her tire, then disabled the vehicle. When Chasteen agreed to a ride, Judy drove them to White Lick Creek in Morgan County.

Once there, he told the children to walk ahead on a wooded path. Judy then raped Chasteen, bound her hands and feet, and began strangling her. As she screamed, her children ran back, only to witness the aftermath. One by one, Judy drowned all three children in the creek to eliminate witnesses.

The next day, police discovered the bodies of all four victims. Chasteen had been strangled with a piece of her own clothing. The children had been drowned. Several witnesses had seen Judy in the area or had information that helped investigators quickly identify him as a suspect. He confessed to the killings but initially attempted an insanity defense. During trial, he told the judge and jury he wanted to be sentenced to death. “Because someday, somehow, I might get out,” he warned. He even threatened that he would kill again if given a lighter sentence.

On February 2, 1980, Judy was convicted of four counts of murder. By February 25, he was sentenced to die. He waived all appeals and accepted his fate.

On March 9, 1981, at just 24 years old, Steven Judy was executed via electric chair at Indiana State Prison. His final meal included prime rib, lobster tails, potatoes with sour cream, a chef salad, and a dinner roll. He requested four beers, but the request was denied. Judy became the first person executed in Indiana in 20 years.

Before his death, Judy confessed to several other murders, including women in Louisiana and Indianapolis. He told his foster mother he had raped and murdered so many women across different states that he had lost count. While some of these confessions remain unverified, Judy remains a suspect in multiple unsolved cases, including the 1977 rape and murder of Ann Harmeier. However, official records show he may have been in jail at the time of her disappearance—though this detail has been questioned.