Bio

Victor Kennedy was born in 1962 and lived in Montevallo, Alabama. Kennedy knew co-defendant Darrell Grayson, who had done occasional work for Annie Orr. Kennedy and Grayson lived near Orr’s home and had been drinking on the night before the attack. Court records state that they went to Orr’s house to steal money for Christmas. Kennedy had a gun with him during the crime.

Kennedy’s case later became part of a long appellate record because of disputed statements made by Grayson. A federal judge initially granted Kennedy relief in 1994, but the Eleventh Circuit later reversed that decision, finding that the statements would not have helped Kennedy enough to change the outcome. Kennedy remained under a death sentence until his execution in 1999.

Murder Story

During the predawn hours of December 24, 1980, Victor Kennedy and Darrell Grayson entered the home of 86-year-old Annie Laura Orr in Montevallo, Alabama. Orr was a widow who lived alone. Grayson had previously done work for her, and prosecutors said the two men went to her house looking for money.

Inside the home, Orr was beaten, sexually assaulted, and suffocated. Court records state that Kennedy and Grayson tightly wrapped a pillowcase around her head with tape. The coroner testified that the tape, rather than the pillowcase itself, caused the asphyxiation.

Kennedy made three statements to police. In those statements, he admitted going with Grayson to Orr’s home to steal money, entering the house, and searching for cash. He said he saw Grayson sexually assaulting Orr and claimed he entered the bedroom to look for his gun. He did not admit to wrapping the tape around Orr’s head.

The state’s evidence against Kennedy included his statements, physical evidence, and circumstantial evidence. Playing cards found in Orr’s home and along the path between her house and Kennedy’s nearby residence matched missing cards from a deck found at Kennedy’s residence. Hair evidence showed that hair from a Black male was found on Orr’s body and in the bedroom, but forensic analysts could not identify whether it belonged to Kennedy or Grayson. Serology testing showed that at least some of the semen evidence came from Grayson, but did not identify Kennedy as a contributor.

Grayson later gave statements that differed from Kennedy’s version. According to Grayson, he and Kennedy went to Orr’s house at Kennedy’s suggestion and both entered her bedroom. Grayson said Kennedy grabbed Orr by the throat, raped her, struck her, and held her down while Grayson wrapped tape around the pillowcase. Grayson also admitted that he raped Orr. Those statements were not introduced at Kennedy’s trial, and they later became central to Kennedy’s federal appeal.

Kennedy was convicted of capital murder in Shelby County and sentenced to death in 1982. Grayson was also convicted and sentenced to death. Kennedy’s appeals continued for many years, including a 1994 federal ruling that initially granted him a new trial. In 1995, the Eleventh Circuit reversed that ruling and held that the undisclosed Grayson statements would have strengthened the prosecution more than the defense.

Governor Don Siegelman denied clemency shortly before the execution. The U.S. Supreme Court had refused to hear Kennedy’s case earlier in 1999, and final state appeals were denied before the execution. Kennedy was executed in Alabama’s electric chair at Holman Prison in Atmore on August 6, 1999. He was pronounced dead at 12:11 a.m.