US triple-murder suspect accused of cooking woman’s heart and serving it to other victims
- Lawrence Paul Anderson allegedly slew his neighbour, removed the organ and took it to his uncle’s home, where he cooked it with potatoes
- The suspect wanted to feed his family ‘to release the demons’, an agent wrote in a search warrant
An Oklahoma man who had been released early from prison in January as part of a mass commutation effort is now accused of three killings, including the death of a neighbour whose heart he cut out, authorities said.
A judge denied bail on Tuesday for Lawrence Paul Anderson, who faces three counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault and one count of maiming for the attack this month in Chickasha, about 35 miles (55km) southwest of Oklahoma City.
According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OBSI), Anderson is accused of killing Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, and cutting out her heart.
Authorities say Anderson brought the heart to his aunt and uncle’s house, cooked it with potatoes and tried to serve it to them before killing Leon Pye, 67, wounding the aunt and killing Kaeos Yates, the pair’s four-year-old granddaughter.
Anderson sobbed in court during an initial court appearance on Tuesday, The Oklahoman reported.
“I don’t want no bail, your honour. I don’t want no bail,” he said.
He cooked the heart with potatoes “to feed to his family to release the demons,” an OBSI agent wrote in a search warrant presented in court, the newspaper reported.
Anderson’s lawyer Al Hoch indicated that he will seek a mental evaluation to determine whether Anderson is competent to stand trial.
Teacher arrested in Berlin on suspicion of cannibalism
Anderson had been sentenced in 2017 to 20 years in prison for probation violations on a drug case, The Oklahoman reported. Republican Governor Kevin Stitt commuted the sentence last year to nine years in prison, and Anderson was released after serving a little more than three years.
Grady County District Attorney Jason Hicks criticised the criminal justice reform that led to the commutations of hundreds of Oklahoma inmates.
“It is time that we do better,” Hicks said. “If we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, OK. We can look at our citizens and be honest with them and tell them that you’re safe. I can’t tell the people in my district today that they’re safe.”
Stitt’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
