Richard Alford Thornburg, Jr. - Death Row Inmate

Thornburg on Death Row - Murdered Three: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals set April 18, 2006 as the execution date for Grady County death row inmate Richard Alford Thornburg, Jr.

Thornburg, 40, was convicted of the Sept. 28, 1996, of killing three men. Thornburg and co-defendants Glenn Anderson and Roger Embry shot the three victims and then set the house on fire.

The defendants held a fourth man, Marvin Matheson, at gunpoint and forced him to shoot a fourth victim, Donald Scott, but Scott survived the shooting.

Crime Details - US Court of Appeals - Tenth Circuit: On September 28, 1996, Thornburg, along with codefendants Glenn Anderson and Roger Embrey, went to Marvin Matheson's trailer. All three were armed. As they hovered over Matheson, Thornburg accused him of being responsible for shooting Thornburg the month before. Also suspecting Jim Poteet of a role in the shooting, they drove Matheson to Poteet's house, telling him on the way not to worry about locking his trailer, because he was not coming back.

Poteet Shot In The Foot: When the four men arrived at Poteet's house, Thornburg and Embrey went inside while Matheson and Anderson remained in the car. After hearing gun shots from the house, Anderson took Matheson inside. As Matheson entered he saw Terry Shepard sitting on a chair outside the bathroom door and Poteet sitting on the bed in the back bedroom. Poteet, held at gunpoint by Thornburg, had been shot in the foot and his forehead was bruised and bloody.

Thornburg Shoots Poteet Again: Matheson saw Thornburg shoot again at Poteet's feet as he attempted to get Poteet to tell him who had shot him.

Anderson then instructed Thornburg to take Matheson to Poteet's rental unit near the house and get Jimmy Scott. Thornburg escorted Matheson to the rental unit with a gun to his back, but he was interrupted when Kevin Smith arrived at Scott's house to retrieve his girlfriend's purse. Thornburg instructed Smith to knock on Scott's door.

The door was answered by Donnie Scott, the brother of Jimmy, who was not home. Thornburg forced Scott, Smith, and Matheson to go to Poteet's house.

Victims Injected With an Overdose of Drugs: Once they were inside Poteet's house, Anderson held the men at gunpoint in the kitchen while Thornburg went to the back bedroom. Matheson could hear Thornburg and Poteet arguing about drugs and money. Then Anderson instructed Embrey to bring everyone back to the bedroom. The men injected Matheson and Poteet with drugs, as Anderson commented that he intended to "OD" them.

Thornburg Tells Matheson to Shoot Poteet: Anderson and Thornburg also injected themselves. Thornburg continued arguing with Poteet about whether Poteet shot him. He told Poteet that he was going to shoot him, but then said "better yet, I ain't gonna shoot you," and instructed Matheson to shoot Poteet.

Thornburg Shoots Poteet a Third Time: Embrey and Anderson pointed their guns at Matheson, threatening to shoot him if he did not shoot Poteet. When Matheson refused to shoot Poteet, Thornburg shot Poteet in the side. Thornburg then told Matheson that Matheson was "going to shoot somebody and that it had a lot to do with if (Matheson left) the house or not."

Matherson Forced at Gun Point to Shoot Victims: Matheson was told to shoot one of the men in the bathroom. He attempted to shoot Scott in the head, but the gun did not have a bullet. Anderson took the gun into the hallway, presumably to put a bullet in it, and returned, insisting that Matheson shoot Scott or he would kill Matheson. Matheson shot Scott in the chest.

Final Shots and Fire Set: Embrey then gave his gun to Anderson, telling him that he did not want to be involved in shooting anyone, and escorted Matheson back to the car. Matheson heard three or four more shots coming from the house. As Matheson was sitting in the car, Embrey opened the trunk and Matheson could smell gas as if Embrey was siphoning gasoline. The men removed a sack of "Longneck Budweiser" bottles from the back seat.

Then Matheson heard someone throw something through a window and saw that Poteet's bedroom window was broken. After setting the house on fire, the men drove away. Thornburg dropped Anderson and Embrey off by the side of the road so that they could stash their guns. After driving further, Thornburg told Matheson to get out of the car, hide for a bit, and keep his mouth shut or the others would blame him for killing everyone.

Scott Escapes With His Life: Scott, still alive in the burning house, attempted to help Poteet crawl out but was unsuccessful. He made it out himself and lay down in the grass. A man and his son drove past the burning house shortly after 5 a.m. and saw Scott. They took him to a convenience store and called the police. Scott survived, but Smith, Poteet, and Shepard perished in the fire.

Matheson Turns Himself In to Police: When Matheson heard that officers wanted to arrest him in connection with the murders, he turned himself in. He gave the above account of his activities to officers once he learned that his family was under police protection.

See More:
US Court of Appeals - Tenth Circuit

Update

Richard Alford Thornburg Jr. was executed April 18, 2006 by lethal injection in Oklahoma.