Eric Elliott, 18, and Lewis Gilbert, 24, of Newcomerstown, Ohio, bored with their mundane existence, went on a weeklong crime spree in Ohio in 1994 leaving four dead in their wake. In 1996 Gilbert was convicted in the killing of Roxy Ruddell and was sentenced to death. Eric's first trial in May, 1996, ended in a deadlock. In his second trial, moments before jury selection was to begin, Elliot pleaded guilty to participating in the September 1994 slaying of Ruddell because, he said, "he was in fact, guilty." If convicted, the teenager faces the death penalty, life without parole, or a life term that would make him eligible for parole in 15 years.
The victim, 37-year-old Roxy Ruddell was murdered while fishing in a lake. The two boys were arrested with Mrs. Ruddell's truck near Santa Fe, N.M., just days after her body was found. Police believe they also abducted and killed Ruth Loader of Port Washington, who has never been seen again and is presumed dead. Furthermore, they are suspected in the slayings of William and Flossie Brewer, whose bodies were found in their home in Kingdom City, Montana.