This December will mark thirty-seven years since the most horrific case of mass murder in Arkansas, that of a former highly decorated Air Force sergeant who killed sixteen people -- including fourteen members of his own family-- over two days in 1987.
Ronald Gene Simmons, Sr. was born on July 15, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. His early life was marked by tragedy when his father, William Simmons, died of a stroke in 1943. His mother, Loretta Simmons, remarried within a year to William Griffen, who worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In 1957, Simmons dropped out of school and joined the U.S. Navy. He later transferred to the U.S. Air Force, where he served for 20 years, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant. During his military career, Simmons received several awards, including the Bronze Star and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
After retiring from the military, Simmons moved his family from New Mexico to a remote property in Dover, He became increasingly reclusive and controlling, isolating his family from the outside world.
In 1981, the Department of Human Services in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, began investigating claims that Simmons had been sexually abusing his 17-year-old daughter, Sheila, and had fathered a child with her. Fearing prosecution, Simmons fled with his family to Arkansas.
There were no known investigations of Simmons in Arkansas prior to the mass murders in December 1987.
The tragedy began on December 22, 1987, when Simmons bludgeoned and shot his son Gene and his wife Rebecca. He then strangled his three-year-old daughter Barbara.
According to Wikipedia and other sources, Simmons dumped the bodies in one of the cess pool pits he had forced his children to dig previously. He then waited for his other children to return from school for Christmas break. Upon their arrival, he told them he had presents for them but wanted to give them one at a time.
He first killed his daughter, 17-year-old Loretta, whom Simmons strangled and held under the water in a rain barrel. The three other children, Eddy, Marianne, and Becky, were then killed in the same way, and subsequently dumped in the cesspit.
Around mid-day on December 26, the remaining family members arrived at the home, as Simmons had invited them over for the holidays. The first to be killed was Simmons' son Billy and his wife Renata, who were both shot dead.
He then strangled and drowned their 20-month-old son, Trae. Simmons also shot and killed his oldest daughter, Sheila and her husband, Dennis McNulty. Simmons then strangled his child by Sheila, seven-year-old Sylvia Gail, and finally, his 21-month-old grandson Michael
On December 28, Simmons left his home and went on a shooting rampage in Russellville,. He fatally shot Kathy Kendrick, a secretary at a law firm, then moved on to a convenience store, where he killed a customer named J.D. Chaffin.
He then proceeded his former workplace, Woodline Motor Freight, where he shot and wounded an employee named Rusty Taylor and wounded as well as several more people. He then ordered one of the employees at gunpoint to call the police. When they arrived, Simmons handed over his gun and surrendered without any resistance.
There were several warning signs before the mass murders, though they were not widely recognized at the time. Despite the investigations that drove Simmons out of New Mexico and to Arkansas, he was able to fly under the radar and took the family briefly to Ward in Lonoke County before finally settling in Dover.
Simmons kept his family isolated from the community, which is often a red flag for controlling and abusive behavior. The property in Dover was essentially a compound/prison for his family members.
The family took up residence on a 13-acre tract of land 6.5 miles north of Dover that they would dub "Mockingbird Hill." The residence was constructed of two older-model mobile homes joined to form one large home, neither of which had a telephone nor indoor plumbing, and was surrounded by a makeshift privacy fence which was as high as 10 feet tall in some places
Neighbors and acquaintances reported that Simmons exhibited increasingly erratic and paranoid behavior in the years leading up to the murders. He also faced financial difficulties, which may have contributed to his stress and instability
Simmons was sentenced to death on each of the sixteen counts, and after refusing to appeal his sentence, was executed on June 25, 1990. He was buried i the Lincoln Memorial Lawn in Grady near Cummins State Prison, where he was executed.