Douglas Edward Gretzler (May 21, 1951 – June 3, 1998) was an American serial killer who, together with accomplice Willie Luther Steelman, committed seventeen murders in the states of Arizona and California in late 1973. All the victims were shot, strangled, or stabbed to death, and the majority of the murders were committed in the commission of robberies or for the purpose of eyewitness elimination.
Gretzler and Steelman were tried separately and convicted for eleven of these murders in 1974 and 1975. Both were sentenced to death for two murders committed in Arizona; each received sentences of life imprisonment relating to nine murders committed in Victor, California, in November 1973.
Gretzler was executed by lethal injection at Florence State Prison in June 1998, while Steelman died of cirrhosis in August 1986 while incarcerated on death row at this facility.
The saga of the murders committed by Gretzler and Steelman have been referred to by contemporary reporters and a documentary director as the Greatest Murder Story Never Told.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 p. V
Early lives Douglas Gretzler Douglas Edward Gretzler was born on May 21, 1951, in the Bronx, New York, the second of four children born to Norton Tillotson Gretzler and his wife, Janet Louise ( Bassett). His father served as President of the Tuckahoe School District, and his mother was a homemaker. In the early 1950s, the Gretzlers moved to the working class suburb of Tuckahoe, where they were regarded as upstanding residents.
Although their father provided for his family, he was a strict disciplinarian who commanded obedience and academic achievement from his children, often subjecting them to physical and mental punishment for any failure or disobedience. Gretzler himself later recollected that although all four siblings endured harsh treatment from their father, the oldest child, Mark, was by far his father's favorite. He and his younger sisters, Joanne and Dianne, were frequently compared unfavorably with Mark; an academically achieving and popular student and often in his presence. By contrast, Gretzler was an unmotivated student who typically achieved C or D grades and performed only moderately as a Boy Scout. On one occasion when Gretzler was ten, he received a good grade at school and ran home to show his father his report card. In response, his father tossed the report card aside, telling his son he expected him to do better.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 p. 142
Although Gretzler repeatedly attempted to please his father as a young child, by the time he was eleven, he had stopped attempting to appease his father; instead seeking avenues to spite him and frequently pursuing leisure activities outside the home or playing his drums in the family basement. By 1966, Gretzler had begun smoking marijuana. His father soon discovered his recreational usage of the drug and attributed his usage of marijuana to his lackadaisical attitude toward his studies. A heated argument ensued which culminated Gretzler's father grabbing him by the collar and pushing him against a bedroom partition, causing the two to fall onto the bathroom floor. According to Gretzler, following his father's discovery of his usage of marijuana, he never failed to remind him of his "utter disappointment" in him, and although his parents arranged weekly family counseling sessions in efforts to improve family relations, the sessions yielded little progress.
On August 16, 1966, the oldest of the Gretzler children, Mark, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in his bedroom at the age of 17. His suicide came just days after his father discovered he had stolen upcoming examination papers and handed copies of the answers to other students as a prank, resulting in the school banning him from all senior year activities. His suicide note offered no explanation for choosing to end his life, but simply thanked an aunt for lending him the gun. Several months later, Gretzler's father—intoxicated at the time—emerged from the family basement with a bottle of liquor. He approached his younger son to lament why it had to be Mark who had killed himself and not him.
Adolescence Two years after his brother's suicide, Gretzler began extending his drug habit by taking narcotics such as mescaline and LSD, as a result of which his relationship with his father further deteriorated. He attended Tuckahoe High School, where he earned the nickname "Lamby" among his peers. Gretzler was a member of the school football, baseball and basketball teams, but was considered somewhat average in each of these sports. His primary extracurricular interest in his teens was drumming.
While Gretzler was not popular at school, his friends and acquaintances later spoke well of him. After graduating in 1969, Gretzler chose not to continue his education; instead deciding to become an auto mechanic. He worked for several months in a local car service.
The following year, Gretzler left New York and relocated to Florida, where he met a young woman named Judith Eyl, who hailed from Manhattan. The couple began dating, and shortly thereafter announced their engagement.
Marriage Shortly after their February 1970 marriage in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the Gretzlers returned to the Bronx, where they bought an apartment. However, although Gretzler held a variety of jobs, he invariably left his employment of his own volition after a matter of days or weeks—frequently leading to arguments with his wife, who worked full-time in a local bank. In 1972, Judith gave birth to their daughter, Jessica. Initially, Gretzler relished his role as a father, although he soon began to tire of the continuous responsibility; however, he was never harsh or directly neglectful to the child, instead opting to leave her in the care of his wife as he spent increased amounts of time away from home. The two began to experience increased financial difficulties and Gretzler began committing petty crime, although he was never arrested for these acts.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 pp. 28-29
Via a wealthy relative, Gretzler inherited a generous trust fund of several thousand dollars on his 21st birthday; he spent the majority of this inheritance on a 1967 MGB sports car and improvements to the vehicle and little, if any, on his wife and child.
In the fall of 1972, Gretzler obtained employment in a Tuckahoe concrete factory. He held this job for a few months although on December 26—in part due to his worsening financial status and in part to shirk from his responsibilities as a husband and father—Gretzler abruptly abandoned both his job and his family altogether. He waited until his wife left the apartment with their baby before packing some belongings into a duffel bag and heading West in his MGB, with ambitions to ultimately relocate to Colorado. He arrived in Casper, Wyoming, on December 27 and lived in this city for six months—undertaking a series of low-paying jobs—before he was arrested for a minor traffic infraction and vagrancy on June 28, 1973. Approximately eight weeks later, Gretzler left Wyoming and drove to Denver.
Willie Steelman Willie Luther "Bill" Steelman was born on March 21, 1945, in San Joaquin County, California, the youngest of three children born to Lester Lonzo Steelman and his wife, Ethel Rose (née Hogan).
The Steelman family had emigrated to California from Oklahoma in 1935, where Lester initially obtained work as a foreman at a San Joaquin farm. The family had little money, but were close-knit. As both parents worked to provide for their children, the responsibility for raising Steelman was largely delegated to his 14-year-old sister, Frances.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 p. 2
Steelman spent his childhood and adolescence in Lodi, where he attended the Lodi High School. During his school years, Steelman was not particularly popular with his peers and was considered a social outcast, but was not bullied by other students. When Steelman was 13, his father died. Shortly thereafter, Steelman dropped out of school and began committing petty crime. Despite his mother's efforts, he refused to either recommit to his studies or find employment—frequently threatening his mother if she attempted to persuade him to commit to either. One year later, his mother remarried. She remained close to her youngest son, but frequently lamented his lackadaisical and recidivistic lifestyle, often comparing him unfavorably with his brother, Gary.
Adolescence In March 1962, Steelman's mother and stepfather persuaded him to enlist in the United States Navy; this enlistment lasted only a few months before his service was terminated. The following fall, Steelman relocated to Denver to live with his sister, although Frances soon evicted him from her home due to his unruly and threatening behavior toward her and her children. He returned to California to live with his mother.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 p. 5
In January 1965, Steelman was convicted of three counts of forgery and involving a minor in a crime; he was placed in the custody of the California Youth Authority, who in turn sent him to the Pine Grove Work Camp, where he remained for seven months.
Marriages Following his release, Steelman obtained employment as a field hand. Shortly thereafter, he encountered a 15-year-old girl, whom he later married, with the ceremony conducted in Reno, Nevada. He soon quit his job, and the couple moved into his mother's home. In December 1965, a warrant was issued for Steelman's arrest pertaining to cashing stolen checks; he was arrested in early January the following year and remanded in custody at Stockton County Jail, where he attempted suicide. Days later, his wife's parents annulled their marriage.
In February 1966, Steelman was transferred to the Stockton State Hospital. Classified as mentally ill, he was later transferred to the Atascadero State Hospital, where his "remarkable progress" saw him returned to Stockton State Hospital after several months. He was later sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment for his second forgery conviction, to be served at the California Men's Colony (CMC), where he proved to be a model inmate.Where Sadness Breathes: The True Story of Willie Steelman and Douglas Gretzler and the 17 People they Murdered in the Autumn of 1973 p. 9
Steelman was granted parole after serving just two months' imprisonment at the CMC; he was released on September 16, 1968, and returned to Lodi, obtaining employment as a shipping clerk and, according to his sister, informed many individuals he had "turned [his] life around". Three months later, he was arrested for supplying LSD to two 16-year-old girls. For this, he was sentenced to 43 days' imprisonment and fined $625. While incarcerated, he became acquainted with a young woman named Kathy Stone. He moved into Stone's house shortly after his release in the spring of 1969. Via Stone, Steelman became acquainted to a young woman named Denise Machell. The two wed in June 1969, relocating to Sacramento and, later, Mountain View.