Published: March 30, 2006 09:55 am

Execution date set for killer

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has scheduled April 18 to be the first execution date for an Oklahoma death row inmate.

Tuesday the court scheduled that date for the execution of Richard Alford Thornburg Jr.

The 40-year-old inmate was sentenced to death for the Sept. 28, 1996, murders of three people in Alex.

According to court documents, Thornburg and co-defendants Glenn Anderson and Roger Embry killed Keith Alan Smith, James Donald Poteet and Terry Lynn Shepard in Poteet’s Grady County home, then set the house on fire.

Between 3 and 4 a.m. Sept. 28, 1996, Anderson, Thornburg and Embry went to Marvin Matheson’s mobile home and accused Matheson of shooting Thornburg a month before. They forced Matheson to go with them to Poteet’s home, since they also suspected Poteet of the shooting.

Thornburg later forced Smith, Donnie Scott and Matheson to enter Poteet’s residence.

Thornburg threatened to kill Matheson if Matheson did not shoot someone, according to court documents, so Matheson shot Scott, who crawled from the home after the building was set afire.

The bodies of Shepard, Poteet and Smith were found in the ruins of the home. All had died as a result of gunshot wounds or a combination of gunshot wounds and fire-related injuries.

Anderson was also sentenced to death for the three murders. His case is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Embry received two life without parole sentences and one life sentence for his role in the murders.

Thornburg’s execution date is the first scheduled this year in Oklahoma.

An execution date has also been requested for John Albert Boltz. The 74-year-old inmate was sentenced to death for the April 18, 1984, murder of his stepson, 23-year-old Doug Kirby.

Source: McAlester News-Capitol