The Hi-Fi Murders

Stanley Orren Walker was just 20 when the Hi-Fi murders took place. Already a conscientious member of the community and an Elder in the Ogden 10th LDS Ward. He worked as a Basketball Coach and as a Sales Assistant at the local electronics store.

On April 22nd, 1974, Stanley went to work at the Hi-Fi Store. As he did most other days. Unfortunately for Stanley, today wouldn’t be like most other days. It would be his final day.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Robbery

Dale Selby Pierre, William Andrews, Keith Roberts and three unidentified men arrived at the Hi-Fi shop in two vehicles. It was almost closing time when they arrived. Keith Roberts and an unidentified man remained with the getaway vehicles while the rest swarmed into the store.

Hostage taking began immediately.

Pointing handguns at the stunned employees of Stanley Walker and Sherry Michelle Ansley (18 years old) the gang bound and gagged them in the basement. And began ransacking the store.

As they did so they were disturbed by a 16 year old boy. Cortney Naisbitt had popped in to thank Stanley for allowing him to park in the Hi-Fi stores car park while he ran an errand. Quickly he joined the others, bound and gagged.

While robbing the store the attackers were disturbed twice more. Once by Stanley Walkers father Orren. Orren wondered why his son had not returned home and went to the store to look for him. The same happened to Cortney Naisbitt’s mother Carol.

The hostage count had grown to five.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Descent Into Madness

Pierre and Andrews conspired to try to kill their hostages using drain cleaner. Wrapped in a brown paper bag, they told the hostages it was vodka laced with sleeping pills. Orren Walker refused to administer the drink for them and was bound, gagged and thrown into the corner face down.

Pierre and Andrews then sat the victims up and started to force them to drink. No sooner had the liquid touched their tongues, burns and blisters formed around their mouths. Not satisfied that their victims were taking in enough drain cleaner, they attempted to duct tape their mouths shut while they were full of drain cleaning fluid.

Tiring of their screams and how long it was taking them to die, Pierre shot Carol and Cortney Naisbitt in the backs of their heads. Carol died immediately, Cortney somehow survived.

Next he turned his attention to the Walkers. Firing at Orren first, he missed. Stanley was not as lucky. The bullet that struck him was fatal. Turning back to Orren, the next shot grazed the top of his head.

Not yet satisfied with his trail of destruction, Pierre forced Ansley to undress at gunpoint then took her to the corner. Where he raped her repeatedly. Finished with her, he dragged her back to the others, still naked, and shot her in the back of the head.

At the trial, Orren Walker testified that the last words of Sherry Michelle Ansley, 18 years old, were “I am too young to die”.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Torture of Orren Walker

Pierre and Andrews then focused their murderous rage on Orren Walker. Pierre wrapped a wire around his throat and tried to strangle him. When this didn’t work, he got creative. Grabbing a pen, he inserted it into Orrens ear and stomped down on it. It went through his ear drum and came to rest poking out of his throat.

Finally done, Pierre, Andrews, Roberts and their unnamed accomplices (that have never been brought to justice) left. The victims would not be discovered for another three hours.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Brought to Justice

Within hours of the crime being reported, the police had an anonymous tip. An Air Force employee called the Ogden Police and said that William Andrews had told him a few months before:

“One of these days I’m going to rob that Hi-Fi shop, and if anyone gets in the way, I’m going to kill them.”

A few hours later, two teenage boys found the victims wallets and purses in a dumpster near Hill Air Force Base, where Pierre and Andrews were stationed.

The next part is quite clever. A crowd of had gathered around the dumpster as the detectives searched. Believing the killers to be in the crowd, the detectives made a big show of each piece of evidence pulled out. As the crowd stood silently watching, the only two animated were Pierre and Andrews. Both of whom paced and shouted.

Because of the above, a search warrant was issued for their barracks. Police found a rental contract for a storage place. There they found all the stolen Hi-Fi property, plus the half empty bottle of drain cleaner.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Trial and Convictions

At trial it was revealed that Pierre and Andrews had every intention of killing anyone who stood in the way of robbing the Hi-Fi store. They had mistakenly thought drain cleaner would kill someone quickly after watching a scene from the movie Magnum Force.

William Andrews – The brains behind the operation.

Just 19 at the time of the crime, he was convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. He was executed by lethal injection at the age of 37 on the 30th of July, 1992.

Dale Selby Pierre – The Enforcer

Pierre was just 21. He too was convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. At the age of 34 he was put to death by lethal injection. The date was August 28th, 1987.

Keith Roberts – The Getaway Driver

19 at the time he was acquitted of the murders. Sentenced to 5 years to life in prison for two counts of aggravated robbery, he was paroled on May the 12th, 1987. He had been inside for 12 years. Took his own life on August the 8th, 1992, just after the execution of William Andrews.

As for the three unidentified assailants, we will never know.