Robert Anderson (murderer)

Robert James Anderson (May 29, 1966 – July 20, 2006) was an American criminal convicted and executed for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. He was born in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Anderson kidnapped and murdered five-year-old Audra Ann Reeves, in Amarillo, Texas on June 9, 1992. Anderson told police that he kidnapped Reeves as she was returning home from playing in a park. He then took her into his house and proceeded to rape her. He beat, stabbed, and drowned Reeves, then stored her body in a styrofoam ice chest. He then rolled the ice chest to a dumpster. Her body was found later that day by a neighbor throwing out trash.^[1] Anderson was identified as the person who discarded the chest, was apprehended by police, and confessed almost immediately.

Anderson said he committed the crime after a dispute with his wife of eight months. The Associated Press quoted Anderson as saying, "The whole day revolved around the fight. She stormed out of the house and said when she returned she didn't want to find me."^[2]

At his trial, Anderson requested to the presiding judge, Clinton Averitte, saying "Sir, this may sound callous ... I don't want to hurt anybody any longer, and I want to be executed."^[3]

Anderson was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in Texas on July 20, 2006, at the Huntsville Unit. He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.

• Capital punishment in Texas
• Capital punishment in the United States
• List of people executed in Texas, 2000–2009
• List of people executed in the United States in 2006

• Offender Information. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on 2013-07-11.
• Last Statement. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on 2013-07-11.
• Robert James Anderson. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.