A New Year’s Eve celebration turned into a nightmare for one Phoenix family in 1980, leading to a tragic series of events that would haunt the community for decades. What began as a festive gathering ended with two lives lost and one woman fighting for survival against all odds.
On December 31, 1980, the Redmond household was bustling with excitement as William Pat Redmond and his wife, Marilyn, prepared for their New Year’s party. Joining them was Marilyn’s mother, Helen Phelps, who was helping with the festivities. At around 8:00 p.m., a knock at the door signaled the arrival of guests, but instead, three armed men barged in, shattering the tranquility of the evening.
In a terrifying turn of events, the intruders forced the family into a bedroom, binding their hands and gagging them. As they interrogated the terrified family about money and weapons, the situation escalated dramatically. One of the assailants declared, “We don’t need them anymore,” before firing shots that would claim the lives of William and Helen. Miraculously, Marilyn survived a gunshot wound to the head, managing to crawl to safety despite her injuries.
When help arrived, Marilyn was rushed to the hospital, where she began to recount the harrowing details to investigators. Her ability to identify the attackers transformed the case from a simple robbery into a complex investigation. Within days, police apprehended Edward McCall, a former police officer, raising eyebrows about the nature of the crime.
As detectives delved deeper, they uncovered a potential conspiracy behind the murders, suggesting that the motive was linked to a business power struggle. Allegedly, a businessman named Robert Charles Cruz orchestrated the hit to gain control over a printing company, with Marilyn’s husband as the target. The plot thickened with the involvement of Joyce Lucchesi, the wife of William’s business partner, leading to multiple arrests.
While McCall, along with two other men, was sentenced to death, the case soon unraveled. Questions about the reliability of witness testimonies arose, particularly after Joyce Lucchesi’s conviction was overturned due to withheld evidence. In a 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 turn, Robert Cruz’s conviction was also overturned after several retrials, ultimately leading to his exoneration after 14 years on death row.
The situation became even more perplexing with the lingering presence of Ron Lukezic, William’s business partner, who never faced charges despite suspicious statements made around the time of the murders. As the years passed, the convicted men either died in prison or were executed, while the true mastermind remained elusive.
In 2022, Murray Hooper was executed, maintaining his innocence until the end. The controversy surrounding his case continued to spark debates about the fairness of the judicial process. Meanwhile, Robert Cruz, once a death row inmate, was later found dead under mysterious circumstances, leaving many to wonder about the tangled web of events that led to this tragic outcome.
As the dust settles on this convoluted case, questions linger. Was it a robbery gone wrong, a calculated hit, or something more intricate that remains shrouded in mystery? The echoes of that fateful New Year’s Eve continue to resonate, leaving us to ponder: will the full truth ever come to light?
