Released Early, Felon Cut Out Woman's Heart, Cooked It: Cops

Lawrence Paul Anderson accused of killing 3 in Oklahoma, including 4-year-old girl
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2021 10:00 AM CST
Released Early, Felon Cut Out Woman's Heart, Cooked It: Cops
Lawrence Paul Anderson is accused of three killings, including the death of a neighbor whose heart he cut out, authorities said.   (Grady County Sheriff's Department via AP)

A repeat felon released early from prison in January has admitted to cutting out the heart of a neighbor before authorities say he killed the uncle and aunt he'd been staying with, along with that couple's 4-year-old granddaughter. Only the aunt survived. This comes from a request for a search warrant from an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, per the Oklahoman. It claims Lawrence Paul Anderson was arrested at the Chickasha home of his aunt and uncle after a 911 call on Feb. 9, three weeks after his Jan. 18 release. Police found Leon Pye, 67, dead inside the home. Pye's granddaughter, Kaeos Yates, died in an ambulance at the scene. Delsie Pye, 64, survived, but with stab wounds to both eyes, the outlet reports. Anderson, 42, was found "throwing up in the living room into some pillows," the agent wrote.

Police found the body of Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, in her home only after Anderson confessed to cutting out her heart on Feb. 12, per the Washington Post. He "cooked the heart with potatoes to feed to his family to release the demons," the agent wrote to a judge in the OSBI's request to collect pots and pans from the Pye home. Anderson cried during his arraignment Tuesday, adding he didn't want to be bailed out, per the Daily Beast. Held at the Grady County Jail, he's charged with first-degree murder, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and maiming. He'd received a 20-year sentence for drugs and weapons crimes in 2017, following a lengthy criminal history. But Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted his sentence to nine years in June at the recommendation of the state parole board. The interim secretary for public safety has vowed to look into the case amid outrage, per the Oklahoman. (More murder stories.)

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