Lowell Lee Andrews

Lowell Lee Andrews
Andrews after arrest
Born	September 21, 1940 Wolcott, Kansas
Died	November 30, 1962(1962-11-30) (aged 22) Lansing, Kansas
Occupation	Student
Criminal penalty	Death by hanging
Criminal status	Executed
Parent(s)	William L. and Opal Andrews
Conviction(s)	3 counts murder

Lowell Lee Andrews (September 21, 1940 – November 30, 1962) was a University of Kansas sophomore convicted of the murders of his parents and his sister on November 28, 1958, a crime for which he was later executed.

Andrews, a zoology major who played bassoon in the college band, was described by his hometown newspaper as "The Nicest Boy in Wolcott". In reality, the 18-year-old entertained fantasies of poisoning his family and moving to Chicago, Illinois to become a gangster and professional hitman.

Andrews and his sister, Jennie Marie, were both home for the Thanksgiving holiday in 1958. Jennie Marie was watching television with her parents while Andrews was upstairs reading The Brothers Karamazov. When he finished reading the novel, Andrews shaved, put on a suit, and went downstairs carrying a .22 caliber rifle and a revolver. Walking into the room where his parents and sister were, Andrews turned on a light and opened fire with his rifle. He shot his sister, Jennie Marie, 20, between the eyes, killing her instantly. He then turned the gun on his parents, shooting his father, William, 50, twice and mother, Opal, 41, three times. His mother moved towards him and he shot her another three times. His father attempted to crawl to the kitchen and was shot repeatedly with the revolver. Andrews fired a total of 17 shots into his father.

After opening a window in an attempt to make the crime look like a burglary, Andrews left the house and drove to the nearby town of Lawrence. He drove to his apartment to establish an alibi, claiming that he had needed to pick up his typewriter to write an essay and then went to the Granada movie theater, where he watched Mardi Gras (1958), starring Pat Boone. When the film ended, he drove to the Kansas River, dismantled the weapons and threw them off the Massachusetts Street Bridge. He returned home and called the police to inform them of a robbery at his parents' house.