[4] McQueen, his 19-year-old half-brother William Keith Burnell, and his 18-year-old girlfriend Linda Rose spent the day of January 17, 1980 ingesting copious amounts of marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs simultaneously.

At approximately 11:00 p.m., McQueen and Burnell entered a Minit Mart in Richmond, Kentucky, with the intent of committing armed robbery in the store.

Rose stayed in the car during the robbery, while McQueen and Burnell entered the store armed with a .22 caliber handgun.

[2] Shortly after O'Hearn's murder, Burnell was arrested for driving with a revoked license; while visiting him in the Madison County jail, McQueen and Rose were arrested on charges related to an unrelated theft, leading police to search the trailer where they lived.

Rose also escorted police to the area where McQueen and Burnell had disposed of the surveillance camera.

[2] Rose was never charged for her role in the crime; instead, she was required to testify against McQueen and Burnell, who faced trial together for robbery and capital murder.

[2] The jury recommended against the death penalty for Burnell and sentenced him to two 20-year prison terms, one for the murder and the other for the armed robbery.

Three days prior to his execution, after accepting that he likely would not receive a pardon, McQueen agreed to deliver a 19-minute videotaped message titled "It Could Happen to You," in which he discussed his childhood and his downward spiral during his young adulthood; he also encouraged children to stay away from drugs.

[4] On July 1, 1997, McQueen was executed in the electric chair at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.

[5] At the time of his death, McQueen was the first person executed in Kentucky since the electrocution of James Kelly Moss on March 2, 1962.