Murders of William Redmond and Helen Phelps

[1][4] Phoenix police initially believed the murders were the result of a home invasion and suggested robbery was the motive, as some jewelry and cash were taken.

[1][8] Both Joyce and Cruz's lawyers blamed Ron Lukezic for being the mastermind of the murders, as he became the sole owner of the printing business after William's death, however, he was never charged in the case.

[1] Cruz was murdered two years after his acquittal and McCall and Bracy both died on death row before their executions could be carried out.

[14] In 1991, a television film called False Arrest was released, which is based on the Redmond murder case and Joyce's wrongful conviction.

His friend and business partner Ron Lukezic, who had known him for twenty years, said he "had no enemies; was too well-liked, and was just a nice guy."

Marilyn was then walked into a bedroom where she saw Phelps lying face down on the bed with her hands tied behind her back.

The friends called the police and Marilyn was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital where she was treated for her injuries and the gunshot wound.

Valenda Lee Harper, a Phoenix prostitute, testified that William Redmond and Helen Phelps were the victims of a contract killing and that she knew who the killers were.

Marilyn Redmond also attended the hearing as a witness and identified McCall as one of the intruders who had entered her home that night.

[24][25] As police continued their investigation, they determined the two other intruders who had accompanied McCall were William Bracy and Murray Hooper, both of Chicago.

[25][26] On February 22, Marilyn identified Bracy and Hooper during a police lineup in Cook County, Illinois as the two other intruders who had killed her husband and mother on New Year's Eve 1980.

[6] Detectives also attempted to track down another conspirator involved in the case who was acquainted with McCall called Arnold Merrill.

[26] According to Merrill, the person who orchestrated the murders was Robert Charles Cruz, a crime boss and former Tempe businessman who wanted to take over William Redmond's business.

[26][27] On May 15, 1981, Cruz was arrested in St. Charles, Illinois on suspicion of being the mastermind behind the murders of William Redmond and Helen Phelps.

The indictment was based primarily on information supplied to detectives by Merrill; who claimed that Joyce plotted with Cruz to have William Redmond killed.

Joyce's brother, Artie Ross, was a business associate of Cruz in a Scottsdale real-estate development firm.

His conviction was part of a plea bargain in which he would receive immunity for his involvement in the Redmond case in exchange for his cooperation.

[25][35] Following the verdict, Joseph Brownlee, the deputy county attorney, announced the state would seek the death penalty for her.

[40] During the closing arguments of the second trial, Joyce Lukezic's attorney described Merrill as the "lowest individual who has ever been placed on the witness stand by any prosecutor.

[41] On November 1, 1985, after a four-week trial, Joyce Lukezic was acquitted in the Redmond murder case and found innocent.

[42] On October 6, 1983, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned Cruz's murder conviction and death sentence as they said he should not have been tried with McCall.

[43] On July 15, 1987, after six weeks of testimony, Cruz's second trial ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 8–4 in favor of conviction.

[45] The Arizona Supreme Court overturned his conviction because it was learned that in his fourth trial, Cruz had been discriminated against because the prosecution had excluded Hispanics from the jury.

[46] At one point, McCall was ordered to be resentenced in the case, as he had received improper advice from his lawyer not to cooperate in the preparation of his 1982 pre-sentence report.

[9] In 1997, two years after his release from prison, a cousin of his by marriage, who was a reputed mob hitman, was to stand trial on a murder charge.

[15][54] On October 12, 2022, the Arizona Supreme Court granted the state's request for a warrant of execution for Murray Hooper.

[57] On November 16, 2022, Murray Hooper was executed via lethal injection for his role in the murders of William Redmond and Helen Phelps.

They also argued that Marilyn Redmond's description of the home intruders changed several times before she identified Hooper as one of the killers.

The execution team resorted to inserting an IV line into Hooper's femoral vein, which caused him to experience pain, and resulted in a "fair amount of blood."

When asked about Hooper's execution, Mike Redmond said, "Right now I feel for my dad; my stepmother, Marylin; and her mom, Mrs. Phelps.