On December 12, 1950, he strangled his wife, who was about seven months pregnant, to death, then set their trailer on fire, resulting in their children dying.

[2][3][4] The family had moved into a trailer in Troy eight weeks before the murders after James found work as a bulldozer operator there.

James then took them to Topeka, Kansas, where he had supposedly spent the night in a hotel and mailed a letter home to his wife.

James then confessed to the murders, saying he had strangled his wife to death, and then poured kerosene on her body and set it on fire to conceal the crime.

According to Spencer, after learning she was pregnant, James said a friend of his, whose wife had died, had offered him his trailer home if he would take care of his three children.

The defense argued that James did not "appreciate the enormity of his act", and presented several witnesses who testified that he had a limited mental capacity.

On March 7, 1951, the jury found James guilty of two counts of first degree murder and recommended a death sentence.