In October 1978, Ladd broke into the Dallas apartment of 18-year-old Vivian Geanett Thompson, whom he proceeded to stab ten times in the back, neck, chest, and abdomen.
However, as the law required that he be granted mandatory parole, he was allowed to leave after serving only 12 years of his sentence, whereupon he moved to Tyler and found work as a barber.
From there, he went to a friend's house, where he sold him a TV, video cassette recorder, a microwave, and a cordless phone he had stolen from the apartment in exchange for $100 to buy crack cocaine.
[3] A psychiatric evaluation conducted before Ladd's trial concluded that he had an antisocial personality disorder, lacked any remorse, and was at great risk of reoffending if released again.
[4] This assessment, coupled with the physical evidence that tied him to the crime scene, led to him being found guilty on all charges after the jury deliberated less than 18 minutes – a record for Smith County at the time.
While a reprieve was granted for this, it was later found that Ladd's high school equivalency degree put his IQ at 86, and that he had also attended several college classes before dropping out.