Stuart Charles Alexander (March 22, 1961 – December 27, 2005), nicknamed "the Sausage King," was an American businessman, political candidate and murderer.
In 1993, after the death of his father, Alexander inherited his family business, the Santos Linguisa Factory and proclaimed himself "the Sausage King."
Alexander's father, Tweedy, had been well known in local and national business circles as a successful businessman and was recognized and renowned for making linguiça sausage.
He groomed the young Alexander for years, particularly after the death of his eldest son, Stefen (August 8, 1958 – May 25, 1977), who died at the age of 18 in a motorcycle accident.
Coupled with this and the breakup of his parents' marriage in 1971, Alexander cultivated a deep-seated anger and resentment from a young age that often manifested violently in relations with other people.
Alexander, who was described by some who knew him closely to have a "short fuse," and to be at times "combative," was charged with beating Clifford Berg, 75, an elderly neighbor, after an argument in 1996.
[2] One person who owned a printing shop near the linguiça factory, Richard Miller, stated during the murder trial before the grand jury, that Alexander "didn't like the idea of people telling him what to do" with his business, and that he was "very anti-authority.
Perhaps partially inspired by the perceived harassment of the state and USDA inspection practices, Alexander made a bid for San Leandro Mayoral Office in 1998.
Over time, Alexander also began to cultivate an increasingly antagonistic and contentious relationship with the four inspectors who were regularly assigned to oversee his business operations in terms of "cooking temperature, cleanliness, and other health concerns."
Alexander, who usually smoked the linguiça at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, feared that the increased cooking temperature would shrink the sausages, thereby reducing the price at which he could sell them.
[13] After Alexander's failed attempt to shoot Willis, he returned to the factory and emptied three more shots into the heads of Hillery, Quadros and Shaline to make sure that they were dead.
They introduced excerpts of the "harassing" emails and official letters made by the inspectors in hopes to show that his act of murder was out of "blind rage."
[17][18] While awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison, Alexander, who had gained some 80 pounds during the four years in custody until his trial, began to experience health problems.
[21] The case was also spotlighted (focusing specifically on the interactions between Alexander and Jean Hillery) in a similarly titled 2011 episode of the Investigation Discovery program Fatal Encounters.