Share
Clarence Ray Allen, the mastermind of the 1980 Fran’s Market Murders and the last man put to death by the state of California, is the subject of the season finale of “Executed With Deborah Norville.”
The Allen episode will air at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday on the REELZ cable network.
Allen Ordered Murders From Prison Cell
Allen was behind bars at Folsom State Prison at the time of the market murders. Three years earlier, a Fresno jury convicted him of ordering the 1974 murder of Mary Sue Kitts, 17, his son Roger’s girlfriend.
Killed at the friendly little country market: owners Ray and Frances Schletewitz’s only son, Bryon, 27, along with two other young employees, Douglas White,18, and Josephine Rocha,17.
Another store clerk, Joe Rios, and a neighbor, Jack Abbott, were wounded by blasts from a sawed-off shotgun wielded by Billy Ray Hamilton, a Folsom parolee sent to Fresno by Allen.
Abbott, who lived near the market, heard shots and came out to see what was going on. He returned Hamilton’s fire and wounded the fleeing parolee.
Hit List in Hamilton’s Wallet
Allen’s connection to the Fran’s Market murders surfaced when authorities arrested Hamilton five days later while attempting to rob a liquor store. Investigators found a hit list in Hamilton’s wallet. The list had the names of seven witnesses who testified against Allen in the Kitts trial, including Bryon and Ray Schletewitz.
Allen’s plan was to kill witnesses and become a free man at a potential retrial. Either Allen didn’t know that previous testimony would be read into the record at a second trial — or he was motivated solely by revenge.
Allen Finally Executed in 2006
— Clarence Ray Allen
Featured on the Show
The show’s producers interviewed Patricia Schletewitz, the daughter of the market owners, as well as Abbott.
Also interviewed: former Fresno County prosecutor and retired judge James Ardaiz, who authored the 2012 book “Hands Through Stone: How Clarence Ray Allen Masterminded Murder from Behind Folsom’s Prison Walls”; Ward Campbell and Ron Prager, the deputy attorneys general who prosecuted Allen in the Fran’s Market slayings; and Bill McEwen and Jim Steinberg, who reported on Allen for The Fresno Bee.
All will appear in the show.
Ardaiz Prosecuted Allen for Kitts’ Murder
Ardaiz prosecuted Allen for ordering Kitts’ murder. Another member of the so-called “Allen Gang” of criminals, Lee Furrow, strangled Kitts. He then threw her body into the Friant-Kern Canal on Piedra Road near Tivy Valley. Kitts’ remains have never been recovered.
— Mary Sue Kitts
Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death
2 hours ago
Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity But Decision’s Timing Is Unclear
3 hours ago
Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created
4 hours ago
Tennessee Legislators Join Movement Permitting Teachers to Carry Guns in Schools
4 hours ago
Jayden Daniels Downplays Issues With Commanders, Says He’d Be ‘Blessed’ to Go No. 2 Overall
4 hours ago
Ex-State Department Official: Israeli Military Gets Preferential Treatment on Abuses
4 hours ago
Down 2-0, the 76ers, Magic & Lakers Hope for Homecourt Lift
4 hours ago
US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation