Missouri: Stepfather Gets Life Term In 5 Killings

By Jo Napolitano - The New York Times

April 20, 2002

A Kansas City man who killed his stepson and four other men in 1999 will serve life in prison instead of being put to death, a judge ruled on Thursday. The man, Gary Beach, 59, attributed his crimes to mental illness and anger over drug use by his victims, and pleaded guilty in February to five counts of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. After hearing extensive testimony, Judge Charles E. Atwell of Jackson County Circuit Court handed down the life sentence, in a decision that stunned the victims' families.

Suspect admits killing five men

The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man suspected of killing five men whose decomposing bodies were found in his Kansas City house has admitted the deaths, prosecutors said.

Arthur Gary Beach

On April 7, 1999, Gary Beach, a 56-year-old limousine-driving mass murderer, was charged with first-degree murder for one of five bodies found decomposing in his house.

The rational type, Gary left behind a handwritten card listing the names of the dead and how they could be identified. Gary was charged in the death of his step-nephew, 45-year-old Kenneth Gulley, who was shot in the face.

Beach was captured without a struggle at a hotel parking lot just five blocks from the crime scene after he called his other Kenny's brother and said: "Tell that (expletive) nephew of mine he is next. Tell him I am going to get him."

Beach previously allegedly called The Kansas City Star and left a voice-mail message for a reporter, talking about some of the victims: "I think you're on the wrong track. You kept emphasizing about men, men, men. It was all a crazy crack situation, where crack suppliers wouldn't leave certain people alone, and I finally got fed up with it. And two of the boys there, Mark Nelson and Mike Davis, I just didn't want them to live with the shame on their conscience of what they were."

Beach's series of telephone calls alerted police to his whereabouts. Detectives directed all available patrol cars to saturate the midtown area, especially hotels. Police believed Beach was staying at a hotel after he moved out of his house over the weekend.

A rookie and his field training officer who were first at Beach's house after the relatives discovered the bodies were the officers who found Beach. Officer Marty Lyons said he and Paul Myers, who graduated from the academy three weeks ago, decided to check the parking lot of Embassy Suites, 220 W. 43rd St., a few blocks from Beach's house. "When he saw we were behind him, he pulled up behind a Dumpster, stopped his car and got out," Lyons said. Then Beach told them, "You got me. You got me. No resistance. I have a gun in the front seat and it's unloaded."

Beach's longtime friends depict him as the hard-working driver of an airport limousine, a large, gentle man who wore pressed black suits and loved to trade jokes with other chauffeurs. Friends said he was unusually close to Davis, his stepson from a marriage that failed more than 20 years ago. Beach ate meals and vacationed with Davis, who was among the victims found at Beach's home.

Reporter Christine Vendel. A relative of Gary Beach's and a long-time neighbor, identified the voice on the message as Beach's.

"Christine, this is Gary Beach calling. I understand that people are looking for me about the bodies that were found at 4275 Jefferson. Reading the article in the newspaper yesterday, I'm going to call the police department next, I think you're on the wrong track. You kept emphasizing about men, men, men. It was all a crazy crack situation, where crack suppliers wouldn't leave certain people alone and I finally got fed up with it. And two of the boys there, Mark Nelson and Mike Davis, I just didn't want them to live with the shame on their conscience of what they were, and Mark was about ready to go back to jail. The rest of it was strictly-crack related, nothing else at all."

It took investigators more than nine hours to locate all of the bodies because of the complicated crime scene: The bodies were in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, a basement stairwell and the basement. Police said their reluctance to disturb bloody footprints delayed their search of the basement, where the fifth body lay. Detectives called in carpenters to build a platform so they could walk over the footprints.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Capt. Jerry Gallagher. "We have no idea why this occurred. It's hard enough to tell one family their relative is dead. We are going to have to tell five."

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