Current:Home > MyMan who killed 6 members of a Nebraska family in 1975 dies after complaining of chest pain -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Man who killed 6 members of a Nebraska family in 1975 dies after complaining of chest pain
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:48:04
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man who killed six members of a Nebraska family nearly 50 years ago has died after complaining about chest pain.
Erwin Charles Simants, who was 77, died Thursday at a Lincoln hospital, his attorney, Robert Lindemeier, told the Lincoln Journal Star.
Simants initially was sentenced to die in the electric chair for shooting Henry and Audrey Kellie, along with their son, David, and three of their grandchildren in 1975. He had been hired to do odd jobs for the family at their home in Sutherland, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of North Platte. Two of the victims also were sexually assaulted.
But that sentence was overturned in 1979, when the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered a new trial because the sheriff, a trial witness, played cards with some of the jurors while they were sequestered.
At retrial he was found not responsible by reason of insanity. He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and spent the rest of his life at a state psychiatric hospital.
The second insanity verdict prompted changes to Nebraska’s insanity law. The changes were part of a national movement in the legal world that gained prominence when John Hinkley was acquitted by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan.
Those changes shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense and gave judges — not mental health boards — authority to decide when to release patients found not responsible by reason of insanity.
In Simants’ last competency evaluation in December, a judge ruled that he was still considered mentally ill and dangerous.
Audrey Brown, the only surviving Kellie sibling who had moved to Colorado just weeks before Simants’ 1975 attack, died in 2018. She had driven to Lincoln for Simants’ annual review hearings each year for more than three decades.
“I think the courts need to recognize, and the public needs to recognize, there was a real family involved in this, and somebody still loves them and cares about them,” she said in 2013.
A grand jury will convene to investigate Simants’ death.
Lancaster County’s Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin said Simants had complained of chest pains, although his exact cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
veryGood! (165)
Related
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- A heat wave forecast for Spain and Portugal is fueling wildfire worries
- See Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked First Look
- Olivia Culpo’s Guide to Coachella: Tips and Tricks To Make the Most of Festival Season
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Get 2 MAC Cosmetics Extended Play Mascaras for the Price of 1
- Get 2 MAC Cosmetics Extended Play Mascaras for the Price of 1
- Biden urges Democrats to pass slim health care bill after Manchin nixes climate action
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Ryan Seacrest's Girlfriend Aubrey Paige Pens Message to Inspiring Host on His Last Day at Live
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Insurances woes in coastal Louisiana make hurricane recovery difficult
- This Montana couple built their dream home, only to have it burn down in minutes
- Scientists say landfills release more planet-warming methane than previously thought
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Why Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ Kids Have Them Blocked on Social Media
- Why even environmentalists are supporting nuclear power today
- See Khloe Kardashian's Daughter True Thompson All Grown Up on 5th Birthday
Recommendation
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
Officials and volunteers struggle to respond to catastrophic flooding in Pakistan
Officials and volunteers struggle to respond to catastrophic flooding in Pakistan
You’ll Love the Way Pregnant Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Shop in Style at L.A. Kids Store
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
Use This $10 Brightening Soap With 12,300+ 5-Star Reviews to Combat Dark Spots, Acne Marks, and More
Your Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Sunscreen, According to a Dermatologist
Reese Witherspoon and Ex Ryan Phillippe Celebrate at Son Deacon's Album Release Party