Andre Graham and Mark Sheppard

Murder of Sheryl Stack

On October 8, 1993, Sheppard and Graham robbed and murdered a couple at a restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. Sheryl Stack, a 20-year-old waitress and university student, and her boyfriend Edward Martin, 23, had finished their work shift and were in their car in the restaurant's car park when the pair approached them. Graham and Sheppard took the couple's wallets, ordered them out of the car and onto the ground, promising not to harm them if they kept their eyes closed.

Despite compliance, Graham shot both Stack and Martin execution-style, and the pair left the scene. James Jones, a night motel auditor, found the victims lying face down in a pool of blood and called police. Officer Harold Giles responded and saw the couple trying to reach each other. Stack died two days later in a comatose state; Martin survived but lost his left eye, suffered partial paralysis on his right side, and developed a speech disability due to brain damage from the bullet.

Capital murder charges

On December 2, 1993, both Sheppard and Graham were arrested in Henrico County after being spotted walking toward the stolen car of the Rosenbluths. The next day, they were charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Richard and Rebecca Rosenbluth. Through a firearm recovered during their arrest, the pair were linked to the murder of Sheryl Stack and also named suspects in the shooting of a Richmond businessman on October 5, 1993. In March 1994, the capital murder charges were certified to a grand jury in the Chesterfield County case. In June 1994, Graham alone was charged with capital murder for Stack's death; Sheppard faced no charges for that killing.

Trials and convictions

Graham was the first to stand trial for the double murder of the Rosenbluths. The prosecution presented evidence that two bullets that killed Rebecca Rosenbluth came from a gun retrieved from Graham's girlfriend's home. Jewelry dealer Bill Wilkerson testified that Graham sold him the victims' jewelry within two days of the murders. Graham admitted selling drugs to the couple but denied murdering them, and his defense attempted to rebut his girlfriend's testimony that police did not coerce her.

On May 27, 1994, the jury found Graham guilty of two counts of capital murder, felony use of firearms, and robbery. The next day, the jury recommended life imprisonment for the murder charge, sparing him the death sentence, plus 23 years for the other offenses. On August 24, 1994, Graham was sentenced to life with parole eligibility after 25 years for one capital murder count, plus 23 years. Sheppard then stood trial for the Chesterfield County murders.

On September 22, 1994, he was found guilty of three counts of capital murder: one for each victim and a third for multiple murders. The jury unanimously recommended two death sentences on September 23, 1994. On December 15, 1994, Judge William R. Shelton formally sentenced Sheppard to death on two counts and added 85 years for lesser charges. Graham was then tried separately for Stack's murder. Edward Martin identified Graham as the shooter, but Graham claimed his accomplice pulled the trigger.

Executions of Sheppard and Graham

On June 9, 1995, Graham appealed his death sentence for Stack's murder, but the Virginia Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. On November 3, 1995, the same court rejected appeals from both men, upholding Graham's life sentence and Sheppard's death sentence for the Rosenbluth killings. Sheppard's appeal was denied by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on October 24, 1998. As his January 20, 1999 execution date approached, Sheppard's counsel argued his innocence and blamed his accomplice for the shootings, also challenging Virginia's 'fast track' appeals law as unconstitutional.

A clemency petition to Governor Jim Gilmore was rejected hours before the scheduled execution, and the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed his final appeal by a 7–2 vote. On January 20, 1999, Sheppard was executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center. His last meal was a vegetarian set from the prison menu: boiled potatoes, fried cabbage, bean entree, bread pudding, sliced bread, fruit punch, and milk. He spent his final afternoon with family. Graham was executed 11 months later, on December 9, 1999.