Albert Luna

Albert Beltran Luna was a 46-year-old family man living in the Maryvale neighborhood of west Phoenix, Arizona. He and his wife, Patricia, 42, had built a life together and were raising their children. Loved ones remember them as a close-knit family. Their children included their son, Albert Luna Jr., and two children still living at home in 1993: 18-year-old Rochelle Lynn and 5-year-old Damien Javier. Albert Sr. worked hard to provide for his family, unaware of the horrific tragedy that would soon befall them due to a grudge held against his eldest son.

The terror began on the morning of September 14, 1993, when Richard Kenneth Djerf, a former co-worker of Albert Jr.'s, arrived at the Luna home on West Monte Vista Road. Djerf was seeking revenge against Albert Jr., whom he accused of stealing electronics and a rifle from his apartment months earlier. Frustrated by what he perceived as police inaction, Djerf decided to take matters into his own hands. Posing as a flower delivery man, he forced his way into the house at gunpoint. Patricia and young Damien were the only ones home. For hours, Djerf held them captive, tying them up and taunting Patricia, asking who should die first. He forced her to help him load the family's valuables into his car.

Around 3:00 p.m., Rochelle returned home from school. Djerf ambushed her, took her to a bedroom where he bound and raped her, and then stabbed her to death. He then cruelly informed Patricia of what he had done to her daughter. When Albert Sr. arrived home from work around 4:00 p.m., Djerf forced him into a bedroom, handcuffed him to a bed, and brutally beat him with an aluminum baseball bat, leaving him for dead. Believing the man was unconscious or dead, Djerf returned to the kitchen. However, Albert Sr. regained consciousness and, in a final act of courage, charged his family's tormentor with a pocketknife, managing to wound him. A struggle ensued, and Djerf stabbed Albert Sr. before shooting him six times. He then turned the gun on Patricia and little Damien, shooting them both in the head at close range.

Before fleeing in the Luna family car, Djerf attempted to cover up the massacre. He doused the bodies and the house with gasoline, turned on the stove burners, and placed a pizza box on top, hoping to start a fire. The arson attempt failed. The next day, Albert Jr. returned home to the unimaginable scene of his family's slaughter and called the police. The investigation quickly pointed toward Djerf, who had been bragging about the murders to his girlfriend and other friends, telling one it was "really awesome."

Richard Djerf was arrested on September 18, 1993, just four days after the killings. Searches of his apartment, car, and a motel room uncovered items stolen from the Luna home as well as the murder weapons. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted arson, among other crimes. In a move that surprised many, Djerf dismissed his lawyers and chose to represent himself. On August 16, 1995, he pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder. The sentencing judge noted that Djerf seemed to have "relished" the hours he spent torturing and killing the family. On May 22, 1996, he was sentenced to death for each of the four murders.

Over the next three decades, Djerf filed numerous appeals, arguing he had ineffective legal counsel and citing a troubled childhood. Courts consistently rejected his claims, with one federal court noting in 2019 that the "heinous, cruel or depraved" nature of his crimes presented "one of, if not the, strongest" arguments for the death penalty. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell later called his actions "pure evil."

In August 2025, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution for Richard Djerf. In a handwritten letter to the media, he expressed remorse and stated he would not seek clemency. On October 17, 2025, more than 32 years after he destroyed the Luna family, Richard Kenneth Djerf was executed by lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. He had no last words. The case, which brought so much pain and involved years of legal battles, was finally closed.