Earl Van Denton: The Prison Escapee Killer
Overview
Earl Van Denton, along with his accomplice Paul Ruiz, carved a trail of terror across three states in the summer of 1977. Already serving a life sentence for murder, Denton escaped from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary with Ruiz and embarked on a two-week crime spree of kidnapping, robbery, and murder. Their rampage claimed at least three lives and left a fourth man for dead, sparking a massive manhunt that ended in their capture in Oregon. Though suspected of several more killings, they were ultimately tried, convicted, and sentenced to death only for their crimes in Arkansas. After nearly two decades of appeals, both men were executed by the state of Arkansas on the same night in January 1997.
Early Life and Prior Conviction
Earl Van Denton was born on December 13, 1949. By his late twenties, he was already a convicted murderer, serving a life sentence at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It was in prison that he met Paul Ruiz, who was serving a life sentence for armed robbery. The two men, along with a third inmate named Elmer Finin, planned their escape from a work detail. On June 23, 1977, the trio was part of a crew assigned to tear down a brick factory near the prison. During a lunch break, they were placed in an unguarded building and seized the opportunity to flee.
The 1977 Crime Spree
After the escape, Elmer Finin quickly separated from Denton and Ruiz. He was later arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in October 1977. Denton and Ruiz, however, began a violent journey that would span Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Their spree is believed to have begun on June 27, 1977, with the disappearance of 27-year-old Gerald Tiffee in Boswell, Oklahoma. Authorities suspected Denton and Ruiz killed Tiffee and stole his truck, though they were never charged in his case.
From Oklahoma, the pair drove south into Louisiana. On June 28, the body of 38-year-old James "Jimmy" Cockrell was found near Colfax; he had been shot to death. That same day, two fishermen, 66-year-old Alton Wilson and 65-year-old Ray Jones Sr., went missing near Franklinton. Their bodies would not be discovered for nearly a year, found inside Gerald Tiffee's submerged pickup truck in a flooded gravel pit, linking the crimes.
The Arkansas Murders
By June 29, 1977, Denton and Ruiz had crossed into Arkansas in a stolen car. Near the town of Magazine, in Logan County, they encountered Town Marshal Marvin Ritchie, who was investigating a report of two men pushing a tire down a road. The fugitives overpowered the 49-year-old marshal, bound him, and put him in his own patrol car.
Driving Ritchie's car, they proceeded to the Ashley Recreation Area on Blue Mountain Lake, where they used the police vehicle to block a road. They stopped a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers truck driven by rangers Opal Lee James, 58, and David Small. The escapees ordered both rangers into the patrol car.
In a thickly wooded area, they handcuffed Small and Marshal Ritchie together and forced them into the trunk of the patrol car. After taking Small's watch and Ritchie's shirt, they shot both men at point-blank range before closing the trunk. Ritchie was killed instantly. Small was shot in the chest, but miraculously survived, remaining handcuffed to the deceased marshal for five hours in the sweltering heat.
Denton and Ruiz took James captive, forcing him to serve as a guide through the area's isolated back roads. They drove about forty miles from Magazine in the Corps of Engineers truck before abandoning it near Oden. There, they murdered Opal James. His body was found on July 1 with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Final Murder and Capture
After killing James, Denton and Ruiz hiked to Oden, stole another truck, and drove back into Oklahoma. In Purcell, on July 1, they stole a taxi cab and killed its driver, Melvin Short. His body was later found in Grady County.
Using Short's car, the duo drove across the country to Portland, Oregon. Their run from the law ended on July 8, 1977, when they were captured by law enforcement. An FBI spokesman noted that both men had concealed knives but were apprehended before they could resist. They were arrested a short distance from the stolen taxi cab that had belonged to their final victim.
The Victims
- Marvin Ritchie, 49 — June 29, 1977, Magazine, Arkansas. The Town Marshal of Magazine, he was described as a dedicated officer who earned $100 a week breaking up fights and keeping his community safe. He was ambushed, kidnapped, and murdered while investigating a suspicious persons report.
- Opal Lee James, 58 — June 29, 1977, near Oden, Arkansas. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ranger, he was kidnapped while on duty with his partner. He was forced to guide his captors before being executed.
- Melvin Short, age unknown — July 1, 1977, Grady County, Oklahoma. A taxi driver from Purcell, Oklahoma, he was killed by the fugitives who then stole his car to flee to Oregon.
Denton and Ruiz were also the prime suspects in four other killings during their spree, though they were never tried for them:
- Gerald Tiffee, 27 — Disappeared June 27, 1977, from Boswell, Oklahoma.
- James "Jimmy" Cockrell, 38 — Killed June 28, 1977, near Colfax, Louisiana.
- Alton Wilson, 66 — Killed on or around June 28, 1977, near Franklinton, Louisiana.
- Ray Jones Sr., 65 — Killed on or around June 28, 1977, near Franklinton, Louisiana.
Investigation and Trials
After weeks of legal proceedings, Denton and Ruiz were extradited to Arkansas to face charges for the murders of Marvin Ritchie and Opal James. Their trial began in Booneville (Logan County) on April 17, 1978. The prosecution's key witness was David Small, the ranger who had survived being shot and left for dead in the patrol car trunk. He identified both men as his attackers. On April 27, 1978, after deliberating for just forty minutes, the jury found both Denton and Ruiz guilty of capital murder. An hour later, they recommended the death penalty.
This verdict, however, marked the beginning of a nearly two-decade-long legal battle. In 1979, the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned their convictions, ruling that extensive pretrial publicity in Logan County had made a fair trial impossible.
A retrial was held in Morrilton (Conway County) in October 1979. Once again, a jury quickly found them guilty of capital murder and sentenced them to death. This conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1981. However, the legal challenges continued. In 1987, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned their death sentences, leading to a new sentencing phase of the trial. For a third time, a jury sentenced both men to death.
Execution
After exhausting all of their appeals, Governor Mike Huckabee set an execution date for January 8, 1997. On that icy evening at the Cummins Unit prison in Arkansas, Earl Van Denton and Paul Ruiz were executed by lethal injection, along with a third inmate, Kirt Wainwright, who was convicted in a separate case.
Denton, then 47, was the first to be executed. Asked if he had a final statement, he said no. He was pronounced dead at 7:09 p.m. Ruiz, 49, followed an hour later, also declining to make a final statement, and was pronounced dead at 8:00 p.m. David Small, the lone survivor of their attack in Arkansas, was present at the prison for the executions. He later told reporters it was "like a 1,000 pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
Aftermath and Legacy
The two-week crime spree of Earl Van Denton and Paul Ruiz left a lasting scar on communities across three states. Their case highlighted the profound impact of violent crime on the families of victims and the sole survivor who provided the crucial testimony to bring them to justice. The lengthy legal process, with its multiple trials and appeals, spanned nearly twenty years, keeping the wounds fresh for those affected. The eventual triple execution, a rare event, brought a final, grim closure to one of Arkansas's most infamous murder cases.
