Wanda Jean Cummings Earl, 37, was murdered on November 7, 1973, in Acampo, California, as part of a larger spree killing. That night the Earl family had been visiting neighbors, the Parkins, in Victor when Douglas Gretzler and Willie Steelman invaded the Parkins’ home. The killers bound and gagged several people at gunpoint and executed multiple victims; Wanda was killed alongside her husband Richard Earl, 37, their son Ricky, 15, and others. Nine people were killed that night as part of a multi-state crime spree attributed to Gretzler and Steelman.

A broad investigation led to the capture of Gretzler and Steelman. Both men were later convicted of numerous murders; Gretzler was sentenced to death and Steelman to life without parole. The Earl family’s deaths remain a stark example of the violence inflicted during that spree.

Did anyone in the community who remembers the Victors or Acampo area in 1973 have memories or details to share about the Earl family or that night?