Sylvanus Caswell, 22, was shot and killed in his Los Angeles apartment on July 13, 1973. Two other men, Orieton Houston and Benny Stokes, were also killed in the same incident while they were asleep in Caswell’s apartment. The assailant was identified as William Henry Sewell, an escapee from the Maryland State Prison who had travelled to Los Angeles with accomplices to sell stolen musical instruments and buy narcotics for resale on the East Coast.

According to accounts of the case, the planned sale of the stolen goods collapsed, creating financial strain among the group. On the early morning of July 8, 1973, Sewell remained in Los Angeles while his accomplices prepared to return East; during that period he shot Caswell, Houston and Stokes and then fled back to Maryland, where he was later apprehended. Sewell was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder; the court found he used a firearm and sentenced him to life imprisonment after appeals rejected his motions.