Robert Glenn Bob Tate, 50, was one of four men found shot to death on October 8, 1983, in a metal hangar on his ranch in Sherman, Texas. The hangar stored ultralight aircraft and the men had gathered there to meet an unknown purchaser to discuss the sale of an ultralight. Tate, Deputy Phillip Good, 29, and Jerry Brown, 51, were each shot twice in the head and were concealed under carpet remnants inside the building.

Ronald Mayes, 37, a former Sherman police officer, was found about 35 feet from the others with five gunshot wounds; his wounds suggested he was shot from a distance while the others showed signs of contact shots to the head. Investigators found a .22-caliber was used, but the number of weapons or shooters remained unclear.

An orange ultralight owned by Tate was seen in the hangar the day of the killings but was missing when the bodies were discovered; parts of that aircraft later became linked to a suspect.