In the spring of 1991 a series of violent home invasions in the Phoenix area turned deadly. On March 10, Christine Mertens, 40, was murdered in her Chandler home after two men forced their way inside intending to burglarize the house. About $120 was taken.

The same pair, identified as half-brothers James Erin McKinney and Charles Hedlund, were later connected to another break-in two weeks later in which James McClain was fatally shot while he slept. In 1992 separate juries convicted both men on multiple counts: McKinney was convicted of first-degree murder for Mertens and McClain, while Hedlund was convicted of first-degree murder for McClain and second-degree murder for Mertens. Both were sentenced to death in 1993.

Does anyone have additional details about Christine’s life or the Chandler neighborhood at the time that could add context to her case?