On November 3, 1973, Patricia Sandberg and her husband, Marine Captain Michael Sandberg, age 28, were found murdered in their Tucson condominium. Their bodies were discovered after authorities in California arrested two men, Douglas Edward Gretzler and Willie Luther Steelman, driving Michael Sandberg’s car.

Investigators tied Gretzler and Steelman to the Sandbergs through matching fingerprints at the couple’s home and a confession by Gretzler while in custody. The two were part of a multi-state crime spree that began when they kidnapped a man to steal his car; after that victim escaped, Gretzler and Steelman abandoned the vehicle near the Sandbergs’ residence and encountered Michael Sandberg as he washed his car.

Gretzler and Steelman went on to commit further murders in California and were later convicted for the Sandbergs’ killings among other crimes. Steelman died in prison in 1987; Douglas Edward Gretzler was executed in Arizona on June 4, 1998.