On December 26, 1987, Dennis McNulty, 33, was shot and killed at the rural home of his father-in-law, Ronald Gene Simmons, in Dover, Arkansas. Dennis had arrived there for a Christmas gathering with his wife Sheila and their children. The visit took place amid a larger, premeditated killing spree carried out by Simmons that included multiple family members whose bodies were concealed on his property.

Authorities later determined Simmons had already begun killing relatives days earlier. After the attack at the Dover home, Simmons drove to nearby Russellville two days later and killed additional people and wounded others before surrendering. Reports say Simmons ultimately killed 16 people, 14 of them relatives. Dennis’s death is part of that familicide; his wife Sheila and their children were also killed at the home.

What details do readers have about Dennis’s life in the years before that December 1987 gathering?