Lawrence Leon Gordon was killed in Ypsilanti, Michigan on October 3, 1978. He was a white male and shared a home with William ’Billy’ Edward Hardesty, who on that date took Gordon’s life and then hanged his roommate’s body from a doorknob inside their house. Gordon is described as the first victim in a series of murders carried out by Hardesty that autumn.

The killings continued the following day and escalated over the next weeks, with multiple victims in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. Hardesty was later shot, captured after an hour-long standoff, and ultimately tried; a jury found him guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder, and he was also convicted on two counts of assault with intent to murder. He was determined to be mentally ill and received multiple life sentences.

If anyone knew Lawrence Gordon or has information about his death and those connected killings, please share what can help the record.