Lawrence Paul Anderson, a man from Oklahoma, has been handed a life imprisonment sentence after confessing to the murders of three people, one of whom had their heart removed, just weeks after being granted release from prison as part of a mass commutation drive.

On Wednesday, Anderson admitted guilt to three counts of murder, along with one count each of maiming and assault and battery, in Grady County District Court. As part of a plea agreement, Anderson was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and prosecutor Jason Hicks, at the request of the victims’ families, withdrew plans to seek the death penalty.

At a news conference after the sentencing, Hicks stated that the victims’ families had no interest in a trial and did not want to hear the gruesome details of their loved ones’ deaths.

Law enforcement officers disclosed that Anderson broke into the home of Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, and murdered her by stabbing her and removing her heart. Anderson subsequently went to the home of his uncle and aunt, Leon Pye and Delsie Pye, with the victim’s heart. Anderson then cooked and attempted to serve the heart to the Pyes, and after that, fatally stabbed Leon Pye, 67, and his four-year-old granddaughter, Kaeos Yates. His aunt, Delsie Pye, was also injured in the assault.

At the sentencing, Delsie Pye, 66, expressed her devastation that a relative could commit such a heinous crime. Meanwhile, Tasha Yates, the mother of Kaeos Yates, cursed Anderson and stormed out of the courtroom, exclaiming, “Who kills a baby…who does that?” Anderson had been released from prison just a few weeks prior to the February 2021 attacks, after serving a 20-year sentence for drug-related offenses, as part of a mass commutation effort by Governor Kevin Stitt, following a recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board.

Anderson’s release under the commutation docket has been under scrutiny. A grand jury investigation revealed that he was mistakenly placed on the docket in August 2019, after his commutation request was rejected in July 2019, which required him to wait for three years before reapplying. However, the board later recommended his commutation, which was approved by Stitt, following his second request.

Pye and the victims’ families have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Stitt, the Pardon and Parole Board, and others related to Anderson’s release. The case is currently pending, with all defendants filing motions to dismiss the lawsuit.