Lester Bower, Jr., Executed in Texas

Lester Bower, Jr., Texas

June 3, 2015

Lester Leroy Bower, Jr., was executed by the state of Texas on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. Lester was pronounced dead at 6:36 pm, inside the Walls Unit execution chamber at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. He was 67 years of age and was the longest-serving and oldest inmate executed in Texas. He was executed for the quadruple murder of 51-year-old Bob G. Tate, 39-year-old Ronald Mayes, 29-year-old Philip Good, and 52-year-old Jerry Mac Brown, on October 8, 1983, near Sherman, Texas. Lester spent the last 31 years of his life on Texas’ death row.

Lester was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from high school and then college, where he played football. Lester had no previous criminal history. Before his arrest, he worked as a chemical salesman and enjoyed rafting, hunting, backpacking, and archery. He and his wife and two daughters moved from Colorado to Texas months before the murders.

In the fall of 1983, much to his wife’s objections, Lester Bower was contemplating purchasing and flying an ultralight aircraft. Unbeknownst to his wife, Bower called Phillip Good after seeing his advertisement for an ultralight aircraft. Philip introduced Bower to Bob Tate, who owned an ultralight he wanted to sell.

On October 8, 1983, Bower drove out to an airport hanger to meet with Philip and Bob. According to Bower, he purchased the ultralight from them, dismantled it, and went to store it in a local gun club so his wife would not find out about his purchase. According to prosecutors, Bower “snapped” and killed Philip and Bob. He then killed Jerry Brown and Ronald Mayes when they came over to investigate. Bower initially lied to investigators about his whereabouts on the day the four men were killed, allegedly wanting to spare his family from the attention being involved in a quadruple murder case would bring.

Bower was convicted on circumstantial evidence. He sold firearms on the side, and had recently purchased the gun used during the murders. However, the murder weapon was never found. Casings for the bullets were found on the floor of the hanger where the four men died. Prosecutors said Bower killed the men to steal the plane. Parts of the plane, with the name “Tate” scratched on them, were found in Bower’s garage, along with fingerprints from Jerry; decals and materials which were traditionally found on the exterior of an ultralight aircraft; receipts for the bullets; books and articles on weaponry and how to commit murder; instructional guides for using silencers; and manuals for the construction of ultralight aircrafts. Unidentified bloodstains were also found on Bower’s boots.

Lester Bower always maintained his innocence and stated his regret for initially lying to police investigators. Five years after Lester’s conviction and death sentence, a woman came forward claiming Lester did not kill the men; her ex-boyfriend and his three friends did in a drug deal gone bad. Since then, three more witnesses have come forward confirming key pieces of the woman’s claim.

Please pray for peace and healing for the families of Bob Tate, Ronald Mayer, Philip Good, and Jerry Brown. Please pray for the family of Lester.