James Lammers

After James's appeals failed, he was hanged at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing on January 5, 1952. He declined a last meal. James's last words were "I have been treated very well." The trapdoor was sprung open at 1:01 a.m., and he was pronounced dead nine minutes later. James's parents declined to claim his body after his execution, and he was buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The defense argued that James did not "appreciate the enormity of his act", and presented several witnesses who testified that he had a limited mental capacity. However, doctors who examined him said he was both competent and sane. On March 7, 1951, the jury found James guilty of two counts of first degree murder and recommended a death sentence. He was formally sentenced to death shortly after.

On the early of morning of December 13, 1950, the Lammers' family trailer was discovered on fire. Neighbors tried to help, but were unable to extinguish the blaze. The bodies of 23-year-old Geneva Orr Lammers, 3-year-old Laura Mae Lammers, 2-year-old Melva Jean Lammers, and nine-month-old LaVern Francis Lammers were found. The children were sleeping during the fire, and had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The fire was initially thought to be accidental, and the police guessed that an exploding oil stove caused it. James Lammers was nowhere to be found. He returned to town on December 14, 1950, claiming he had been out looking for work, and that someone had recognized his truck in Topeka and told him about the fire.

Suspecting that James had intentionally set the fire, the police asked him to show them where had had traveled. James took the police to Independence, Missouri, then to Kansas City, Missouri. He attempt to provide an alibi by showing them a receipt for gas supposedly purchased on December 12, but the actual date, December 13, was smudged and over it was written the number 12. James then took them to Topeka, Kansas, where he had supposedly spent the night in a hotel and mailed a letter home to his wife. The letter was dated December 14, 1950.

James Bernard Lammers (July 16, 1924 – January 5, 1952) was an American mass murderer who murdered his pregnant wife and three children. On December 12, 1950, he strangled his wife, who was about seven months pregnant, to death, then set their trailer on fire, resulting in their children dying. James was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, sentenced to death, and executed in 1952.