Appeal rejected for Kentucky death row inmate after violent murder

BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. – An appeal of a Kentucky death row inmate has been rejected after the murder of three people during a robbery in 1979.

According to WNKY News 40 media partner K105, Karu Gene White has been on death row since 1980 and has lost “repeated appeals in state and federal courts.” They report White’s appeal on Friday was rejected by a 2-1 vote by a sixth circuit panel.

More here.

K105 states in 1979, White and two juveniles “used a crowbar” to assault a “blind 75-year-old man” and two other older adults during a robbery in Breathitt County.

The victims, identified as 75-year-old Charlie Gross and his wife, 74-year-old Lula Gross, along with Lula’s brother, 79-year-old Sam Chaney, were killed while in a general store that they ran.

“The attack was so violent that the coroner, Kentucky state trooper and detective all testified it was the most brutal murder they had worked. The coroner described the scene as a slaughterhouse,” according to the attorney general’s office.

To view the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, click here.