Deadly Dads: Ronald Gene Simmons

Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

Esther Ludlow

True Crime, Crime, Truecrime, Criminology, History, Criminals

4.6 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this first episode of season 9 I’ll share the harrowing story of family annihilator, Ronald Gene Simmons. Known for his obsessive need for control and order, Simmons carried out a meticulously planned series of murders in December 1987, ultimately killing 14 of his family members and two others. This episode captures the disturbing details of his life, his manipulative and abusive behavior, and his final act of violent retaliation that led to his arrest, trial, and eventual execution in 1990.

00:00 Introduction to Family Annihilators

00:39 Case Overview: Ronald Gene Simmons

01:33 Early Life of Ronald Gene Simmons

07:16 Family Life and Military Career

22:09 Abuse and Control

38:32 Escalation and Mass Murder

44:05 Aftermath and Legal Proceedings

47:08 Conclusion

Sources:

“Zero at the Bone,” authors Bryce Marshall and Paul Williams, Pocket Star Books, New York, NY, 1991. https://archive.org/details/zeroatbone00mars/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater

https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s1/simmons-ronald-gene.htm

https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/ronald-gene-simmons-3731/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362847782_Defending_Ronald_Gene_Simmons_A_Question_and_Answer_Session_with_Attorney_John_Harris

Sponsor:

Gabb Mobile - gabb.com/once

Links:

Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast/

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast details true crime cases. It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.
0:07.0	It is not intended for children.
0:09.0	Listener discretion is advised.
0:20.0	Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.
0:23.7	Welcome to season nine.
0:25.9	In our first true crime series this season,
0:28.6	I'll share cases of family annihilators.
0:31.5	A family annihilator is a parent, most often a father, who murders several
0:35.9	members of their immediate family in a short period of time. One infamous example of a family
0:41.6	annihilator is John List, who I covered in season one of this
0:45.4	podcast, episode 39.
0:48.2	John List murdered his wife, children, and mother before going on the run for 17 years.
0:54.0	In today's case, I'll tell you the story of Ronald Jean Simmons.
0:58.0	Simmons is unique in that he not only killed his family members in a methodically planned way over several days,
1:05.2	but also continued his killing spree to exact revenge on employers and others.
1:10.5	This is Chapter 1 of Deadly Dads, Ronald Jean Simmons. Rana. Ronald Jean Simmons was obsessed with having things in order. His possessions were
1:39.2	catalogued and notated in ledgers, journals, and on scraps of paper.
1:43.8	He kept a careful written account of every penny spent,
1:47.4	from the amount spent on groceries each week
1:50.0	to how much was saved by clipping coupons for toothpaste, cleaning products, and other household
1:54.7	necessities.
1:56.7	When he was being investigated for the murders of 16 people in the late 1980s, investigators
	...

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