Remembering: The 1983 Malibu Grand Prix murders

Wednesday, July 1, 2020
ABC13 newscast from July 1, 1983

HOUSTON -- It was called one of the most gruesome murder scenes in Houston history. On the morning of July 1, 1983, the bodies of four young men were found brutally stabbed and slashed to death at a southwest Houston video arcade and racetrack.

It happened at the Malibu Grand Prix on the Southwest Freeway near Westpark. Anil Varughese, Roddy Harris and brothers Arnold and Joerene Pequeno were working late at the amusement center and preparing to close when they were murdered during a robbery.

ABC13 report on the arrest of one of the suspects in the Malibu murders

Richard Wilkerson, a former employee, along with Kenneth Ray Ransom and James Edward Randle were all arrested and charged with capital murder. Wilkerson and Ransom were sentenced to death and executed. Randle who was a juvenile at the time was sentenced to life in prison. Randle was paroled on January 18, 2019.

Related Topics