Stuart Alexander (murderer)

Born the middle child of three sons of Shirley Mae Parriott (born January 18, 1934) and Herman "Tweedy" Alexander (January 1, 1934 – May 31, 1993), Stuart Alexander, whose paternal family roots could be traced back to Portugal, was a lifelong resident of San Leandro, California. In 1993, after the death of his father, Alexander inherited his family business, the Santos Linguisa Factory and proclaimed himself "the Sausage King." Alexander's father, Tweedy, had been well known in local and national business circles as a successful businessman and was recognized and renowned for making linguiça sausage. He groomed the young Alexander for years, particularly after the death of his eldest son, Stefen (August 8, 1958 – May 25, 1977), who died at the age of 18 in a motorcycle accident. Stefen was set to inherit the reins of the company, but after his death, it was inherited by Stuart instead. Tweedy had little faith that Stuart could run the company. He was also verbally abusive to Stuart, often telling him that he would "never amount to anything."

According to Alexander's mother, who divorced Tweedy when Alexander was ten, Tweedy could at times be very demanding with his son, and "yelled at him all the time," especially when, at times at the factory during summers and weekends, a young Alexander made a mistake. Coupled with this and the breakup of his parents' marriage in 1971, Alexander cultivated a deep-seated anger and resentment from a young age that often manifested violently in relations with other people.

Alexander, who was described by some who knew him closely to have a "short fuse," and to be at times "combative," was charged with beating Clifford Berg, 75, an elderly neighbor, after an argument in 1996.[2] One person who owned a printing shop near the linguiça factory, Richard Miller, stated during the murder trial before the grand jury, that Alexander "didn't like the idea of people telling him what to do" with his business, and that he was "very anti-authority."[3]

Court proceedings for the trial of Alexander in the slayings of the compliance officers began on May 2, 2004. The prosecution team introduced forensic evidence as well as the security video from inside the plant; it recorded the events from the time that the meat inspectors were waiting in the factory lobby for the police, who never came, to arrive, until the shooting of the inspectors at point-blank range. Alexander had unwittingly sealed his fate: He had the video system installed in all of the rooms of the factory. The prosecutors also introduced the videotaped footage of the chase of Willis by Alexander. The prosecutors aimed to show signs of premeditation in committing the murders. They also introduced the humorous "secret sauce" letter Alexander and his ex-girlfriend Eve Elder had written together several years before.[15]

The defense attorneys began to prepare Alexander for at least an insanity plea, if not a second-degree murder defense, in order to stave off a possible death sentence if he were convicted. They introduced excerpts of the "harassing" emails and official letters made by the inspectors in hopes to show that his act of murder was out of "blind rage." Alexander, who had been held without bail since the time of the shootings, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

On October 19, 2004, Alexander was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, making him eligible to receive the death penalty. On December 14, 2004, a jury condemned Alexander to death by lethal injection.[16] He was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death on February 15, 2005.[17][18]

While awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison, Alexander, who had gained some 80 pounds during the four years in custody until his stay of execution, began to experience health problems. On Tuesday, December 27, 2005, Alexander was found dead in his prison cell. It was eventually determined that he had died of a pulmonary embolism.[19] The factory was eventually closed, and the factory premises on 1746 Washington Avenue in San Leandro sat vacant (as of 2010) behind the Washington Club, a bar that has always shared the building with the factory.[20] The story was reported nationally and was documented on the A&E Channel's City Confidential program in a 2005 episode "The Sausage King, Episode #133".[21] The case was also spotlighted (focusing specifically on the interactions between Alexander and Jean Hillery) in a similarly titled 2011 episode of the Investigation Discovery program Fatal Encounters.[22]

In June 2010, a memorial service event was held at the U.S. Federal Food Safety and Inspection Service building located in Alameda, California commemorating the service of the four inspectors, the memory of the three who were slain in the gun attack and Earl Willis, who died in 2008 of cancer.[23] The FSIS also held several related special ceremonies commemorating the lives and service of all of the inspectors in Washington, D.C., which was a two-day event held on the corner of NW 14th and Jefferson Streets, where decorations with memorial service ribbons were given to the families of the inspectors. The FSIS also held ceremonies in Beltsville, Maryland, and Alameda. The agency also maintains a memorial page to remind employees and the public of the sacrifice made by the inspectors.[24]