Arizona death row inmate Richard Djerf was convicted of murdering four members of a Phoenix family in 1993. Now that his execution date has been finalized, he has issued a handwritten statement apologizing for his crimes.
The 55-year-old, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 17, made clear he will not ask the state’s clemency board for mercy. “If I can’t find reason to spare my life, what reason would anyone else have?” he wrote. “I hope my death brings some measure of peace.”
Djerf was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the killings of 46-year-old Albert Luna Sr., his wife Patricia, their 18-year-old daughter Rochelle, and their five-year-old son Damien. The murders took place inside the Luna family’s Phoenix home on September 14, 1993.
Prosecutors said Djerf was angry and determined to seek revenge on Albert Luna Jr., another member of the same family. He blamed Luna for the theft of electronics from his apartment.
Months later, he took on a disguise and got ready to execute his plan. As mentioned by authorities, Djerf pretended to be a flower deliveryman man and once he was inside the Luna residence, he committed multiple acts of violence.
Richard Kenneth Djerf, a Phoenix-area death row inmate convicted of killing four members of the Luna family in 1993, has been scheduled for execution by lethal injection on October 17, 2025. This will be Arizona’s second execution of the year. pic.twitter.com/tXZCPV3qTe
— itsallphoenix (@itsallphoenix2) August 20, 2025
Djerf sexually assaulted Rochelle and slit her throat. He used an aluminum baseball bat to bludgeon Albert Sr., before stabbing and fatally shooting him. Patricia and Damien were tied to kitchen chairs, where Djerf shot them dead.
The extremely brutal nature of the crime had naturally stunned the community. In his latest statement, Djerf sought to clear Albert Jr.’s name, writing, “No part of what I did to his family, or why, was ever his fault.” He described him as an innocent victim who came home unexpectedly to discover the aftermath of the crime.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which pushed for the execution warrant, has declined to respond to the contents of Djerf’s letter. His execution will mark the second use of capital punishment in the state this year.
Maricopa County’s top prosecutor is calling attention to death row inmate, Richard Djerf. The convicted mass murderer brutally killed four members of west Phoenix family in 1993 and he could be the next prisoner executed in Arizona. @azfamily https://t.co/f6cqcjPySb pic.twitter.com/Tg7ShwW5CQ
— Micaela Marshall (@MMarshallTV) April 25, 2025
In March, authorities executed Aaron Brian Gunches, convicted of murdering Ted Price in 2002. At present, Arizona has 108 inmates on death row, and its history with executions is rather troubling.
The state faced widespread backlash in 2014 when the execution of Joseph Wood went wrong. Witnesses reported that he gasped hundreds of times and made snorting sounds as executioners injected him with 15 separate doses of a lethal drug combination over nearly two hours.
The case raised serious questions over execution protocols, leading to an almost eight-year pause in executions. The break finally ended in 2022. Arizona resumed capital punishment again and three prisoners were executed between May and November.
The Associated Press attempted to reach Albert Jr. for his reaction to the statement but was unable to locate him through phone records or prior legal contacts. Given the nature of the crime that was committed against his family, his trauma and mental state can be well imagined, even if he does not explicitly comment on the same.
