Randy Gay

On March 19, 2015, after three hours of deliberation, the jury recommended a death sentence. The judge formally sentenced Randy to death the next day. After sentencing, Randy said, "Take care, judge," and replied, "You, too." Afterwards, Harris admitted she was surprised by the sentencing verdict since no one had been sentenced to death in Garland County since the 1950s. "This one was different, though. I think the deciding factor was that he had killed two other people before."

Randy was charged with capital murder, and prosecutors announced they would seek a death sentence. In 2013, the case resulted in a mistrial due to juror misconduct. Randy was retried in March 2015 and found guilty. During the sentencing phase, prosecutor Terri Harris mentioned Randy's two previous murder convictions in her arguments for a death sentence. Harris said Randy had used the prison system as a "substitute parent" instead of trying to become a better person and told the jury that a life sentence would only be "sending him home." She said James Kelly, Randy's first victim, was "a father, grandfather, and musician who died a violent death at the age of 41."

On May 10, 2011, Randy got into an argument in his truck with a stranger, 49-year-old Connie Ann Snow, at a logging site. He told her to get out of his truck, but she refused. Randy then went to the back, pulled out his shotgun, and ordered Connie out. As she tried to leave, he shot her in the face, killing her. He then loaded Snow's body into his truck and dumped it in Ouachita National Forest. Randy was arrested the following day.

John Ward, a store owner, said he met Randy in 2006 or 2007. Seeing he was a vagrant, he paid Randy to clean his store and sweep the lot. The two initially had a friendly relationship, but Randy's alcoholism became problematic, and Ward eventually asked him to stop coming to his store. Angered, Randy threatened him over the phone and said he and his friends would kill him. In 2008, he was convicted of making terroristic threats and given a 12-year suspended sentence.

Janice and Randy were tried together for Glen's murder. Janice was convicted of manslaughter and served eight months in prison. Randy was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was paroled in 2000.

On May 4, 1991, Janice Cochran and Randy Gay were camping near the Ouachita River. Glen Gay came to the campsite, and he and his son went fishing. Janice said she suddenly heard them swearing and yelling at each other. Randy returned to the campsite and began loading his shotgun. When Janice asked what was happening, he locked her inside a camping bus they had been staying in. She heard a gunshot, and Randy returned to release her. Janice went to Glen and found him moaning, suffering a single headshot. Randy pulled her away when she tried to help him, and the two loaded the older man into the boat. They rode down the river, and Randy later put Glen's body in his truck and drove off.

On August 12, 1978, Randy killed his father-in-law, 41-year-old James Kelly. According to a witness, Randy retrieved a shotgun from his car and shot Kelly in the chest, killing him. The police said a family dispute led to the shooting. Randy claimed self-defense, saying that Kelly had threatened to kill him. Fearing he would be acquitted, prosecutors arranged a plea agreement for second-degree murder. Randy was sentenced to 10 years in prison with five years suspended but was paroled after just nine months. After several violations of his parole, including for battery and DWI, he was returned to prison. Ultimately, Randy served less than two years in prison for killing Kelly.

Randy William Gay (born September 1, 1958) is an American serial killer who killed three people, including his father-in-law and his biological father, with a shotgun during arguments between 1978 and 2011. He served time in prison for each of the first two murders, and was sentenced to death for the third murder.