Robert Kleasen ! Robert Kleasen Picture ! Robert Kleason ! Robert Gleason

Robert Elmer Kleason is an American who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of two Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) missionaries in Texas in October 1974. The murders coincided with (though unrelated to) the release of the movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. However, his conviction was overturned and Kleason was released after two years on deathrow.

The Police investigation led to believe that the missionaries Gary Darley (20) and Mark Fischer (19) were shot dead after having agreed to meet Kleason for dinner.

Police discovered Fischer's bloody watch and bullet-punctured name tag in Kleasen's trailer but bodies never were found. Investigators also discovered blood and tissue on a band-saw in the taxidermy shop. Prosecutors at Kleasen's 1975 murder trial alleged he dismembered the victims and buried the remains.

In 1990, Kleason moved to Barton on Humber, Humberside, England. He married and began to amass a huge gun collection. When local authorities became aware of the gun collection and his American legal problems, they prosecuted. He was given a three-year prison term in 2000 for possession of illegal firearms and munitions and began to serve time in an English prison. Kleason had also previously served time in a federal prison for firearms violations and in New York for assault.

In 2001 he faced extradition to the US after DNA analysis and other forensic tools were used to obtain new evidence. Before he could be extradited, Kleason died on April 21, 2003 of heart failure in the UK. He was 69 years old.

A book by Ken Driggs was written about the murders, Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders published by Signature Books in Salt Lake City.