Murder of Kimberly Cates

On October 4, 2009, 17-year-old Steven Spader and 19-year-old Christopher Gribble broke into the home of Kimberly Cates, 42, in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. Neither perpetrator knew the victims prior to the invasion; the home was chosen at random. Both Cates and her 11-year-old daughter, Jaimie, were attacked with a machete. Kimberly Cates died from the assault, which Spader admitted involved 36 blows to her head and torso. Jaimie Cates was severely injured but survived.

The attack was reportedly conceived as an "initiation" rite for a club Spader had recently founded called "The Disciples of Destruction," for which he designed a logo using the initials D.O.D. Spader, a former Boy Scout and high school dropout who had passed the GED, recruited his co-defendants into the club shortly before the killing.

Four other people were implicated in connection with the case. William Marks and Quinn Glover accompanied Spader and Gribble during the home invasion. A fifth person, Autumn Savoy, was convicted of hiding evidence and lying to investigators in connection with the case.

Spader and Gribble were both convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Marks was sentenced to 30 to 60 years, and Glover was sentenced to 20 to 40 years.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which limited mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors, Spader was granted a new sentencing hearing. At an April 2013 resentencing hearing, which he did not attend, Spader informed his attorneys that he did not want a reduction in his sentence, describing himself as "the most sick and twisted person you'll ever meet." The State of New Hampshire argued that Spader lacked remorse, viewed remorse as a form of weakness, and would likely reoffend if released. His sentence of life plus 76 years was upheld. In May 2013, the New Hampshire Supreme Court allowed Spader to withdraw his appeal of the conviction; his appellate attorney said this was for "personal and moral reasons." Spader was transferred to New Jersey State Prison in February 2014 and was later injured in a prison fight. In October 2014, Gribble sought a reduction in sentence for his non-murder charges on the basis of his age at the time of the crime; a ruling was not issued immediately according to available reporting.

The case prompted the New Hampshire legislature to expand the list of crimes eligible for the death penalty to include murder committed during a home invasion. On May 30, 2019, New Hampshire repealed its death penalty after the legislature overrode a veto from Governor Chris Sununu. The repeal was not made retroactive, meaning prisoners already convicted of capital murder before that date did not have their sentences commuted.