Who was Willie Steelman? All about his crimes with Douglas Gretzler as shown in Charmed by the Devil

Willie Steelman was a 28-year-old drifter from Lodi, California, with a record of minor thefts and burglaries, who became infamous as the accomplice to serial killer Douglas Gretzler in one of the deadliest crime sprees in U.S. history.

In October 1973, Steelman met 22-year-old Gretzler in Denver, Colorado, where they bonded over a shared interest in quick cash through robbery. What began as a drug-fueled road trip from Colorado to Arizona quickly escalated into violence. 

Over three weeks, the pair committed 17 murders across Arizona and California, targeting hitchhikers, couples, and families for money, drugs, and to silence witnesses.

Their methods included strangulation, shootings, and hostage executions, leaving communities in shock.

The spree peaked with the cold-blooded killing of nine people, including two children, in a single night near Lodi. Willie Steelman, the more dominant figure, often directed the acts, while Gretzler followed through without hesitation. 

The case faded from headlines after their convictions, but new details from Gretzler's prison recordings have resurfaced it.

Viewers can watch the Oxygen documentary Charmed by the Devil, which premiered on December 13, 2025, on Oxygen.

Charmed by the Devil: Background and meeting of Willie Steelman and Gretzler

Willie Steelman grew up in rural California, near Lodi, where he lived a transient life marked by small-time crimes like purse snatching and check cashing scams. By 1973, at age 28, he had spent time in and out of local jails but avoided major violence until meeting Douglas Gretzler.

Gretzler, born in the Bronx, New York, in 1951, moved to Denver, Colorado, a year earlier, after personal losses, including his brother's suicide. 

At 22, Gretzler had only minor run-ins with the law, such as traffic violations. In Denver, Steelman took Gretzler under his wing, teaching him basic theft techniques during late-night outings.

They formed a close bond, with Willie Steelman seeing Gretzler as a replacement for his own lost sibling. Fueled by alcohol and drugs, they made a pact: rob for cash and kill if needed to escape detection. 

On October 11, 1973, they left Denver in a borrowed van with a female friend, heading south to Phoenix, Arizona, for easier targets.

Willie Steelman, more experienced and paranoid about witnesses, set the tone, while Gretzler's compliance grew from a desire to prove his toughness.

This alliance turned a simple trip into a path of destruction, as small robberies gave way to lethal acts, as per Cal Matter. 

The Arizona killings

The crimes began in the desert of Arizona on October 17, 1973, when Steelman and Gretzler kidnapped a couple, Ken Unrein and Mike Adshade, from a rest stop near a place called Globe.

Eventually, after gagging the victims, who screamed in their struggle, the kidnappers led the kidnapped duo to a secluded ravine and strangled the two with belts to get their van and $5 in cash from them.

Finally, days afterwards, about October 22, they picked up a hitchhiker named Steve Loughran and murdered him in the Superstition Mountains by shooting him.

Continuing their pattern, they murdered Bob Robbins and drug contact Yahfah Mestistes by shooting them during a dispute over narcotics. On November 1, hitchhiker Gilbert Sierra met the same fate: after a ride, they chased him into an embankment and fired, taking his possessions.

The violence peaked in Tucson on November 3, when they abducted Vincent Armstrong from an apartment lot but released him after he escaped and alerted police, though no immediate arrest followed. 

Later that night, they targeted Michael and Patricia Sandberg in their parking spot, forcing them inside their home at gunpoint. With music blaring to cover the noise, Willie Steelman ordered Gretzler to shoot Michael, and then Steelman killed Patricia.

They stole the couple's car to flee, eliminating what they saw as threats, according to Oxygen. 

The California massacre

Crossing into California, Willie Steelman and Gretzler targeted easier marks, but paranoia fueled deadlier choices.

Early in the spree, near Petaluma, they abducted a couple at gunpoint, with Steelman assaulting the woman before releasing them and taking their vehicle. The van broke down, forcing them to steal another car. 

On November 6, 1973, Steelman led them to his hometown near Lodi, aiming to rob the United Market, a store owned by Wally Parkin that held farmworkers' cash.

Finding it closed, they went to Parkin's rural home, where babysitter Debbie Earl and her family were present.

Bursting in, they held nine people hostage: Wally and Joanne Parkin, their children Lisa and Robert, Debbie, her brother Ricky, parents Richard and Wanda Earl, and Debbie's fiancé Mark Lang. They forced the adults to open the store safe, netting $3,000, then tied them up.

Ordering the children to bed, Willie Steelman and Gretzler shot Lisa and Robert first, then executed the others in execution style, gunshots to the head while bound. The home was left in chaos, with bodies scattered across rooms.

This single night's work added nine victims, including the children, to their tally, making it the spree's bloodiest event, as the Independent reported. 

Arrest, trial, and legacy

After the Lodi killings, Steelman and Gretzler checked into Sacramento's Clunie Hotel on November 7, 1973, driving a stolen car.

A clerk spotted an FBI wanted poster for the Arizona murders and alerted authorities.

Police arrested Gretzler at the hotel; he quickly revealed Steelman's hideout at a girlfriend's apartment. Willie Steelman surrendered after a short standoff with tear gas. In custody, both confessed during interrogations, detailing the 17 murders. 

Tried first in California, Gretzler pleaded guilty to nine first-degree murders, receiving life sentences; Willie Steelman entered no-contest pleas to nine murders and robberies, also getting life.

Extradited to Arizona, they faced death penalties for the Sandberg killings and others.

In 1976, both were convicted and sentenced to death, plus additional terms. Steelman died in 1986 from liver cirrhosis while on death row at Florence State Prison. Gretzler remained imprisoned for 25 years before execution by lethal injection on June 3, 1998.

The case, once a 1973 headline, faded until journalist Laura Greenberg's 1988 correspondence with Gretzler uncovered over 500 hours of recordings, as reported by Cal Matters. 

Catch Charmed by the Devil available on Oxygen.