Attorney General's News Release

August 27, 1996

Federal appeals court affirms death sentence given to man convicted of killing 12-year-old Ottumwa, Iowa, girl

Jefferson City, Mo. — The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today affirmed the conviction and death sentence of Andrew Six for the 1987 murder of a 12-year-old Iowa girl whose body was found in Schuyler Country.

Six and his uncle, Donald Eugene Petary, were both convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Kathy Allen, who was kidnapped on April 10, 1987, from her home in Ottumwa. Six and Petary forced their way into the Allen home on the pretense of being interested in buying a vehicle. Holding the parents at knifepoint, Six raped their pregnant 17-year-old daughter and then slit Mrs. Allen's throat before taking Kathy. Mrs. Allen survived the attack.

Kathy's body was found on a gravel road in Schuyler County with her throat slit. Six and Petary, who also received 200-year sentences on federal kidnapping charges, were apprehended by authorities in east Texas the next day. They were tried and convicted in Schuyler County on the murder charges.

“This was a murder of an extremely brutal nature, committed during the course of several other violent crimes,” said Attorney General Jay Nixon, whose office represented the state of Missouri. “We will continue to oppose any legal efforts by Six to avoid the sentence given him by a Missouri court.”

Petary currently is challenging his conviction and sentence in federal district court.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

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