The families of a Valencia mother and two small children murdered in 1972 are fighting to keep the killer behind bars, seeking signatures in a petition to refuse his parole.

Robert Alan Grigsby, now 69, was found guilty of the November 1972 stabbing deaths of 30-year-old Linda Greenwood, her 3-year-old son Adrian, and neighbor Scott Murphy, also 3, who Grigsby killed inside the Greenwood home. Scott’s mother, Mary Anne Murphy, was also attacked when she discovered Grigsby leaving the crime scene, steak knives in hand.

Investigators theorized that then-17-year-old Grigsby had intended to burglarize the Greenwood residence on the 25000 block of Avenida Rotella in Valencia, and had encountered Linda and the two toddlers inside the home. Linda Greenwood’s wallet was later found near Grigsby’s home just a few blocks away.

Robert Alan Grigsby’s 1972 Hart High School Yearbook photo (SCV History)

Prosecutors stated during the trial that they believed Grigsby had gone home, changed into clean clothes, and then returned to the crime scene, where the Hart High School student was in the process of removing evidence when he was confronted by Mrs. Murphy.

Less than one hour had elapsed between the time little Scotty tricycled down the street for a playdate, to the time his mother found herself wrestling with her son’s killer for control of the knives that ended her child’s life.

The presiding Judge declared Grigsby, a schizophrenic, “an extreme danger to society” and his crimes “beyond description as to the viciousness and horribleness,” according to newspaper reports at the time.

Grigsby was sentenced to life in prison in July of 1973, closing the book on a terrible chapter of Valencia history. Investigators moved on to the next job, case files were archived, and families attempted to rebuild their lives around the gaping holes left behind by Linda, Adrian and Scotty’s deaths.

In 1978, just five years after his conviction, Grigsby became eligible for parole, and his victim’s families were forced back into the fold in the fight to keep him behind bars.

The Greenwood home was forever changed by the murders. In the years before the tragedy, the sister of Roger Greenwood, Linda’s husband, died, leaving behind a widower and two pre-teen children. Linda stepped up to fill a maternal role for her niece and nephew for the next five and a half years.

Linda Greenwood (courtesy of Lynda Martin)

“To say it devastated our family is an understatement,” said Lynda Martin, Greenwood’s niece. “I spent weekends with her and my uncle Roger in Valencia. She taught me to cook, sew, swim, drive, babysit, paint finger and toe nails, apply makeup, etc. She took me to school shopping and on weekends we went to amusement parks, Catalina Island, The Odyssey for dinner, and bicycle rides around Valencia.”

Martin described her baby cousin Adrian as a sweetheart who brightened up the lives of everyone around him

Adrian Greenwood (courtesy of Lynda Martin)

“His arrival in 1969 brought hope and joy back to my dad, my brother, and me after losing our mom suddenly in 1967. We celebrated holidays again and family dinners together. He was our little miracle, bringing so much needed joy to my family,” Martin said.

Three-year-old Scott Murphy – affectionately known as Scotty – had been attending a playdate at the Greenwood home the day of the murders. Though over five decades have passed, his older siblings Steve and Karen still remember their little brother, the youngest of six.

All six of the Murphy children together. Scott Murphy is seen as an infant in the bottom right. (courtesy of Karen Murphy)

“Scotty was a very gentle, loving 3-year-old (…) he was fun, loving, smile on his face all the time, very happy,” said Steve Murphy, who was 11 at the time. “We want to try and keep Robert Grigsby in prison so that no other families are affected the way that our family was.”

Steve remembers that his mother – who survived encountering Grigsby herself –  secluded herself in her bedroom for weeks following the murder, and he didn’t see her again until the day of his brother’s funeral.

By the time Karen Murphy, then 14, arrived from Texas with their sister, most photos of Scotty were gone from the home. None of the Murphy children were allowed to attend Scotty’s funeral.

Scott Murphy (Murphy Family)

“My father had to identify his body in that carnage, and our family never recovered from that,” Karen said. “That’s why I want to keep him in prison. He does not need to destroy another family, or two families or three families (…) It affects everybody. It has a ripple effect that you’re not even aware of.”

For the surviving family members, including Scott’s siblings, Linda’s niece, and Roger Greenwood’s daughter from a subsequent marriage, the fight to keep Grigsby in jail is a burden they must now bear themselves, as most of the investigators and prosecutors are no longer alive to advocate for them.

These families continue to carry concerns over Grigsby’s potential release, citing his history of violence and refusal to accept mental health treatment, which many of his previous parole judgments have deemed the main reason behind refusing his release.

“He will not get mental health help. It’s free to him, and he won’t do it. He refuses it,” Karen stated.

Grigsby is scheduled to go before a parole board on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

To sign the petition to keep Grigsby behind bars, click here.

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