Offender Record · OFF-2026-072
Robert Fry (photo from the Radford University biography)
Robert Fry
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
6'1"
Born
1973
Custody
Incarcerated
States
MX, NM, US
Custody
Currently serving four consecutive life sentences. Death sentence commuted to life in June 2019 by New Mexico Supreme Court.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Robert Fry is convicted of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, attempted criminal sexual penetration, attempted armed robbery, and evidence tampering. Fry's crime spree occurred in Farmington and surrounding San Juan County, New Mexico, between 1996 and 2000. He was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of Betty Lee but in 2019 was resentenced to life imprisonment after New Mexico's death penalty was repealed. Fry remains incarcerated at the Penitentiary of New Mexico.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Nov 29, 1996, Farmington, New Mexico
First degree murder of Matthew Trecker
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (1994) · Arrested Jun 11, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment (consecutive)
On Thanksgiving night 1996 at The Eclectic store in Farmington, Fry murdered Matthew Trecker, 18, and Joseph Fleming, 25. Both victims' bodies were slashed, their throats cut. Trecker was stabbed in the chest by Fry and the knife was handed to accomplice Harold Pollock, who also stabbed him. Left at scene.
SourcesRobert Fry (murderer); NM high court to hear convicted murderer's appeal; Robert Fry: How One Thanksgiving Night Kicked off a Four-Year Murder Spree
Offense date Nov 29, 1996, Farmington, New Mexico
First degree murder of Joseph Fleming
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (1994) · Arrested Jun 11, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment (consecutive)
On Thanksgiving night 1996 at The Eclectic store in Farmington (which sold posters, pipes, knives, and swords), Fry murdered Joseph Fleming, 25, and Matthew Trecker, 18. Fry stabbed and nearly decapitated both victims; their bodies were slashed and their throats were cut. Accomplice Harold Pollock was present and according to testimony, Fry stabbed Fleming and then handed the knife to Pollock. Fry appeared to be eliminating witnesses to a burglary. Left at scene.
SourcesRobert Fry (murderer); NM high court to hear convicted murderer's appeal; Robert Fry: How One Thanksgiving Night Kicked off a Four-Year Murder Spree
Offense date Apr 01, 1998, San Juan County, New Mexico
First degree murder of Donald Tsosie
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (1994) · Arrested Dec 05, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment
A 41-year-old Navajo man was offered a ride from The Turnaround bar by Fry and accomplice Leslie Engh. Fry elbowed the victim's face and Engh wrapped a leather belt around the victim's neck or chest. Fry and accomplice fought with the victim, and Fry directed Engh to retrieve a shovel from the truck and strike the victim repeatedly. The body was beaten and pushed over a cliff a few miles south of Farmington.
SourcesRobert Fry (murderer); NM high court to hear convicted murderer's appeal; FRY v. LOPEZ (2019)
Offense date Jun 09, 2000, San Juan County, New Mexico
First degree murder of Betty Lee
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1 (1994) · Arrested Jun 11, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death (commuted to life in 2019)
Fry and accomplice Leslie Engh saw a 36-year-old Navajo woman at a payphone near Farmington, offered her a ride to Shiprock. On a remote dirt road, Fry attempted to rape her; when she resisted, he stabbed her in the chest and then bludgeoned her with a sledgehammer as she fled on foot, killing her. Her body was left at the scene, hidden. DNA evidence, shoe imprints, and tire tracks connected both men to the murder.
SourcesRobert Fry (murderer); FRY v. LOPEZ (2019); Betty Lee: Death of a Damsel in Distress
Offense date Jun 09, 2000, San Juan County, New Mexico
First degree attempted criminal sexual penetration
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, §§ 30-9-11 (1995, prior to 2001) · Arrested Jun 11, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Consecutive with murder sentence
Fry attempted to rape Betty Lee by dragging her from the vehicle on a remote dirt road, but she resisted.
SourcesFRY v. LOPEZ (2019)
Offense date Jun 09, 2000, San Juan County, New Mexico
First degree kidnapping (2 counts)
San Juan County, New Mexico · New Mexico District Court · NMSA 1978, § 30-4-1 (1995, prior to 2003 amendment) · Arrested Jun 11, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Consecutive with murder sentence
Betty Lee was kidnapped after accepting a ride from Fry and Engh near a payphone in Farmington, taken to a remote dirt road for the murder and attempted rape.
SourcesFRY v. LOPEZ (2019)
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
4
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
3
Victims suspected
Active years
1996–2000
Victim profile
Young women, Men, Strangers, Hitchhikers
Stated motive
Thrill, Sexual
Range from home
regional
Accomplice
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
0
Military discharge
dishonorable
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
MX
Santa Fe, Mexico City, Mexico
2000 – present · Maximum-security/supermax facility; housed since arrest for Betty Lee murder
NM
Farmington, New Mexico
approx. 1973 – present · Primary residence area throughout life
Farmington, New Mexico
approx. 1991 – 1994 · Volunteer firefighter
Farmington, New Mexico
approx. 1996 – 2000 · Bouncer, security guard, oil field worker, driver
US
Guam
approx. 1991 – 1994 · US Navy service; received dishonorable discharge by 1994 · navy
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
2000 Ford Aspire – Used in Betty Lee murder
approx. 2000 – 2000
Fry was driving a Ford Aspire near The Turnaround bar on June 6, 2000, when he picked up Betty Lee
Timeline
Aug 18, 1973
Robert Fry born in Farmington, New Mexico.
1991
Fry raped a female victim in 1991 at age 18 (documented in university biography but no public criminal record of prosecution found).
1991
Fry joined the U.S. Navy at age 18 and was stationed in Guam.
1991
Fry worked as a volunteer firefighter in Farmington.
1994
Fry received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Navy and returned to New Mexico.
Nov 29, 1996
Fry, with accomplice Harold Pollock, murdered Joseph Fleming and Matthew Trecker at The Eclectic store in Farmington on Thanksgiving night.
Sep 02, 1997
Fry terrorized a woman named Rhonda Knott with a gun; she escaped.
Apr 01, 1998
Fry, with accomplice Leslie Engh, murdered Donald Tsosie after offering him a ride from a bar.
Jun 09, 2000
Fry, with accomplice Leslie Engh, murdered Betty Lee near Shiprock after offering her a ride from a convenience store.
Jun 11, 2000
Fry arrested for the murder of Betty Lee.
Dec 05, 2000
Fry arrested again for additional murders linked to the Betty Lee investigation.
Apr 18, 2002
Fry convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and attempted criminal sexual penetration in the death of Betty Lee; sentenced to death.
Aug 2003
Fry convicted of the murder of Donald Tsosie and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Oct 2005
Fry convicted of the murders of Joseph Fleming and Matthew Trecker and received two consecutive life sentences.
Jun 28, 2019
New Mexico Supreme Court vacated Fry's death sentence and resentenced him to life imprisonment.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Wikipedia ·
Robert Fry (murderer)“Robert Fry is an American serial killer convicted of four counts of first degree murder, sentenced to death in 2002 and commuted to life in 2019”
News report · Corrections1 ·
NM high court to hear convicted murderer's appeal“Fry serving two life sentences for Matthew Trecker, 18, and Joseph Fleming, 25, killed at Eclectic store on Thanksgiving 1996; also convicted in Donald Tsosie 1998 murder and sentenced to third life sentence”
News report · New Mexico Political Report ·
State high court vacates death sentences of final two inmates on death row“New Mexico Supreme Court vacated death sentences of Robert Fry and Timothy Allen, with court finding no meaningful distinction in their sentences compared to other similar cases”
Court record · FindLaw/New Mexico Supreme Court ·
FRY v. LOPEZ (2019)“Fry convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted criminal sexual penetration, and tampering with evidence; jury found aggravating circumstance of kidnapping”
News report · Death Penalty Information Center ·
New Mexico Supreme Court Ruling Removes Final Prisoners from State's Death Row“New Mexico Supreme Court vacated death sentences of Fry and Allen on June 28, 2019, directing they be resentenced to life in prison”
News report · Corrections1 ·
Last NM inmates on death row have death sentences vacated“Robert Fry, 45, and Timothy Allen vacated death sentences; both locked up in Penitentiary of New Mexico in Santa Fe”
News report · The Lineup ·
Robert Fry: How One Thanksgiving Night Kicked off a Four-Year Murder Spree“Robert Fry initiated brutal string of slayings in November 1996 that claimed four lives over four years; Harold Pollock and Leslie Engh served as accomplices”
News report · Forensic Files Now ·
Betty Lee: Death of a Damsel in Distress“Robert Fry, 26, was cruising in Ford Aspire; marginally employed Navy veteran who served in Guam, worked as bouncer, security guard, driver; 6-foot-1-inch Fry lives in supermax at Penitentiary of New Mexico”
News report · KRQE ·
Killer walks halls as execution stalled“Fry told MSNBC reality show from inside Penitentiary of New Mexico: I am serving three life sentences and I am on death row for four counts of murder”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Fry, Robert“Robert Fry born August 18, 1973 in Farmington, New Mexico; dishonorable discharge from Navy 1994; suspected of 7 victims, convicted of 5”
Discussion
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