Offender Record · OFF-2026-165
Sean Sellers (photo from the Radford University biography)
Sean Richard Sellers
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1969
Custody
Deceased
States
OK, CO, CA
Custody
Executed February 4, 1999.
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. Where a record says named by police, no charge was ever filed: the record rests on a law enforcement agency's public identification of the deceased person, cited below. Not guilty by reason of insanity means the court found the act proven but the person not criminally responsible. 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
Sean Richard Sellers was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in Oklahoma County for killings committed in 1985 and 1986 when he was 16 years old. On September 8, 1985, Sellers shot and killed Robert Paul Bower, a convenience store clerk at a Circle K in Oklahoma City. On March 5, 1986, Sellers shot and killed his mother Vonda Bellofatto and his stepfather Paul Bellofatto in their Oklahoma City home. Sellers was sentenced to death in 1986 and executed by lethal injection on February 4, 1999, at Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester.
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 Sep 08, 1985, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Murder in the First Degree
Oklahoma City Police Department · District Court of Oklahoma County · Docket CRF-86-1231 and CRF-86-1232 · 21 O.S.Supp.1982 § 701.7 · Arrested Mar 06, 1986 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
On September 8, 1985, 16-year-old Sean Sellers and accomplice Richard Howard entered a Circle K convenience store in Oklahoma City. Sellers was armed with a .357 Magnum revolver that belonged to Howard's grandfather. Sellers shot convenience store clerk Robert Bower, who had previously refused to sell beer to the underage youths. Howard was present but did not participate in the shooting. According to Howard's testimony, Sellers said he killed Bower because he wanted to see what it felt like to kill somebody.
SourcesSean Richard Sellers #512; Sean Sellers; Sellers v. State; Sean Sellers
Offense date Mar 05, 1986, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Murder in the First Degree
Oklahoma City Police Department · District Court of Oklahoma County · Docket CRF-86-1231 · 21 O.S.Supp.1982 § 701.7 · Arrested Mar 06, 1986 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
On March 5, 1986, Sellers shot and killed his mother Vonda Bellofatto, age 32, in their Oklahoma City home while she and his stepfather were asleep. Sellers wore only underwear to minimize blood spatter. He shot his stepfather in the back of the head first, which awoke his mother, whom he then shot in the face. Sellers attempted to stage the scene to appear as if an intruder had committed the murders.
SourcesSean Richard Sellers #512; Sean Sellers; Sellers v. State; Sean Sellers; Sellers executed
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.
3
Victims convicted
3
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1985–1986
Victim profile
Men, Family members, Strangers
Stated motive
Anger or revenge, Thrill
Range from home
local
Accomplice
Yes
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married
Children
0
Died
1999-02-04 · executed
Agencies
Law enforcement, prosecutors and corrections agencies the records show dealing with this person. An investigator working a case with a possible connection can start here.
Oklahoma State Penitentiary · OK
Agency case CRF-86-1231, CRF-86-1232
Housed Sellers on death row in H-Unit from 1986-1999; executed February 4, 1999
Source: Find a Grave, Radford University Department of Psychology
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · FE
Agency case 135 F.3d 1333
Reviewed federal habeas corpus appeal in 1998; found state court errors but limited habeas relief available
Oklahoma Attorney General's Office · OK
Drew Edmondson served as attorney; supervised multicounty grand jury investigation into profits from Sellers' case
Source: TIME Magazine, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board · OK
Denied clemency on January 27, 1999 by 5-0 vote; held hearing at Jackie Brannon Correctional Center
Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office · OK
Agency case CRF-86-1231, CRF-86-1232
Prosecuted under District Attorney Robert Macy; handled capital murder charges
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals · OK
Agency case 1991 OK-CR-41
Handled direct appeal and post-conviction relief; refused to consider MPD evidence
Oklahoma City Police Department · OK
Agency case CRF-86-1231, CRF-86-1232
Arrested Sellers on March 6, 1986; investigated both murders
Source: Tulsa World, Clark Prosecutor's Office Death Penalty Database
District Court of Oklahoma County · OK
Agency case CRF-86-1231, CRF-86-1232
Presided over by Judge Charles L. Owens; issued convictions and death sentences
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.
CA
Corcoran, California
1969 – 1972 · Born and lived first years of life
CO
Greeley, Colorado
1983 – 1984 · Moved with parents
OK
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
approx. 1972 – 1983 · Lived with mother after parents separated; period spent with grandparents Jim and Geneva Blackwell
Okmulgee, Oklahoma
1984 – 1984 · Lived with aunt Debbie
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1985 – Mar 05, 1986 · Lived with mother Vonda and stepfather Paul Bellofatto
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
approx. 1985 – 1986 · Putnam City North High School, sophomore/junior
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
approx. 1986 – 1986 · Night club bouncer; pizza parlor employee
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
approx. 1986 – Feb 04, 1999 · Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mar 06, 1986 – Mar 06, 1986 · Arrested for murders of parents and convenience store clerk
Timeline
May 18, 1969
Sean Richard Sellers born in Corcoran, California to Vonda Blackwell and Richard Sellers.
1972
After parents separated, mother moved with Sean to Oklahoma.
1983
Sean and parents moved to Greeley, Colorado.
1984
Sean placed in care of aunt Debbie in Okmulgee, Oklahoma while parents worked.
1985
Sean reunited with mother and stepfather; enrolled at Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City.
Sep 08, 1985
At age 16, Sean Sellers shot and killed Robert Bower, a convenience store clerk, at a Circle K in Oklahoma City with a .357 Magnum revolver borrowed from accomplice Richard Howard's grandfather.
1986
Sean Sellers tried and convicted on three counts of first-degree murder in Oklahoma County District Court (Case Nos. CRF-86-1231 and CRF-86-1232); sentenced to death.
1986
Sellers entered Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester to await execution.
Mar 05, 1986
Sean Sellers shot and killed his mother Vonda Bellofatto (age 32) and stepfather Paul Bellofatto (age 43) in their Oklahoma City home while they slept.
Mar 06, 1986
Sean Sellers arrested for the murders of Robert Bower and his parents.
Feb 14, 1995
While on death row, Sellers married (marriage later annulled in 1997).
Feb 04, 1999
Sean Richard Sellers executed by lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester at 12:17 a.m.; he was the first person in the United States executed for a crime committed under age 17 since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.
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 ·
Sean Sellers“Sean Richard Sellers (May 18, 1969 – February 4, 1999) was an American serial killer and one of 22 people in the United States since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976 to be executed for a crime committed while under the age of 18”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Sellers, Sean“Sean Richard Sellers born in Corcoran California to Vonda Blackwell and Richard Sellers on 05/18/1969”
News report · Tulsa World ·
Sellers executed“Six months later, in 1986, Sellers shot and killed his mother, Vonda Bellofatto, 32, and his stepfather, Paul Bellofatto, 43, while they slept in their Oklahoma City home.”
Other government record · Clark Prosecutor's Office Death Penalty Database ·
Sean Richard Sellers #512“On Sept. 8, 1985, Sellers was 16 when he shot and killed Robert Bower, a convenience store clerk in Oklahoma City. On March 5, 1986, Sellers shot and killed his mother, Vonda Bellofatto, and stepfather, Lee Bellofatto, while they slept in their Oklahoma City home.”
Offender registry · Find a Grave ·
Sean Richard Sellers (1969-1999)“Sean Sellers was put to death by lethal injection for murdering Robert Bower on Sept. 8, 1985, and his mother and step-father, Paul and Vonda Bellofatto, on March 5, 1986.”
News report · TIME Magazine ·
Eulogy: SEAN SELLERS“He was tried for three murders that took place in 1985 and '86: his mother Vonda, his stepfather Paul Bellofatto and Robert Bower.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Sean Sellers“On Sept. 8, 1985, Sellers was 16 when he shot and killed Robert Bower, a convenience store clerk in Oklahoma City. On March 5, 1986, Sellers shot and killed his mother, Vonda Bellofatto, and stepfather, Lee Bellofatto, while they slept in their Oklahoma City home.”
Court record · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ·
Sean Richard Sellers v. Ronald Ward, Warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary“In 1986, at the age of sixteen, Appellant Sean Richard Sellers shot and killed three people. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death.”
Court record · Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ·
Sellers v. State“Sean Richard Sellers, Appellant, was convicted in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Case Nos. CRF-86-1231 and CRF-86-1232, of three counts of Murder in the First Degree.”
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