Jesse Anderson was a convicted murderer who killed his wife Barbara in 1992 and then blamed two black men for the crime. He was sentenced to life in prison, but his life was cut short in 1994 when he was brutally beaten to death by another inmate, Christopher Scarver, who also killed the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. What led to this shocking double murder and what was the motive behind it? Here is the truth behind the cause of death of Jesse Anderson.
The Murder of Barbara Anderson
On April 21, 1992, Jesse and Barbara Anderson went to a movie and dinner at a TGI Fridays outside the Northridge Mall in northwest Milwaukee. After dinner, Jesse stabbed Barbara five times in the face and head, and then stabbed himself four times in the chest, though most of his wounds were superficial. Barbara went into a coma and died from her wounds two days later.
Jesse claimed that he and his wife were attacked by two black men who robbed them and stabbed them. He even presented police with a Los Angeles Clippers basketball cap he said he knocked off one of the assailants. However, his story soon fell apart as evidence mounted against him.
According to Wikipedia, a university student told police that Jesse had bought the cap from him a few days earlier. Employees at a military surplus store also identified Jesse as the buyer of the red-handled fishing knife that was used to kill Barbara. The store was the only one in Milwaukee that sold that type of knife.
On April 29, Jesse was charged with murder. On August 13, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 60 years.
The Death of Jesse Anderson
On November 28, 1994, Jesse was serving his time at Columbia Correctional Institution, along with Jeffrey Dahmer, who had been convicted of killing 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. That morning, they were assigned to clean the gymnasium bathrooms with another inmate, Christopher Scarver, who had been jailed for killing a former coworker in 1990.
As the inmates were left unattended in the bathroom, Scarver took a heavy metal bar from the adjacent gymnasium and bludgeoned both Jesse and Dahmer. Dahmer died on the way to the hospital, while Jesse was taken off life support two days later.
Scarver later confessed to killing both men, saying that he was disgusted by Dahmer’s crimes and that he hated Anderson for lying about black people. According to The Cinemaholic, Scarver said that he had confronted Anderson about his false accusations and that Anderson had laughed at him. Scarver also claimed that Dahmer had taunted him with his cannibalistic habits and that he had seen him make a shank out of a chicken bone.
Scarver received two more life sentences for the double murder. He is currently incarcerated at Centennial Correctional Facility in Colorado.
The Legacy of Jesse Anderson
Jesse Anderson left behind three children who were orphaned by his actions. His eldest son, Joshua, was 10 years old when his father killed his mother. He later changed his name and moved away from Wisconsin. He said that he forgave his father but did not mourn his death.
Jesse’s murder also sparked a debate about prison security and inmate supervision. Some critics argued that Dahmer and Anderson should have been placed in protective custody or segregated from other inmates. Others defended the prison staff, saying that they followed protocol and that the murders were unpredictable.
Jesse’s cause of death was officially ruled as homicide by severe head trauma. His body was cremated and his ashes were given to his family. His grave marker reads: “Jesse M. Anderson / May 3, 1957 – Nov. 30, 1994 / Beloved Son And Brother”.
