ANDREW DAVID EDWARDS | American Serial Killer | A Jobless Drifter, Murdered 4 Fellow Itinerants Across 3 States Between 1987-1992 In Alcohol-Induced Rages, Receiving A Life Imprisonment Sentence | ALS

Andrew D. Edwards. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Portland, OR. December 23, 2024. Content unknown. SEALED.

Andrew David Edwards

Early Life and Background

Andrew David Edwards was born on March 6, 1958, in Sunnyvale, California. His early life is characterized by instability; he attended Fremont High School and later Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. Despite having a girlfriend and working as a bricklayer, Edwards struggled with alcoholism from a young age, entering treatment centers multiple times since the age of 19. In 1985, he abandoned his girlfriend and job to adopt a transient lifestyle, which ultimately led him down a path of violence.

Murders Committed

Edwards’s criminal activities spanned from 1987 to 1992 across three states: Oregon, California, and Colorado. His murders were often fueled by alcohol-induced rages against fellow transients with whom he had been drinking.

1. John Harold Schiermeister: On October 5, 1987, while drinking at a railway yard in Portland, Oregon, Edwards killed Schiermeister by beating him to death with a blow to the head. His body was discovered the next day by railroad workers.

2. Anthony Keith Thurman: On April 5, 1990, Edwards murdered Thurman in a similar fashion by striking him with a pipe and leaving his body under a freeway overpass in Portland. The body was found later that month.

3. Melvin Richards: On February 21, 1992, while traveling on freight trains, Edwards met Richards and they began drinking together. After becoming enraged during their drinking session, Edwards killed Richards and disposed of his body off the train near Bakersfield, California.

4. Bud Griffith: In April or May of 1992, after meeting Griffith at a homeless shelter in Pueblo, Colorado, Edwards again succumbed to rage after drinking with him. He beat Griffith to death using a piece of wood and a wine bottle; Griffith’s death went unreported for several days.

Arrest and Imprisonment

In January 1993, Edwards attempted to murder another victim named Lynn Ellis Delong in San Jose, California. After this attack – where he used a wrench – Edwards decided to seek help for his injuries and was subsequently arrested on January 26 when he sought medical treatment for his hand injury. During questioning by law enforcement officers, he confessed to killing five men (including Delong who survived).

Edwards was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Schiermeister and Thurman in Oregon and has been incarcerated at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution since then. His earliest possible release date is set for February 14, 2052.

Current Status

As of now (2024), Andrew David Edwards remains imprisoned and has reportedly expressed regret about his actions during interviews but continues to serve his sentence without eligibility for parole until he is well into his nineties.

Archiving Protocol:

• Handled with White Gloves ab initio

• Photo Pages/Sheet Protectors: Heavyweight Clear Sheet Protectors, Acid Free & Archival Safe, 8.5 × 11, Top Load

• White Backing Board – Acid Free

Shipping/Packaging: Rigid Mailer 9.5 × 12.5. White, self-seal, stay-flat, Kraft cardboard, no bend. Each rigid mailer is made of heavy cardboard, which has strong resistance to bending and tearing. Thicker than the USPS mailers. Shipping cost never more than it absolutely has to be to get it from me to you.