A Phoenix man accused of beating his mother and nephew to death with a shovel earlier this year pled guilty to murder in a Maricopa County Superior Court this morning.
Erik Lampert, 35, copped to murdering his two relatives, 14-year-old Logan Lampert and 61-year-old Sheila Lampert, on June 20.
Lampert, described as a bi-polar loner, was living with his mother when he beat the two to death with a shovel before stuffing Logan Lampert's body into a trash can.
Following the murders, Lampert disappeared for two days. Because he was
considered to be a loner who rarely left his Phoenix neighborhood --
where he was known to hang out with transients -- police expected to
find him near the crime scene.
Lampert, however, was found more than 27 miles from the house where he
murdered his mother and nephew, drinking water from a sprinkler head in
Tempe park.
Tempe police initially didn't make the connection between the
homeless-looking man drinking from a sprinkler head to the man who was
suspected of murdering his mother and nephew, and let him go. An astute
9-1-1 operator did make the connection, though, and Lampert was arrested
two hours after his initial contact with police.
When he was arrested, Lampert refused to acknowledge who he was and told
officers he was Jesus. Obviously, authorities didn't buy it and he was
charged with murder.
Lampert's sentencing is scheduled for December 10, in front of Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Kemp.
